Transcript 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act The

2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act
(ACA)
The New Health Reform Law:
What It Means
for Kentuckians
Who are we?
We’re a coalition of concerned Kentuckians who
believe that the best health care solutions are
found when everyone works together to build
them. Right now, families and businesses in every
county are facing rising costs, and too many of us
go without needed health care. Healthy families
create healthy economies. And a healthy
Kentucky is something we all want. So we’re
working step by step to build a healthier Kentucky
for everyone.
KVH Priorities
1. Assure that all Kentuckians have access to highquality, affordable health care
2. Make prevention a priority for Kentucky’s health
policies and programs
3. Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
health care for Kentuckians
4. Improve the health of Kentucky’s children
Health Reform Making a
Difference for Kentuckians
• Providing new coverage options for young
adults
More than 50,000 young adults under 26 in
Kentucky gained insurance coverage as a
result of the health care law.
Health Reform Making a
Difference for Kentuckians
• Removing lifetime limits on health benefits
The law bans insurance companies from
imposing lifetime dollar limits on health
benefits . More than 1.4 million Kentuckians
no longer have to worry about going without
treatment if they hit the limit.
Health Reform Making a
Difference for Kentuckians
•Covering preventive services with no deductible
or co-pay
An estimated 975,000 Kentuckians with private
health insurance received preventive care with
no out of pocket costs.
Health Reform Making a
Difference for Kentuckians
• Making prescription drugs affordable for
seniors
Kentucky seniors in the Medicare prescription
drug “donut hole” received drug discounts
worth more than $111 million. More than
70,000 Kentucky seniors got discounts last
year alone.
Health Reform Making a
Difference for Kentuckians
• Better value for health premiums
Almost 250,000 Kentuckians got rebates from
their health insurers. The reason for the
rebates: the ACA requires health insurers to
spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars
on health care, or give back the difference.
Coverage for Individuals with
Pre-Existing Conditions
• Stop denials of
coverage
• Eliminate higher
premiums based
on health status
or gender
A Consumer-Friendly Insurance
Marketplace
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Standardize plans
Promote competition
Ability to Compare
Greater Transparency
KY Health Benefit Exchange
http://healthbenefitexchange.ky.gov
Why is the Exchange good for Kentuckians?
• Offer coverage choices for all, regardless of
place of work (Create a safety net for job loss)
• Subsidies to help families
• Tax credits to help small businesses
– Tax Calculator: http://www.smallbusinessmajority.com/
• State-based Exchange can better respond to
Kentucky’s needs
– High low income population
– Poor health rankings
Help for Families
 Medicaid may be expanded
 Provide help for those affected by
the recession
 Offer help to middle-income families
 Provide subsidies to buy insurance
Making the Case for Medicaid Expansion
•Good for Kentucky
•Good for the Economy
•Good for Health
Unprecedented Opportunity for Coverage
• In 2014, the ACA establishes a new national floor of
Medicaid coverage at 138% of poverty level.
• Almost 400,000 uninsured Kentuckians would
become eligible for Medicaid coverage if KY moves
forward on expansion.
• Kentucky would benefit from this expansion more
than any other state as more than half (57%) of our
uninsured population could receive coverage.
A Bargain for Kentucky
• The federal government will pick up 100% of the
state’s expansion cost until 2017, Kentucky will not
have to expend any state funds for the first three
years of the expansion.
• The financial bottom line: Kentucky can take
advantage of new federal funds without spending
any state money from 2014 to 2017.
• State’s cost of the expansion in 2020 and beyond will
only be 10 cents on the dollar.
Good for the Economy
• An investment of $547 million in state funds will
boost Kentucky’s economy and create over 14,000
jobs.
• It could bring in more than $11 billion in additional
federal Medicaid funding from 2014 to 2019 that will
go to health providers.
• Expanding coverage will generate million in total
savings.
Need for Coverage
Over 650,000
uninsured
Kentuckians
KY Health Report Card
- opportunity for
improvement!
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45 - Outcomes Rank
43 - Overall Rank
49 - Smoking Rank
46 - Obesity Rank
Nearly $718 million
is spent on
uncompensated care
each year.
Putting Kentuckians First
• To effectively meet our health challenges, policymakers
need to take action to expand Medicaid.
• More than 95% of Kentucky’s non-elderly uninsured
residents may qualify for either tax credits to purchase
coverage in the Marketplace or for Medicaid if Kentucky
participates in the Medicaid expansion.
• Failing to act will leave thousands of Kentucky families
with no health coverage, forcing them to seek care in an
with no way to pay the bill—costs estimated at more
than $1 billion per year that all of us must eventually pay.
Conclusion
• The law is projected to expand coverage to 32
million people.
• This new law is not perfect, but neither were
Social Security or Medicare when they were
first enacted. Both were improved over the
years.
• Health reform advocates need to be
informed, vigilant and engaged to ensure that
reform is properly implemented at both
federal and state levels.
Questions?
Regan Hunt, MPA
Executive Director, Kentucky Voices for Health
[email protected]