HHS Issues New Rules on New Health Insurance Plans to Provide Free Preventive Care
Under new interim final regulations issued July 10th by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, new health plans beginning on or after September 23, 2010, must cover preventive services that have strong scientific evidence of their health benefits, and these plans may no longer charge a patient a copayment, coinsurance or deductible for these services when they are delivered by a network provider. The announcement builds on other provisions in the Affordable Care Act that support prevention, including the creation of a first-ever National Prevention, Health Promotion and public Health Council tasked with developing a national strategy and a Prevention and Public Health Fund to invest in prevention initiatives and, this year, policies to increase the number of primary care professionals to help ensure access to these services.