2010
New programs:
- Temporary retiree reinsurance program.
- National risk pool, small business tax credit.
- $250 rebate for Medicare members who reach the “doughnut hole”.
Health Insurance Reforms:
- No lifetime benefit limits based on dollar amounts.
- Allowed restricted yearly limits on the dollar value of certain benefits.
- No coverage rescissions/cancellations (except for fraud or internal misrepresentation).
- No cost-sharing obligations for preventive services.
- Must have dependent coverage up to age 26.
- New internal and external appeal process.
- No pre-existing condition exclusions for dependent children (under 19 years of age).
- New health plan disclosure and transparency requirements.
2011
Insurance Reforms:
- New uniform coverage documents and standard definitions are developed.
- Must have minimum medical loss ratios.
Medicare Reforms:
- Start of Medicare Advantage cost-sharing limits.
- Medicare beneficiaries who reach the doughnut hole to get a 50% discount on brand name drugs.
- Primary care doctors and general surgeons practicing in underserved areas, such as inner city and rural communities to get a 10% bonus.
- Medicare Advantage plans begin having payments frozen.
Other:
- Yearly fee for brand-name drug manufacturers.
- Start of voluntary long-term care insurance program giving a cash benefit to help those with disabilities stay in their homes or pay nursing home cost: benefit starts 5 years after paying coverage fee.
- Increased funding for community health centers to provide care for many low-income and uninsured people.
2012
- Hospitals, doctors and payers encouraged to join forces in “accountable care organizations”.
- Hospitals with high rates of preventable readmissions facing reduced Medicare payments.
2013
- Individuals making $200,000 a year or couples making $250,000 would have a higher Medicare payroll tax of 2.35% on earned income – up from the current 1.45%. A new 3.8% tax on unearned income, such as dividends and interest, also added.
- Contributions to flexible spending accounts (FSAs) limited to $2,500 a year – indexed for inflation. And the threshold for deducting medical expenses on taxes goes from 7.5% to 10% income.
- Medical device manufacturers have a 2.9% sales tax on medical devices; with exemptions for some, like eyeglasses, contact lens, and hearing aids.
- No more deduction for expenses allocable to Medicare Part D subsidy for employers who maintain prescription drug plans for their Medicare Part D-eligible retirees.
2014
Coverage Mandates & Subsidies:
- New Individual and employer coverage responsibilities.
- New Individual affordability tax credit and expanded small business tax credits.
Health Insurance Exchange & Insurance Reforms:
- State individual and small group health insurance exchanges operational.
- Guaranteed issue, guaranteed renewability, modified community rating and minimum benefit standards (“essential benefits” plan) effective.
- No more lifetime and yearly dollar limits for essential benefits.
- New taxes on health insurers.
2018
- New tax (“Cadillac tax”) on employer-sponsored health plans that offer policies with generous coverage levels.
2020
- Doughnut hole coverage gap in Medicare prescription benefits is fully phased out. Seniors continue to pay the standard 25% of their drug costs until they reach the threshold for Medicare catastrophic coverage.
