Heath Care Reform

With the new health care law, children under the age of 26 can choose to stay under their parent’s Mississippi health insurance as long as they are not offered an employer-based health insurance. This provision enabled 2.5 million young adults to have insurance nationwide. In Mississippi, 33,909 young adults have insurance coverage through this provision as of June 2011. With the new health care law, more than 34,500 Medicare policyholders in Mississippi received a $250 rebate check to help with prescription drug costs when they fell into the Medicare gap in 2010. In 2011, 33,510 Medicare plan holders were given a 50% discount on brand-name prescription drugs covered by their plan when they hit the donut hole. An average of $603 per person or a total of $20,190,640 was saved in Mississippi. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is now available for previously uninsured individuals without health coverage because of a pre-existing condition. This plan is available to U.S. citizens or legal residents with a pre-existing condition and have been uninsured for at least 6 months. In 2011, 163 individuals in Mississippi have benefited from this new law. When looking at Mississippi health insurance quotes, applicants are assured that at least 80 percent of the price will go directly to health care services and other related improvements. A rebate or premium discount shall be provided if the minimum is not met. All private policyholders in Mississippi will get greater value for their premium payments because of this 80/20 rule. Preventive care services like immunizations, colonoscopies, mammograms, or annual wellness doctor visits must be included in all Mississippi health insurance with no deductibles or co-pays. In 2011, more than 117,800 million Medicare subscribers and more than 240,000 individuals with private policies received such services in Mississippi. Under the new law, insurance companies are no longer allowed to impose an annual dollar limit – a cap on the yearly spending for your benefits, or a lifetime dollar limit – a lifetime cap for spending for your covered benefits. This law frees chronically ill individuals like cancer patients from worrying about getting further treatment because of such limitations. In 2011, more than 844,000 residents in Mississippi have benefited from this law. If insurance companies want to raise their premium rates by ten percent or more, they are required by federal law to publicly announce and justify their actions. To guard against such unreasonable increases, the state of Mississippi received a total of $4.8 million. All fifty states receive increases in funding for community health centers under the Affordable Care Act. This will help construct new health centers, provide medical services to more patients, improve preventive and primary health care services, and fund infrastructure projects. In Mississippi, 175 community health centers received a total of $26.6 million to fund these improvements. In 2010, the Affordable Care Act created the Prevention and Public Health Fund. This new fund was created for wellness promotion, disease prevention, and protection against public health emergencies. Mississippi has already received a total of $5.2 million to support its policies, programs, and communities to help its residents lead healthier lives.