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Acupuncture & “Obama Care”
While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), aka: “Obama Care” has had its ups and downs in the media, the bottom line is that it is now the law of the land. As of January 1, 2014 all the major provisions have gone into effect and uninsured persons had until March 31st to enroll (unless another extension was approved). The online enrollment glitches have been fixed (never a problem here in California). Originally proposed as a Republican plan to forestall a single payer plan by enrolling everyone in private health insurance plans (think “Romney Care” in Massachusetts), it became tagged “Obama Care” in an attempt to discredit it. And while many providers and patients alike would prefer a single payer system (think Medi-Care for all), the PPACA does represent a move forward in covering more Americans with better coverage at a more reasonable price.
One advantage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is that according to Section 5101: “All licensed health care professionals (acupuncturists included) are recognized as part of the “health care work force” and as such are covered by the PPACA. This in turn should provide more opportunity for more Americans to take advantage of Chinese medicine as part of their health care over all. Having said this I have yet to see a huge increase in insured patients flocking to my door. However, I expect as more and more people enroll, they will discover that they have this option and will begin to take advantage of it. As always I encourage patients with any kind of insurance to check their policy and call the 800 number, if need to be, to verify the exact nature of their benefits including deductibles, co-pays and any limits that may apply.
Here in California the web-site to enroll is “CoveredCA.com”. Once logged on you are asked to enter basic information such as age, zip code, number of people in your household and household income. You will then be able to compare plans from different companies including Blue Cross, Blue Shield and Kaiser and determine if you qualify for a subsidy. Typically you can choose from a Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum Plan. The more you pay monthly the lower your co-pays and deductibles. Generall speaking, young people and people with low over all usage of the health care system will have the lowest premiums with the Bronze or Silver plans. Persons with frequent doctor visits and who take multiple prescriptions will probable be better served by a Gold or Platinum Plan.
I encourage everyone to review their health care coverage and options on an annual basis, typically early in the year when many insurance companies make changes in the fine print to their plans. One of the benefits of Obama Care is that all companies are required to compare their plans with comparable plans (on the CoveredCA.com web-site) and are required to use language that is easier to understand.
I’m interested in hearing your experiences, good, bad or otherwise.
© 2003–2014 Larry Forsberg. All rights reserved.
Articles posted on this Web site are for personal use only and remain the property of Larry Forsberg, L.Ac.
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