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Health care reform: Now is the time to become a better consumer

1 May 2010

No matter how you feel about health care reform, the die is now cast. The responsibility of the American people now begins. So what are we going to do with these changes to empower ourselves to make better informed, cost-effective medical care decisions for our family, our community—and the country?

If you have struggled to find the most relevant consumer information about the health reform bill, I’ve provided a breakdown of resources below so you can review the changes that are coming and see how you can best use them to manage your health care consumption and the related costs.

As you may know, the goals of the health care bill in their simplest forms are to expand health care coverage for uninsured American consumers and to place some limitations on the private health insurers that provide coverage to these consumers. The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan health care information and communication organization, set up a Web page that outlines the key aspects of the legislation in detail.

Another resource for understanding how the health care overhaul will affect consumers is from the Washington Post. They’ve created an interactive tool that allows you to input your data (such as number of dependents and household income) and see the applicable changes, if any, for you and members of your family.

If you’re interested in local coverage of health care reform, The Seattle Times has created a timeline that can help you see when major changes will occur. For instance, the article states the following will happen in 2010:

Uninsured people with medical problems will be able to enroll in a “high-risk insurance pool.”
Health insurance plans will have to cover eligible dependent children until age 26. They also can’t deny children with “pre-existing” health problems.
Insurance companies will be restricted from putting “lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage,” and will be limited on placing annual coverage limits.
Small businesses (up to 25 employees) will get financial help such as tax credits to provide coverage for their employees.
Seniors on Medicare will get a $250 rebate for prescription medications.

Some changes are more immediate, while others won’t occur for a few more years. In 2014, all Americans will have to purchase health insurance and most employers will have to provide it. It is estimated that by 2019, approximately 32 million American consumers will have health care coverage.

What you need to remember now though is that it’s not too early for you to start changing how you use health care. The legislative process has concluded. It’s now time to become better informed and take responsibility for your medical care decisions.

Tags: health care reform, kaiser foundation

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Health care reform: Now is the time to become a better consumer

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