Health care workers learn nuances of federal health reform

August 31, 2010

Most of the federal health care reform provisions don’t go into effect for another three-and-a-half years, but some have already been phased in. Health care professionals gathered in Charleston Monday to learn how the new policies will affect their work.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was hailed by some as the most significant health reform legislation in 40 years. Others met it with trepidation, convinced it was a step in the wrong direction.

Regardless of their position on the legislation, government and health care workers will deal with its practical implications in the years to come.

State Senator Dan Foster—a former surgeon—says the way the legislation expands coverage is wonderful, but there are details to be worked out before the law is implemented.

“How do you enroll all these people, how do we set up these exchanges, how do we make sure the exchanges work right and do all the things that they’re supposed to do?” he said. “The purpose of this meeting is to explain many of the complexities of this law to folks who know some but don’t know a lot of the nuances of the legislation.”

The legislation expands Medicaid eligibility, creates insurance exchanges and eliminates pre-existing conditions as a reason for being denied coverage.

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