1. The Affordable Care Act Early Impacts

2. The main provisions of the law do not launch until 2014. However, a lot of change has taken place. Dependent Coverage: Starting in 2010 all insurers and employers that offer dependent coverage were required to offer coverage to dependent children up to age 26. An estimated 6.6 million people ages 19 through 25 have been able to stay on or join their parents’ plans as a result, with more than 3 million previously uninsured young adults getting health insurance.

3. Free Preventative Care The law requires private health insurers to provide free preventative care, without co- pays or deductibles. Some 71 million Americans have received at least one free preventative service, like a mammogram or a flu shot, and an additional 34 million older Americans got free preventive services in 2012 under Medicare.

4. Children Private insurers are now required to cover children with pre-existing conditions, which means that an estimated 17 million such children have been protected against being uninsured.

5. Adults with Pre-Existing Conditions 107,000 adults have enrolled in a federally run insurance plan for people with pre-existing conditions. The law also bars insurers from canceling policies on sick people; previously 10,000 people a year had their policies rescinded.

6. Community Health Centers The law appropriated $11 billion over five years to build and operate community health centers, a major factor in increasing the annual number of patients served to 21 million, a rise of 3 million from previous levels.

7. Reinsurance Some $45 billion has been put into a reinsurance program that has encouraged employers to retain coverage for retirees and their families; 19 million people benefited with reduced premiums or cost-sharing.

8. Consumer Savings Private insurers are required by law to spend 80 to 85% of their premium revenues on medical claims or quality improvements or they must pay a rebate to consumers. In 2012, insurers had to pay $1.1 billion in rebates, an average of $151 per family.

9. Prescription Drug Discounts to Medicare Beneficiaries More than 6.3 million older or disabled people have already saved more than $6.1 billion on prescription drugs since 2010 and will save more as the doughnut hole is filled by 2020.

10. Lifetime Dollar Limits on Services Lifetime dollar limits on services paid by private plans are being phased out.

11. Better Quality of Care The percentage of Medicare patients requiring readmission to the hospital within 30 days of discharge dropped from an average of 19 percent over the past five years to 17.8 percent. These improvements are due to penalties imposed by Medicare for poor performance and financial incentives to encourage better coordination of care after a patient leaves the hospital.