Simple Tools to Help People Navigate the ACA

As the government rolls out the Affordable Care Act a lot of people are going to want to know how they will be affected and what, if anything, they should sign up for. They will need to make decisions regarding the level of care  they can afford and the benefits that they need. The non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation has decided to make the process as painless as possible by creating a simple introductory video. It provides an overview of the Act's provisions and explains the different ways people will be getting coverage. To create an estimate of their costs the video also links to a subsidy calculator.

The calculator estimates what individuals who purchase their own insurance through the new exchanges will get. It asks users to input age, income and number of dependents. For example, a 21-year old making $20,000 a year can enroll in the silver plan for about $85 a month or the bronze plan for about $42 a month.

In order to keep costs down it is particularly important that young people aged 18-35 sign up.  Sarah Kliff over at the Washington Post's Wonk Blog has been keeping us up to date on the White House's efforts to roll out the program smoothly.  If you want more information about where they are concentrating their efforts and the target demographics they are trying to reach see her recent post.