Kaiser Issues Implementation Timeline for Health Reform Law And Other Reform Resources

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Mar 26th, 2010

Kaiser Issues Implementation Timeline for Health Reform Law And Other Reform Resources

With the enactment of a comprehensive health reform law Tuesday, the Kaiser Family Foundation has prepared a new timeline detailing when specific provisions of the legislation are scheduled to take effect.

The implementation timeline reflects the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which President Obama signed Tuesday, as well as provisions of the House-passed Health Care & Education Reconciliation Act, which was passed in the Senate on Thursday.

It includes more than a dozen key provisions scheduled to take effect this year, including the creation of a national high-risk pool for people with pre-existing conditions that can't buy insurance on their own, tax credits for some small businesses that provide health coverage for their workers and assistance for Medicare beneficiaries with high drug costs who reach the drug benefit's coverage gap or "doughnut hole." The timeline continues through 2014, when the major reforms to expand access to health coverage are fully implemented, and beyond.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has updated its interactive side-by-side health reform comparison tool to reflect the reforms both as signed into law Tuesday (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) and how they were amended by the House-passed reconciliation bill passed by the Senate. The online tool allows users to quickly compare the provisions of those two versions of the bills along with the previously House-passed bill from last year.

In addition, the Foundation has issued several other new and updated resources that explain key elements of the new law. These include:

• A summary of health coverage provisions in the new health reform law as amended by the House-passed Health Care and Educational Reconciliation Act.

• A brief on the Medicare drug benefit's coverage gap and how the new provisions would help Medicare beneficiaries with drug spending high enough to reach the Part D coverage gap.

• An interactive calculator that helps illustrate the financial assistance that people would be eligible for, based on their income, if they do not have employer coverage and are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare and instead purchase coverage on their own through an exchange. The calculator can compare the reconciliation changes with the law signed Tuesday, as well as the earlier House bill.

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