What started out as 2,000+ pages of health care reform has become 17,000+ pages of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The original 2,000 pages were signed into law on March 23, 2010, and were amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act on March 30, 2010. Since then, regulations and clarifications have added to the large piece of legislation leaving business owners and employees across the nation searching for health care answers. Fact, rumor, and speculation, however, are clouding the basic policies for which distributor owners will be held accountable; and with the Jan. 1, 2014 deadline approaching, there are still many more questions to be answered.
More commonly known as The Affordable Care Act (ACA), the original intentions of the law — as referenced in its introductory pages — are to lower cost, ensure quality, and provide affordable care to the nation. Under ACA, Medicare and Medicaid will be expanded and all citizens will be required to have health care insurance. This insurance can be provided via the employer or through the new exchanges being established. Disagreements between the State and Federal governments have spawned rumors about exemptions. According to the law, however, every state will have an exchange; the only question is whether the State or Federal government will run it. Options include State only, Federal only, or a hybrid marketplace known as a partnership exchange. The exchanges are scheduled to be open for enrollment by Oct. 1 of this year. Circumstances and regulation delays, however, have created an uncertainty as to how many exchanges will be ready for purchase by the deadline.