 | Federal Health Care Reform
Health care reform legislation, called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was passed by Congress in 2010. The ACA is designed to ensure that nearly all Americans have health insurance through commercial or public coverage, control health care costs, and improve the health care delivery system. Many Rhode Islanders and Americans are already benefitting from parts of the law that have already gone into effect. Thousands more Rhode Islands and millions of Americans will have new coverage options starting in January 2014.
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State Health Care Reform
Our state has a long history of working to provide health insurance coverage for Rhode Islanders, improve the quality of care and control health care costs. The ACA gave our state new tools to help achieve these goals.
In January 2011, Governor Chafee established the Rhode Island Health Care Reform Commission to oversee the implementation of all aspects of the ACA. One of the key components of health care reform is the creation of a health insurance exchange. The health insurance exchange will be a "marketplace" where people will be able to easily compare health insurance plans and purchase coverage. The exchange also will be the place where people will apply for Medicaid/RIte Care or subsidized commercial coverage. Federal Resources Videos showing how the Affordable Care Act is working for you: - Health Reform Hits Main Street: Confused about how the new health reform law really works? This short, animated movie explains the problems with the current health care system, the changes that are happening now, and the big changes coming in 2014. (video from the Kaiser Family Foundation, also available in Spanish)
Key dates for health care changes: - Implementation Timeline: The implementation timeline is an interactive tool designed to explain how and when the provisions of the health reform law will be implemented over the next several years. (from the Kaiser Family Foundation)
- What will health care do for you?: An interactive grid that lets you choose your health insurance status to find out what health care will do for you. (from Health Care for America Now)
Useful websites: State Resources
Governor's Executive Orders:
Executive Order Establishing the Health Care Commission (PDF)
Executive Order Establishing the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange (PDF)
Learn more about health care reform in Rhode Island:
State of Rhode Island Health Care Reform Commission
Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner
Other Resources
ACA Implementation-Monitoring and Tracking: Rhode Island Site Visit Report - February 14, 2012
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