Here’s the statement from Victoria Veltri, Connecticut’s Healthcare Advocate:
“I am thrilled that the Court acknowledged the constitutionality of the extraordinary consumer protections built into the ACA. “Market reforms under the ACA have not received the level of attention that other parts of the Act have but they have provided or will provide substantial benefits to our residents, such as: dependent coverage to the age of 26, prohibitions on rescissions and pre‐existing conditions exclusions for children and adults, the lifting of annual and lifetime limits, preventive screenings with no cost sharing, independent review of insurer denials of care, and accountability for insurers through medical loss ratio requirements that just returned $13 million to state residents in rebates for carriers who did not spend enough of their collected premium on medical expenses.
“These are substantial reforms that have already yielded tremendous results for consumers. It is important to note that while Connecticut has some of these protections in state law—many as a result of the passage of the ACA“OHA is one of many state beneficiaries of ACA grants that are targeted toward consumer assistance, reforming the delivery of healthcare, increasing workforce capacity and containing costs.
“The Court also recognized the constitutionality of the critical provision of a Medicaid expansion that will allow us to cover people up to 133% of the federal poverty level with 100% funding from the federal government in 2014. Connecticut has a large, uninsured low
“The Medicare reforms under the ACA have saved consumers $53 million is prescription drug costs, will close the Part D donut hole in six years, allow preventive screenings with no cost sharing to encourage cost savings, and make significant investments in curbing fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicare program.”OHA has received approximately $530,000 in consumer assistance program grants under the ACA. With that funding, OHA has served thousand of Connecticut residents in enrollment in and education on healthcare coverage and direct assistance with grievances and appeals.
The Supreme Court’s ruling today is a very welcome victory for consumers who have already benefited and those who will soon benefit from the broad reforms in the ACA.”
