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The Affordable Care Act was designed with the intention to help uninsured Americans access affordable healthcare. The changes brought on the ability for those uninsured or underinsured to take advantage of not only preventative services, but also to receive the medical care that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. The ACA is of special importance for seniors and the elderly as they often need more services and resources than the average adult. Here are just a few of the changes in senior insurance under the ACA.
Stronger Medicare
Many folks were afraid that the ACA would take Medicare off of its tracks but, luckily, it did the opposite. Medicare has been expanded in a number of ways in order to provide better healthcare and medical coverage for seniors everywhere. Many people mistakenly assume the Medicare and the ACA coincide with one another, but the reality is that Medicare isn’t a part of the ACA, so it’s extremely important that seniors do not replace their existing Medicare plans with a new Marketplace plan.
Reduced Costs
Most seniors are living off of a fixed income, and with that comes a lot of restrictions on standards of living as well as medical and health coverage, which is why the ACA worked to build a better plan that provides lower costs associated with seniors and their healthcare. Part of the ACA’s plan is to increase access to medical services, like preventive care services, by lowering the costs of those visits.
Closing the Prescription Gap
When the ACA was put into effect in 2013, there was a drastic difference between coverage limits on brand-name and generic prescription drugs. In 2013, individuals were expected to pay 47% for brand-names and 79% for generic drugs. Luckily, the ACA has provisions to lower the costs for prescriptions more and more every year until 2020. By the 2020 benchmark, both brand-names and generics will cap at 25%
Higher Medical Bill Tax
Itemized tax deductions for out-of-pocket expenses have increased from 7.5% to 10%. While this allows for more usable out-of-pocket cash for medical expenses, it also means a higher tax bill, so while it’ll be tempting to pull out more for medical expenses, think about how it can affect your taxes at the end of the year. The general hope is that with reduced costs for prescriptions and medical services, this extra amount won’t be necessary.
If you find yourself burdened with medical bills, consider a life settlement. You can sell an unwanted or unneeded life insurance policy for cash that can help you make necessary adjustments and pay off those medical bills. You can see if you qualify by using our calculator.
