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Friday, March 29, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

Doing research on Affordable Care Act could benefit students who don't know their health insurance situation

With the Affordable Care Act effective as of Tuesday, some students and health care professionals are encouraging other students to research the information themselves and see how it will affect them.

HealthCare.gov is the official website for the health care changes, where people can plug in some personal information and see what they may qualify for.

The website is also where the health care marketplace is open, the new change that allows people to shop for their health care directly online.

“I strongly encourage students to go to the official website or call the 1-800 number, which is open for anyone who needs assistance with their application,” said Katherine Lindsey, assistant director for health administration at the Student Health Care Center. “The SHCC itself and our services will not necessarily change. This is primarily about getting Americans insured.”

If the act works as it is intended, there could be benefits for young adults.

Under the law, children remain on their parents’ health care plans until they are 26, according to HealthCare.gov.

“This is a major gain for students,” Lauren Nickoloff, a 20-year-old UF economics and political science junior, wrote in an email, “especially graduate or professional students, who have either a part-time job or no job and would otherwise not be able to have health insurance.”

Other changes, Lindsey said, include that insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage based on a pre-existing condition, there will no longer be a cap on payout claims, and the amount people can pay out of pocket will be more controlled, all starting in January.

Affordable Care Act Timeline

However, some UF students said they are sick of the Affordable Care Act, despite being in one of the demographics the changes may affect most.

Nick Eagle said although the health care plan looks good on paper, there are many problems that go with it.

Eagle, a 21-year-old UF economics and political science junior, wrote in an email that the plan is “a bill that sounds attractive to people, but ultimately is the largest entitlement program of our generation, which will only lead to out of control costs, ever-growing debt and endless regulations.”

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If students are interested in learning more, they can visit HealthCare.gov. There will also be an information session at 11 a.m. on Thursday outside of the infirmary, hosted by the Florida Public Interest Research Group.

A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/2/2013 under the headline "Obamacare could benefit young adults"

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