CENTER FOR HEALTH LAW AND POLICY INNOVATION OF HARVARD LAW SCHOOL SHARES FINDINGS DEMONSTRATING THE IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL HEALTH REFORM

via law.harvard.edu

PRESS RELEASE

Fact sheet offers findings that show the benefits of health reform as U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)

JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS. – The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (the Center), applauds today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate and of the Medicaid expansion, but with limits that have the potential to significantly undermine the Medicaid expansion. The Center has recently found that similar health reforms in Massachusetts have led to significant individual and public health benefits.

“Here in Massachusetts, we have demonstrated that health reforms result in increased access to needed care and treatment for our most vulnerable residents, including individuals with HIV and other chronic illnesses,” said Robert Greenwald, director of the Center.

The Center has released a fact sheet that highlights some of the findings of an upcoming report on health reform in Massachusetts.  The findings demonstrate that health reforms similar to those included in the ACA lead to significant health benefits.

An individual mandate that requires most adults to carry health insurance, a voluntary Medicaid expansion, and subsidized private health insurance for low-to-moderate income uninsured residents are key reforms included in the ACA that have been in place in Massachusetts since 2006. These initiatives contribute greatly to the following outcomes:

• Between 2006 and 2009, new HIV diagnoses fell by 25 percent in Massachusetts compared to a 2 percent national increase.

• Between 2002 and 2008, Massachusetts’ AIDS mortality rates decreased by 44 percent compared to 33 percent nationally. 

Along with these important health outcomes, the Massachusetts Medicaid program has seen decreased inpatient costs for this population, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health estimates that it has saved over $1.5 billion in HIV health care costs since the reforms, in part due to decreased HIV transmission.

A working draft of the Massachusetts HIV/AIDS Resource Allocation Project is available here.

“Today’s ruling will expand access to care for millions of Americans. However, we are concerned that the Court’s decision that the federal government may not withhold all Medicaid funding for states who choose not to participate in Medicaid expansion will perpetuate unequal access to care and health disparities. It is critical that low-income Americans, including those living with HIV, be able to reap the benefits of health reform,” said Greenwald. He added, “In terms of putting the ACA into action, the devil is in the details. We must continue to advocate to make sure that our federal and state governments implement the ACA in ways that turn the law’s potential for increased access to care into reality.” 

Martha Minow, Dean of Harvard Law School, noted, “We have cleared a major milestone today, but the real work is just beginning. As we know from Massachusetts, the gains did not happen overnight. Now is the time to work to ensure that the Affordable Care Act truly translates into access to care for millions of Americans, including our most vulnerable, and that the many promises of health reform are fulfilled.”

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School works to increase access to healthcare for vulnerable populations, particularly low-income people with chronic illness, as well as to support legal, regulatory, and policy structures that enable people to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Read it all here.


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SUPREME COURT RULING ON AFFORDABLE CARE ACT HUGE VICTORY FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS

Press Release via San Francisco AIDS Foundation:

San Francisco, June 28, 2012 — Today the United States Supreme Court delivered a huge victory to nationwide efforts to establish a health care system that works for everyone, including the 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. By upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), today’s decision delivers on the promise of health care for more than 30 million uninsured Americans. The historic ruling also upheld long-overdue protections for people with HIV and other chronic diseases, including safeguards against denial of coverage or exorbitant premiums for the especially sick, and annual and lifetime coverage limits for people with costly medical conditions.

“For the first time in the history of the epidemic, the ACA will dramatically expand health care access to people previously considered ‘uninsurable,’ including millions of Americans with HIV/AIDS and other serious illness,” said Neil Giuliano, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “Today, we move one step closer to having a health care system that supports access to care and treatment that prevent illness and disease progression, rather than a ’sick care system‘ that promotes disability and illness by limiting coverage options.”

The Affordable Care Act will address the failings of the current health care system by expanding Medicaid to all low-income people, creating open, competitive, fair marketplaces for uninsured and under insured individuals and families to purchase private insurance, and providing subsidies to lower-income individuals to make insurance affordable. An estimated 1.2 million people are living with HIV in the United States and need access to high-quality, uninterrupted medical care to stay healthy, reduce new HIV infections, and cut long-term health care costs.

“While today’s ruling is a huge victory, there’s no time for rest. We must continue our efforts to educate people affected by HIV about the key components of the ACA and how it will affect access to quality HIV prevention, care, and treatment,“ said Courtney Mulhern-Pearson, director of state and local affairs at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “It is critically important that all Americans have accurate information about the law, how it will benefit them, and what it means for their health and the health of their communities.”

With today’s historic decision, San Francisco AIDS Foundation will redouble its efforts to ensure that health care reform implementation proceeds full steam ahead. The foundation urges Congress to acknowledge that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land by fully funding health care reform and ending efforts to repeal it. Progress must not be held hostage by politics.

“Today’s decision underscores the importance of continued funding of the Ryan White CARE Act during this time of transition to health care reform,” said Ernest Hopkins, director of legislative affairs at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “In order to effectively transition clients and fully realize the promise of health care reform, we must continue our work with elected officials, policy makers, and peer organizations to secure the future of the Ryan White CARE Act.”



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