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There is a long road ahead for the implementation of the new health care reform law, and while progress has been made the journey has just begun. But what is there to look forward to four years down the road? A feature by Astrid Fiano on DOTmed.com shares the provisions that we can expect are in place by 2014, and we are sharing some of them with you.
As far as Medicare is concerned, an Independent Payment Advisory Board that will lower the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending will be put in place. The function of the Board will be to develop and recommend ways to reduce per capita growth rate should Medicare exceed the projected growth rate set forth annually by the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
An expansion of the eligibility for Medicare coverage will be expanded to include the non-elderly whose incomes are 133 percent of the poverty level or less.
In terms of prevention and wellness, employers are given the option to offer rewards to employees for participation in a wellness program. These rewards may include premium discounts, cost sharing waivers or other benefits that are up to 30 percent of the cost of coverage. The percentage may be increased to 50 percent of the cost of coverage, if deemed suitable.
Taxes will also change by 2014, with the imposition of an annual, non-deductible fee on the health insurance sector; this will be allocated, according to Fiano, by market share throughout the industry.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act brings with it quite a number of provisions, it will be rather difficult to go through them all in detail. HealthCare.gov, the informational website set-up by the government for the purpose of keeping the public informed about health care reform, however, lists the top five things that we should know about health care reform.
Health Insurance Exchanges. What exactly are they? Exchanges are defined as an organized marketplace for purchasing health insurance. Within the exchange, insurance providers are guided as they comply with consumer protection and become competitive in a manner that is cost-efficient. The exchange also makes possible the expansion of insurance coverage to even more people. Starting in January 2014, members of Congress will be buying health insurance through the exchanges – as will the rest of America.
Patient’s Bill of Rights. In essence, the Bill of Rights ensures that a patient is protected from limitations that may be imposed by insurance companies on the care that the patient needs, as well as removes barriers between a patient and his or her doctor.
Young Adults. Starting this September – or even earlier for some plans – young adults under the age of 26 can avail of health care coverage under their parents’ plans for as long as their parents’ policy allows dependent coverage.
Small Business. Employees of small businesses are assured health care coverage through tax credits provided to small businesses, which are intended to cover the cost of providing health care coverage to employees.
Seniors. Finally, Medicare will be made even stronger moving forward, a provision that will benefit senior citizens.
One of the accomplishments that the Obama administration was able to achieve, in the first 100 days since health care reform was signed into law, was the launch of the HealthCare.gov website. The site, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, contains a wealth of information and tools related to health care.
One of the interesting tools is the MyHealthFinder, which helps users learn how to stay healthy. Since one of the things that health care reform would like to emphasize is prevention, the website strives to help citizens learn exactly how to do that.
MyHealthFinder is easy to use. It asks the user to key in his or her age and gender; women will need to indicate whether they are pregnant or not. Hitting the “Get Started” option will provide customized recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force regarding staying healthy that is applicable for the user’s age and gender.
For a thirty year-old woman who is not pregnant, for instance, the tool included the following recommendations for all women: get adult booster shots, get enough folic acid, get tested for cervical cancer, and get one’s blood pressure checked.
MyHealthFinder also makes recommendations that will need to factor in family history, and indicates that some recommendations may not apply to all women. Such recommendations include testing for colorectal cancer and cholesterol levels, as well as consulting with a doctor regarding depression. The tool also suggests talking to one’s doctor if breast and ovarian cancer runs in the family.
Despite all the debates and the criticism that health care reform in general went through before it was signed into law, President Obama has earned positive points for the way the initial implementation of the provisions of health care reform is being carried out. According to a report on The New York Times, some of those who gave Obama high marks were Republicans, and that health care reform enjoyed an increase in favorable views since May.
Among those that have been accomplished is the issuance of the Patient’s Bill of Rights and having been able to convince insurance companies to make changes before the date required by law. A team of insurance experts, who are being supervised closely by the White House, has also been brought together to help implement the law.
Stuart Butler, a vice-president for Heritage Foundation, said that he was giving the administration “an A for effort,” at least for now, adding that “there are land mines down the road because the law is fundamentally flawed.” American Cancer Society health economist Stephen E. Finan said: “I am extremely impressed with what the administration has accomplished. They have cranked out a lot of regulations. They’re doing it methodically, and they’re doing it well.”
Rules regarding allowing young adults to stay under their parents’ health insurance coverage, as well as the ban on denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, have already been issued. Notifications have also been sent to the estimated four million small businesses regarding a new tax credit that will help in insurance-related costs.
The overhaul of the health care system has received a lot of criticism, but there are those who think the opposite and believe that there is good to be enjoyed out of this law. A feature on the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder shares the opinion of Stella Whitney-West, CEO of NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center: “I applaud President Obama and the Democratic Party that really took a huge political risk in pushing this through.”
NorthPoint’s clientele consist of about 82% people of color, and she said that having the health care reform law will help 10 to 20 percent of their population. She believes that the law will help everyone across the board, but will especially be helpful to low-income families. She adds that the law will allow African Americans and people of color to have health insurance that will enable them to seek primary care. The provision in the law for preventive care will also help, according to Whitney-West.
She predicts that with the law, the cost of prescription drugs will go down: “For a lot of people, medication is out of their reach because of the cost. I think it is going to have a major impact.”
Whitney-West is concerned about what she termed as “scare tactics” used by those opposed to health care reform. One point of contention is the possibility of using federal funding for abortions; this is not true according to Whitney-West. As for the cost of the overhaul, Whitney-West said: “The reality is that when you have people who are uninsured and they need access to health care in emergency rooms, all of the taxpayers pay for that. Now we are getting a much better return for our tax dollars, and we are getting a healthier community.”
