Health Reform (Affordable Care Act) will have a major impact on most Connecticut residents. The mandatory changes will be taking place in Connecticut on January 1st, 2014. How will health reform effect you? It mostly depends on how you access health care. Those on Individual health plans will have major changes while people on large employer plans may not notice much change.
Health Exchange- This term is widely used when describing Health Reform. The Health Exchange is a place where individuals (There will be a group/company exchange as well) can go to find a health care plan. The plans in the exchange will all be similar from a benefits standpoint and companies will need to meet minimum benefit and pricing standards to have an offering. There is a link below which provides more information on the Exchange. There is very little information available on the group exchange.( Called SHOPs -Small Business Health Options Programs) Small groups will be eligible for the premium credit through the group exchange only.
Each state has decided if they will administer the new program on their own or use the Federal Government to do it. The initial thought in congress was that most states would be running their own Exchange which turned out to not be the case As it stands today, 50% of the states have opted to have the federal government run the Exchange.
We have broken down the changes into categories below with a summary of changes for each group effected. Click on the links to learn more about each section. If you have additional questions, you may call our office or send me an email any time. Emails may go to Edward@Croweandassociates.com
CATEGORIES- CLICK BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON TOPICS
Health Reform for Individuals and Families Connecticut
Health Reform for Small Groups Connecticut
Health Reform for Large Groups Connecticut