Introduction

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law a bill which will have sweeping effect on the current health care system.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) as amended by the  Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 contains far reaching provisions aimed at expanding health insurance coverage to a  number of Americans, expanding eligibility to the Medicaid program, reforming insurance eligibility standards, and sponsoring a system of state based health insurance exchanges through which individual consumers and small businesses can gain access to policies with more affordable rates.  Additionally, the new law contains significant changes to the Medicare system that are intended to slow the growth of federal healthcare expenditures over time by promoting efficiency in the delivery of services, reforming reimbursement methodologies for providers, and enhancing enforcement fraud and abuse laws. This special feature describes provisions of the new law and the potential effects it will have for multiple stakeholders.

We have prepared a Healthcare Reform Timeline (PDF) to illustrate the new changes chronologically.


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