While most of the more controversial provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are not scheduled to take effect until 2014, a number of provisions kicked in on Jan. 1, according to a report by the Christian Science Monitor.
Here are eight key provisions in the PPACA that took effect in 2011.
1. Health insurers are now required to spend 80 to 85 percent of premium dollars and medical care and quality improvements or provide rebates to members.
2. Drug makers are now required to provide a 50 percent discount on all name-brand drugs to Medicare enrollees who fall into the Part D drug plan coverage gap, often referred to as the "doughnut hole".
3. Primary care physicians and general surgeons will receive reimbursement increases of 10 percent from Medicare.
4. Medicare enrollees can now receive certain preventative services, such as annual check ups, for free, without sharing costs with Medicare.
5. Medicare Advantage plans are now barred from raising cost-sharing requirements for certain benefits, and Medicare Advantage payments will be set at increasingly smaller percentages than traditional fee-for-service Medicare plans, according to the report.
6. Funds from tax-free health savings accounts can no longer be used for over-the-counter medications.
7. Twenty-five million dollars in funding is now available to states to prevent chronic disease among Medicaid recipients.
8. The Community Based Care Transitions Program will go live, allocating $500 million to hospitals with high levels of readmissions to help them better coordinate care and reduce readmission rates.
Read the Christian Science Monitor report on healthcare reform provisions taking effect in 2011.
Read more coverage on healthcare reform:
- House to Vote on Repeal Before State of The Union Speech
- Bipartisan Bill Would Allow States to Craft Their Own Reform Laws
- President, GOP Set to Battle Over Appropriations for Reform Law
Here are eight key provisions in the PPACA that took effect in 2011.
1. Health insurers are now required to spend 80 to 85 percent of premium dollars and medical care and quality improvements or provide rebates to members.
2. Drug makers are now required to provide a 50 percent discount on all name-brand drugs to Medicare enrollees who fall into the Part D drug plan coverage gap, often referred to as the "doughnut hole".
3. Primary care physicians and general surgeons will receive reimbursement increases of 10 percent from Medicare.
4. Medicare enrollees can now receive certain preventative services, such as annual check ups, for free, without sharing costs with Medicare.
5. Medicare Advantage plans are now barred from raising cost-sharing requirements for certain benefits, and Medicare Advantage payments will be set at increasingly smaller percentages than traditional fee-for-service Medicare plans, according to the report.
6. Funds from tax-free health savings accounts can no longer be used for over-the-counter medications.
7. Twenty-five million dollars in funding is now available to states to prevent chronic disease among Medicaid recipients.
8. The Community Based Care Transitions Program will go live, allocating $500 million to hospitals with high levels of readmissions to help them better coordinate care and reduce readmission rates.
Read the Christian Science Monitor report on healthcare reform provisions taking effect in 2011.
Read more coverage on healthcare reform:
- House to Vote on Repeal Before State of The Union Speech
- Bipartisan Bill Would Allow States to Craft Their Own Reform Laws
- President, GOP Set to Battle Over Appropriations for Reform Law