IO SAYS OHIO ALREADY BENEFITTING FROM ACA Think Tank Highlights Patient Bill of Rights Benefits Now In Effect; Slams Lt. Governor for “Protecting Insurance Companies, Not Consumers”
Columbus—Innovation Ohio, a progressive think tank headquartered in Columbus, today heralded the one year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act’s “Patient’s Bill of Rights” and said Ohio Lt. Governor and state Insurance Commissioner Mary Taylor’s “over-the-top and wildly exaggerated criticisms of the ACA are politically motivated, and designed to protect insurance company profits at the expense of Ohio consumers.” At the news conference, IO issued a report highlighting the Ohio impact of the many reforms and consumer protections that have come into effect since the Patient’s Bill of Rights (part of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or “ACA”) which went into effect on September 23, 2010. Among the most important are:- Insurance companies are now prevented from denying coverage to the 643,000 Ohio children who suffer from preexisting conditions;
- Parents may now keep children on their policies until the age of 26, which can benefit an estimated 40,000 Ohioans;
- Insurance companies can no longer set lifetime limits on coverage (protecting the 6 million Ohioans with private insurance coverage) and annual limits are now tightly regulated (protecting the 6.1 million Ohioans who have employer-provided coverage);
- Insurance companies must limit spending on overhead, CEO salaries and profits and are required to spend at least 80% of premium dollars (rather than the 60% they had previously been spending) on medical care for individual policy-holders;
- Because insurance companies can charge small businesses more than they charge large businesses for the same coverage (18% more on average), a tax credit that is now in effect can help 147,000 Ohio small businesses afford premiums and provide coverage to their employees;
- Under the ACA, 29 states have received grants (in 2010 and 2011 the Ohio Department of Insurance has received a total of $5 million) to help review proposed rate increases by insurance companies, and to hold companies accountable for unjustified increases;
- Under the Patient’s Bill of Rights, Ohioans may now choose any doctor within their plan’s provider network, visit an OB-GYN without a referral, and receive emergency care at hospitals outside their policy network.
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