It’s understandable. The ambitious law runs to 2,700 pages, some of its regulations have yet to be written, and the benefits that have already taken effect have been overshadowed by the recently resolved Supreme Court challenge. The barrage of political advertising surrounding November’s presidential election has further clouded, rather than
clarified, things.
Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the health care
overhaul law, perhaps it’s time to acquaint ourselves with the changes that have already occurred and those soon to come.
Here are the facts to dispel eight fictions that have grown up
around the Affordable Care Act.
1) Mandate muddle
Fiction: Everyone must purchase health insurance
beginning in 2014, no exceptions.
Fact: While most uninsured Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty (or tax, if you like) beginning in 2014, several groups are exempt from the so-called individual mandate.
They include those whose income is so low, they don’t file federal tax returns; anyone who would have to spend more than 8 percent of their income on health insurance; undocumented immigrants; people who
are incarcerated; members of Native American tribes; and those who qualify for a religious exemption.