Boomers Stand to Benefit
Most from Health-Care Act
Hit hardest by
unemployment, shrinking nest eggs and rising health care costs, the Baby Boom
generation will be the main beneficiaries of the Affordable Care Act, according
to experts.
With the presidential election and Supreme Court decision behind us,
the federal government is moving forward with the Affordable Care Act.
Baby Boomers stand to gain the most.
Since the recession, Boomers
have been hard hit by unemployment, shrinking nest eggs and rising
health care costs. During those years, about 8.6 million Boomers were
without health insurance, according to a special 2009 report by
Commonwealth Fund.
As the Boomer generation approaches retirement,
many hope that the health care law will fill the void. "It is a game
changer," says Ron Fontanetta, a health care group practice leader at
Towers Watson. "It will provide health care access to pre-65 retirees in
a very significant way."
Retirees who have not reached age 65 are
more at risk -- they don't qualify for Medicaid, and if their former
employers don't offer retiree health benefits, they will not have a
group discount.
Also, it doesn't take much for a health insurance
company to say that they have a pre-existing condition and deny them
coverage, says Paul Fronstin, head of health benefits research at EBRI.
Even if Boomer retirees can get a private health insurance plan, it will
be very costly.
Based on their age alone, Boomers have to pay
prices that are five to seven times higher than younger Americans,
according to AARP. But if early retirees can wait until the ACA takes
effect, it will change the playing field, says Fronstin.
--
Beginning in 2014, the law is supposed to prevent insurers from denying
coverage to those who have a pre-existing condition. On Nov. 20, the
Obama administration said that it was moving forward to implement
provisions to ban discrimination and protect consumers from possible
insurance abuses.
--The ACA also will do away with lifetime and
annual dollar limits on benefits, and it will limit the age rating so
that a Boomer can only pay three times as much as younger person.
--Health insurance will not necessarily be less costly.
It will be operated by state health insurance exchanges, which will
offer a competitive private health insurance market that should provide
one-stop shopping.
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http://www.cnbc.com/id/100343188/
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