Consumer Spin on New Healthcare Law Shared by ABA Health Law Section

Andrew J. Demetriou

“We are on the brink of the most comprehensive change in the American healthcare system since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965,” said Andrew J. Demetriou, chair of the ABA Health Law Section Task Force on Access to Healthcare, following President Barack Obama’s signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23.

Demetriou analyzes the new law in the third of a series of podcasts produced by the ABA Health Law Section to help ABA members and consumers understand the complex provisions of the 2,700-page act

In his 23-minute presentation, Demetriou outlines the major elements of the new legislation that include measures to reduce the number of uninsured Americans, expand benefits to senior citizens, beef up enforcement budgets for agencies that investigate and prosecute fraud and abuse, and add incentives that would multiply the number of primary care physicians and nurses.

“The most significant changes embodied in the legislation concern reform of the health insurance markets,” said Demetriou. “Effective immediately, health insurers can no longer rescind coverage of individuals based on the discovery of an undisclosed health condition, children can no longer be excluded from coverage  based on pre-existing health conditions and dependent children can remain covered by their parents’ policies until the age of 26.”

In addition to sharing the major provisions of the new healthcare act, Demetriou also provides history of the legislation’s passage, discusses the anticipated costs of the plan and potential savings from it, as well as provides a break down of the act’s companion measure, the Budget Reconciliation Act, signed by the president on March 30.

Beyond its podcast, the ABA Health Law Section will provide greater detail on the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in teleconferences planned for the coming weeks.

To access the podcast, go to:  http://www.abanet.org/health/podcasts/podcast0310_accesstohealthcare.html

For a transcript of Demetriou’s remarks, click here.