Affordable Care Act Frequently Asked Questions

• Will I see an increase in my insurance premiums?
• How will my existing employer’s health insurance plan be affected by the Affordable Care Act?
• Will there be death panels?
• Is my employer required to provide health insurance?
• Where can I find more information?

Will I see an increase in my insurance premiums?
According to scholars at the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Utah is likely to see a 65 to 100 percent increase in premiums.

Increases in premiums stem from some of the new health care requirements—namely guaranteed insurance regardless of previous conditions, inability to charge more for those with serious medical conditions, and mandatory coverage of some medical conditions that were often uncovered.

How will my existing employer’s health insurance plan be affected by the Affordable Care Act?
Any employer plans that were in place as of March 23, 2010, will be grandfathered in and will only be subject to some of the new rules.

Grandfathered plans must currently:

• Get rid of any lifetime limits and set only reasonable annual limits on coverage.
• Not deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.
• Extend any coverage to dependents up to the age of 26.

In 2014, grandfathered employer plans must:

• Get rid of annual limits on coverage.
• Not deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions.

Grandfathered plans do not have to:

• Change its benefits to meet the new standards.
• Limit enrollee cost sharing.
• Cover preventative services without cost sharing.

If a plan makes any significant changes to its policies, it can lose its grandfathered status.

Will there be death panels?
According to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 40 percent of Americans believe that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) creates death panels—a proposal to pay doctors to advise Medicare patients on issues like hospice care and living wills. However, the proposal was dropped after it stirred up a lot of controversy and it is not part of the ACA.

Is my employer required to provide health insurance?
The ACA requires that any business that has more than 50 employees has to provide health insurance to employees who work 30 hours or more a week. Businesses that do not offer health insurance will have to pay a penalty. In order to give businesses more time to comply and to figure out how to meet the new reporting requirements, the deadline has been moved back from the end of 2014 to the end of 2015.

Where can I find more information?
Educating the general public about the upcoming changes is a major undertaking. To meet the need, the government has set up http://www.healthcare.gov. The Kaiser Family Foundation has also dedicated a section of their website to help address the media and general public on the ACA and health care reform issues.