Changes due to the healthcare reform.
Here is an excerpt from an online guide on what health reform means for you: “Recently enacted legislation will radically transform the U.S. health care system. These changes will occur over time, however. The most significant changes (e.g., a requirement that most people obtain health insurance) will not become law until 2014. A tax on employee “Cadillac” health plans does not take effect until 2019. This means there will be many elections and many opportunities for voters to express their will before most provisions become law. In the meantime, here is a brief summary.
Structural Features of Reform:
- Beginning in 2014, you will be required by law to have health insurance and to attach proof of insurance to your tax return.
- If you fail to insure, you will be fined — with the penalty rising to $695 ($2,085 per family) in 2016 or 2.5% of your adjusted gross income, whichever is greater.
- If your employer fails to offer you health insurance, your employer can be fined as much as $2,000 per employee per year.
- The type of insurance you must have — including copays, deductibles and the employee’s share of the premium — will all be determined by federal regulations, rather than by you and your employer.
- If you are not covered by an employer plan, Medicare, Medicaid or other government plan, you will be required to buy insurance in a government-regulated health insurance exchange, where competing insurers will offer the government-mandated health insurance benefit package.
- How your doctor practices medicine and how you obtain care are likely to substantially change.
Read more here in the online consumer guide.
