2010
Affordable Care Act becomes law Tax credits begin for small businesses to help provide employee insurance Federal funds available for states to expand health-care for the poor Aid available for employersto provide health coverage for retirees 55 to 65 years old
Federal health plan begins foruninsured with pre-existing conditions
Young adults up to 26 years old may be covered under parents’ plans Insurers must pay all costs of some preventative services, such asmammograms and colonoscopies
Lifetime limits on insurance coverage outlawed Children with pre-existing conditions may not be denied coverage Rural health care providers receive more federal aid2011
Medicare recipients get free preventative services and some receive discount on brand-name drugs At least 80 percent of health care premiums must be spent on benefits and quality improvement, or insurers pay a rebate2012
Rules begin to reduce paperwork and other administrative costs2013
More federal funds available to states that provide preventative services to the poor and children Payments increase to primary care doctors who care for the poor2014
Employers, other than small businesses, must provide insurance coverage for workers or pay a penalty Insurance companies cannot discriminate based on pre-existing conditions or gender Annual limits on insurance coverage outlawed Tax credits offered for people making up to four times the poverty rate to help make insurance more affordable Government-run exchanges begin to provide a place for the uninsured and small businesses to buy health insurance More poor Americans get access to Medicaid Most uninsured who can afford insurance must pay a fee2015
Doctors to be paid, at least in part, based on the quality of care they deliverSource: healthcare.gov
Key numbers
$109 billion: Savings Congressional Budget Office estimates over a decade $29,000: Maximum income for family of four to be covered by Medicaid 30 million: Americans who will be newly insured under the law by 2022 54 million: People now receiving free preventative services due to the law $600: Average savings in prescription drug costs for elderly 3.1 million: Young adults who now can be covered by parents’ health plans $109 billion: Savings Congressional Budget Office estimates over a decadeMinnesota benefits
According to the Obama administration, benefits Minnesota has received under the Affordable Care Act include:
More than 35,000 young adults have insurance coverage under their parents’ plans. Minnesota Medicare patients saved $74 million on prescription drugs. Free preventative services, such as colonoscopies and mammograms, were provided to 314,946 Minnesotans in 2011. Nearly $9 million was rebated to Minnesotans whose private insurance companies spent too much on overhead, executive salaries and marketing. Almost $4 million was spent to fight “unreasonable premium increases.” As of August, 633 Minnesotans who could not get insurance because of pre-existing conditions were insured. Minnesota has received $74 million in grants for research, planning, information technology development and implementation of an insurance exchange.Little-known facts
At least $3 million is being spent studying postpartum depression causes and effects Funding continues through 2014 to teach “abstinence only” sex education Medicare pays only to buy “complex” and “rehabilitative” power wheelchairs; other power chairs must be rented The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must launch education campaigns about breast cancer and oral health Employers with at least 50 workers must provide private location for mothers to express breast milk Death certificates must say whether the deceased had diabetes Federal money may not be used to assist a suicide At least $3 million is being spent studying postpartum depression causes and effectsSource: Kaiser Health News
Tags:
news, health
More from around the web
RSS Feeds