That was the last question for today.  Thank you to those who participated.  Please visit www.unmc.edu/healthcarereform for updates and more information on the implementation of the health reform law.

Insurance exchanges will be created by states in 2014 to provide an online market place for individuals and small businesses to purchase private health insurance.  There will be four tiers of policies with different ranges of coverage.

This post was submitted by Liz.

Beginning September 23, 2010, the law prohibits plans from excluding coverage for pre-existing conditions for children up to the age of 19.

Starting in 2014, plans offered through the insurance exchange will not be allowed to discriminate based on a pre-existing condition.

This post was submitted by Rich.

Healthcare Innovation Zones (HIZs) create new ways of managing health to reduce costs and improve outcomes.  HIZs are generally led by an academic medical center and include hospitals, healthcare providers, and a defined patient population to provide coordinated, efficient and cost effective care.  HIZs and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) will improve preventive care in order to reduce chronic disease and poor health outcomes. The intent of health insurance is to cover catastrophe, not maintenance issues, so ACOs and HIZs may change the way we view insurance. UNMC, as an academic health sciences center is uniquely positioned to create an HIZ, with its collaborators NMC and UNMCP. It appears the federal government will likely advance successful programs and that will be finalized in future legislation.

This post was submitted by Sean.

Academic medical centers, including UNMC, are increasing their class sizes.  There are at least 10 new medical schools in development across the nation.  There are incentives in the law to encourage more to enter into primary care practices, especially in rural and underserved areas.

This post was submitted by John.