also known as Obamacare --

and what it means for you.

Say you've got private health insurance already.

Maybe you have it through your job or your parents.

Obamacare means you get a host of new benefits and protections.

For example, insurance companies are now required

to cover women's wellness visits, mammograms,

birth control for women, immunizations for kids --

all without charging you a penny more.

That means no extra copays or fees.

Young adults can now stay on their parents' plan

until they turn 26.

Insurance companies can't limit the amount of care

they'll cover over your lifetime.

Also, if your insurance company spends

more than 20 percent of your premium dollars on overhead --

stuff like CEO salaries, marketing,

administrative costs --

they have to send you a refund for the difference.

In January, that list of benefits gets even longer.

It will be illegal

to charge you higher premiums or refuse coverage

because you get sick or have been in the past.

Charging women more than men for the exact same coverage:

also illegal.

No more deciphering page after page of jargon-y paperwork

from your insurance company to determine

what they will or won't cover.

Instead, you'll get a short, plain-language summary

of your benefits and coverage.

Easy, right?

You can learn more at HealthCare.Gov.

Okay, what about the folks without health insurance

or people who buy coverage on their own?

Here's what Obamacare has for you:

a new, simple way

to buy affordable, high-quality health insurance.

Starting October 1st, you can go to HealthCare.Gov

and use the new health insurance marketplace

to see all of the health plans available in your area

and sign up for the one that fits your needs and your budget.

You can also find out if you're eligible to pay less

for private health insurance or whether you qualify

for other free or low-cost programs.

All the plans in the marketplace are required to cover a core set

of essential health benefits -- doctor's visits, emergency care,

prescriptions and lab tests, rehab for illness or injury,

mental health services;

they all come standard.

Plus, all those benefits and protections available to people

who already have insurance --

no-cost preventive care,

coverage for pre-existing conditions,

accountability for insurance companies --

you get all of that too.

You can apply for marketplace coverage four ways: online

at HealthCare.Gov, by mail, on the phone, or in person.

And open enrollment starts October 1st.

You can learn more right now by visiting HealthCare.Gov

or calling 1-800-318-2596.

So here's the bottom line.

Whether you need health coverage or you have it already,

the Affordable Care Act offers new rights and protections

that make coverage fair and easier to understand.