Happy Anniversary to the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will celebrate its one year anniversary March 23, 2011. Signed into law last year, the ACA puts into place comprehensive health insurance reforms designed to lower health care costs by enhancing the quality of health for all Americans.

The ACA’s small business provisions focus on finding ways for business owners to reduce their heath care costs by ensuring their employees have access to quality, affordable health insurance.

Small business provisions include:

• Small Businesses with fewer than 25 full time employees may qualify for the business tax credit.
• Employer-based health plans that provide health insurance to retirees aged 55-65 can get financial help through the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program.
• Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny individuals with a pre-existing condition, who may now be eligible to join the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.
• Employees can receive recommended preventive services like mammograms and flu shots without any additional cost to the employee.
• Insurance companies are prohibited from capping the dollar amount of care an employee can receive in a lifetime, or dropping coverage due to a mistake on your application when you get sick.
• Insurance companies must spend at least 80% of premium dollars on healthcare.

Currently four million small business owners have been able to claim a tax credit up to 35% of their health insurance costs. But tax credits are not the only benefit for small business owners. By 2014, small businesses will be able to increase their buying power through state-based health insurance marketplaces. Employers will be able to identify health insurance plans that better meet their needs. The ACA has allowed small business employers to provide health benefits to their employees.

Throughout this week the Small Business Majority will host a series of roundtables and webinars designed to better understand what the ACA has meant to small businesses. Today, the Secretary of the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius will kick off the series in Ohio. The Secretary will join The Consortium of African American Organizations and the National Policy Director of the Small Business Majority. 

Quicker Chlamydia Treatment, Medicaid Children Not Benefiting from Preventive Screening Services Named Best/Worst Prevention Ideas of the Week

The use of electronic records significantly increasing how fast patients with Chlamydia are treated was named the “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while children on Medicaid not receiving all required preventive screening services was named the “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week."

BEST

Chlamydia Treated Sooner When Docs Use E-Records

Switching to electronic medical records can significantly boost how quickly patients with the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia are treated, a new study shows.

Researchers found that an electronic medical record system more than doubled the percentage of patients treated within two weeks of diagnosis. The longer a sexually transmitted infection goes untreated, "the more risk there is of onward transmission and of clinical complications," the authors wrote. "Appropriate use of technology greatly improves our ability to treat patients rapidly, and we should strive to use all available methods for the good of our patients and the betterment of public health."

WORST

Medicaid Children Are Not Receiving All Required Preventive Screening Services

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (IG) has just released a new report (OEI-05-08-00520) concluding that “Most children in nine selected States are not fully benefiting from Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) comprehensive screening services.”

For anyone concerned about the importance of expanding coverage for clinical preventive services under health reform, this report is a reminder that coverage alone isn’t enough to assure access.

Disparties Still a Major Problem in U.S. Healthcare System

A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) highlights the continued concern of disparities in our healthcare system. As in previous reports, the disparities relate to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status and "are prevalent in almost all areas of healthcare, including preventive care, treatment of acute conditions, and managment of chronic diseases".

The widest gap was seen between low-income and high-income patients, followed by Hispanics and non-Hispanics, then blacks and whites. The report also highlights the importance of the new healthcare reform law. Not surprisingly it showed that uninsured people were far less likely to receive preventive services, including mammograms, Pap smears, dental care, counseling about diet and exercise, and flu vaccination.

Christianne Johnson
Program Manager
Partnership for Prevention

What Clinical Preventive Services are Right for You?

During the health care debate, recommended clinical preventive services have been in the news as never before. Many people are unsure which services are recommended and for whom. An easy to use, free, interactive tool is now available. The DHHS, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has a widget which directs users to the clinical preventive services recommended for persons of their age and sex. If you want to remind a loved one what’s recommended for him or her, type in their age and sex and then email the results. When you see your healthcare provider, discuss keeping preventive care up-to-date. The preventive services and other tools are located at http://www.healthfinder.gov./ Organizations are free to add the widget to their websites.

Susan K. Maloney, MHS
Managing Senior Fellow & Senior Program Officer
Partnership for Prevention