The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010: How Does it Help Adolescents and Young Adults?
The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law and the National Adolescent Health Information and Innovation Center Announce the Release of a New Analysis of the New Health Care Reform Law and What it Means for Adolescents and Young Adults
The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law (CAHL) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the National Adolescent Health Information and Innovation Center (NAHIIC), at the University of California, San Francisco, are pleased to announce the release of a new issue brief, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010: How Does it Help Adolescents and Young Adults? The PPACA was signed into law in March 2010. This landmark health care reform legislation will bring about profound changes in the health care system in the United States. Many aspects of this new law will affect adolescents and young adults, with implications for their access to health care and, ultimately, their health. The new issue brief reviews major provisions of the PPACA – highlighting those of greatest significance for these young people.
The health care reform law enacted in 2010 is an ambitious and complex piece of legislation. The requirements of PPACA are scheduled to be phased in over a period of several years. If successful, the law will result in an increase of 32 million additional insured individuals in the United States, many of whom will be adolescents and young adults. In addition to the expansion of health insurance coverage, the potential for young people to access comprehensive benefits, especially preventive services, is a key aspect of the new law. The law also provides for significant new protections for individuals covered by private health insurance, for extensive investments in prevention and wellness, and for measures designed to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable young people, such as those aging out of foster care and young adults living in poverty.
Health care reform presents an extraordinary opportunity to advance the health and well-being of adolescents and young adults. The new issue brief released by CAHL and NAHIIC outlines many of the key elements of the law that have the potential to meet the needs of this population. It is an important resource for anyone working at the state or federal level – health care professionals, advocates, policymakers – to implement health care reform in ways that will benefit adolescents and young adults.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010: How Does it Help Adolescents and Young Adults? is available on the websites of the Center for Adolescent Health and the Law www.cahl.org and the National Adolescent Health Information and Innovation Center http://nahic.ucsf.edu.