President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into Law on March 23, 2010. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Law on June 28, 2012. The landmark decisions end two years of legal uncertainty and clear the way for full implementation of the 906-page law. Doing so includes establishing insurance exchanges in each state, prohibiting insurance companies from discriminating against the sick, and requiring nearly all Americans to prove on their income taxes that they carry health insurance starting in 2014.
These new Healthcare Reform Laws will overall Healthcare in America. Significant statutory changes affecting Private and Group healthcare policies will be implementing over a period of time.
All private health insurance plans offered in the Marketplace will offer the same set of essential health benefits. These are services all plans must cover.
The Essential Health Benefits (EHB) include at least the following items and services:
Ambulatory patient services (outpatient care you get without being admitted to a hospital)
Emergency services
Hospitalization (such as surgery)
Maternity and newborn care (care before and after your baby is born)
Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment (this includes counseling and psychotherapy)
Prescription drugs
Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices (services and devices to help people with injuries, disabilities, or chronic conditions gain or recover mental and physical skills)
Essential health benefits are minimum requirements for all plans in the Marketplace. Plans may offer additional coverage. You will see exactly what each plan offers when you compare them side-by-side in the Marketplace.