How do you know if you qualify for ObamaCare?

Answer 1

Since ObamaCare (officially the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA) is NOT some sort of insurance policy, you don't "qualify" for it in the sense of getting direct coverage.

Rather, it's a piece of legislation that changes the existing healthcare programs that the country already runs, both private and public ones.

So, if you are a legal resident of the United States (that includes both citizens and all foreigners here on a residency visa, but NOT illegal alien immigrants), you qualify to be covered by the provisions of the bill.

Since most people (roughly 85% of everyone prior to 2014) get their healthcare insurance through either a public program (Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, etc.) or provided by their employer, if you are one of those people, you won't see much change.

If you don't have insurance, and your family makes less than the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in total income, everyone in the household now qualifies for FREE Medicaid insurance through the government.

In roughly half of the states, if your income is between 100 and 138% of the FPL, your state will enroll you in their Medicaid program for free, too. In the other states, well, your state government has decided to screw you. Sorry.

For those without any insurance and who don't qualify for the above Medicaid coverage (note, this does NOT include those who got screwed by their state, as above), you qualify to buy private healthcare insurance from a state-run Exchange (note that about 40% of the states have let the Federal government run theirs, but it works the same way). For those making between 139% and 400% of the FPL, they are entitled to a sliding amount of subsidy to buy this insurance. Also, if your employer does not provide insurance, they may also provide you with some level of subsidy to buy off the exchange.

And that, is the (not so) short saga of qualifying for ObamaCare.