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Spilygy T ym o o
December 11,2013
Page 7
Consignment Store
Answers to health care coverage questions
To learn more about the
op p o rtu n ities thro u g h the
A ffo rd ab le C are A ct and
Cover Oregon, visit the Warm
Springs clinic or the Warm
Springs Library. A t both lo
cations there are trained spe
cialists who can help answer
any questions, and also assist
in the health care coverage
sign-up process. Meanwhile,
here are some answers to fre
quently asked questions about
the health care law:
Q uestion: Are Indians re
quired to have health insur
ance after 2014?
Answ er: T he Affordable
Care A ct requires m ost indi
viduals to have health cover
age or pay a penalty to the
IRS— this is called the “indi
v idual m a n d a te .” N ativ e
Americans qualify for an ex
emption from the individual
mandate, but they m ust ap
ply for the exem ption and
provide documents to show
that they are eligible for ei
ther an exemption for mem
bers o f federally recognized
tribe; an d /o r a hardship ex
emption for people who are
eligible to receive services
from the Indian Health Ser
vice.
Q uestion: Is IHS cover
age going away under the Af
fordable Care Act?
M/Z.W6T.' N o. T h e IH S,
tribal and urban Indian health
programs will n o t be going
away.
Q u estion : W hat counts
as health coverage for pur
poses o f the individual man
date?
Answer: Generally, h ealth'
coverage includes employ-
based insurance, Medicaid,
Medicare, CHIP, Tricare and
certain other types o f cover
age. Health, coverage is also
referred to as minimum es
sential coverage. IHS is not
considered minimum essen
tial coverage; however, IHS
beneficiaries have access to
a hardship exemption to avoid
the tax penalty for not have
minimum essential Coverage.
VA-coverage varies for dif
ferent individuals, so veterans
should check with the VA rep
resentative to see if they have
minimum essential coverage.
Q uestion: I f Indians sign’
up for insurance, will they
lose their IHS access or cov
erage?
* Answer: No, a person does
n o t lose eligibility for IHS
services if they sign up for
Medicaid, Medicare, Market
place plans or other health
coverage.
Q u estion : Why do Indi
ans need health insurance cov
erage if Indians get services'
from the Indian Health Ser
vice, a tribal program, or an
urban Indian health program.
A nsw er: By enrolling in
health coverage through the
M arketplace, M edicaid, or
ChIP, you have better access
to services. T h e In d ia n
H ealth Service, tribal p ro
grams, or urban Indian pro
grams may not have enough
m oney to p ro v id e all th e
health care you need. You
clinic can bill, the insurance
com pany for the care they
provide you, w hich makes
m ore funding available for
health care in your commu
nity. You will help your tribe
save valuable resources that
can be used to provide care
to o th er m em bers o f your
community that may not be
eligible’ for o ther form s o f
coverage.
Q uestion: I f Indians en
roll in a M arketplace plan,
will they have to get their
health care from a clinic far
away from where they live?
Answer: You can continue
to use yo u r trib al o r IH S
clinic. Let .them know that
you have insurance so that
they can receive payment for
services they provide to you.
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108 SW D St., Madras
(next to Texaco)
G reat
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Vets - If
Cover Oregon is a marketplace
fo r Tribal communities to find health
insurance and financial help to pay fo r it.
Ask fo r free assistance
Name o f O rganization
Address Line 1
W ebsite A ddress
.J
you can think of it, We
can get it done! ~ Handyman services
Contact Anthony Davis Jr.
541-460-2537
“N o jo b too b ig or too sm a ll.”
M o re answers
Q u e s t io n :
W ill
there be a cost for tribal
members to enroll in a
health insurance plan?
Answer: W hen you
use the H ealth Insur
ance
M ark etp lace
website, you will find
■out if you qualify for
programs that pay all or
a portion o f the costs
o f h e a lth in surance.
Your tribe may be able
to help with any addi
tional costs.
Q u e s t io n : Is it
“double dipping” for
IHS or my tribal clinic
to receive funding from
Congress and also bill
my Marketplace insur
ance?
Answer: N o. C o n
gress included special
b enefits and p ro te c
tions in the Affordable
Care A ct intended to
encourage Indian par
ticipation in the new in
surance M arketplace.
Congress funds the In
dian health system at
only about half o f the
level o f need, -and ex
pects the IHS or tribal
programs to bill insur
ance plans. The fund
ing for Indian health
care comes from many
sources and is needed
to provide services for
everyone in tribal com
munities.
Q u e stio n : W hat is
the difference between
the- E x ch an g es and
Marketplace?
Answer: Exchanges
and the M arketplace
are the same thing. The
w o rd “E x ch an g e” is
used in Affordable Care
Art legislation and, regu
latio n s. T h e w o rd
“Marketplace” is used
by the federal govern
m ent in marketing and
ad v e rtisin g b ecau se
they think the public is
m ore likely to under
stan d it. S tate E x
changes have their own
nam es,
su ch < as
“CoverOregon.”
Question: What kind
o f d o c u m e n ts d o I
need to get enrolled in
a Marketplace plan?
A nswer: E veryone
needs a documents to
show he or she is a U.S.
citizen (birth certificate,
tribal enrollment card,
or voter ID.)
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