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Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner
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How the new health care law affects you

 

Health reform was signed into law on March 23, 2010 and while most of the new law takes effect in 2014, some significant reforms have already happened.

Which new protections you get depends on how you get your insurance and when you or your employer enrolled in your plan.

Click on the boxes below to see how it works:

Do you buy your own health insurance?


Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, your individual plan cannot:

  • Charge out-of-pocket costs for preventive services.*
  • Cap lifetime benefits. (Caps of $1 million or $2 million are now common).*
  • Cancel or rescind a policy, except in the case of fraud.
  • Refuse to cover a child's pre-existing condition.*
  • And young adults may be covered on their parents' plan until the age of 26, unless they get a job with health insurance.


* If you enrolled in your individual plan before March 23, 2010, your plan is grandfathered and isn't required to include these benefits.

 
Do you get health insurance from your employer?

After Sept. 23, 2010, when your plan renews it cannot:

  • Charge out-of-pocket costs for preventive services.*
  • Cap Lifetime benefits. (Caps of $1 million or $2 million are now common).
  • Cancel or rescind a policy, except in the case of fraud or misrepresentation.
  • Refuse to cover a child's pre-existing conditions.
  • And young adults may be covered on their parents' plan until the age of 26, unless they get a job with health insurance.


* If your employer enrolled in its plan before March 23, 2010, your plan is grandfathered and isn't required to include these benefits

 

 

Helpful links

 

 

 

 





Updated 11/08/2011

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Need more help? Call our FREE Insurance Consumer Hotline at 1-800-562-6900
or Email us at cap@oic.wa.gov.