Health coalition formed

What does the Affordable Care Act do? It provides Health Insurance Marketplaces so eligible folks can comparison shop for affordable health insurance. It provides additional financial assistance to some citizens under age 65. It allows parents to keep their children on their health insurance until they reach the age of 26. It assists seniors on Medicare in paying for their prescriptions. Under the new health care law, insurance companies must provide consumers greater value by spending generally at least 80% of premium dollars on health care versus overhead. It bans insurance companies from imposing lifetime dollar limits on health benefits. The law also expanded access to health insurance for those people with pre-existing conditions. All plans must offer a comprehensive set of essential health benefits including doctor visits, preventive care, hospitalization, prescriptions, and more.
Do these changes have an impact in Virginia? Indeed they do. Right now in Virginia there are 844,752 citizens – 12% of the state’s population under the age of 65 -who have no medical insurance whatsoever, who would be potentially helped by the Act.
Several states have already established their health exchanges and report that the premiums for their basic coverage are considerably lower than the current cost to most individuals. This was made possible by the expansion of the coverage pool mandated by the new law. Virginia has chosen the federal government to run its health insurance marketplace.
A majority of American citizens already have health care insurance either through their work, private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans health programs or other sources. Those falling into this category do not need to enroll beginning October 1. But many citizens, including most of the 844,752 in Virginia cited before, will have to enroll. The quickest way to find out about your options is to go to the website – www.healthcare.gov – or by calling the HealthCare hot line at 1-800-318-2596.
We invite you to join our coalition to provide information on enrollment to Fluvanna citizens. You may join our effort by contacting Kathy Swenson Miller at swenson.miller@gmail.com. The coalition is planning a public information session at the Fluvanna Library on Wednesday, September 11, at 7 p.m. A panel of health care experts will be available to answer your questions.