2010 will be remembered as a landmark year for healthcare reform – as a victory for some and a disappointment for others.
Though both parties claimed to have wanted a change to the current system, it was the Democrats, with their slim majority, who won the battle to pass a massive healthcare reform bill, signed into law on March 23.
After a year-long partisan struggle, Congress pushed through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The remainder of 2010 was spent with President Barack Obama’s administration touting the benefits of the package and Republicans vowing to repeal it.
The ACA, estimated to cost $940 billion, is projected to extend health insurance coverage to roughly 32 million additional Americans. Most of the law will be implemented in 2014, though several major provisions took effect on Sept. 23.
The ACA will require health insurance plans to cover preventive services without charging out-of-pocket costs for services including mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, pre-natal and new baby care. In addition, consumers will be guaranteed the right to appeal insurance company decisions to an independent third party and are guaranteed their choice of a primary care provider within a health plan’s network.
According to the White House, these three provisions alone will benefit up to 88 million people by 2013.
According to the administration, the ACA’s benefits include an increased federal emphasis on fighting Medicare fraud, waste and abuse; new resources and authorities to crack down on unjustified insurance rate hikes; a small business tax credit to help some 4 million businesses bring down their healthcare costs; $250 rebate checks to 1 million seniors to fill gaps in Medicare prescription drug coverage; and the launch of a new website to help consumers “take control” of their healthcare.
The White House also established the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Program in July, to help provide coverage for eligible Americans who have been uninsured for six months because of a pre-existing condition.
Meanwhile, GOP leaders continue to campaign against the law. Many of those swept into power at state and national levels in the Republican-dominated Nov. 2 mid-term elections vowed to repeal.
Aside from the sheer magnitude of the law and its cost, Republicans are objecting to the mandate that every American purchase health insurance or face a fine. More than two dozen states have filed suits questioning the constitutionality of the mandated health insurance requirement. So far, judges have ruled the cases show merit enough for further consideration.
The White House has shown little concern over the lawsuits. In a White House blog, Stephanie Cutter, Assistant to the President for Special Projects, wrote, “We saw this with the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act – constitutional challenges were brought to all three of these monumental pieces of legislation, and all of those challenges failed. So, too, will the challenge to health reform.”
Most Washington policy experts say a full repeal is unlikely, if not impossible, but the GOP may be able to overturn portions of the law and block some of its funding.