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Affordable Care Act Information In March 2010 the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. The Affordable Care Act is health care reform that focuses on increasing health security by putting in place comprehensive health insurance reforms that hold insurance companies accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee more choices, and enhance the quality of care for all Americans. ACA will not be implemented all at once and portions of the law have already taken effect. Below are five key changes that you should know about:
- No dropping of coverage: Insurance companies can no longer cancel your insurance policy when you get sick.
- No discrimination based on existing illnesses: Children cannot be denied health coverage due to a pre-existing condition, and in 2014 the same will be true for individuals of any age.
- Coverage for young adults: Children can stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until they turn 26.
- Free preventive care: All new health insurance policies must cover many preventative services (such as annual check-ups, immunizations, mammograms, and cancer screenings) with no co-payment by the consumer.
- Assistance to those who cannot afford insurance: Subsides are available to help people purchase coverage.
As a leader in health advocacy, the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium is collaborating with our various partners on many levels to continue strategies and activities that will maintain and increase access to comprehensive health services. Specifically, SFCCC is working with the California Primary Care Association (CPCA) to ensure that implementation of the health care reform in California results in programs that maximize access to comprehensive services for low-income Californians and supports the non-profit clinic safety net.
SFCCC’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of community health clinics to engage leadership staff, and clients in local, regional, and statewide Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation advocacy efforts. This includes increasing support for community health clinics and the needs of the underserved populations through partnerships with non-health organizations, local elected officials, business leaders, and the media. Some of the work that SFCCC is doing around ACA includes:
- Tracking State ACA implementation draft polices and regulations
- Working with the Bay Area Consortia Group to exchange best practices regarding local implementation
- Working with San Francisco’s Health Care Reform Implementation Task Force to coordinate the local impetus of health care reform by adjusting local program for the uninsured as needed
For more information regarding health care reform and the Affordable Care Act please visit any of the following websites:
For the latest policy update from SFCCC’s VP of Policy, please click here.
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