Affordable Care Act – Individual Rights & Responsibilities

Course Description:

By changing many of the rules traditionally applicable to health insurance and imposing healthcare related requirements on virtually every individual, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is likely to affect virtually every person in the United States in some way.

The law imposes various tax increases in order to generate revenue and uses a carrot and stick approach to ensure compliance with its provisions by offering tax credits for compliance and imposing tax penalties for non-compliance. This course will review the principle provisions of the law affecting individuals and will consider the coverage-related provisions of the PPACA addressing plan grandfathering pursuant to which health coverage in force at the time of the law's passage may be continued, the prohibition of pre-existing condition exclusions, the proscription of lifetime and annual benefit limits, the limitation of health coverage recessions, the requirement for certain patient protections, the general requirement for universal health care coverage, and the requirement that plans covering children extend child coverage until age 26. The course will also review and consider various personal income tax changes affecting taxpayers; and the tax credits and tax penalties authorized under the law to help enforce the requirement that individuals maintain minimum essential coverage.  

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• List the principal healthcare provisions of the PPACA affecting individuals
• Identify those individuals who may be exempt from the individual mandate
• Calculate the tax credits and tax penalties designed to help ensure that individuals meet the requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage