Published by: Brigette Scott on 3/23/2011 9:08:48 AM
This post is the third in our series of blog entries marking the one-year anniversary of the passage of the health reform law.
Today marks the first anniversary of Health Care Reform — the day the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The new law aims to make quality, affordable health care a reality for 30 million Americans who are currently uninsured. The law also places a new focus on wellness and prevention and improves access to primary care – a paradigm shift for our current “sick care” delivery system.
In just one year, the new health care law has made significant improvements in the lives of millions of Americans. Under the new law:
- insurance companies are now banned from denying coverage to children because of a pre-existing condition;
- young adults are allowed to stay on their parent’s insurance plan until they turn 26 years old;
- all new health plans must cover certain preventive services such as mammograms and colonoscopies without charging a deductible, co-pay or coinsurance;
- insurance companies are prohibited from cancelling coverage when a patient gets sick;
- insurance companies are prohibited from imposing lifetime dollar limits on essential benefits, like hospital stays;
- seniors on Medicare can now get free preventive services such as annual wellness visits and personalized prevention plans; and
- seniors who reach the coverage gap receive a 50 percent discount when buying Medicare Part D covered brand-name prescription drugs.
Over the last year, the new law also made significant investments in the health care of communities. For example, a new $15 billion Prevention and Public Health Fund was set up to invest in proven public health programs that seek to keep Americans healthy — from smoking cessation to combating obesity. Similarly, new funding was made available to support the construction and expansion of services at community health centers, allowing these centers to serve 20 million new patients across the country.
These are just a few examples of how the new health reform law has improved the health and well being of Americans nationwide. NAPH is actively working with its members to implement the new health care reform law and successfully transition safety net health hospitals into integrated systems of care. Safety net health systems are striving to provide more efficient care, effectively meet the needs of underserved patients, improve access to care, reduce hospital readmissions, improve patient satisfaction, reduce the reliance on emergency departments, and reduce health care disparities – all while transforming the way care is delivered and increasing capacity to accommodate the millions of patients who will be newly covered in the next several years.
On this first anniversary of the passage of the historic Affordable Care Act, safety net health systems remain champions for reform. NAPH member hospitals and health systems have worked to improve and reform health care for decades, and are known for innovative ways to improve quality and safety for their community. For real world examples, visit our “Innovations” web portal or tell us your story!
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Brigette Scott is the Assistant Vice President for Communications at NAPH