A HealthCare.gov FactSheet
THE TOP FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
T he Affordable Care Act – the new health care law – gives hard working,
middle-class families the security they
deserve. The Affordable Care Act forces
insurance companies to play by the rules,
prohibiting them from dropping your
coverage if you get sick, billing you into
bankruptcy through annual or lifetime limits,
and, soon, discriminating against anyone
with a pre-existing condition. Signed into
law by President Obama in March 2010, the
Affordable Care Act will remove obstacles to
care that many Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders historically have faced and ensure
that they will have better access to stable,
affordable health insurance and high quality
health care suited to their needs. All
Americans will have the security of knowing
that they don't have to worry about losing
coverage if they change jobs. And
insurance companies are required to cover
preventive care like mammograms and
other cancer screenings.
Here are five ways the Affordable Care Act
helps you:
1. Ban on discrimination based on
pre-existing conditions. It is illegal for
insurance companies to deny coverage to
children because of a pre-existing condition,
such as cancer, asthma, or diabetes. In
2014, insurers are banned from
discriminating against anyone with a
pre-existing condition. Already, qualifying
Americans who are uninsured due to a
pre-existing health condition have access to
affordable insurance through Pre-Existing
Condition Insurance Plans. This is important
because, for example, in Hawai’i, adult
Asians, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific
Islanders have high rates of diabetes.
2. No lifetime dollar limits on claims.
The new health law ends lifetime dollar
limits on essential benefits and restricts
annual dollar limits until they are phased out
in 2014. Approximately 5.5 million Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders