Health reform implementation will be an ongoing process for many years to come, but some of the reform activities take place sooner rather than later.  Here are a few timelines that have been developed to help you better understand when reform processes will begin.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Reform and Education Act – Implementation Timeline – http://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill65.pdf

The National Council’s Timeline for Implementation – http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/galleries/policy-file/HC%20Reform%20Law%20Timeline.pdf

The Kaiser Family Foundations’ Medicaid and CHIP Health Reform Implementation Timeline – http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8064.pdf

Last week, the Chief Actuary for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services released a report on the costs of the health reform legislation.  In the report, the CMS Actuary stated that health reform will cover more people and cost more than originally projected.  The report estimates that implementation of health care reform will add 34 million people to the coverage rolls.  However, the report also estimates that the reform law will cost $828 billion over the next decade while saving $577 billion.  More coverage of this report is available at: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/April/23/Actuary-Report-health-reform.aspx

The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, a project supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has spent the last 20 years documenting variations in how medical resources are distributed in the United States.  This website provides a resource to help better understand the efficiency and effectiveness of the Health Care System.  To learn more, visit: http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/

Early this month, the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services issued a letter to State Medicaid Directors to inform them about their options related to the new Medicaid eligibility group established as part of the health reform law.  As of April 1, 2010 states are given the option to provide medical assistance to individuals in the newly eligible class.  This newly eligible class is based solely on income without regard to disability, parental status or most other categorical limitations.  What this means is that states have the option to begin providing Medicaid coverage to individuals based on their income status.   The Federal Matching dollars for these newly eligible individuals will be 100% in 2014 when the law mandates that all states offer Medicaid coverage to individuals up to 133% of the federal poverty level.  However, in the interim, if the states choose to phase-in coverage for this population, the federal government will continue to pay their regular match percentage to the state.  To read the letter in its entirety, please visit: http://www2.cms.gov/smdl/downloads/SMD10005.PDF