Affordable Care Act & How It Effects College Students Team Building Bus-130 Misty Booher, Angel Dunn, Rebekah England, Jordan Hammer, Matthew Mendoza

The Concern Most students are on a limited budget, but along with books and tuition, they will have to add another expense - health insurance.  If they don't, under the Affordable Care Act, they will be penalized. College students who are in good health and very rarely visit a doctor, will need to pay premiums to help cover the costs of the sick. Many citizens under the age of 30 are reluctant to sign up, but in many cases, this age group is just unaware of their options.

Why the Affordable Healthcare Act was set into motion: Problems that have incurred from insurance companies: Insurance companies have denied coverage to millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes and cancer. Insurance companies have doubled their premiums causing individuals to drop coverage in order to provide for their families.  In the mean time, the insurance companies have profited from these high premiums. Millions of Americans are uninsured Insurance companies were able to pick and choose what individuals the would cover. Insurance companies have placed caps on how much a policy holder can use in their lifetime. They have even been know to cancel policies when you get sick, and look through your files for illnesses. What this law means:  This act will end the misdeeds of insurance companies.  Will make health insurance more affordable. Will strengthen the Medicare system Provide families with better coverage options 

The Uninsured The Government Accounting Office estimates some 1.7 million traditional-aged college students are uninsured, and two-thirds of students can’t even afford treatment. Citizens under the age of 30 can sign up for a plan that covers catastrophic care only, but for many of these students, even that, doesn’t seem like a good deal.

According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll, around three quarters of those ages 18 to 25 believe it is important for them to personally get insurance and that insurance is worth the cost. However, nearly 80% of those under 30 had heard little to nothing about the marketplace. Students will benefit in many ways from the online marketplace, one health-organization official says.

Students Understanding The Marketplace Jennifer Mishory, deputy director at Young Invincibles, says students will be affected by the online marketplace in three significant ways: Students can enroll in plans without the threat of being denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Students who earn less than about $46,000 or families that earn less than $94,000 annually may be able to access free coverage through Medicaid or discounted coverage through monthly tax credits depending on the state and their exact income level. New plans will provide free preventive services, annual checkups, prescriptions and substance use disorder services.

The Cost To Students Before the President signed the Affordable Care Act into law, many health plans and issuers could remove adult children from their parents’ policies because of their age, whether or not they were a student or where they lived. The Affordable Care Act requires plans and issuers that offer dependent coverage to make the coverage available until the adult child reaches the age of 26. Many parents and their children who worried about losing health insurance after they graduated from college no longer have to worry.  The Affordable Care Act requires plans and issuers that offer dependent coverage to make the coverage available until a child reaches the age of 26. Both married and unmarried children qualify for this coverage. This rule applies to all plans in the individual market and to new employer plans. It also applies to existing employer plans unless the adult child has another offer of employer- based coverage (such as through his or her job). Beginning in 2014, children up to age 26 can stay on their parent’s employer plan even if they have another offer of coverage through an employer.

Monthly Premiums Plans are priced partly on geographic location. The plans are presented in 5 categories: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and catastrophic. Plans are available for the following scenarios: Adult individual = age 27 Adult individual = age 50 Family = 2 adults age 30, 2 children Family single parent = 1 adult age 30, 2 children Couple = 2 adults age 40, no children Child = 1 child any age The prices here don’t reflect the lower costs an applicant may qualify for based on household size and income. Many people who apply will qualify for reduced costs through tax credits that are automatically applied to monthly premiums. As listed from the Data.HealthCare.gov for Licking County , Age 27 and purchased from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield: Bronze: $208.35 Silver: $267.93 Gold: $405.74 Catastrophic: $178.75 Monthly Premiums

“It's really hard to get people our age involved with this kind of issue because there's the mentality: 'I'm not going to get sick, so I don't need to worry about it.'” Audrey Zeis, junior at Emory University

The Pros Of the aca Pros to the Health Care Act are students are able to have insurance on their parents' policy until they are 26. The health insurance in general is also very affordable. Most people were not able to receive the help they needed in the past because they could not afford it. Contraceptives are now provided to anyone without cost sharing. This was effective August 1, 2012 and women who are sexually active are now provided with a way to protect themselves. Small businesses are able to receive tax credits for more than 50% of employees. Since health care was so expensive before, small businesses did not have a way of giving their employees insurance but are now able to. Men and Women both have equal rights in the policy and nobody is allowed to be dropped for whatever reason. The CHIP is available for more than 9 million children on the ACA. This is a growing need in America because of the many children abductions that are happening everyday. This is a way for children to be located more effectively as well as efficiently.

The Cons of the aca Cons to the Affordable Care Act are surfacing more and more. New taxes are becoming affective to employers as well as their employees so that the health care is covered. This in a way is costing more money in the end. If individuals are still unable to afford the health insurance they will now have to pay a fee. Insurance is then increased because insurance agencies have to pay a fee for sick people. While the CHIP is a positive thing it is also under Federal and State funding which can cost more than it is actually worth. If a company in 2015 has more than 50 full time employees then they must provide health insurance for them whether they can afford it or not. This is probably going to increase the unemployment rate because of how many people will be laid off because of it. Even though the health care is available to young people until they are 26, they are not the ones that need health care the most. Because of this, older people are losing their rights to health care based on their age. The main focus of this health care is making sure Americans are covered. It is actually costing more as a result and it will not be long before the money runs out.

The ACA as “The Fixer” Click video to play.

Work cited Gross, Lexy. “Shutdown, Affordable Care Act Hit Students”. The News.org. p 04 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013 <http://thenews.org/2013/10/04/shutdown-affordable-care-act-hit-students/> Muddaraj, Rekha. “Many College Students Unaware”. KHOU.com. p 02 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013 <http://www.khou.com/news/health/Many-college-students-unaware-of-insurance-options-under-Affordable-Care-Act--226217161.html> Sand, Dana. “Will college students use Affordable Care Act insurance?”. USA Today. P 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013 <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/26/college-students-affordable-care-act/2877193/> “Young Adults and the Affordable Care Act: Protecting Young Adults and Eliminating Burdens on Businesses and Families”. White House.gov, p N/A. Web. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/qa_young_adults_may.pdf>