Kirsten Sloan, Vice President
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is helping millions of Americans, including vulnerable older patients and those with multiple health problems.
Six months after it was signed into law, the ACA began to take effect and is already ushering in a new era of fairness and accountability. Patients are finally able to appeal denials and rescissions of coverage that make illness so much more difficult for patients and families to manage, and insurance companies are banned from denying coverage to children who have pre-existing conditions.
With a new year come additional – and very welcome – changes to our health care system. January 2011 brings about the second wave of important changes that will mean a more coordinated, better health care system for you.
Among the changes starting January 1, 2011:
- Medicare now covers an annual wellness visit with no co-payment or deductible including a comprehensive health risk assessment and the creation of a personalized prevention plan;
- Medicare will waive beneficiary coinsurance requirements for most preventive services, including cancer and diabetes screenings, meaning Medicare will cover 100 percent of the costs;
- New programs aimed at better training the health care workforce to meet the complex health needs of older patients will be introduced; and
- Hospitals and community-based groups will provide transitional care services to high-risk Medicare beneficiaries in order to make transitions from one setting to another, such as from the hospital to a nursing facility, smoother and safer.
The new law also requires a national strategy for quality improvement, with an explicit focus on improving patient outcomes and coordination of care, improving patient and caregiver experience, and reducing health disparities. The national strategy was due to Congress by January 1, 2011 and we expect to see it early this year.
These are only some of the reforms that will take effect in the coming months and years. The new health reform law has the potential to make the improvements we urgently need – if it is implemented in ways that focus on improving care for patients who rely on our health care system the most. Stay tuned as we work toward a more comprehensive, better coordinated health care system that works for patients, their families, and their family caregivers. And join the Campaign for Better Care in this work today by sharing your story or taking action.
