Happy Birthday
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act!
Today marks the first anniversary of federal health reform and there is much to celebrate! On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed historic legislation into law that reforms America’s broken health care system. In just one year, thanks to the leadership of Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown, Maryland has made great progress in implementing federal reform and the Maryland Health Care for All! Coalition has participated in the process as a voice for health care consumers. While other states focus energy on repealing the reform, Governor O’Malley knows that Marylanders have much to gain from increased access to care. Not only will hundreds of thousands of currently uninsured Marylanders get health care coverage, but the state will also save $850 million over the next 10 years thanks to this new law. Some Marylanders are already benefiting from reform, including:
- 700,000 Medicare enrollees who are now eligible for free preventive services and free annual wellness visit
- 54,723 seniors in the Medicare “donut hole” received a $250 rebate check to help with prescription costs
- 25,700 young adults who can now stay on their parents’ insurance up to age 26
- 320,000 children who cannot be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition
- 76,796 small businesses that provide health care to employees are now eligible for a federal tax credit
About 350,000 Marylanders will gain health care coverage by the time this law is fully implemented in 2014. Stay tuned!
Not sure how health reform helps you and your family?
- Watch “Health Reform Hits Main Street ” a great (9 min) video by the Kaiser Family Foundation. For more detail about the law and how it is being implemented in Maryland you can also watch two webinars we co-hosted at the Mid-Atlantic Public Health Training Center: What does health reform mean for you, your business or nonprofit? (June 25, 2010) The New healthcare law is here: How it can help you now (October 13, 2010)
- Own a small business? Nonprofit? Are you self-employed? Figure out if you can get a tax credit for health insurance at our new campaign site: www.smallbusinesstaxcredits.com
- Give us a call! We’ve done a lot of outreach around the state to educate Marylanders about new coverage opportunities. We’d be happy to come to your organization’s meeting or event to share more info about how to take advantage of all of the great new coverage opportunities.
