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
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6-22-12 Affordable Care Act Update
June 22, 2012
Supreme Court Update
The Supreme Court has not yet issued its ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), though the decision could come out as soon as Monday, June 25. The Court is likely to announce that it will issue decisions on one or more other days next week as it is expected that their term will end for their summer recess, therefore, the Court is expected to release all remaining decisions by the end of the week. As previously mentioned, ACS CAN will notify the recipients of this email as soon as there is a ruling, and follow up as soon as possible with information on the specifics of the decision and messaging materials. Information about the decision will be emailed to all advocacy volunteers and posted on ACS CAN's website and Facebook page at that time. An FAQ will also be available at fightcancer.org/feedback.
We will provide more information about the consequences of the court's ruling after the decision is issued, but we wanted you to have this information beforehand to help you better understand the many provisions of the law currently benefiting individuals and communities and the array of stakeholders who may be affected by the court's decision.
State Update
ACS CAN and Division staff continue to collect vital information from a survey sent to state insurance commissioners and departments to assess their plans for defining and implementing an essential benefits package. On Wednesday, the Delaware Health Care Commission posted its completed survey on its website. Click here to view the completed survey. The survey was created by Society Divisions and ACS CAN in partnership with the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (National MS Society).
Consumer Rebates
On Thursday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that 12.8 million Americans will benefit from $1.1 billion in rebates from insurance companies this summer because of the ACA requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of premiums on health care services as opposed to salaries and administrative costs. Insurance plans that do not meet this 80/20 standard (also called the "medical loss ratio") must rebate the difference to consumers no later than August 1. The average rebate for each family covered by a policy will be $151. Consumers in every state will receive a notice from their insurance company informing them of the 80/20 rule and letting them know whether the company met the standard.
Consumers will receive rebates in one of the following ways:
- A rebate check in the mail;
- A lump-sum reimbursement to the same account that they used to pay the premium if by
credit card or debit card;
- A reduction in future premiums.
Employers could provide the rebates to their employees in one of the ways listed above, or they may choose to apply the rebate in a way that benefits the employees.
Later this summer, all of this information will be publicly posted on HealthCare.gov, allowing consumers to learn what value they are getting for their premium dollars.
For many consumers, the 80/20 rule motivated their insurers to lower prices or improve their coverage to meet the standard.
Click here for a detailed breakdown of these rebates by state and by market, click here for the text of these proposed notifications, and click here for more information on how the ACA Act is creating a transparent market for health insurance.
Preventive Services
Less than half of US adults received selected preventive services prior to enactment of the ACA in 2010, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report provided data on several categories of preventive services, including colon and breast cancer screenings, as well as tobacco cessation. The report concludes that the number of adults served could increase in the future with implementation of ACA provisions, including the requirement that Medicare and new private health insurance plans cover preventive services with no cost-sharing for patients and an option for increased federal matching funds for state Medicaid programs that cover all preventive services with given an "A" or "B" grade by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force at no cost to patients.
More Young Adults Have Insurance Coverage
The National Center for Health Statistics reported this week that the percentage of adults age19 to 25 with health insurance coverage increased from 64.4 percent in September 2010 to 74.8 percent in December 2011. HHS translates this percentage shift to about 3.1 million young adults gaining coverage after enactment of the ACA. Read the Kaiser Health News story.
As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families.
Chris Hansen | President
ACS Cancer Action Network | American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc.