Will Boomers Gain Most from Health Care Law?

Progressive changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) slated for 2014 look to benefit baby boomers more so than any other age group, reports USA Today. 

The recession has victimized boomers the most, USA Today suggests, as retirement “nest egg” funds continue to shrink as health care costs rise, not to mention increases in unemployment for the aging demographic.  

But as the federal government moves forward with upcoming changes to the ACA, boomers might begin to see some turnaround in their health care benefits, largely by way of less discrimination in age and payment.

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USA Today writes:

Based on their age alone, Boomers have to pay prices that are five to seven times higher than younger Americans, according to AARP. But if early retirees can wait  until the ACA takes effect, it will change the playing field…

Beginning in 2014, the law is supposed to prevent insurers from denying coverage to those who have a pre-existing condition. On Nov. 20, the Obama administration said that it was moving forward to implement provisions to ban discrimination and protect consumers fro possible insurance abuses .

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The ACA also will do away with lifetime and annual dollar limits on benefits, and it will limit the age rating so that a Boomer can only pay three times as much as a younger person. 

Changes to the ACA could even spark further changes, suggests USA Today, such as Boomers receiving a fixed amount of money from employers as a form of health benefit, called a premium reimbursement. Retirees could then use this money to choose insurance at their state exchange marketplace, writes USA Today.

Read the full USA Today article here. 

Written by Jason Oliva