For Small Businesses:
The Facts on the New Health Care Law
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What is the Affordable Care Act?
The Affordable Care Act is a law passed by
Congress and signed by the President in March
2010. It puts in place health insurance reforms
that will roll out over four years and beyond,
with many changes taking place in 2014.
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2010
• Small Business Premium Tax Credit becomes available
• Protections for Consumers:
No pre-existing condition discrimination for kids,
under 26 can stay on parents’ plan, no lifetime limits/
annual limits phaseout begins
• In many plans: preventive services like mammograms
and colonoscopies covered without a co-pay
2011
• Rate Review: insurance company
premium increases begin to be
reviewed by an independent third
party
2012
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• 80/20 rule: rebates for consumers if the insurance company
doesn’t spend 80 cents of each dollar on medical care/quality
improvement
• Health insurance plans begin to provide easy-to-understand
benefit summaries
2014
• Competitive Healthcare Marketplaces (Exchanges) begin:
one-stop shops where individuals and small businesses
can purchase affordable private health insurance
• Members of Congress will get their healthcare from the
exchanges – just like millions of Americans
• Individual responsibility requirements begin; tax credits
for purchasing health insurance available for those who
qualify
• Protections for Consumers: no discrimination against
anyone with a pre-existing condition, annual limits
eliminated
The Big
Picture
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Why is the Affordable Care Act necessary?
For too long, we had a health insurance
market that worked very well for big
insurance companies, but not so well for
American families and small businesses.
For many years, Americans watched
their health insurance costs rise more
rapidly than their wages. From 1999-2009,
health insurance costs and premiums
skyrocketed, leaving employers in the
difficult position of deciding whether they
could continue to maintain coverage for
the