Insurance Basics: Home
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 makes it easier for many Americans to get health insurance. It also expands the services that health plans need to cover.
Thanks to a law passed in the spring of 2020, most Americans can be tested for COVID-19 for free. But that law didn’t make treatment for the virus free. Medical services for COVID-19 can be costly and sometimes run into tens of thousands of dollars. Whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19, you can take steps now to understand your protections under the law and manage the costs of your treatment.
Your plan contracts with a wide range of doctors and other practitioners, as well as hospitals, labs, radiology facilities, pharmacies and other providers. These are the providers in your “network”. Each of these providers has agreed to take your plan´s contracted rate as payment in full for services.
Whatever age you are when you retire, you have health insurance options.
A medical home is a type of doctor´s practice that uses a team to focus on the “whole person”. It is sometimes called a patient-centered medical home (PCMH).
Health insurance is important. It protects you against what can be the very high costs of healthcare. But, to get health insurance, you need to enroll, or sign up. And, in most cases, you can’t enroll in a health plan any time you want. You have to do it during certain times.