The Average Joe's Guide to Obamacare

So the Affordable Care Act, better known by its culturally popularized moniker Obamacare, is a subject of fierce contention these days. Consisting of an extremely long bill passed into law, the Affordable Care Act is a nearly comprehensive alteration to the way that a number of health related benefits and programs are going to operate here in the United States.

The question that a lot of people are asking is how this is going to affect them, and for the average joe, this is how.

We are going into a situation where holding adequate medical insurance is mandatory, under penalty of an additional tax which is actually a fine. This year the fine is very low, but it will actually increase to match and eventually exceed the cost of insuring yourself.
Workplaces will still provide health insurance for the majority of Americans, but the costs will change, and probably rise.

One of the big effects of the Affordable Care Act is the rating structure implemented for health insurance policies. There will be different metal ratings, such as bronze, silver, and gold, for the different tiers of insurance.

The last thing that I'm going to mention is that having a serious prior condition will not keep you from getting coverage under a health insurance policy. Now, the quality of coverage will vary from policy to policy, since there are currently plans that claim to cover a disease but don't do enough for their covered lives.

You'll be able to shop for insurance in an open marketplace both in person at a number of client-facing shops and online at your state's Health Insurance Exchange, or even another state's exchange if you want to get a different policy.

So, take this information and get going! Open Enrollment starts in November of 2014, and ends soon!