Making it a Reality
On this page:
Implementation Updates
Comments on Health Reform
2011 Comments
2012 Comments
2013 Comments
Updates for Providers
Helpful Health Reform Links
The HIV community worked hard to get health reform passed and signed into law. Now that the Affordable Care Act is law, the work continues in order to roll out the benefits for hundreds of millions of Americans.Implementation is also one of the best ways to defend health care reform. As more Americans see and understand the benefits of health care reform, it will be harder and harder to attack the law and the programs.Both the federal government and the states have critical implementation decisions to make. The federal government will be setting broad and important perimeters and standards. Your state will also have flexibility to shape many of the specifics of your health care and how it is delivered to you.This page also features implementation updates for medical providers.
The federal government, and specifically the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for issuing the rules of health care reform. They publish draft rules or regulations and ask people to comment on how the rules will work, and then take those comments into consideration when developing their final policies. Commenting on regulations and other policies is an important way to ensure that the needs of people living with HIV are considered in health care reform.The HIV Health Care Access Working Group(HHCAWG) coordinates comments on a range of federal health implementation issues. Here are some of the comments submitted recently:
Comments on Health Reform
2011 Comments
- Medicaid: Comments on the proposed initial core set of quality measures recommended for Medicaid-eligible adults (Mar 1, 2011) (PDF)
- Health Insurance Exchange: Comments on exchange establishment (Sept. 28, 2011) (PDF)
- Essential Health Benefits: Letter to HHS Sec. Seblius on recommendations for benefits package to support HIV care and treatment (Oct. 5, 2011) (PDF)
- Medicaid: Comments on Medicaid eligibility regulations (Oct. 31, 2011) (PDF)
- Health Insurance Exchange: Comments on exchange eligibility regulations (Oct. 31, 2011) (PDF)
- Essential Health Benefits: Letter to HHS Sec. Sebelius on services that should be included as a health benefit (Dec. 1, 2011) (PDF)
- Essential Health Benefits: Letter to HHS Sec. Seblius on benefits package for people with HIV and viral hepatitis. (Dec. 5, 2011) (PDF)
- Essential Health Benefits: Letter to HHS Sec. Sebelius on supporting patient needs in the formation of the benefits package. (Dec. 7, 2011) (PDF)
- Essential Health Benefits: Letter to HHS Sec. Seblius regarding the Essential Health Benefits Bulletin (Jan 6, 2012) (PDF)
- Essential Health Benefits: Letter to HHS Sec. Seblius urging that Essential Health Benefits protect against discrimination (Jan 17, 2012) (PDF)
- Affordable Care Act: Letter to President Obama on patient protection and the ACA (Mar 27, 2012) (PDF)
- Medicaid: Letter to HHS Sec. Seblius on HV priorities for Medicaid benchmark coverage for newly eligible Medicaid beneficiaries (May 1, 2012) (PDF)
- Ryan White: Letter to HHS regarding the ACA and technical assistance for Ryan White-funded programs and providers (May 3, 2012) (PDF)
- Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Comments on the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program and the ”meaningful use” (MU) of EHRs. (May 7, 2012) (PDF)
- Health Insurance Exchange: Comments on patient protection under the ACA; establishment of exchanges and qualified health plans; exchange standards for employers. (May 7, 2012) (PDF)
- Medicaid: Comments on eligibility changes under the ACA. (May 7, 2012) (PDF)
- Medicaid: Comments on the proposed rule regarding payments for services furnished by certain primary care physicians under Medicaid. (June 11, 2012) (PDF)
- Health Insurance Exchange: Response letter to the Federal Guidance on Federally-Facilitatied Echanges. (June 18, 2012) (PDF)
- Dual Eligibles: Comments on state demonstration projects. (July 13, 2012) (PDF)
- Medicaid: Comments on State Medicaid Benchmark Plan. (November 13, 2012) (PDF)
- Health Homes: Letter to HHS Sec. Sebelius on HIV Designation for Health Homes (December 5, 2012) (PDF)
- Essential Health Benefits: Comments to HHS on proposed Essential Health Benefits rule (December 26, 2012) (PDF)
- Fiscal Year 2013 and Sequestration: Comments to Congress on potential cuts to HIV/AIDS programs. (February 12, 2013) (PDF)
- Essential Health Benefits: Comments on Proposed Medicaid Alternative Benefits Plans. (February 21, 2013) (PDF)
- Health Insurance Marketplace: Comments on Federally-facilitated and State Partnership Exchanges (March 15,2013) (PDF)
- Health Reform Implementation: Letter to HHS Sec. Sebelius on HIV-related Medicaid Expansion and Marketplace Enrollment (April 8,2013) (PDF)
- Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plans (PCIPs): Letter to Sec. Sebelius on State-run PCIPs (May 8, 2013) (PDF)
The Treatment Access Expansion Project (TAEP) (one of the organizations that makes this website possible!) maintains a comprehensive library of federal health reform implementation comments developed by the HIV Health Care Access Working Group (HHCAWG). Also, the HIV Medicine Association, a national organization representing health care professionals who specialize in HIV, has updates and resources of interest to providers, policymakers, and the public.Check out these comments if you are interested in how we are working to ensure that the needs of people with HIV are taken into consideration during health care reform implementation.
Updates for Providers
In partnership with the HIV Medicine Association, HIVHealthReform.org is assembling resources that will help HIV medical and social service providers prepare for health reform.
- Essential Components of Effective HIV Care, Gallant and others, Clinical Infectious Diseases, October 2011.
- Ryan White: An Accidental Home Builder, Michael S. Saag, MD, AIDS Reader. 2009;19:166-168
- Making Health Care Reform Work: the Role of the HIV Medical Provider, HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA). May 2012.
- Medicaid Primary Care Payment Rate Increase: What It Means for HIV Providers, HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA). January, 2013
Kaiser Family Foundation: Health Reform Source
Families USA: Health Reform Central
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Health Research
Urban Institute: Health Policy Center
HealthCare.gov
TARGET Center: ACA & The Ryan White Program Learning Modules
HRSA: ACA and HRSA Programs
