The ACA and Disability: What Changes Should You Expect?

In 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. This Act played a pivotal role in the healthcare industry— from self-insured individuals and businesses to healthcare providers and insurances. As a result of the Affordable Care Act, there were some major changes in healthcare, including:

• Improving health-care quality and efficiency
• More accessible health-care
• Anti-discriminatory enrollment due to pre-existing conditions and gender

While these changes and features of the new healthcare system are certainly beneficial to its users, just how does the Affordable Care Act affect your insurance if you are suffering from a disabling condition?

How the ACA Affects Your Disability Insurance

Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), insurance companies were permitted to drop you from your insurance plan that you had paid into or discriminate against a pre-existing condition and not allow you to sign up for health insurance. Not only are you now able to receive health insurance regardless of a pre-existing disabling medical condition, the Affordable Care Act  has also provided many new benefits for those suffering from a disability.

The Affordable Care Act also has some provisions for those enrolled in Disability Insurance programs, including:

“Complete “OnePI” Integrated Data Repository, requiring the Integrated Data Repository, maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to include, at a minimum, claims and payment data from certain programs, including the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance programs.

Establishes a 12- month Medicare Part B special enrollment period (SEP) for TRICARE beneficiaries who are entitled to Medicare Part A by virtue of entitlement to disability insurance benefits or End Stage Renal Disease benefits, but who have declined Medicare Part B.”

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Disability Insurance

Through the Affordable Care Act, those suffering from a disabling condition, no longer have to worry about whether they can have health insurance coverage. Health insurance companies are no longer permitted to discriminate against pre-existing medical conditions, including those suffering from a disabling medical condition. There are now many plans of coverage available for you too, and you don’t have to suffer in fear of future medical bill debt due to lack of health insurance coverage.