Keith Katie, Lucia Kevin W, Corlette Sabrina
Center on Health Insurance Reforms, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, USA.
Issue Brief (Commonw Fund). 2013 Feb;8:1-14.
The Affordable Care Act includes numerous consumer protections designed to improve the accessibility, adequacy, and affordability of private health insurance. Because states are the primary regulators of health insurance, this issue brief examines new state action on a subset of protections--such as guaranteed access to coverage and a ban on preexisting condition exclusions--that go into effect in 2014. The analysis finds that, to date, only one state passed new legislation on all of these protections, and an additional 10 states and the District of Columbia passed new legislation or issued a new regulation on at least one protection. The analysis also finds that--without new legislation--some states face limitations in fully enforcing these reforms. These findings suggest an acute need for states to take action in 2013 to help ensure that consumers are fully protected by and benefit from the Affordable Care Act's most significant reforms.
《平价医疗法案》包含众多旨在提高私人医疗保险的可及性、充足性和可负担性的消费者保护措施。由于各州是医疗保险的主要监管者，本问题简报审视了2014年生效的一部分保护措施（如保障保险覆盖范围和禁止排除已有病症）方面的新的州行动。分析发现，迄今为止，只有一个州就所有这些保护措施通过了新立法，另有10个州和哥伦比亚特区就至少一项保护措施通过了新立法或发布了新规定。分析还发现，在没有新立法的情况下，一些州在全面实施这些改革方面面临限制。这些发现表明，各州迫切需要在2013年采取行动，以帮助确保消费者得到《平价医疗法案》最重要改革的充分保护并从中受益。
