Health Insurance Reforms: Once in a Lifetime Change or Same as it Ever Was?
National Association of Elder Law Attorneys Journal, Forthcoming
19 Pages Posted: 6 Nov 2010
Date Written: November 4, 2010
Abstract
In this article, we consider how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) will change the nature of health insurance. To do so, we begin with a discussion of private health insurance basics: what is insurance and how is it regulated today? We then consider the overall health reform package with particular emphasis on the role insurers play in the quest to expand access to quality care while controlling costs. We examine the game-change which looms in 2014: the institution of insurance exchanges combined with promises of guaranteed issue and an individual mandate. Next, we review the underwriting and consumer protection reforms built into PPACA. With this backdrop, we look into the crystal ball to consider whether health reform will, indeed, change the nature of insurance.
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