Health care law - how it affects your medicare benefits, medicaid

MY EMPLOYER PROVIDES MY HEALTH COVERAGE. HOW DOES THE RULING AFFECT ME? If you like your employer's coverage, keep it and do nothing. If you find you can't afford it or you

don't like the benefits, in 2014 you'll be able to buy coverage through your state's health insurance exchange, an online marketplace where companies compete for consumers. If

you have a low to middle income, you may be eligible for a subsidy to help with the cost. For example, an individual with income of $44,680 now would qualify for a refundable tax credit to

purchase insurance on the exchange. WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T BUY HEALTH INSURANCE? COULD I GO TO JAIL? Most taxpayers who do not have health insurance by Jan. 1, 2014, will be required

to pay a special tax on their returns. If you have Medicare, Medicaid or insurance through your job, you have insurance. Exempt from the tax are people for whom insurance would cost more

than 8 percent of their 2014 income and a few other groups. The annual tax in 2014 is the greater of either 1 percent of income or $95. The amount will increase annually in later years.

Jail? No, there is no criminal enforcement. But you could lose all or part of a tax refund. WILL I BE ABLE TO GET HEALTH CARE THROUGH MEDICAID? It depends. The nation's health program

for low-income people is a joint federal-state program, with states setting the eligibility rules. The Affordable Care Act called for every state to expand Medicaid to low-income adults

under 65 starting in 2014. An individual with income up to $15,415 and a family of three with $26,344 in 2012 would meet income guidelines. The law was expected to bring 16 million uninsured

into Medicaid. But the Supreme Court ruled that states may opt out of the expansion. About a dozen governors have said they won't expand Medicaid or are weighing that course of action.

Check with your state Medicaid office. I'M UNINSURED AND DON'T QUALIFY FOR MEDICARE OR MEDICAID. HOW CAN I GET HEALTH INSURANCE? Starting in 2014, you'll be able to shop for

insurance on your state's health insurance exchange. Even if your income is too high for Medicaid, you may be eligible for a refundable tax credit to help pay the premiums. HOW WILL

PROVISIONS COMING IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS AFFECT ME? In 2014, you'll be able to find insurance through a health insurance exchange in your state. Even members of Congress will get their

health insurance on the exchanges. If states fail to set up exchanges, the federal government will step in. If you're one of the 129 million Americans with a preexisting condition, you

no longer will be charged more, be denied benefits or be denied coverage. Insurance companies won't be able to charge women higher premiums than men.