The Hill News

This year is shaping up to be another year of monumental changes for health care in this country. With the two -year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) bill signing fast approaching, stakeholders across the country are working feverishly to build the infrastructure and get the necessary provisions in place so that the goals of the ACA can be attained. Even with the looming Supreme Court decision muddling the process, there are steps that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) can take now to solidify some of the key patient protections that have stood at the center of health reform over the last few years.

One of the most promising aspects of the ACA, from the kidney patient community’s perspective, is its creation of a baseline Essential Health Benefits (EHB) package that will create a floor of benefits and services offered by all insurance plans as of 2014. This key provision was created with the intent to ensure a consistent, minimu! m level of benefits across all plans, to allow easier comparisons of plans for consumers and to prevent insurers from manipulating health plans to “cherry pick” healthier enrollees.

Read more...