Working Families & Individuals and Health Insurance Exchange

Benefits to help families and individuals obtain and keep health insurance coverage:

2011: Pertaining to individual plans, plans cannot:

Charge out of pocket costs for preventive services*
Cap lifetime benefits
Cancel or rescind a policy, except in the case of fraud
Refuse to cover a child's pre-existing condition*
Young adults may be covered on a parent's insurance plan until the age of 26, regardless of student, marital, residency, support, or tax status, unless the dependent has health insurance available through an employer
Young adults may be covered on a parent's health insurance plan until the age of 26, regardless of marital, student, residency, or tax status; only qualify if insurance is not offered by employee

2014:

Plans cannot refuse to provide coverage to those with pre-existing conditions
Plans must accept every employer and individual who applies for coverage (although they may create special enrollment periods)
Plans cannot require individuals to take a health questionnaire or deny them coverage because of their health condition
Individuals and families with household incomes below 400% of the federal poverty level may be eligible for subsidies to help buy coverage from their state's health insurance exchange, only if their employer does not offer coverage
Income based caps on out-of-pocket medical expenses take effect
Medicaid assistance will increase to serve those 133% and below of the federal poverty level
Those under the age of 30 purchasing on their own from the exchange, will have the option of purchasing a catastrophic coverage plan, designed specifically for their age group

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