Health care reform and you

The major provisions of the historic health-care bill don’t take effect until 2014 — requiring everyone to have coverage, and preventing insurers from turning down adults with pre-existing conditions — but you’ll see the following changes in three to six months: Young people — Will be allowed to stay on their parents’ policy until their 26th birthday. Insurers will be banned from denying coverage to children under 19 with pre-existing conditions. People buying new plans — Preventive services will be free, with no co-pays or deductibles. All plans must comply by 2018. Early retirees — Retirees between 55 and 64 who still get coverage through former employers will get help offsetting expensive premiums, bringing down health costs as much as $1,200 per family per year, according to www.whitehouse.gov. Uninsured adults with pre-existing conditions — Get immediate access to temporary subsidized high-risk insurance pools until 2014, when a pre-existing condition can no longer be held against you. Out-of-pocket medical costs will be capped at $5,950, according to the NY Times. Low-income employees — New group health plans can no longer have eligibility requirements that favor higher wage employees. The seriously ill — Insurance companies can no longer cancel the policies of people who get an expensive illness, or put a lifetime dollar amount on new coverage (although limits on existing coverage will stand, for now). Senior citizens — Those on a Medicare drug plan who need lots of prescription drugs will get a $250 rebate this year when they hit the gap in prescription drug coverage, referred to as “the donut hole,” which falls between the $2,700 initial limit and when catastrophic coverage kicks in at $6,154. Next year, brand-name drugs in the donut hole would be discounted by 50 percent. But the Senate has no such provision, so it won’t be clear until after the reconciliation how this will come out. Small businesses — Are no longer required to continue coverage to their employees, but will receive tax credits of up to 35 percent of their contribution to do so. Indoor tanners — Will pay a 10 percent tax on tanning after July 1.