Who Are Obamacare’s Winners and Losers?

The Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare) will go into effect on January 1. This law was designed to make healthcare costs go down for all Americans. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case. New data shows that Obamacare will increase costs on some people, but others will have to pay significantly higher rates. You will want to find out how the law will impact you.

Who Will Benefit from the Healthcare Law?

There are a number of people who will find health insurance is a lot more affordable after the new law goes into effect. You will probably benefit from the law if you fall into any of the following categories.

Those With Prexisting Conditions

Millions of Americans have been denied coverage because they have preexisting conditions. When the new Affordable Care Act goes into effect insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to people with existing health problems. They also won’t be allowed to charge higher premiums. This is great for many people who want to get life insurance with Crohn’s disease, heart disease or other problems.

Older People

Insurance companies have traditionally set rates by age, because older people tend to have more health problems. They will be more limited in their ability to do so in the future. The new law will prevent insurance companies from charging elderly people more than three times the premiums as younger people.

People With Lower Incomes

Obamacare will significantly help people with lower incomes. People making up to 138% of the poverty line will be eligible for Medicaid coverage in states that choose to expand the program.

People making up to 400% of the poverty level will also benefit from the law. The ACA states that these people are eligible for subsidies to help make their care more affordable.

Women

Obamacarestipulates that insurance companies can no longer charge different rates to men and women. Women currently pay higher rates because they tend to have more medical problems so they will be the ones who ultimately benefit from it.

Who Will Pay Higher Rates?

Although the ACA will benefit most people in these groups, other people are expected to pay higher rates. The national costs for health care are not going to decline for the time being. They will initially be distributed differently.

Younger Americans are expected to see their rates increase significantly. Many healthy people up through their 40s have reported that their rates had increased when they saw the new health exchanges. Many of them have been reluctant to sign up for it. Single men are probably going to see their rates increase the most, because Obamacare requires them to buy coverage for conditions that they will never have (such as maternity problems). Some of these people will be eligible for subsidies, but others will not.

The rates could eventually go down if more people get screenings and other preventive care. However, some people will ultimately need to pay more in coverage up front to subsidize others. The law could also cause costs to increase significantly more if many people don’t buy into the system.