By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Today marks the beginning of the gradual introduction of government-run health care in America with six provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act becoming effective today.
AOL News is reporting that President Barack Obama spent much of his day yesterday touting the new Patient’s Bill of Rights which takes effect today and will usher in the first of many sweeping changes to the health care system in America.
“The Affordable Care Act is already making a difference in the lives of millions of Americans,” Obama wrote in a letter posted at Whitehouse.gov. And with the Patient’s Bill of Rights going into effect, it will end “some of the worst abuses of the insurance industry and putting you, not your insurance company, in control of your healthcare.”
The following is a list of the new laws that take effect today:
1. Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny children coverage for pre-existing conditions.
2. Children will be able to remain on their parents’ health insurance policies until the age of 26.
3. Insurance companies will no longer able to terminate coverage for someone for any reason other than consumer fraud.
4. Insurance companies will no longer be able to put a cap on the amount of benefits and treatment a person can receive in their lifetime.
5. Insurance companies will no longer be permitted to charge customers for preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies.
6. The Bill of Rights mandates the establishment of high-risk pools to cover people who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
These and other provisions of the new health care law have caused many insurance companies to announce rate hikes beginning in January 2011. However, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has warned that the agency will not tolerate unjustified rate hikes and will be policing the industry for waste and fraud in an effort to keep health care affordable.
Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers released their Pledge to America today in which they promised to “repeal and replace” ObamaCare with more common sense solutions, such as allowing insurance to be bought across state lines which will force the industry to lower their prices in order to compete.
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