The 2016 Open Enrollment period for ‘ObamaCare’ has been set from November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016. It has already been three years since the so-called ‘Obama Care’ was implemented.
Although it has been implemented in earnest, there are still some people who are still not sure exactly what Obamacare is even after two years have passed. It is true that it is quite difficult for ordinary people, other than those who have seriously searched or studied data about Obamacare and American health insurance, to understand Obamacare properly. The reason for this is not only because the US medical insurance system is complicated, but also because the actual content of Obamacare is far from what the general public expects. Let’s take a look at what ObamaCare really is.
‘Obama Care’ is the slogan of ‘all-national health insurance’ to overcome the problem that there are many people who do not have health insurance. The name ‘ObamaCare’ is just a nickname given because it is medical insurance that is enforced by a decree proposed by President Obama. But now, this nickname is more widely used and familiar to us than the official name. The official name is ‘Affordable Care Act‘. If you look at the meaning of this word, it means that it shows the will of the Obama administration to make it possible for anyone to join because it is financially cheap. In order for more people to purchase medical insurance, the government provides subsidies to those who are financially deprived to help them. This is the basic goal of Obamacare. Therefore, Obamacare is not a health insurance plan, but rather the implementation of a new law that reforms American health insurance as a whole.
After ObamaCare came into effect, all health insurance in the United States came under the control of ObamaCare, or ‘Affordable Care Act’. Since 2014, when Obamacare was implemented, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP (eg Peachcare in Georgia), work health insurance, and private health insurance are the basic framework of health insurance implemented in the United States. It can be said that the overall insurance is Obamacare in a broad sense. However, Obamacare, in the narrow sense we often refer to, can be said to refer to private health insurance. In other words, it refers to health insurance that people who are not covered by Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, or work health insurance must purchase. Obamacare in this narrow sense can be further divided into two categories: those who enroll with subsidies from the government, and those that do not receive government subsidies and pay the full cost themselves. In order to receive government subsidies, you can only get subsidies through a system called Marketplace, and you cannot receive subsidies if you sign up directly with an insurance company. Some people call it ‘Obama Care’ when they see signing up through a system called Marketplace, while others call it ‘general health insurance’. It will be Obamacare in the narrowest sense.
Of the Obamacare scopes described above, it can be said that private health insurance is the most controlled by Obamacare. After Obamacare is implemented, even private health insurance that is purchased directly from an insurance company without going through the marketplace must follow the rules set by Overcare. For example, unless there is a special exception, subscription/change is possible within the Open Enrollment period, and the insurance company must unconditionally enroll the insured regardless of the presence or absence of an existing disease. For reference, before Obamacare, individuals could always sign up, but insurance companies could avoid people with pre-existing diseases.
In conclusion, Obamacare can be interpreted differently depending on the scope it refers to, but it can be understood that all health insurance in the United States is controlled by Obamacare.