Explore the Timeline of Health Reform in Action

March 23, 2010

President Obama Signs the Affordable Care Act, an Historic Overhaul of the American Health Care System

“That our generation is able to succeed in passing this reform is a testament to the persistence –- and the character -– of the American people, who championed this cause; who mobilized; who organized; who believed that people who love this country can change it.”
— President Barack Obama
Watch the Video

June 10, 2010

Seniors See the First Benefit of the Affordable Care Act as $250 Rebate Checks Are Sent

The first $250 rebate checks are sent to seniors who fall into Medicare’s “donut hole” and have to pay all their own drug costs. In the first year of health reform, nearly four million people on Medicare got help with prescription drug costs.
President Explains the New Protections for Seniors

 

July 1, 2010

Now Uninsured Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Have Access to Coverage

A temporary health insurance program that makes health coverage available and more affordable for high-risk individuals who are uninsured and have been denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition launches. Gail O’Brien was the first New Hampshire resident to benefit from this new program.
See Gail's Story

September 23, 2010

Patients Can Now Take Advantage of Their First New Set of Protections

• New private insurance plans must offer free preventive services without charging a deductible or co-pay.
• Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to a customer because of a paperwork error or unintentional mistake
• Consumers now have two ways to appeal insurance company’s coverage decisions or claims: through their insurer or through an independent decision-maker.

• Insurance companies can no longer set lifetime limits on key benefits, such as hospital stays.
• Insurance company’s ability to set annual dollar limits on coverage for individual and group plans are restricted.
• Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for children with pre-existing conditions.

January 1, 2011

Free Preventive Care for Seniors

Medicare starts covering annual wellness visits and offering free preventive services including mammograms and colonoscopies.
President Obama at a Town Hall for Seniors

January 1, 2011

Lower Prescription Drug

Costs for Seniors

As of January 1, 2011, seniors who reach the coverage gap received a 50 percent discount when buying Medicare Part D covered brand-name prescription drugs. Over the next ten years, seniors will receive additional savings on brand-name and generic drugs until the coverage gap is closed in 2020.
President Obama at a Town Hall for Seniors

January 1, 2011

Health Care Innovations

The new Innovation Center was established to research, develop, test, and expand innovative new ways to improve the quality and reduce the cost of care. Innovations that are found to work could then be rapidly expanded and applied more broadly and these benefits will spill over to the private sector.

September 1, 2011

Lowering Costs for American Consumers

Now health insurers seeking to increase their rates by 10 percent or more must submit their request to state or federal reviewers to determine whether they are reasonable or not. These reviews will bring greater transparency, accountability, and may lower costs for families and small business owners who struggle to afford coverage.
Learn More

December 14, 2011

The Results Are In

Since the new law came into effect in September 2010, 2.5 million more Americans under the age of 26 have received coverage by registering under their parents' health insurance plans.
Learn More

January 1, 2012

Savings for Small Business Owners

For the third year, a tax credit is refunding small business owners like Mike Novak, a Montana grocery store owner, up to 35 percent of the premiums they pay for their workers. So far, more than 2 million workers have received coverage because of this benefit.
Read about how heath care reform is helping Mike and many others across the country

February 28, 2012

Protecting Taxpayer’s Money

The Affordable Care Act includes new tools to fight fraud, strengthen Medicare and protect taxpayer dollars. When federal authorities announced they’d busted a Texas scheme that bilked Medicare of $375 million, cumulative savings since the law’s signing hit $10.7 billion.
Watch President Obama explain the need to crack down on fraud in the health care system

July, 2012

New Standards Will Deliver More Patient Care

President Obama promised that health reform means that Americans will get a better bang for their health care dollars: consumers whose insurance company does not spend at least 80 percent of their premium dollars on medical care and quality improvements will begin receiving rebate checks.

August 1, 2012

New Savings for Women

Additional preventive care services for women—including well woman visits and contraception—are covered with no cost sharing for new health plans. Many preventive services, including mammograms, screenings for cervical cancer, and other services, already are covered in new plans.
Learn how preventetive care helps combat breast cancer

January 1, 2013

Strengthening Quality Care for Patients

People with Medicaid and Medicare will continue to see improvements in access to and quality of care. States will have access to new funding to provide preventive services for people with Medicaid at no or low cost, and increase payments to primary care doctors serving Medicaid patients to Medicare levels In addition, the Medicare program will launch a pilot program to bundle payments for doctors, providing incentives to deliver higher quality health care while lowering costs.

January 1, 2014

New Patient Protections are Fully Implemented

In 2014, a number of new patient protections go into effect. Insurance companies are banned from discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition, and from charging higher rates due to gender or health status. In addition to the ban on lifetime dollar limits, insurance companies can no longer impose annual dollar limits on health benefits.

January 1, 2014

More Americans Have Access to Coverage

In 2014, consumers who don’t have coverage through work can use Affordable Insurance Exchanges, one-stop marketplaces where consumers can choose a private health insurance plan that fits their health needs and access the same kinds of insurance choices members of Congress will have. The new law also provides middle class tax credits to families to help pay for private health insurance. And it expands the Medicaid program to families of four with incomes of up to $29,000

The Core Principle

“We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities. We are a nation that does what is hard. What is necessary. What is right. Here, in this country, we shape our own destiny. That is what we do. That is who we are. That is what makes us the United States of America. And we have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care.”
— President Barack Obama, March 23, 2010