Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter

Special Edition, March 2010

ON TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2010, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SIGNED INTO LAW THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (H.R. 3590)

H.R. 3590 is designed to extend health insurance coverage to 32 million currently uninsured Americans, provide subsidies to help individuals purchase health insurance, prevent insurance companies from discriminating against individuals with pre-existing conditions, strengthen the Medicare program, and provide billions of dollars of funding for public health and prevention when it is implemented fully.


A. Provisions for Older Americans in the New Health Care Law: On Sunday, March 21, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), which President Barack Obama signed into law on Tuesday, March 23. This comprehensive health care reform bill previously was passed by the Senate on December 24, 2009, and contains a number of provisions that affect older adults. The Gerontological Society of America's Policy Advisor Brian Lindberg has prepared a summary of these measures.

B. Side-by-Side Comparison of Major Health Reform Proposals: The Kaiser Family Foundation has updated its interactive side-by-side health reform comparison tool to allow users to compare quickly the White House/Congressional Leadership Reconciliation Bill-approved by the House on March 21, 2010 and signed into law on March 23, 2010-with the Senate bill that both chambers have passed and with last year's House-passed bill. It also includes other proposals put forward during the debate. In addition, the Foundation has prepared detailed descriptions of the Medicare and Medicaid provisions, and a summary of the coverage provisions in the House and Senate bills.


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Newsletter Editors: Sarah Frey and Greg O'Neill, National Academy on an Aging Society; Andy Achenbaum, University of Houston.

The Public Policy and Aging E-Newsletter is supported in part by a grant from the AARP Office of Academic Affairs.

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