A new Commonwealth Fund issue brief finds that the Affordable Care Act will help more than 18 million men and women ages 50 to 64 gain access to affordable health insurance with comprehensive benefits and strong financial protections. Beginning in 2014, 3.3 million of those currently uninsured and with incomes under $29,000 for a family of four will gain Medicaid coverage; 3.5 million with incomes up to $88,000 for a family of four can purchase subsidized private coverage through the new health insurance exchanges; and 1.4 million in higher income brackets will gain new coverage with consumer protections.
In addition, an estimated 9.7 million older adults who have health insurance—but pay such high out-of-pocket costs relative to their income that they are effectively underinsured—will gain improved coverage through the new essential-benefit standards, limits on out-of-pocket spending, and elimination of lifetime benefit limits.
Join a webinar cosponsored by AARP and Women in Government on Thursday, Jan. 6, at 2 p.m., E.T. Sara Collins and coauthor Michelle M. Doty, Ph.D., Commonwealth Fund assistant vice president and director of survey research, will be joined by Richard G. Frank, Ph.D., U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy, and John Rother, J.D., Executive Vice President of Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs at AARP, for a discussion of the unique problems facing men and women between 50 and 64 and how the Affordable Care Act will benefit them. To register, go to https://cc.readytalk.com/r/afbjui0r2gan.