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SUMMARY
The final health insurance reform legislation (the Senate bill as improved by the Reconciliation Bill) that the House
passed on March 21st follows in Massachusetts footsteps to provide access to quality, affordable health care to 94
percent of all Americans. Health care reform sends a clear message that any proposal to reduce health care
spending and improve the quality of our health care system must include initiatives that support preventative
health policies and eliminate disparities in not only health care access, but access to healthy communities. Please
see the following summary to understand what this legislation means for the voters, businesses, schools and
community organizations in your district.
Changes to MassHealth:
Additional federal assistance to pay for MassHealth. (Effective 2014)
Enhances federal Medicaid matching funds to states who offer the recommended preventative services from the
U.S. Preventative Services Task Force. Increases the FMAP for such services and vaccines for Medicaid. (Effective
January 1, 2011)
Require Medicaid coverage for tobacco cessation services for pregnant women. (Effective October 1, 2010)
Improves Medicaid payments for primary care.
6% increase in federal reimbursement for community based attendance services & support
(Effective October 1, 2010)
Changes to Medicare:
Restructuring payments to promote bundling, pay-for-performance and Accountable Care Organizations. (Effective
January 1, 2011)
Improves Medicare payments for primary care. (Effective January 1, 2011)
Allocate $10 million per year for five years to continue the Aging and Disability Resource Center Initiatives (Funds
appropriated for fiscal years 2010 through 2014)
Medicare will now provide an annual wellness visit that includes a risk assessment and a 5-10 year personalized
prevention plan with no co-payment or deductible.
Mandates:
Insurers must meet minimum coverage requirements (Effective 2014)
Insurers cannot:
Discriminate based on pre-existing conditions (Children effective this year, everyone else 2014)
Drop coverage because of a new condition. (Effective 6 months after enactment)
Charge a copayment or deductable for preventative services. (Effective 6 months after enactment)
Implement life-time caps or restrictive annual limits. (Effective 6 months after enactment)
Require an individual or family to pay more than $5,950 or $11,900 in out-of-pocket expenses. (Effective 2014)
Out-of-pocket caps for individuals and families earning between 100%-400% of Federal Poverty Level are
even lower:
o Individuals: $1,983-$3,987
o Family: $3,967-$7,973
Vary premiums based on age by more than a 3:1 ratio. (Effective January 1, 2014)
Factor gender in setting insurance rates. (Effective January 1, 2014)
Insurers would be required to maintain a medical loss ratio of 80-85% or greater, depending on market size.
(Effective 2011)
Quality Improvements:
Requires the development of a national quality improvement strategy to improve the delivery of health care and
patient health outcomes. (Effective 2011)
Establishes value‐based purchasing to provide incentive payments to hospitals that meet certain quality standards.
The final bill also provides for increased bonus payments of 5 to 10 percent for Medicare Advantage plans that
demonstrate high quality of care. (Effective 2014)
Federal Revenue Provisions:
Tax penalty for individuals without qualifying insurance. (Effective 2014)
Tax penalty for large employers whose employees buy individual plans in an exchange. (Effective 2014)
0.9% increase on earnings over $200k to go to Medicare Part A. (Effective January 1, 2013)
3.8% tax on unearned income over $200k to go to Medicare Part A. (Effective January 1, 2013)
10% tax on tanning services. (Effective January 1, 2010)
Imposes billions of dollars of annual fees to the pharmaceutical manufacturer sector. (Effective 2012)
Imposes an excise tax of 2.3% on the sale of any taxable medical device. (Effective for sales after December 31, 2012)
Imposes billions of dollars of annual fees to the health insurance sector. (Effective 2014)
Imposes on insurers a 40% excise tax on the difference between a high-cost health plan and the threshold amount
set by this legislation. (Effective January 1, 2018)
Special Populations:
Disabilities:
Makes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 to expand state aging and disability resource centers.
Children:
Children may be claimed as medical dependants until age 26. (Effective 6 months after enactment)
Children cannot be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
(Effective 6 months after enactment)
Seniors:
Closing the Medicare Part D Donut Hole—immediate $250 rebate; 50% discount on brand names next year; fully
closed by 2020.
Disparities:
$11B in mandatory funding for community health centers, which would double the amount of patients who could be
served at such facilities. (Effective fiscal year 2011)
$1.5B in mandatory funding to support primary care provider training who commit to practice in underserved
communities. (Effective dates vary)
Prevention/Wellness:
Requires that employers offer their employees premium discounts, cost-sharing requirement waivers, or other
rewards for participating in a wellness program and meeting certain health-related standards. Employers must offer
an alternative standard for individuals for whom it is unreasonably difficult or inadvisable to meet the standard.
(Effective 2014).
Requires menu labeling for chain restaurants and vending machines (proposed regulations issued within one year of
enactment)
Creates 10 State pilot programs which will apply either premium discounts, waivers of cost-sharing requirements, or
other benefits, of up to 30% of the cost of coverage, for participating in a wellness program and meeting certain
health-related standards in the individual market
(Pilots will be established by July 2014 to be expanded by 2017 if effective).