In 2010, President Obama presented the necessity of health insurance reform. In 2012, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is approved and the law was made to be constitutional.
This is an important step to the health system of the United States and there are some important points that should be known. Here we present the main parts of the legislations and what t hey are about.
The legislation is aim at eliminating some of the worst practices of the insurance companies. . The system preserves private insurance and private health care providers and provides more subsidies to enable the poor to buy insurance. The law includes the expansion of Medicaid and subsidizing insurance. It puts up incentives for business to provide health care benefits, supports medical researches and establishes health insurance exchanges.
Moreover, the law will prohibit from denying coverage to sicker applicants. The Acts require insurers to cover more costs: it means that at least the 80% must be spent on medical care or quality improvement. The law also seeks to reduce the deficit and to eliminate the overpayment in Medicare Advantage.
Every American citizen will be able to stay on a family plan until they are 26 years old. The new legislation means that the insurance companies are not able to cancel your policy, deny coverage or charge women more than men. Besides, no citizen will be denied again or charged more due to a health problem.
The law will be commissioned at 2014. The new health care system legislation offer clear choices for consumers and provides new ways to support insurance companies accountable. It takes care of your rights and the protection you need. It also presents a series of programs in which every citizen must be located if it exists a need of coverage. Medicare will provide access to preventive services and prescription drug discounts for seniors.
It also provides Americans with Costumers Assistance Programs that help them file complaints and appeals and learn about rights and responsibilities as a health care consumer.
Finally, the new Obama’s law assumed that all insurance policies must cover approved preventive care without additional cost for 2018.