The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a long, complicated document that will cause real changes in the way that you and your family access and pay for health insurance. Texas Impact is committed to helping you understand the bill and making sure that you get the benefits available to you. In the coming weeks, we will pick apart the bill-- starting with the provisions that go into effect in 2010-- so you can see who will be affected.
Free Preventive Care
If you and your family enroll in a new insurance plan on or after September 23, 2010, your insurance company will be required to pay for recommended preventative services under your plan. Many types of preventive care will be available to plan holders without payment of a deductible, co-payment or coinsurance. For many Americans, this provision will allow access to important screenings and treatments that might have previously been cost-prohibitive.
Healthcare.gov, the US Health and Human Services web portal for understanding the Affordable Care Act, outlines some of the most probable services that will now be available to new plan enrollees in September. While dependent on the specific insurance plan and patient profile, these include:
- Blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol tests
- Many cancer screenings
- Counseling from your health care provider on such topics as quitting smoking, losing weight, eating better, treating depression, and reducing alcohol use
- Routine vaccines for diseases such as measles, polio, or meningitis
- Flu and pneumonia shots
- Counseling, screening and vaccines for healthy pregnancies
- Regular well-baby and well-child visits, from birth to age 21
The new requirements for insurance companies are more in a series of immediate changes that will help lower health care costs for Americans by proactively preventing disease.
To see a video statement by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, click here.
To see more information at Healthcare.gov, click here.
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