In my previous post (Government Shutdown vs. Obamacare), I mentioned that I was glad that the ACA was passed, and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court for very personal reasons. Last month, I finally found a great job, with less great benefits. After 5 months of unemployment (well, technically 4 months of underemployment followed by 1 month of unemployment), I was just thankful to have an income again, and did not take any real consideration into what not having a good set of benefits would entail.
As it turns out, being a 25 1/2 year old on your parents' insurance is an awesome thing, until you are (almost) kicked off of it, thanks to insurance company policies. You see, when I got my job, I was hired through a temp agency, due to funding reasons of some sort. Therefore, I was eligible for the Health, Dental, Vision, and Life insurance policies through the temp agency. However, they have the bare minimum of coverage to help minimize costs for their employees.
Now, you must be thinking "Wait! The Affordable Care Act will fix that-- they have to have a certain minimum to be in compliance," right? Wrong. Apparently, for whatever reason, the temp agency and their health insurance policy is exempt from the provisions of the ACA until Jan 1... of 2015. Therefore, the insurance coverage was not required to cover pre-existing conditions. Including my super-awesome-fun-time pre-existing condition that is Crohn's Disease, at least for the first 180 days (6 months) of coverage.
I looked into it further with the temp agency, and they referred me to an insurance broker, who referred me to Covered California (California's online marketplace similar to HealthCare.gov). However, this is where it gets tricky. Covered California's coverage begins on Jan 1, 2014 (just 1 month away!). Unfortunately, under the policies of my current insurance (my parents' insurance), I was supposed to be kicked-off within 30 days of being hired by a company that offers health insurance. Since my 1st day was on Nov 1st, I would be ineligible after Nov 30th.
If you didn't follow that, that means that my current insurance would expire on November 30th, and a new plan under Covered California would not begin until January 1st. That leaves 31 days (the entire month of December) for me to go without health insurance. If I were a normal, mostly healthy person, that would not really have been much of an issue. However, I am not... and I generally end up in a doctor's office, lab, or hospital at least 1 time every month or maybe 2 if I am lucky. Additionally, I had several routine check-ups and tests scheduled for December.
So I had 3 options:
1) Lie to the benefits people, and pretend I didn't have coverage options (not a super great choice, as my parents' insurance policy could be cancelled & lying is generally frowned upon...)
2) Quit my job & restart my unemployment (not a great choice either, seeing as I am essentially broke without my steady, weekly paycheck)
3) Get married to my fiance now instead of in 5 months, and hop on his insurance (not a bad choice, but I'd rather go-ahead with the wedding I have been planning for about a year now in May than have a "shotgun"-style wedding right now just to have health insurance)
Thankfully, my parents' decided to check in with their benefits guru, who just informed us that under the new provisions of the ACA (a.k.a. Obamacare), I am allowed to continue my health insurance coverage through my parents' plan through my 26th birthday, regardless of my employment status or benefits eligibility!
Long story short, I am extremely thankful for the Affordable Care Act, not just for the reasons stated in my previous post, but because those reasons will continue to be relevant for me.
Thanks to Mr. President, the Democratic-run Congress of 2010, and those 5 Supreme Court justices who upheld the law, I continue to have health insurance, with no lapse in coverage. The website may be flawed, many Americans will see their insurance premiums rise, but overall, it is helping the individuals like myself. And I can be thankful for that. :)
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