This report was written by Molly Harbarger of the Washington bureau.
The White House is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act by releasing its compilation of how the health care reform law has benefited each state so far.
The law will turn 1 year old Wednesday. The Republican-controlled House voted in January to repeal it, with GOP leaders saying the health-care overhaul amounted to a government takeover of the medical system.
Undeterred, the White House is boasting about the law’s benefits, which administration officials say include:
– There are more than 547,000 Connecticut residents on Medicare. They are all eligible now for free preventative services and yearly wellness visits from a doctor.
– In the Medicare program, there is a gap when someone uses up the initial amount the program will pay for prescription drugs and before they hit the catastrophic coverage. That area of out-of-pocket expenses is often called the “donut hole.” There were 12,988 Connecticut senior citizens who received $250 tax-free rebates and will receive a 50 percent brand-name prescription drug discount for hitting the donut hole this year. The White House estimates the hole will be closed completely by 2020.
– Connecticut alone is slated to receive $8 billion to expand Medicaid coverage. The could include more than 305,945 additional people.
– Speaking of kids, if the economy — or the future unknown — has left your offspring unemployed, parents may keep their children on their plans until age 26. That’s about 9,050 Connecticut young adults.
– Small businesses who now face insuring their employees can get tax credits. There is $40 billion in tax credits set aside for up to 4 million small businesses for providing insurance for employees and making premiums affordable. There are about 53,900 small businesses in Connecticut eligible.
– More than 2 million Connecticut residents have private insurance. The law keeps insurance companies from dropping or capping insurance plans unexpectedly and from imposing lifetime limits that pose problems for people with chronic diseases, such as cancer or HIV.