With the 2012 presidential election on the books and President Obama’s second inauguration just days away, the federal government is in full swing to continue the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Regardless of the controversies surrounding it, the ACA is here to stay, so we may as well fully understand what’s to come. The links below provide an in-depth look into the execution of the implementation schedule of the ACA through 2018.
Affordable Care Act Implementation: 2013 Timeline
Kaiser Family Foundation’s Healthcare Implementation Timeline
This year is shaping up to be one of the busiest for the Obama administration as it works to get the new health care system up and running. A major part of that is the Essential Health Benefits package (EHB). This package will create a minimum level of insurance benefits that needs to be provided by all insurance companies. These companies can choose to offer more benefits if they desire, but not less. The EHB thus does two things: it brings up the quality of insurance across the board, but it also drives up the prices charged by insurers.
The quality of insurance goes up because states that had lower minimum benefits now need to raise them. This is theoretically good because more benefits should equal better quality healthcare. However, now that the insurance companies are required to offer more benefits, they are going to charge more for their insurance plans to offset the costs of being forced to increase their benefits.
Opinions about the ACA aside, these changes are coming and will likely be here before years’ end. Make sure you stay up-to-date with information about the changes in the NASE’s Legislative Action Center.