Empowering patient voices through voter registration
While roughly 83% of adults in the United States will visit a health care provider in the next year, an estimated
News
10-6-11 Affordable Care Act Update
October 12, 2011
Federal Update
Essential Benefits
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is expected to release its final report on essential health benefits on Friday. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), however, is unlikely to release a final rule until May 2012. The Affordable Care Act required the IOM to provide HHS with principles to guide the development of the essential health benefits health most plans will be required to adhere to starting in 2014. Read The Washington Post story.
Litigation
Late last week, both supporters and defenders of the Affordable Care Act petitioned the US Supreme Court to hear cases affecting the law. To date, more than 30 lawsuits have been filed in the lower courts. At the crux of each challenge is whether Congress has the authority under the US Constitution to require individuals to purchase health insurance (the so-called "individual mandate"). Three different Circuit Courts of Appeals have already ruled in these cases. In the Fourth Circuit, the lawsuits were dismissed on procedural grounds, while in the 11th Circuit the individual mandate was struck down. Finally, the Sixth Circuit upheld the law in its entirety. This "circuit-split" and the magnitude of the cases virtually assures that the high court will hear one of these challenges during its fall term, with a decision expected before the Supreme Court adjourns for the summer of 2012. The American Cancer Society and ACS CAN filed as "friends of the court" at the appellate level, along with the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association to defend the law, citing scientific evidence that health insurance status is directly linked to health outcomes. Please see the attached ACS CAN fact sheet for a more detailed explanation of the legal issues.
Media and Polling
New Study: Rising Health Costs Hurting Families More Than Realized
Despite a rise in income between 1999 and 2009, rising health costs are leaving the average family with only $95 more per month, according to a recent Rand Corp study. Typical families saw a rise in before-tax income of $1,910 per month during this time period, but higher insurance premiums, taxes and out-of-pocket expenses related to health care consumed much of the extra income. For example, the share in monthly premium costs that the average family paid rose from $85 in 1999 to $195 in 2009. For more information, read the CQ coverage.
As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families
Christopher W. Hansen
President
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)