The Affordable Care Act promises to provide affordable health insurance to 30 million uninsured Americans. For the 350,000 UFT members and their families covered by city health insurance plans and the UFT Welfare Fund, the impact of the new legislation will be felt in new consumer protections and lower health costs.

Among the new protections and savings:

• Effective Jan. 1, health insurance plans cannot refuse coverage to anyone with a pre-existing health condition.
• Effective Jan. 1, there is no annual cap on any drug plans. (The Welfare Fund had already eliminated its high annual cap of $100,000 per family.)
• Starting this July, dependents up to age 26 may be covered in their parents’ plan — even if the young adult is offered coverage through an employer.

And there is more. Already the Affordable Care Act has cut the cost of brand-name drugs in half for those retired UFT members in the Medicare Part D drug plans.

Per-diem substitutes and others without health plan coverage will be able to access affordable health insurance as a result of the law. Those seeking health coverage can access the New York State health exchange information online at www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov.

There are concerns about taxes, which will be introduced in 2018, on insurers that provide high-cost or “Cadillac” health plans — with annual costs of $10,200 for an individual and $27,500 for a family. The UFT is keeping an eye on the possible impact that this change will have on existing premiums on New York City health plans, said UFT Welfare Fund Executive Director Arthur Pepper.

The current NYSUT Member Benefits Trust-endorsed Catastrophe Major Medical Insurance Plan (CMM I), which is closed to new enrollments, became a “self-insured” plan by the NYSUT Member Benefits Trust, as of Jan. 1. However, the NYSUT Member Benefits Trust is developing a new plan (CMM II), which will have benefits similar to what is available in the current program. The new plan will be offered later in 2014.

The benefits of the Affordable Care Act extend to Medicare, which now covers wellness visits and preventive care. The law puts in place mechanisms to encourage higher quality care at a lower cost — and penalizes the opposite. For example, hospitals that discharge patients inappropriately or have a high rate of readmissions face penalties.

Joe Baker, the president of the Medicare Rights Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, at his presentation at a recent meeting of the UFT Retired Teachers Chapter, said that there are two undersubscribed programs that seniors should explore: Medicare Savings, which pays for Medicare Part B premiums, and Extra Help, which pays almost all the cost of prescription drugs. The income cutoff for both programs is $55,000 a year. UFT members and their spouses are reimbursed in full for their Medicare Part B premiums.

The Medicare Rights Center, which is an excellent resource for Medicare-related questions, can be reached at 1-800-333-4114 or online at www.medicarerights.org.