The American health care reform act signed into law on March 2010 means different things to different people. To the women, it's a great stride to ending gender discrimination prevalent in the insurance market.
It is a known fact that in the past women experience difficulty in accessing health insurance more than their male counterpart. They were made to pay more because of their gender thereby making it impossible for a lot to be covered. If they are pregnant or require an operation during delivery or suffer domestic abuse, they are often denied coverage. Now, American women can heave a sigh of relief because of the benefits coming their way through the health act.
The current law was enacted to be effective in phases. Some have taken off while some will be fully effective in 2014.
It is a known fact that in the past women experience difficulty in accessing health insurance more than their male counterpart. They were made to pay more because of their gender thereby making it impossible for a lot to be covered. If they are pregnant or require an operation during delivery or suffer domestic abuse, they are often denied coverage. Now, American women can heave a sigh of relief because of the benefits coming their way through the health act.
The current law was enacted to be effective in phases. Some have taken off while some will be fully effective in 2014.
Some of the provision for 2010 mandates the insurance companies to end rescission, to eliminate life time coverage limits and to restrict the use of annual limits in all new plans and existing employer's plans. Others include a prohibition to insurers from denying children coverage irrespective of their state of health and to provide affordable insurance for the uninsured Americans with existing conditions. It also makes provision for a mandatory prevention and wellness benefit in all new policies at no cost.
Starting from 2011 the law requires insurers to spend at least 80% of customer's premiums on medical services to ensure quality health care for every policy holder. It also stipulates that insurance companies should no longer increase premium without a written submission to justify the increase and those already over charging will be exempted in participating in the new exchanges.
Starting from 2014, the law prohibits companies from denying women coverage under any condition or to charge them higher based on gender or health status. It also stipulates the establishment of state based health insurance exchanges that will provide women with private insurance choices and multi-state plans that will encourage competition and offer additional options.
The exchange offers coverage for prevention health services, maternity benefits and places a cap on what insurance companies can require women to pay in out of pocket expenses. It provides tax credits for women who can't afford health insurance and provides for coverage on all basic pediatric services as well as dental, eye care for the children.
The act indeed is a good one, having successfully removed all past bottlenecks against the women and brought hope for a better future healthy life. It is timely to take advantage of this new dawn and get yourself protected.
You can get several quotes from different insurers simply by working with trusted online insurance brokers. Working with insurance brokers saves you time and eliminate unnecessary stress.
You must understand that it is not a must that you accept the quotes you get from any insurer. These quotes are absolutely free. If you are unsatisfied with your quotes, you can simply look somewhere else for your insurance. With this information, you can get started immediately.
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