September 23, 2010
September 23, 2010: President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law six months ago today, on March 23, 2010. On this anniversary, a number of insurance regulation reforms mandated by the ACA go into effect.
Among the new rules are the following:
- Dependent coverage eligibility for young adults is extended up to age 26.
- Lifetime dollar limits on coverage are eliminated.
- Annual limits are beginning to be phased out (with complete elimination in 2014).
- Insurers can no longer rescind coverage unless they can prove fraud by the insured.
- Children cannot be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
- Cost-sharing for preventive services is eliminated.
Visit www.healthcare.gov for further details about the ACA provisions that are effective today.
Though many of the provisions that become effective today deal with individual health coverage issues, they will vary depending on how states choose to implement them. Click here to link to a list of state resources about reform implementation.