With certain parts of the Affordable Care Act guaranteed to
have an impact on our clients’ finances, we thought it would be a good idea to
give you a picture of what this might look like for the state of Texas, the
Financial Coaching program, and our clients.
What does the
Affordable Care Act do? With the passing of the ACA come multiple provisions
that will have a direct impact on all Texans. On January 1st, 2014, there goes into effect an individual mandate, stating that all citizens must be covered by some sort of health insurance. This
will happen nation-wide, as the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the individual
mandate was constitutional, serving the same function as a tax. This obviously cues a large shift in the state's health-care environment, since, as of 2013, over a quarter of all Texas
residents do not have health insurance, giving Texas the highest rate of
uninsured in the nation. To find out where Texas ranks on this and other
indicators of financial security, follow this link to see the CFED’s assets and opportunity
scorecard.
An optional clause of the ACA would then allow our state
legislature the decision to accept or reject a plan to expand Medicaid coverage.
This expansion would raise the income limits for pregnant women, infants, the
“medically needy,” and low-income adults under age 65. If the state decides to
accept expansion, nearly a million currently uninsured Texans will now fall
within the boundaries of Medicaid. If they refuse the expansion, the entirety
of our 6.2 million uninsured will be forced to either purchase a plan or pay a
fine. As of right now, it
appears that Texas will opt out of the Medicaid expansion proposal.
How will it affect
our clients? Unfortunately, the combination of the individual mandate
without Medicaid expansion will force many low-income Texas residents to take
on the added expense of health insurance. Follow this link to see who will and
will not need
to purchase insurance. As you might expect, this leaves out a healthy (pun
intended (but not very funny)) portion of our clients, primarily those who earn
too much to qualify for health insurance through public assistance, but who
still don’t earn enough to take on another bill. For these clients, the
long-term benefits of having insurance will butt heads with their need to
provide for day-to-day expenses. With the added burden of finding an affordable
plan, many of these low-income individuals will find themselves at odds with an
unfamiliar and complex subject that has the potential to strain their budgets.
What will we be able to
do for them? The Financial Coaching program will be finding ways to get
involved with the health initiatives that are already in action at Foundation
Communities. At our properties, we currently provide fitness and health
programs for both children and adults, as well as screening residents for SNAP
and Medicaid eligibility. We are hoping to reach beyond our properties and into the community through the Community Financial Center and the Financial Coaching program. We will do that in two ways:
- As you may know from experience, our clients often come in with crippling medical debt. We intend to provide further training to volunteers in regard to the rights, assistance, and strategies that our clients have in dealing with that debt.
- We also intend to prevent such a problem's inception by helping clients navigate their options in the foreign territory of health insurance. Foundation Communities will apply to be part of the Health Navigators program, which is part of the Affordable Care Act. This means that Health Navigators will be available at the CFC and other locations to help clients access in-person assistance and information about the available types of coverage, the best value for their money, and enrolling in the appropriate program.
