Med Page Today ^ | 5/29/2012 | Emily P. Walker
More than half of the people who had individual health insurance in 2010 were enrolled in plans that wouldn't pass muster under new standards set up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), researchers found.
So in 2014, most people with individual health coverage will see a marked boost in the quality of their insurance and the costs, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs.
That's the year in which states must establish (or defer to the federal government to set up) health insurance exchanges, as required by the ACA.
Insurance plans in the exchanges must meet certain quality and coverage benchmarks, but insurers (and employers) can choose to offer any of four types of plans:
bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, which provide increasing levels of coverage. A platinum plan would be one that covers 90% or more of an individual's healthcare expenses, while a bronze plan would have to cover at least 60%.
(Excerpt) Read more at medpagetoday.com ...
