Cindy: Healthcare Reform Update
Healthcare Reform Update As you may know, the Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) was constitutional. What that means is that the government can require that individuals have health insurance. However, the Supreme Court also ruled that the states do not have to expand Medicaid from 100% federal poverty level (FPL) to 133% (FPL) as was required in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Why does all of this matter to you? The ACA has certain requirements for the states. Arizona has to decide: I. What the Essential Health Benefits benchmark plan will be and report to the federal government by September 30th. Governor Brewer chose the State Employee Benefit-United Healthcare EPO with pediatric dental and vision coverage supplemental by the FED-VIP plan as the benchmark plan. It will be important to understand what is included in this plan regarding pharmacy benefits, factor product choices, etc. The plan is about 80 pages long. We are currently assessing it and will make sure to make our voices heard on any concerns for our community. II. Whether Arizona will operate its own Health Insurance Exchange or opt to have the federal government run it. The exchanges are designed to help small businesses provide coverage for their employees and for individuals who are not insured through their employer. On November 28, 2012, Governor Brewer notified the feds that Arizona will not create a state-run health insurance exchange. Arizona is one of 17 other states that have rejected a state-run exchange. The federal government has the authority to step in and create exchanges in states that do not build their own. III. Whether to expand Medicaid from 100% FPL to 133% FPL. Children are automatically increased