The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as the Affordable Care Act, passed into law on March 23, 2010, and brings significant change to everyone involved in health care.

With this edition of News&Notes, we are inaugurating a column dedicated to explaining health reform as it pertains to us, to our members and to you, our network of practitioners. Look in our quarterly newsletter to learn how EmblemHealth will be responding to the law's mandates and what we are doing to comply. We will also keep you apprised of changes that may have an impact on how you interact with us or how you provide care to your patients, our members.

We're sure you'll want to learn about the most immediate changes in health care and to see what is planned for the future. You may also be interested in the provisions related to reducing fraud, waste and abuse. Going forward we will be working to keep you aware of the mandated changes and how they will affect your work with us and our members.

What does health reform mean to all of us?
Health reform will increase the number of Americans covered by health insurance. Over the next several years, for example, nearly 3,000,000 more people in New York and 250,000 Connecticut residents will have improved access to health insurance.

The health reform law has a 10-year implementation period. The most significant changes to be implemented by 2014 are:

• Mandates for all Americans to obtain coverage, or pay an annual fine
• Mandates for employers to offer coverage
• Insurance exchanges for individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance
• Preventive care, early detection and primary care requirements

For more about health reform, see the answers to some frequently asked questions. Our new Web page, Health Reform: Making Reform Work, offers up-to-date information about how EmblemHealth and the nation are responding to health reform.