Secret Benefit of the Affordable Care Act

<Updated 3January2014>
"Ready or Not, Here Comes Retirement"
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DAVE BERNARD   (Click here, read in full)
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Secret Benefit of the Affordable Care Act
Finally people are learning about the positive benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

Pre-existing Conditions, folks can now find health insurance with choices and lower costs.

Children under 26 can stay on a parent's health insurance plan.

Government subsidies for low income families to purchase health plans under the marketplace exchanges.

Wellness and preventive services including a number of essential health benefits.

Removing medical insurance caps and voiding insurance cancellations as soon as people start making claims and need the medical insurance benefits the most.

Progressive states have expanded Medicaid and their state's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Under Medicare Part D the drug benefits will be expanding closing the "donut hole" over a period of years.

Think about it, 49 Million family, friends, neighbors will now be able to apply for health care insurance.  That is 16% of the total population of the United States that for reasons not under their control either went without health care and fell through into the hole of desperation and emergency care at hospital emergency rooms or died for lack of needed medical care.   In order to make up for free emergency health care the hospitals had to pass the costs on to the paying patients, that is part of the higher hospital bills for everyone else.

That gets around to a little secret that is finally being known about the Affordable Care Act, "early retirement".

Lots of reasons people want to, or by necessity need to retire early.  (Before 65 and becoming eligible for Medicare)  Their personal health status or health history (pre-existing condition) totally eliminates the retirement option at an earlier age than 65.

Note:   Social Security offers an early retirement at 62.  It is a reduced monthly benefit but a real option for income starting at age 62. Yet there is a three year gap before qualifying for Medicare at age 65.  In other cases some companies offer retirement as early as 58, others have mandatory retirement at different ages depending on the type of employment.  Keep this in mind as we look at the new options that affordable health care insurance now offers.

Physically some of us just came to the point we could no longer continue in our jobs.  Some employment in fact forces people out of their jobs at certain ages.  If I am a welder, I am no longer able to lift the heavy metal to weld, I just can't climb those heights to do my job, what do I do?  Am I stuck in my job because my spouse has diabetes that requires expensive medication and no opportunity for health insurance?  Just maintaining ourselves requires that pay check.  

The Affordable Care Act provides a reasonable solution to consider early retirement, it opens a whole new option for people for whatever reason want to retire.

Lost your job at 58, limited benefits, lost health insurance, finally got the nest empty and could make it financially if it wasn't for the huge rock directly hanging over your head of no health insurance?  The choice, stay in the work force, take a low paying job until you can qualify for Medicare and pray that nothing new shows up on the medical front?  Thanks to the Affordable Care Act you really have another option.

Everyone can come up with different needs for early retirement, but President Obama through the Affordable Care Act has put an additional option on the table.  It provides for options for health insurance, guaranteed at any age, with potential premium subsidy.

Remember if you are on a limited income another benefit of the Act is qualifying for a government premium subsidy.  Better and wise choices for early retirement are just another benefit of Obamacare.....we can say that proudly!