Thanks to key provisions of the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act, every state now has a website that makes it easier than ever to shop for coverage and compare health plans.
When Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), inquired about contributing a patient story to a hearing to discuss the progress being made on implementation of insurance market reforms under the ACA, we knew Stacy's story was one the committee needed to hear.
As the second anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) approaches, we decided it was a good time to check in with the call center specialists at the American Cancer Society's National Cancer Information Center (NCIC) to ask them how one aspect of the law the new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Programs (PCIPs) is impacting people with cancer.
Today, when consumers pick a health coverage plan they are given a long document filled with complicated jargon that is virtually impossible for them to understand. An important provision in the Affordable Care Act, known as the Summary of Benefits and Coverage provision, was written to change that.