Academy Activities

The Academy's Health Practice Council sent a letter March 24 to Congress announcing its intention to work with regulatory authorities as the implementation process of the new health care reform law goes forward. In a related news release, the Academy also cautioned that the successful implementation of health care reform, including the budget reconciliation law, will require coordinated efforts to ensure that the regulatory development process accomplishes the intended goals of reform.

Legislative Updates

President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) into law on Tuesday. The House had passed the bill on Sunday by a vote of 219-212 and then approved by a vote of 220-211 the reconciliation adjustments (H.R. 4872). The new law will introduce a number of insurance market reforms, including imposing an individual mandate, creating a new exchange, providing subsidies for low- and middle-income individuals/families, expanding Medicaid, and creating initiatives intended to improve the quality of care while addressing its rising costs.

The Senate approved the budget reconciliation bill Thursday by a vote of 56-43 with two minor non-health revisions, thus sending it back to the House for a final vote. The House approved the revised legislation Thursday evening by a vote of 220-207 and sent the bill to the president for his signature.

Some of the provisions in the new laws that will go into effect this year include the creation of a temporary national high risk pool for uninsured adults with pre-existing conditions, prohibition on lifetime limits, restriction on the use of annual limits, creation of new tax credits for small businesses, and the extension of dependent coverage to individuals under 26 years of age.

In the News

The March 22 issue of BestWeek discussed various associations' efforts in Washington regarding major reform initiatives. The article captured the Academy's efforts on health care reform, urging policymakers to ensure that reform reflects actuarial principles and to include an individual health insurance coverage mandate to reduce adverse selection. 

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