[NYAPRS Enews] National Health Care Reform's Impact: A Digest

Wed Mar 24 10:31:03 EDT 2010

Ron Manderscheid  National Association of County Behavioral Health and
Developmental Disability Directors

As spring dawns in America, a new day is breaking that holds much
promise and hope for untold numbers of Americans who have lacked quality
healthcare. Included are:

*         More than 10 million uninsured Americans who have a mental or
a substance use condition.

*         More than 20 million uninsured Americans who have not been
able to afford health insurance.

*         Thousands of small business owners who have been unable to
provide health insurance even for their families and themselves.

*         More than 8 million children and adolescents who lack any
health insurance.

*         More than 155 million Americans with a pre-existing condition.

*         Millions of young adults under age 26 entering the workforce
for the first time. 

*         Millions of elderly Americans who cannot afford needed
medications.

*         Millions of Americans who have become unemployed during the
past year.

For each of these citizens, life became much, much brighter last night,
as the U.S. House passed historic and unprecedented national health
reform legislation. To find earlier legislation of comparable effect,
one would need to look to the Social Security Act of 1935 and the
Medicare Act of 1965.

....We urgently look forward to working with the Administration and the
Congress to pass the companion reconciliation legislation in the Senate
as quickly as possible and to implementing key reforms immediately
thereafter. Our citizens deserve nothing less.

Ron Manderscheid, PhD Executive Director, National Association of County
Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors Washington, DC 

--------------

10 Things Every American Should Know About Health Care Reform
MoveOn.org 

1.   Once reform is fully implemented, over 95% of Americans will have
health insurance coverage, including 32 million who are currently
uninsured.

2.   Health insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny people
coverage because of preexisting conditions-or to drop coverage when
people become sick.

3.   Just like members of Congress, individuals and small businesses who
can't afford to purchase insurance on their own will be able to pool
together and choose from a variety of competing plans with lower
premiums.

4.   Reform will cut the federal budget deficit by $138 billion over the
next ten years, and a whopping $1.2 trillion in the following ten years.

5.   Health care will be more affordable for families and small
businesses thanks to new tax credits, subsidies, and other
assistance-paid for largely by taxing insurance companies, drug
companies, and the very wealthiest Americans.

6.   Seniors on Medicare will pay less for their prescription drugs
because the legislation closes the "donut hole" gap in existing
coverage.

7.   By reducing health care costs for employers, reform will create or
save more than 2.5 million jobs over the next decade.

8.   Medicaid will be expanded to offer health insurance coverage to an
additional 16 million low-income people.

9.   Instead of losing coverage after they leave home or graduate from
college, young adults will be able to remain on their families'
insurance plans until age 26.

10.                Community health centers would receive an additional
$11 billion, doubling the number of patients who can be treated
regardless of their insurance or ability to pay.

Legal Action Center

In a major victory, ground-breaking expansion of addiction and mental
health coverage of prevention, treatment and recovery is a part of the
final healthcare reform bill passed on Sunday. The final bill, approved
by both chambers of Congress, incorporates many recommendations made by
LAC and our partners around addiction and mental health services:

*       Includes substance use disorder and mental health (SUD/MH)
services as required benefits in the basic benefit package for
individual and small business health plans.

*       Requires that all plans in the health insurance exchange comply
with the Wellstone/Domenici Parity Act in providing SUD/MH benefits in
the same way as all other covered medical and surgical benefits.

*       Expands Medicaid eligibility for all Americans up to 133 percent
of the federal poverty level and require newly eligible parents and
childless adults receive coverage that includes SUD/MH services provided
at parity. 

*       Includes SUD and MH prevention strategies and efforts in the
bill's chronic disease initiatives. Includes the capacity of the mental
and behavioral health workforce as high-priority topics in the bill's
National Workforce Strategy section. 

*       Includes insurance reforms and consumer protections critical for
individuals seeking or in recovery, including prohibiting insurers from
denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, charging higher
premiums based on health status, and placing annual or lifetime caps on
insurance coverage.

------------

Health Care Vote Ushers In Big Changes For People With Disabilities

By Michelle Diament  Disability Scoop  March 22, 2010

In a historic vote Sunday the House of Representatives sent a sweeping
health care reform bill to the president's desk, a move that could
dramatically change the lives of Americans with disabilities, advocates
say.

The measure, which passed on a vote of 219 to 212, would eliminate many
insurance caps and loopholes, while expanding Medicaid eligibility and
enhancing long-term care options.

President Barack Obama, who fought hard for the measure to pass, is
expected to sign the bill into law as early as Tuesday after a
contentious year of debate on the issue.

