On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Maine health insurance Marketplace (Exchange) of ObamaCare opened. Despite the brouhaha, there are many people who have already benefited from parts of the law without their realizing it.

The law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed in March 2010, immediately began to change the rules for health insurance providers. Health insurance plans began accepting children with pre-existing conditions and young adults under 26 on their parents’ health insurance plan; were prohibited from placing lifetime limits on coverage and arbitrarily canceling coverage; began to cover certain preventive health services with no co-pays or deductibles, such as colonoscopy screening, Pap smears, mammograms, and flu shots; small business tax credit kicked in for businesses who provided health insurance for their employees; and, lastly, adults who were previously denied health insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions began to receive temporary coverage via an affordable high-risk pool.

In 2011, prescription drug discounts for seniors were introduced, the “doughnut hole” began to close and Medicare preventive services for seniors were provided without a co-pay. The “80/20 Rule” required insurers to use at least 80 cents out of every premium dollar to pay for medical claims, instead of overhead costs and profits. Finally, insurance companies were forced to publicly justify any rate increase of 10 percent or more before raising premiums.

In 2012, most plans began to cover additional preventive health services for women, such as breast cancer screenings. The doughnut hole for seniors’ prescription drug costs continued to close. Consumers were provided summaries about a health plan’s benefits and coverage.

While the six-month period (Oct. 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014) is the time frame for enrolling in a health insurance plan offered in Maine’s Marketplace, most Mainers will not be affected because they already have health insurance. Mainers who have health insurance through their employer and those covered by public insurance – Medicaid, Medicare, and military and veterans’ coverage – won’t be shopping for insurance in the Marketplace.

The Maine Bureau of Insurance has estimated that 5-8 percent of Maine residents (65,000 to 104,000 people) will sign up for insurance in the 2014 Maine Marketplace.

In the Marketplace, Mainers will find options and prices based on income, age, county of residence, subsidies and family size.

For more information, visit www.enroll207.org or www.healthcare.gov.

Maurie Hill is a resident of Standish and health-care professional.