The deadline to sign up for health care
by Mary
That clock you hear ticking is marking the run up to the end of the first open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act. It’s ticking fast! At the end of the day today, March 31, 2014, the initial opportunity to sign-up for a qualified health plan through the marketplace in each state will close unless there is a qualifying event.
Some people forget that some changes already took place when Obamacare was first signed into law in 2010. Since then, children with pre-existing conditions, like MOST of those served by Easter Seals, cannot be dropped from coverage. In addition, the law did great things for young adults under age 26, like Ben Trockman, the Easter Seals 2012 National Adult Representative, from Evansville, Indiana.
Ben is a 24-year-old college student who incurred a spinal cord injury in 2006 and has been able to retain quality benefits by remaining on the insurance plan of his parents. He is looking forward to his college graduation now so he can get his own professional life started in the public relations field.
These modest reforms that went into affect right away when the Affordable Health Care Act was signed have been life-changing for many of the families we serve, and ever since the bulk of the new protections provided by the Affordable Health Care Act became available in January, 2014, adults with pre-existing conditions can buy health insurance, too.
Wow!
Under the rules in 2013, practically no insurance companies would sell a plan to someone with a pre-existing condition. It didn’t matter if the person could afford the coverage, no one would sell him or her a plan.
We know there have been bumps in the Obamacare road, but already since January, many of the people we serve no longer need to have health insurance coverage, or lack thereof, dictate the major decisions of their lives. If you or someone you love is still uninsured, encourage them to go to www.healthcare.gov today and check it out!
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