Timeline of Major Provisions in the Democrats’ Health Care Package

2010

States and Federal officials review premium increases
FDA authorized to approve "follow-on" biologics
Increase brand name pharmaceutical Medicaid rebate (from 15.1% to 23.1%)
Medicare payments to physicians in primarily rural areas increase (2 years)
Deny "black liquor" eligibility for cellulosic biofuel producers credit
Tax credits provided to certain small employers for health care-related expenses
Increase adoption tax incentives for 2 years
Codify economic substance doctrine and impose penalties for underpayments (transactions on/after 3/23/10)
Provide income exclusion for specified Indian tribe health benefits provided after3/23/10
Temporary high-risk pool and high-cost union retiree reinsurance ($5 B each for 3.5 years) (6/23/10)
Impose 10% tax on indoor UV tanning (7/1/10)
Medicare cuts to inpatient psych hospitals (7/1/10)
Prohibits lifetime and annual benefit spending limits (plan years beginning 9/23/10)
Prohibits non-group plans from canceling coverage (rescissions) (plan years beginning 9/23/10)
Requires plans to cover, at no charge, most preventive care (plan years beginning 9/23/10)
Allows dependents to stay on parents’ policies through age 26 (plan years beginning 9/23/10)
Provides limited protections to children with pre-existing conditions (plan years beginning 9/23/10)
Hospitals in "Frontier States" (ND, MT, WY, SD, UT ) receive higher Medicare payments (FY11)
Hospitals in “low-cost” areas receive higher Medicare payments for 2 yrs ($400 million, FY11)

2011

Medicare Advantage cuts begin
No longer allowed to use FSA, HSA, HRA, Archer MSA distributions for over-the-counter medicines
Medicare cuts to home health begin
Wealthier seniors ($85k/$170k) begin paying higher Part D premiums (not indexed for inflation in Parts B/D)
Medicare reimbursement cuts when seniors use diagnostic imaging like MRIs, CT scans, etc.
Medicare cuts begin to ambulance services, ASCs, diagnostic labs, and durable medical equipment
Impose new annual tax on brand name pharmaceutical companies
Americans begin paying premiums for federal long-term care insurance (CLASS Act)
Health plans required to spend a minimum of 80% of premiums on medical claims
Physicians in "Frontier States" (ND, MT, WY, SD, UT ) receive higher Medicare payments
Prohibition on Medicare payments to new physician-owned hospitals
Penalties for non-qualified HSA and Archer MSA distributions double (to 20%)
Seniors prohibited from purchasing power wheelchairs unless they first rent for 13 months
Brand name drug companies begin providing 50% discount in the Part D “donut hole”
10% Medicare bonus payment for primary care and general surgery (5 years)
Employers required to report value of health benefits on W-2
Steps towards health insurance administrative simplification (reduced paperwork, etc) begins (5 yr process)
Additional funding for community health centers (5 years)
Seniors who hit Part D “donut hole "in 2010 receive $250 check (3/15/11)
New Medicare cuts to long-term care hospitals begin (7/1/11)
Additional Medicare cuts to hospitals and cuts to nursing homes and inpatient rehab facilities begin (FY12)
New tax on all private health insurance policies to pay for comp. eff. research (plan years beginning FY12)

2012

Medicare cuts to dialysis treatment begins
Require information reporting on payments to corporations
Medicare to reduce spending by using an HMO-like coordinated care model (Accountable Care Organizations)
Medicare Advantage plans with a 4 or 5 star rating receive a quality bonus payment
New Medicare cuts to inpatient psych hospitals (7/1/12)
Hospital pay-for-quality program begins (FY13)
Medicare cuts to hospitals with high readmission rates begin (FY13)
Medicare cuts to hospice begin (FY13)

2013

Impose $2,500 annual cap on FSA contributions (indexed to CPI)
Increase Medicare wage tax by 0.9% and impose a new 3.8% tax on unearned , nonactive
business income for those earning over $200k/$250k (not indexed to inflation)
Generally increases (7.5% to 10%) threshold at which medical expenses, as a % of income, can be deductible
Eliminate deduction for Part D retiree drug subsidy employers receive
Impose 2.3% excise tax on medical devices
Medicare cuts to hospitals who treat low-income seniors begin
Post-acute pay for quality reporting begins
CO-OP Program: Secretary awards loans and grants for establishing nonprofit health insurers
$500,000 deduction cap on compensation paid to insurance company employees and officers
Part D “donut hole” reduction begins, reaching a 25% reduction by 2020

2014

Individuals without gov't-approved coverage are subject to a tax of the greater of $695 or 2.5% of income
Employers who fail to offer "affordable" coverage would pay a $3,000 penalty for
every employee that receives a subsidy through the Exchange
Employers who do not offer insurance must pay a tax penalty of $2,000 for every fulltime employee
More Medicare cuts to home health begin
States must have established Exchanges
Employers with more than 200 employees can auto-enroll employees in health coverage, with opt-out
All non-grandfathered and Exchange health plans required to meet federally mandated levels of coverage
States must cover parents /childless adults up to 138% of poverty on Medicaid, receive increased FMAP
Tax credits available for Exchange-based coverage, amount varies by income up to 400% of poverty
Insurers cannot impose any coverage restrictions on pre-existing conditions (guaranteed issue/renewability)
Modified community rating: individual or family coverage; geography; 3:1 ratio for age; 1.5 :1 for smoking
Insurers must offer coverage to anyone wanting a policy and every policy has to be renewed
Limits out-of-pocket cost-sharing (tied to limits in HSAs, currently $5,950/$11,900 indexed to COLA)
Insurance plans must include government-defined "essential benefits " and coverage levels
OPM must offer at least two multi-state plans in every state
Employers can offer some employees free choice vouchers for health insurance in the Exchange
Government board (IPAB) begins submitting proposals to cut Medicare
Impose tax on nearly all private health insurance plans
Medicare payment cuts for hospital-acquired infections begin (FY15)

2015

More Medicare cuts to home health begin

2016

States can form interstate insurance compacts if the coverage with HHS approval (2016)

2017

Physician pay-for-quality program begins for all physicians
States may allow large employers and multi-employer health plans to purchase coverage in the Exchange.
States may apply to the Secretary for a limited waiver from certain federal requirements

2018

Impose "Cadillac tax on “high cost” plans, 40% tax on the benefit value above a certain threshold: ($10,200 individual coverage, $27,500 family or self-only union multiemployer coverage)