Under the bill, most Americans would be required to have health
insurance and providers would no longer be able to deny coverage based
on a pre-existing condition. Meanwhile, annual and lifetime coverage
caps would become a thing of the past and Medicaid would expand to
accept those earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

Democrats hailed the bill passage as a historic accomplishment on par
with the establishment of Social Security and Medicare, while
Republicans resoundingly rejected the measure.

Among disability advocates, however, the House vote was seen as a huge
win.

"This is far more historic for people with disabilities than it is for
the average American," said Liz Savage, director of health and housing
policy at the Disability Policy Collaboration, a joint lobbying
initiative of The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy. "We've been trying to
get these reforms enacted for decades."

The bill headed to the president's desk also retains the Community First
Choice Option, which promotes community-based living options for people
with disabilities. Under the provision, states can qualify to receive
more federal matching funds to support community living if they
eliminate caps on the number of individuals who can live in the
community. Initially, advocates wanted health care reform legislation to
include a mandate, but they say that giving states this option is an
important first step.

Other provisions in the bill would require that insurance cover both
rehabilitation and habilitation services in addition to providing mental
health benefits. What's more, adult children would be able to remain on
their parents' insurance plan until they turn 26.

The bill passed by the House on Sunday mirrors a bill approved by the
Senate last year and will go straight to Obama to be signed into law. A
so-called reconciliation bill must still be considered by the Senate in
order to make some changes, including a provision to increase Medicaid
reimbursement rates. That bill has no bearing on whether the package's
main provisions will go into effect.

All of the changes are a big deal for people with disabilities who face
high rates of unemployment and often can't qualify for coverage because
of their condition, says Laurel Stine, director of federal relations at
the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

"For people with disabilities and mental illness they will no longer be
in fear of being denied coverage," Stine said.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2010/03/22/health-care-vote/7388/ 

--------------------

American Online

President Obama is set to sign into law a health-care bill that would
extend insurance to the 32 million Americans who are currently without
it. 

But the more than 2,000-page health insurance bill has left more than a
few consumers confused about what health-care reform will actually mean
to them.

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions:

I don't have health insurance, what does this mean for me?

By 2014, every American will be required to have some form of health
insurance or will be forced to pay a fine. The first year's fine would
be $95 or 1 percent of their income, whichever is higher. By the second
year, however, fines could rise to as much as $695 a year. Families and
people meeting certain income requirements ($14,404 for individuals and
$29,326 for a family of four) would be exempt from paying the fine.
These people may also be eligible for the federally and state-funded
Medicaid insurance program that covers poor and disabled Americans under
the age of 65. 

One of the immediate changes that will take place is that young adults
up to the age of 26 will be eligible to remain on their families' health
insurance plans. Currently, the cut-off is 22 years old. 

Can I buy insurance through the government?

The bill does not include a public option, meaning the government will
not offer health care beyond Medicare and Medicaid. People under the age
of 65 who make too much to qualify for Medicaid may be eligible to
receive government subsidies to help them buy private health care from
new state-based insurance "exchanges," which are scheduled to begin in
2014.

My employer does not currently offer insurance, will that change?

All employers will be required to offer their employees insurance by
2014. Companies with 25 or fewer employees would receive tax credits to
help them pay for the insurance. The tax credits would cover about 35
percent of the insurance cost this year and would gradually increase to
about 50 percent by 2014. Employers with 50 or more workers will be
required to offer employees insurance or pay a fine of up to $2,000 a
piece for full-time employees that are receiving government subsidies to
buy insurance through state-based exchanges. The first 30 employees
would be exempt from this fine. 

How will this legislation affect senior citizens receiving Medicare?

Starting this year, all Medicare preventative services, such as cancer
screenings, will be offered free of charge to senior citizens currently
receiving Medicare. Also, people receiving Medicare Part D would receive
an additional $250 this year to help them pay for medications that are
not currently covered under the plan. 

I have insurance, how will this affect me?

Under the plan, people who are currently ill may begin seeing their
premiums shrink, as the bill does not allow insurers to charge higher
premiums to people who are sick. Also, people with pre-existing
conditions who change insurance companies, due to a change in job status
or in employer coverage, cannot be denied coverage under the bill, nor
can they be charged higher premiums.

How much will this cost and how is it being paid for?

The plan will cost an estimated $940 million. Congress and the president
have said that most of it will be paid for through various tax increases
on individuals that earn more than $250,000 a year, as well through
decreases in Medicare reimbursements to doctors and hospitals. Critics,
however, say tax increases to the wealthy and Medicare cuts will not be
enough to fund health reform and that the middle class will eventually
be forced to help pay for it through tax and fee increases.

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