Individual Consumers

Individual consumers include American Indians and Alaska Natives who need access to health care. This person may receive health insurance from his employer, purchase insurance from an insurance company, enroll in Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP, or receive health services provided by an IHS, tribal, or urban clinic. This stakeholder group can be broken down further based on expected changes under health reform. These smaller groups include young adults, families, and tribal elders.

As an American Indian and Alaska Native individual, you may continue to access health care from the Indian Health Service or your Tribal clinic.  The Affordable Care Act offers you new choices and opportunities for Insurance. This insurance coverage will pay your local IHS or Tribal facility for healthcare that is provided to you. Increased funding helps our communities and our IHS and Tribal facilities to provide increased and better care.

Knowing what is in the Affordable Care Act can help you make smart health care decisions for you, your family and community. Some changes are happening now. Others are set to take place in 2014. Find out what is happening and what the law means for you and family.

Medicaid

  • Coming Soon: More Americans, including American Indians and Alaska Natives,  will have access to health coverage through Medicaid.

Medicare

  • Those in the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” get a 50 percent discount on name-brand prescription drugs and a 7 percent discount on generic prescription drugs.
  • Those in Medicare can get preventive services and screenings, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, at no cost to them.

Insurance

  • Young adults can now stay on their parent’s health plan up to age 26.
  • Insurance companies can’t deny health coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions.
  • Adults who have been uninsured for at least 6 months and have been denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition may now get coverage.
  • Insurance companies can’t place dollar limits on the health care they cover in your lifetime.
  • New health plans must offer preventive and screening services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, at no cost to the patient.
  • Coming Soon: Americans without health insurance will be able to buy it through state-based marketplaces called exchanges.