This article will discuss the purpose of the Affordable Care Act and how it might effect individuals. Much of the information may be found at www.healthcare.gov. The purpose of the law is to "strengthen medicare and to reduce health disparities."
Strengthening Medicare
The Affordable Care Act claims that it will strengthen Medicare by investing in Medicare and decreasing costs of care by adjusting administrative costs and profits that are not directly related to care. The law is setting up provisions to do the following:
- Extend the Medicare Trust Fund until 2029.
- Reduce Medicare fraud by fifty percent as demonstrated by a 350 million dollar investment to ensure measures are taken administratively.
- Decrease name brand prescription costs by enacting the "Drug Donut Hole Rebate" by 2011.
- Create incentives for hospitals to improve care quality.
- Set policy guidelines to restrict administrative costs, and insurance company profits via the Medicare Advantage Plan. This will be enforced by 2014.
Reducing Health Disparities
The Affordable Care Act recognizes that there are discrepancies between different income groups and populations in the United States. In an attempt to decrease these disparities, the law is incorporating the following provisions:
- Preventive Care.
- Coordinated Care.
- Diversity and Cultural Competency.
- Health care for under served communities.
- Affordable insurance coverage.
- Decreasing insurance discrimination.
More in depth definitions can be found at the government site explaining the law. Reducing health care disparities also includes providing provisions for people who have been denied.
Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP)
PCIP is available to US citizens who have been without insurance coverage for six months and have had trouble getting insurance coverage due to a preexisting condition. PCIP is the government's first provision in the attempt to reduce health disparities. Each state has its own provisions as to how to determine preexisting conditions and documenting denial of insurance coverage. However, the pre-existing condition insurance plan is a start to restoring affordable health care for people who have to maintain a preexisting condition.
The US health care system is undergoing change. The Affordable Health Care Act is being implemented between March of 2010 to the end of year in 2015. The PCIP plans are supposed to be available this summer. US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks about the plan here. The best information will be found by speaking with an insurance agent and a health care provider. The following links may also provide information: US Department of Health and Human Services News, and Colonial Life Insurance and Supplemental Benefits in Relation to Health Care Reform.
Tobey Strauch - I graduated from Iowa State University with a Masters in Industrial Systems Engineering. I have traveled around the world to England, ...
