The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, will take effect January 1, 2014.

Those who currently do not have health insurance or are looking to compare health insurance policies will be able to starting October 1st by using the marketplace at www.healthcare.gov.

Deb Andres, Geary County Research and Extensions Agent, has been fielding questions and concerns about the A.C.A and said one of the most important things people need to know about it is,”Whether you agree with the legislation or not its very important that we all have the factual information so we can make wise decisions about our healthcare insurance and our healthcare coverage.”

Those who are not insured by January 1,2014 will be fined or will be required to pay an additional tax at the time that they file their taxes in April, 2014. “For those who are not insured in the 2014 year, that penalty will take place by April when they do their taxes the following year in 2015.”

Andres is currently completing training to begin offering Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas. The program offers older Kansans an opportunity to talk to Andres about questions they may have regarding Medicare and other insurance issues. She is expecting to finish the training by the end of September.