A pivotal moment in U.S. healthcare has begun today, October 1. The Affordable Care Act, which was passed in 2010, is now in operation. Registration for health plans are now being accepted at the Health Insurance Marketplace at www.healthcare.gov. An article from the American Cancer Society outlines some of the key parts of the Affordable Care Act. According to the article, each health plan offered “must cover essential benefits and provide patient protections under the health care law.”
In addition, the ACS article described the following offerings of the ACA:
- Provide screening mammograms, colonoscopies, and other proven prevention and early detection services at no cost to patients
- Enable children to stay on their parents’ health plan until age 26
- Require insurers to provide consumers with short, simple summaries of their plans
- Prohibit patients from having their coverage suddenly revoked when they get sick
- Ban limits on the value of coverage a policyholder may receive over his or her lifetime, and restrict annual limits on coverage
- Ensure that children are not denied coverage because they have a pre-existing condition such as cancer
Find out more about the Affordable Care Act at the following links:
