| 
As a service to our clients, we are providing this section as a source of information regarding the timelines, requirements, legal issues, and analysis of the array of issues raised by the implementation of health care reform. Our health care industry team spans all areas of legal practice and is focused on this topic as a high priority.
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Soon after followed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the “Affordable Care Act”). The implementation of this law will have a profound impact on health insurance, coverage for employers and individuals, and health care delivery. Some provisions of the health care reform legislation are effective immediately; others will be phased in over the next several years.
The Affordable Care Act addresses a broad range of topics affecting many sectors of the economy. For example, the law includes:
- Incentives and requirements for employers to provide and for individuals to obtain health care insurance
- Medical insurance subsidies
- Expansion of Medicaid eligibility
- Changes to the federal False Claims Act, and other provisions designed to curb fraud, waste and abuse
- Provisions promoting transparency in both the flow of money among health care providers and vendors and the delivery of care
- Creation of new agencies and demonstration projects to promote innovation and efficiency in the delivery system
- Requirements and prohibitions for insurers providing individual insurance coverage
- Incentives for medical and pharmacological research
- Promotions and incentives to encourage the use of Health Information Exchanges and Electronic Health Records
- A set of provisions creating new sources of tax revenue
Total spending on health care in the United States comprises about 17 percent of total GDP and is expected to double within the next 25 years. The complexity and financial impact of these provisions on the health care industry and the nation's economy are unprecedented.
Please feel free to contact any of the individuals listed above under "Health Care Reform Team" for more information. |
| | Search Experience | | | |  |
|