Have you heard the term “Obamacare”? My guess is that every American has. You may have used it yourself when talking about the new types of insurance plans available to people as of 2013. “Obamacare” actually refers to the Affordable Care Act which is a health care reform law that was signed by President Barack Obama in 2010. Some of the new requirements for heath insurance plans were guaranteeing coverage for preexisting conditions and charging based only on age and tobacco use rather than health status.

A major change that currently affects over 9 million people was the creation of a tax credit that can be applied to the cost of health insurance. This credit is called the Advance Premium Tax Credit which means that you can claim the credit at the end of the year on your taxes, or you can disperse the credit throughout the year and reduce your monthly health insurance premium.