If you’ve been “out of the loop” for awhile with Arizona health insurance or you never had to purchase your own plan, then you may not be expecting some of the preventive care benefits now available.  Even the least expensive high-deductible health plans are now required by law to provide a certain level of preventive care coverage.  Arizona health insurance issues may overshadow this news for some residents, particularly the growing number of uninsured, but these new healthcare provisions are made by the federal government.

Despite growing concern over the state of Arizona health insurance, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) has helped a lot of people get coverage who might have otherwise been excluded.  With Republican political candidates threatening to overturn this law, there is no guarantee that these benefits will remain in effect.  Here is a summary of how they will impact the primary provisions of Arizona health insurance:

• The law provides that coverage will be available to anyone, regardless of their age, gender, geographic location or any pre-existing health conditions.  The first part of this plan, which guarantees insurance for children, went into effect in 2010, but many parts of the plan are being phased in gradually.
• More families will become eligible for Medicaid assistance than ever, because it will now include incomes that are up to 133 percent of the poverty level.
• Preventive care benefits are now included in every private health insurance plan.  These include 100 percent coverage for doctors’ office visits, annual mammograms and OB/Gyn appointments, well child care and more. 
•  The new law will impose minimum standards for health insurance companies and remove any annual and lifetime coverage limits
• Enrollment into CHIP and Medicaid is simplified with improvements to both programs.

Eventually, mandates for the purchase of health insurance will go into effect and people will become eligible for health insurance subsidies.  Those who choose not to purchase healthcare will be fined.  These are two highly contentious issues that are being discussed at high levels of Arizona health insurance companies.  It remains to be seen how these new laws will impact the average citizen, but it is also possible that these laws could be overturned. 

To learn more about the pros and cons of healthcare reform, and get the latest information about Arizona health insurance, contact a professional health insurance broker.