The Supreme Court will meet again on Thursday, so that is when they will announce their decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

If you want to be the first to know how the Supreme Court rules on this case, you can go to scotusblog.com and get live minute-by-minute breaking news provided by reporters who are in the building.  The Supreme Court session begins at 10 am eastern, 7 am in Arizona.

I was on the SCOTUS blog site this morning and they are several minutes ahead of tv news.

While we await the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, provisions of the law already in place are showing positive effects for insurance consumers.

The Department of Health and Human Services provided this press release on June 21, 2012:

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that 414,000 Arizona residents will benefit from $27.9 million in rebates from insurance companies this summer, because of the Affordable Care Act’s 80/20 rule. These rebates will average $118 for the 235,000 Arizona families covered by a policy.

The health care law generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of consumers’ premium dollars on medical care and quality improvement. Insurers can spend the remaining 20 percent on administrative costs, such as salaries, sales and advertising. Beginning this year, insurers must notify customers how much of their premiums have been spent on medical care and quality improvement.

Insurance companies that do not meet the 80/20 standard are required to provide their customers a rebate for the difference no later than August 1, 2012.  The 80/20 rule is also known as the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) standard.

“The 80/20 rule helps ensure consumers get fair value for their health care dollar,” Secretary Sebelius said.

Arizonans owed a rebate will see their value reflected in one of the following ways:

·     a rebate check in the mail;

·     a lump-sum reimbursement to the same account that is used to pay the premium if by credit card or debit  card;

·     a reduction in their future premiums; and

·     their employer providing one of the above, or applying the rebate in a manner that benefits its employees.

Insurance companies that do not meet the 80/20 standard will send their policyholders a rebate for the difference no later than August 1, 2012.  Consumers will also receive a notice from their insurance company informing them of the 80/20 rule, whether their company met the standard, and, if not, how much of a difference between what the insurer did or did not spend on medical care and quality improvement will be returned to them.

For the first time, all of this information will be publicly posted on HealthCare.gov this summer, allowing consumers to learn what value they’re getting for their premium dollars in their health plan.

For many consumers, the 80/20 rule motivated their plans to lower prices or improve their coverage to meet the standard.  This is one of the ways the 80/20 rule is bringing value to consumers for their health care dollars.

For a detailed breakdown of these rebates by State and by market, please visit:

http://www.healthcare.gov/law/resources/reports/mlr-rebates06212012a.html

If your child has a health condition like diabetes, severe asthma, or autism, you’d better be working for a large employer.  Until Obamacare, if you worked for yourself or a small business, your child could be denied health insurance.  Because of the Affordable Care Act, children with pre-existing conditions have a right to health insurance.

Here is one example of a family that is very happy with Obamacare:

“Finally, we had the freedom to shop around for a plan that worked better for our family budget.” – Rabbi Ron F. of Norwalk, Connecticut

As a religious leader, my moral compass tells me that providing health care for every American is simply the right thing to do. But as a father, this is personal. My wife and I are blessed to have four healthy children, but even they are not exempt from the discriminatory practices of the health insurance industry.

My oldest son, Dore, was born with a cleft lip. Surgeons repaired it within months of his birth, and he hasn’t had any medical consequences from it. Still, when we shopped for insurance on the individual market, we found that many insurance companies had a blanket policy excluding any child who had had a surgery within the first two years of their life, regardless of the reason or type of surgery.

So in spite of premiums that rose as much as 20% every year, we were stuck with the same policy that we bought when Dore was born. Eventually, we were paying about $30,000 a year in premiums!

Then, Obamacare passed which outlawed pre-existing conditions exclusions for children that year. Finally, we had the freedom to shop around for a plan that worked better for our family budget. We eventually settled on a High Deductible Health Plan linked to a Health Savings Account. The deductible is about $5,000 a year. All told, we’re still probably paying about $20,000 a year, which is obviously better but not ideal.

In 2014, we’ll be shopping on a much more even playing field through the Exchange. Insurance companies doing business in the Exchange will have to offer us all of the same options that they would offer any other family, without pricing based on health. As a father, I am relieved that my children will always have the security of access to affordable health care as they grow into adulthood.

More stories can be found here.