Understanding health insurance and your options will get easier, thanks to a little-known part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Starting this year, health insurance companies and employers must provide information about your insurance policy in a way that is clear and easy to understand by anyone.
In Indiana, about 50 percent of African-Americans ages 18 to 64 have health care coverage, according to a 2010 CDC survey.
Clear summaries of coverage for treating cancer or managing diabetes and other health conditions will help you better understand what your health care plan actually covers. It will also allow you to compare the costs and benefits of several plans.
Jacqueline Waddell, 59, of Indianapolis didn’t pay much attention to the fine print in her health insurance policy when she worked for a major health organization. But when the company closed, she suddenly had to find new coverage – and to understand what she was buying.
“I really don’t understand the language on any insurance policy aside from my own personal coverage and that is still foggy to say the least,” she said.
The new law aims to help.
To start, health care coverage summaries will be shorter. Instead of several pages of information with hard-to-understand words and tiny type size, insurance companies and providers will have to clearly spell out what a person’s financial responsibility is and use easy-to-understand charts to compare coverage levels.
They’ll also explain terms such as “deductible” and “copay.” All health care companies must use the same terms, so consumers know they are making accurate comparisons.
For more information about health care reform or to compare health care plans in Indiana, visit: HealthCare.gov.
