HEALTH CARE REFORM UPDATE: National health care reform —
officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act (ACA) — is the most ambitious piece of health care
legislation since the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid in
1965. Passed in 2010, we’re only eight months away from many of
the law’s major provisions coming online. The legislation aims
to expand access to health care coverage to uninsured Americans
through: · An individual mandate requiring adults to have health
insurance or pay a fine; · An employer mandate requiring firms
with 50 or more employees to offer coverage or pay a fine; · A
requirement that each state establish a health insurance
exchange or accept a federally established exchange in which
individuals and small businesses can buy coverage; and · An
expansion of Medicaid eligibility to cover greater numbers of
lower-income people. Another major goal of the ACA is to
implement new health delivery reforms that would bend the health
care cost curve down and reduce costs ove