2012
AUG. 1: Most patients with insurance no longer have to pay co-payments for prescription birth control.
OCT. 1: Health insurance plans must start adopting rules for secure and confidential exchange of electronic health records.
NOV. 16: States must notify the Department of Health and Human Services of their choice of running a state-based health insurance exchange or one that partners with the federal government.
2013
JAN. 1: New funding available to state Medicaid programs that cover preventive services for little or no cost to patients.
OCT. 1: States will receive two years of funding to continue coverage for children not eligible for Medicaid.
Photo by Troels Graugaard, courtesy iStockphoto
2014
JAN. 1: State-based health insurance exchanges up and running, offering a competitive insurance marketplace for consumers.
JAN. 1: Most individuals required to obtain basic insurance coverage or pay a penalty.
JAN. 1: State Medicaid expansions begin offering coverage to people with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level.
JAN. 1: Insurers prohibited from refusing to sell coverage or renew policies because of pre-existing conditions.
2015
JAN. 1: Physician Medicare payments tied to quality of care.
Health insurance exchanges open to small businesses with 100 or fewer employees.
2018
JAN. 1: Excise tax levied for employer-provided health insurance plans that cost more than $27,500 yearly for a family plan and $10,200 for an individual plan.
2020
Discount on brand-name medications for Medicare Part D participants rises to 75 percent.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
