Search: 2010, Health Care Reform

The hard-fought health reforms slowly taking shape across the country are intended to help provide better access to care -- but they could mean financial trouble for so-called "safety-net" hospitals that take care of the poor.

California’s health care system is facing many new challenges in the era of health care reform. One of the biggest challenges for the local health care system is the impact that state and county budget cuts are having on programs that provide care and assistance to people with mental health issues

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HealthCare.gov is a new consumer website that provides unprecedented transparency into the health care marketplace. Through HealthCare.gov, individuals will have more control over their health care as informed and empowered consumers.

The California Health Care Foundation offers a consumer-friendly breakdown of what health care reform means for Californians. It includes highlights of the new law, a timeline of when the changes happen and what coverage options, new costs and benefits are available for those with or without insurance.

What Californians Should Know

The 90-day anniversary of the signing of the federal health care overhaul has come and gone. While budget matters have stalled in the California Legislature, lawmakers are making progress with legislation to implement the federal health reform.

Health care accounts for a remarkably large slice of the U.S. economic pie. Each year health-related spending grows, often outpacing spending on other goods and services, meaning that the size of that slice increases. These cost increases have a significant effect on households, businesses, and government programs.

The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury issued regulations to implement a new Patient’s Bill of Rights under the Affordable Care Act. These new protections apply to nearly all health insurance plans. Here’s how these new rules will help you.

 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as national health reform, or, perhaps derisively as ‘Obamacare’, will change the way hospitals are paid. Since hospitals are major employers in the Central Valley and are drivers of local economies, the question is what exactly will the new law mean? The short answer is no one really knows precisely

Sarah Rose Nordgren works 25 to 30 hours a week as a waitress at an upscale restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C. She also tutors high- schoolers on their college entrance essays and has an editorial internship at a book publisher. But if something were to go seriously wrong with her health, she'd be in trouble because none of her three jobs offers health insurance.