Plan includes immediate changes, long-term steps

March 24, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama signed his health-care overhaul Tuesday, but the major expansion of coverage for uninsured workers and their families won’t come until 2014.

Here’s a time line of some changes:

THIS YEAR

Sets up a high-risk health-insurance pool to provide affordable coverage for uninsured people with medical problems.

Starting in six months, requires all health- insurance plans to maintain dependent coverage for children until they turn 26; prohibits insurers from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing health problems.

Bars insurance companies from putting lifetime dollar limits on coverage and canceling policies except for fraud.

Provides tax credits to help small businesses with up to 25 employees get and keep coverage for their employees.

Begins narrowing the Medicare prescription-coverage gap by providing a $250 rebate to seniors in the gap.

Imposes 10 percent sales tax on indoor tanning.

2011

Creates a voluntary program to provide a modest cash benefit helping disabled people stay in their homes or cover nursing-home costs.

Provides Medicare recipients in the prescription-coverage gap with a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs.

Requires employers to report the value of health- care benefits on employees’ W-2 tax statements.

2012

Sets up program to create nonprofit insurance co-ops.

2013

Limits contributions to flexible-spending accounts to $2,500 a year, indexed for inflation.

Imposes a 2.3 percent sales tax on medical devices. Eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids and many everyday items are exempt.

2014

Prohibits insurers from denying coverage to people with medical problems or refusing to renew their policy.

States will create health-insurance exchanges. Those with employer coverage won’t see any changes.

2018

Imposes tax on employer- sponsored insurance worth more than $10,200 for individual coverage, $27,500 for a family plan.

2020

Doughnut-hole coverage gap in Medicare prescription benefit is phased out.