Health Care Reform

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Health Care Reform

The U.S. Government has started a Web site to answer questions and provide as many answers as there are currently available. Much of the Affordable Care Act still needs to be defined and reviewed before it's implemented, but this site has the current information. HealthCare.gov can also help Americans decide what types of coverage are appropriate for themselves and/or their families. The site has info about what kind of coverage will be available and appropriate once more of the major Health Care Reform changes are in place. When visiting the site there is an opportunity for Americans to provide feedback. Look for the "Was this helpful?" icon.		Health Care Reform was written as a broad guide, with the intent to continually define the specifics as it becomes time to implement each part of the law. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is constantly working towards defining each portion of the Affordable Care Act and updates its Web site regularly. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius posts video logs about the direction of Reform and what is going on within the department. The HHS site also has links for social media and other ways to stay informed.		The Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) is the home of the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI). According to the DORA Web site the DOI: "regulates the insurance industry and assists consumers and other stakeholders with insurance issues. Consumer protection is our mission." This site includes information for Coloradans that pertains to the insurance market in general, but also has several links related to Reform and Exchanges.		Colorado has its own state Web site and has developed an entire section devoted to Health Care Reform. There is information about the current state high-risk insurance pools CoverColorado and GettingUsCovered. Residents can also sign up to receive a newsletter from the site to stay on top of current news and issues relating to Colorado's Health Care Reform. With the signing of SB11-200 into law in June 2011, Colorado will now have a say in its own Health Insurance Exchange. This Web site also covers information about the Exchange and what it means for Coloradans.
The Kaiser Family Foundation - Health Care Reform Different pages of this site cover topics like research and analysis; public opinion polls and survey statistics; what's going on in each state regarding implementation of Reform; and current news. There is a page called "The Basics" which describes Reform, has a glossary of key terms and provides links for finding additional information. Also available are links to official government documents and links to Web sites for more in-depth research and materials about Reform. Check out updates and information about Reform from The Kaiser Family Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. Links to their social media pages can be found on their Web site.

Since there are so many different parts to the Affordable Care Act, this timeline highlights the basic elements of each year's implementation schedule. The elements listed in this timeline are thought to be the most impactful components of the Reform. Keep in mind this is not a complete list. There are several more aspects to the Affordable Care Act, this simply hits the high points.		Several health insurance carriers have developed special sections on their Web site devoted to Health Care Reform. Cigna's Informed on Reform is a great resource for research, updates and basic information about PPACA. The site has different sections for consumers, providers, agents/brokers, a general overview for everyone and a News & Information section which covers the most current and on-going issues.		Should you be a glutton for punishment, here it is in its full format ... The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as published online by the Government Printing Office. When you get to the GPO Web site, there is a link to view the document as either text or in PDF format. The site also allows viewers to see what other Statute citations, Code citations and Legislative history went into the making of PPACA.		Anthem/BCBS has developed a few tools to help navigate Health Care Reform. One of the tools deals with the concept of "grandfathering." It is an interactive way to help employers decide if it's in their best interest to stay grandfathered and what that means for their employee health insurance package. The other tool from Anthem/BCBS is a calculator developed with the help of H&R Block®. This will assist employers in determining if the Small Business Tax Credit applies to their company.

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