Obamacare and Medicare Supplements
January 1, 2014 Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) went into effect. People all over the country have questions, and I think it would be fair to say that no one understands each nook and cranny of the Affordable Care Act but there are a lot of people with good advice and guidance. However, it seems that most people over the age of 65 are asking how are Obamacare and Medicare going to work together?
Obamacare and Medicare
Obamacare has many benefits to consumers that have been in tough spots due to health conditions, and most of these features in Obamacare already apply to Medicare. Some of these benefits include:- No health questions
- Coverage for Pre-Existing conditions
- Catastrophic Coverage - No Limits
- Availability and Enrollment Periods
Medicare is a federal health insurance program that provides coverage for seniors over 65 and those under sixty-five that are disabled. Where Obamacare is actually just laws on health insurance companies telling them how they must operate. The ACA also offers subsidies for low and middle income families. Currently Medicare does not provide subsides but it does charge "penalties" to those with higher incomes starting at $88,000 for individuals.
A Big Misunderstanding
Over the past month or so we have received calls asking how do we sign up for our Medicare Supplement without having to answer health questions? Unfortunately Medicare Supplements still have health questions; the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) only requires primary insurance to not ask health questions. Secondary insurance such as Medigap policies can still underwrite their policies.
This applies for all secondary insurance in both the under age 65 market as well as the Medicare market. As you can see Obamacare and Medicare are similar but they do not function exactly the same. The primary difference being that Medicare is a health insurance program and Obamacare is just laws regulating the insurance companies tighter.
If you would like more information on Obamacare and Medicare please contact our office at 1-877-936-2991 or visit us on the web at Medicare Insurance Finders.