10 Major New Health Reform Benefits Take Effect Today

10 Major New Health Reform Benefits Take Effect Today
Major new health reform benefits take effect today to help keep health insurance companies accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee more health care choices, and enhance the quality of health care for all Americans.
Starting today, insurers will be required to:
• Keep you covered when you get sick: Simple mistakes or typos will no longer be grounds for insurance companies to cancel your insurance.
• Cover kids with pre-existing conditions: Your kids can no longer be denied health coverage just because they have a pre-existing condition like hay fever, asthma, or previous sports injuries. This protection extends to all plans, except "grandfathered" plans in the individual market.
• Allow young adults to stay on their parents' plan up to age 26: Even if their first few jobs don't provide health benefits, your kids can still remain covered by your insurance.
• Remove lifetime limits: You will no longer need to worry about your health insurer limiting the amount of coverage available through their plan if you face an expensive medical condition. This will help Americans who develop chronic conditions from taking drastic measures to avoid medical bankruptcy.
• Phase out annual limits: Many plans include annual dollar limits on how much medical coverage can be obtained per year. On all non-"grandfathered" plans in the individual market, these limits will be phased out over the next three years.
For any insurance plan that goes into effect after September 23, 2010, your insurance company must:
• Pay for preventive care like mammograms and immunizations: Addressing problems before they start can help keep you healthier, and new insurance plans will now cover many preventative tests and immunizations without any copayment.
• Give you a better appeals process for insurance claims: Now you'll have a guaranteed and fair path to help you receive the benefits you paid for if insurance companies deny your claim.
• Let you choose your own doctor: Health reform makes it clear that you can choose any available participating primary care provider as your provider, and any available participating pediatrician to be your child's primary care provider.
• Provide easier access to OB-GYN services: Women will no longer be required to have a referral from a primary care provider before seeking coverage for obstetrical or gynecological (OB-GYN) care from a participating OB-GYN specialist.
• Allow you to use the nearest emergency room without penalty: If an emergency arises while you're away, you will no longer have to drive home to your in-network provider to receive in-network benefits.
Many other new benefits of the law have already taken effect, including rebate checks for seniors in the donut hole and tax credits for small businesses. Keep watching, as more rights, protections and benefits for Americans are on the way now through 2014.
To learn more about how health care reform is helping you, visit https://www.healthcare.gov/

Newsroom

Six Months of the Affordable Care Act: Rights and Protections for Cancer Patients

Posted September 28, 2010
By Jay Angoff, Director of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight

If you or a loved one has lived with cancer – you probably know more about the American health insurance system than you ever wanted. While most Americans have health insurance, few really know much about how their insurance works until the worst possible moment, when they are sick and need potentially life-saving care.
During the health reform debate, President Obama talked about the devastation of watching his mother battle both ovarian cancer and her insurance company. Unfortunately, such stories are all too common.

Thanks to the

Affordable Care Act, fewer cancer patients are going to have to fight that two-front war. And many of the new patient rights and protections that will help cancer patients began to take effect on September 23rd. For example:


Ending limits on care and benefits. Insurance companies can’t impose lifetime limits. And in most health plans, annual limits will be restricted. This means that your health insurance will be there right with you, covering your treatments, as long as you need it.
Ending rescissions. If you get sick, your insurance company can’t drop you from coverage just because you made a mistake on your paperwork. If you keep paying your premiums and act in good faith, you won’t face losing your health insurance the moment you need it most.
Appealing denied claims. If you are in a new plan, and your insurance company denies a claim, you have new rights to a fast and fair appeals process so you can ask them to reconsider that denial. This holds insurance companies accountable for delivering the benefits patients are entitled to.
Covering kids. Cancer can strike at any age. Now, plans that offer coverage to your kids will have to continue covering them up to age 26, as long as they can’t get coverage through their own job. And most insurance companies can’t deny coverage to kids under age 19 because of a pre-existing condition, so you know you can buy your kids coverage if your employer doesn’t cover them.
Choosing your own doctors. Now, new health plans have to let patients choose their own doctor from the plan’s network. And if you are in an emergency medical situation, you can’t be charged more to get treatment at a hospital out of your network.
Keeping you healthy. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Now, new plans have to provide a number of preventive services without cost sharing. These include numerous cancer screenings, so more cancer cases will be detected early, as well as counseling and screenings to help prevent chronic conditions that contribute to poor health like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Fighting cancer is a fight for your life - Americans shouldn’t have to fight their insurance companies at the same time. Now, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, patients have new tools and resources to get the care they need and take back control from insurance companies.

https://www.healthcare.gov/news/blog...rpatients.html