Obamacare (a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act)
So for people in high school, I don’t think the medical school will make you know the ins and outs of Obamacare. The main reason being it’s THOUSANDS of pages long (with internal regulations yet to be written) and the law has yet to be fully implemented in practice – not just everyone (most) getting insurance which is the step we are at now, but also coming soon, attempting to lower the nation’s healthcare costs. Even many practicing doctors don’t know all the ins and outs so expecting an applicant to know is quite unreasonable. This is what has been implemented in terms of what affects patients:[list]
[]mandatory healthcare coverage, or you pay a fine if you don’t get it, on your IRS tax form.
[]no more denial of pre-existing conditions in order to get a health insurance plan (the way most insurance works [home, auto], i.e. you can’t buy home insurance, if your current house is currently on fire)
[]The Obamacare exchange – where everyone (if their employer doesn’t offer insurance) is able to go to this state/federal website, healthcare.gov, and sign up for health insurance.
[]If you’re under 26, you’re covered under you parent’s insurance - usually offered thru their employer.
[]no lifetime caps on how much medical coverage you can have by the insurance company (which can be difficult for those patients who have certain conditions that require very expensive care).
[]you can’t just be dropped from a health insurance plan, except for fraud or not paying your premiums: http://obamacarefacts.com/ban-on-rescission/
Links:
https://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/health/events/acaoverview.pdf
http://www.studentdoctor.net/2014/12/discussing-obamacare-in-your-med-school-interviews/
http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-explained/
http://useconomy.about.com/od/healthcarereform/a/Obamacare-Explained.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZkk6ueZt-U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Ilc5xK2_E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vju70I6qSKk