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Feedback: What 'Obamacare' Means For You

Story Published: Mar 1, 2013 at 4:40 PM EDT

Story Updated: Mar 1, 2013 at 7:18 PM EDT

"What is affordable and who's defining that?"

Charlie Merrick's question was one of many asked during a meeting in Watertown about the Affordable Health Care Act.

So-called "Obamacare" takes effect January 1, 2014, with enrollment opening this October.

While we've heard about "Obamacare" for a few years now, people are still searching for answers about it.

"It was a law that was passed very quickly without discussion of what was really in the bill," said Merrick, who was in attendance at the Watertown meeting.

So what does "Obamacare" mean for you?

Well, if you have insurance already, officials say things shouldn't change much.

"If you have insurance through your employer, and you like it, you're going to be able  to keep it. People are not going to lose their insurance," said Steve Wood, Community Health Coordinator at AIDS Community Resources.

If you don't have insurance now, you'll have options with different pricing plans - basic programs running close to $300 a month.

"Just depending on what your needs are; how big your family is, things like that. So access to insurance is going to open up widely," said Wood.

Medicaid guidelines are changing, too.

Anyone unemployed or making less than $15,000 a year will be eligible for coverage.

And the million, or billion dollar question - who's going to pay for all of this?

"New cost saving measures with Medicare, fraud detections, things like that," said Wood.

Some answers, maybe more questions, but it's only a matter of time before "Obamacare" becomes reality.

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Saturday, May 18, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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