Q: I’m confused about the Affordable Care Act.
Will I lose my health insurance from work? What are the benefits?
CHARLOTTE W., INDIANAPOLIS
A: We won't know all the benefits until 2014 — if then — when the law goes into full effect. But we'll try to answer your questions.
Your employer has always been and is still able to change coverage at will; but if you are covered now, you most likely will be insured in 2014. If your work-provided insurance ends, you’ll be required to buy individual insurance, but you won’t have to pay if you have religious objections or cannot afford it. In order to control the cost of premiums, by 2014, every state will have an insurance exchange so consumers can shop for their best plan and rates. Here are some other benefits:
• Insurance can’t be canceled once you’re sick. And kids with pre-existing conditions can’t be denied coverage (as of 2014 that covers adults, too).
• Kids can stay on their folks’ plan until they’re 26.
• If your insurance provider spends less than 80 percent to 85 percent of your premium dollars on medical care, you’ll get a rebate from the insurance company.
• There’s no cost for preventive services, like cholesterol tests and mammograms.
• While we wait to see how it shakes out, one thing we know is prevention reduces health-care costs.
Stand up. Turn off the tube and get moving; aim for at least 30 minutes or more of daily activity. Lighten up. Fill your diet with 100 percent whole grains, fruits, veggies, fish and lean protein. Look up. Practice optimism, altruism and volunteerism. How’s that for a policy that costs you next to nothing and pays mega-benefits?
The You Docs — Mehmet Oz, host of “The Dr. Oz Show” and Mike Roizen of Cleveland Clinic — are authors of “YOU: Losing Weight.” A King Features syndicate.
