Tag Archives: Affordable Care Act

May 2 2015

Emergency Department for Routine Care?

A new study, published in March 2015 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, shows that the annual rate of emergency department visits by young adults age 19-25 decreased by 1.4 percent in 2011.  This represents 191,000 fewer emergency department visits by young people in this age group.

For this study, currently the most extensive analysis of its kind, researchers examined more than 17 million emergency department visits between 2007 and 2011 from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Hospital Cost and Utilization Project.

The Affordable Care Act requires health plans that offer coverage to allow young adults to stay on their parents’ plan until age 26.  This has allowed young adults to seek care in the most appropriate setting, reserving costly emergency department use for real emergencies.

For additional information, click here.

Teaching Suggestions

  • Ask students what else can be done to reduce the high cost of healthcare.
  • What can students do to reduce their own personal healthcare costs?

Discussion Questions

  1. What are several reasons for the rising healthcare expenditures?
  2. Has the Affordable Care Act reduced the costs of healthcare?
Feb 28 2015

Your 2015 Tax Return and the Health Care Law

Certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act will probably affect your federal income tax return when you file this year.  The law requires that you and each member of your family have qualifying health insurance coverage for each month of the year, qualify for an exemption from the coverage requirement, or make an individual shared responsibility payment when filing your federal income tax return.

Most taxpayers will simply check a box on the tax return to indicate that each member of their family had qualifying health coverage for the whole year.  Qualifying health insurance includes coverage for most, but not all, types of health care coverage plans.  If you bought coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you should receive Form 1095A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement from your Marketplace by early February.

For more information, Click Here.

Teaching Suggestions

  • Ask students to search the Internet to gather more information about the new IRS requirements and the Affordable Care Act.
  • What are provisions that might affect an individual and their families?

Discussion Questions

  1. What are the reporting requirements when you file your federal income tax return this year?
  2. How can you determine if you are eligible for an exemption?
  3. What should you do if you are expecting to receive 1095A and you don’t receive it by early February.