What passage of health care reform means to Hawaii

According to the Democratic Policy Committee, the key benefits of the health care reform bills enacted in March to Hawaii are these. The new law will:

• Provide tax credits for up to 14,000 Hawaii small businesses to help make coverage more affordable.
• Prohibit insurance companies from excluding coverage of pre-existing conditions for the 290,361 children in Hawaii, starting this year.
• Close the “donut hole” and improve other Medicare benefits for 193,000 Hawaii seniors.
• Reduce Medicare premiums for the 120,000 Hawaii seniors who are not enrolled in Medicare Advantage and will no longer subsidize these private insurance plans.
• Ensure affordable coverage options for 123,000 Hawaii residents who are uninsured and 50,000 Hawaii residents who purchase health insurance through the individual market.
• Ensure immediate access to affordable insurance options for as many as 10,314 uninsured Hawaii residents who have a pre-existing condition.
• Provide tax credits for up to 78,200 Hawaii residents to help make health insurance more affordable, bringing $1.3 billion in premium and cost-sharing tax credits into Hawaii during the first five years of the health insurance Exchange.
• Reduce family health insurance premiums by $1,460 - $2,080 for the same benefits, as compared to what they would be without health reform by 2016, based on Senate Finance Committee estimates and Congressional Budget Office data.
• Provide access to Medicaid for 116,666 newly-eligible Hawaii residents, and provide $1 billion in federal funding for the cost of their coverage.
• Create 1,100 to 1,800 jobs by reducing health care costs for employers.
• Allow 128,358 young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plans.
• Provide more federal funding for the 82 Community Health Centers in Hawaii.