Timeline: What’s next for health reform
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## 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.

![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/42/6/18/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/42/6/18/F1)

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