Well, as an insurance agent I know we need reform and it would be nice to have a lot, many in the industry agree, but a year later here are some of the highlights of what has happened from cause and effect.

1. Medicare beneficiaries who hit the prescription drug coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole” received a one-time $250 tax-free rebate last year, according the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Seniors who hit the doughnut hole this year will receive a 50 percent discount on all brand-name drugs. Starting this year, annual wellness exams for Medicare recipients are covered free of charge. In addition, the law provides financial assistance for employers to maintain health coverage for early retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare.
2. Under the law, insurance companies can no longer deny health insurance to children because they have a pre-existing medical condition and young adults who do not have employer-sponsored health coverage can also stay on their parents’ insurance plan until they’re 26.
   1. unfortunately it has caused rates to go up and child only or 18 and younger policies to go away.  So if you are divorced and need to insure a child you may be out of luck or you may have to use the ChiPs Medicaid program from the government, which already existed and certainly was not the intended purpose of the new law.
3. States were required to set up temporary high-risk insurance pools for people who can’t get affordable coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
   1. We had pools before and affordable is not the terminology anyone would use to describe them, although they could be an option!
4. And finally most everything else is supposed to happen in 2014…

Reference Chicago Sun Times Article and Marketplace