Insured? Uninsured? How Will Obamacare Affect You?

By Kelli Bennett, Editorial Intern

It’s official; the US Supreme Court approved Obamacare on Thursday, June 28^th.

In the midst of the continued debates many Americans are still confused on the direct effect it will have on them.  Read below the law’s break down provided by cnn.com.

The uninsured

The individual mandate is still in place. Americans are required to have or buy health insurance beginning in 2014 or face a penalty.

According to CNN, in 2014, the penalty will be $285 per family or 1% of income, whichever is greater. By 2016, it goes up to $2,085 per family or 2.5% of income.

The insured

Insured Americans may be avoiding a spike in premiums that could have resulted if the high court had tossed out the individual mandate but left other requirements on insurers in place.

Young adults

The law requires insurers to cover the children of those they insure up to age 26.

People with pre-existing conditions

The law also established that children under the age of 19 could no longer have limited benefits or be denied benefits because they had a pre-existing condition.

Starting in 2014, the law makes it illegal for any health insurance plan to use pre-existing conditions to exclude, limit or set unrealistic rates on coverage.

Small business owners

As of 2014, under the law, small firms with more than 50 full-time employees would have to provide coverage or face expensive fines.

All Americans, in lesser known ways

The massive health care law requires doctors to report perks they get from medical supply companies; demands more breastfeeding rooms; requires all chain restaurants to list calories under every menu item, along with other provisions.

I found CNN’s live court blog very informative; visit the site for more details.