Healthcare reform, commonly called ObamaCare, but officially called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010.
Grandfather plans are health plans that were in place before March 23, 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. These plans are allowed to offer the coverage they did before the Affordable Care Act.
Grandmother plans are those that took effect after the ACA was signed into law in March 2010, but before the exchanges opened for business in October 2013. They are not required to cover essential health benefits other than preventive care, but they cannot have annual or lifetime benefit limits for essential health benefits that they do cover.
You can no longer be denied health insurance due to pre-existing conditions if you apply for an ACA-approved plan.
There are no annual or lifetime spending caps on ACA-approved plans.
Children may remain on a parent's health insurance until the age of 26.
Subsidies are offered to those between 138-400% of the Federal Poverty Level. You can only receive a subsidy if you purchase your insurance from The Marketplace.
Husbands and wives must file their taxes jointly to be able to receive a subsidy.
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to buy Marketplace health coverage.
Open enrollment is offered once a year in November and December (OEP). You must purchase insurance during this time. A "life change" is required to sign up for an ACA-approved plan at any other time during the year. This is called a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
Those that qualify for Medicaid or Arkansas Works can sign up at any time during the year.
Dental, Vision and any other supplemental insurance plans can be purchased at any time of the year. These plans do not follow the healthcare reform rules.
There are non-ACA health insurance policies you can apply for at any time during the year, but they are medically underwritten, do not cover pre-existing conditions and have a limited duration.
