The Affordable Health Care Act (aka Obamacare) has been ramping up over the last few months and goes into full-throttle (Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment starts October 1, 2013). Here are some of the important changes the healthcare law impacts.
Expansion
The Affordable Care Act will expand mental health and substance use disorder benefits and parity protections for 62 million Americans. Mental health and substance use disorder services: This includes behavioral health treatment, counseling, and psychotherapy, prescription drugs. It also covers services and devices to help you recover if you are injured, or have a disability or chronic condition. This includes physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, psychiatric rehabilitation, and more. The healthcare act also includes a huge Medicaid/Medicare expansion to provide coverage to millions more Americans currently without insurance. Here are just a few other bullet points of the healthcare act going into effect soon:
• National goals have been set to identify and reduce mental health care disparities in the U.S.
• More federally-qualified mental health care facilities will be made available and funded.
• There will be an increased focus on telemedicine, which will facilitate mental health services and collaborative efforts from a distance, through the use of telecommunication technologies.
• Additional funding will be allocated to mental health organizations, such as SAMHSA.
• State Health Homes will be made available for individuals recovering from substance abuse and mental health disorders.
• School-based mental health programs will be initiated for child mental health care.
• Grants will be allocated exclusively for training more mental health care professionals.
• No-cost and low-cost preventative screenings will include mental health services.
• Mental health benefits will be included in the Medicaid expansion.
Prevention
Most health plans must now cover preventative services like depression screening for adults and behavioral assessments for children at no cost. All Marketplace plans and many other plans must cover the following list of preventive services without charging you a copayment or coinsurance. This is true even if you haven’t met your yearly deductible. This applies only when these services are delivered by a network provider.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Starting in 2014, health insurance plans will not be able to deny clients customers coverage or charge extra for pre-existing health conditions including mental illness.
Let’s Talk Access
Access through for those un- or under-insured is through Exchanges. Exchanges are set up through state websites designed to make it easy for people to find health coverage. Each state will have one. The District and 16 states, including Maryland, are running their own exchanges. The rest are either partnering with the federal government or, as in Virginia’s case, relying on the federal government to operate their exchanges. To find the correct site, go to www.healthcare.gov.
To learn more about how the Affordable Healthcare Act may impact services with Fonthill Counseling, please contact us with specific questions or concerns.