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Feds Expand Health Plans Without Pre-Existing Condition Coverage Protections

New regulation also lets skimpy insurance policies include an ‘age tax’

The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (ACA)

The ACA has become an integral part of the nation’s health care system, expanding access to affordable quality health care, guaranteeing coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions, limiting the “age tax” (how much more insurers can charge older people), lowering Medicare prescription drug costs, protecting the ability of seniors to live independently, and allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ coverage. Data shows that Americans age 50 to 64 who get health care coverage in the private insurance market, as well as millions of Medicare beneficiaries, have benefitted significantly from the ACA.


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ACA Insights

Law Improved Access to Care for Americans Ages 50-64

The law prompted a 47.4 percent drop in the uninsured rate across the country

ACA Requires Coverage for Preexisting Conditions

Without the protection, four out of 10 adults ages 50 to 64 could be denied health coverage

Prevents an Age Tax and Huge Premiums for Older Americans

Insurers can't charge older Americans more than three times the amount they charge a younger person

 

Federal Subsidies Critical for the Low-Income Population

Otherwise older adults with high medical expenses and chronic conditions would be unable to afford care

President Moves to Weaken Health Care Law

Two new decisions would lead to higher health costs for older and sicker Americans

Behind the Numbers

Sounding the Alarm on Medicaid Funding

Proposed cuts would limit access to health care for society’s most vulnerable

Inside the Medicare 'Doughnut Hole'

Closing the coverage gap protected millions of beneficiaries from high drug costs

Short-Term Health Plans Equal Higher Premiums

Proposed rules threaten to increase costs for older adults who rely on individual market coverage

ACA Helps People Pay Their Medical Bills

Still, disparities remain by gender, race and ethnicity, income, and health status

Short-term Plans Discriminate Against the Old and Sick

Congress should reject skimpy policies that could undermine coverage for many older Americans

Medicare Vouchers Would Impede Access to Care

The proposed system would reduce – not increase – options for beneficiaries

Flat Tax Credits Are Not the Answer

Replacing the ACA’s tax credits with a “flat” tax credit would substantially reduce their value

Better Care Reconciliation Act Defeated

The bill would have jeopardized care for older Americans and Medicare and Medicaid recipients

AARP Opposes the Gramm/Cassidy/Heller/Johnson Framework

The legislation would have triggered costs in the individual private insurance market to skyrocket

In the Courts

AARP Urges Court to Keep Health Law Intact

Court Strikes Down Effort to Limit Medicaid Expansion

AARP Urges Court to Keep Tax Credits in Place

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