Just How Sick Is Our System -Preparing for the New Healthcare Reform Legislation
It is often remarked that it is not patients, but the American healthcare system that is sick and in need of long term treatment.
Online, November 13, 2012 (Newswire.com) - According to Plunkett Research, at some $2.8 trillion (2012), the American healthcare industry is the world's largest by a mile. Our healthcare sector, which makes up a sixth of our economy, has become a behemoth that hurts the consumer because it is a private enterprise, with near-nil support from the government.
A change for the better on the horizon
All of that is set to change for the better. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA); which was subsequently ratified by the Supreme Court, the healthcare system is set for a major overhaul. It may not be a panacea that will bring in miraculous changes into the system overnight, but is by far the most ambitious plan to revive the healthcare system in the US.
The most important and most effective change it will bring about is that it brings millions of poor Americans with no healthcare coverage, into the network. It will bring about a series of sweeping reforms that run up to 2015, into the healthcare system. New definitions have been added into the benefits, beneficiaries and the role of employers.
Gain insights
Want to know more about what the Affordable Care Act will mean for you, irrespective of whether you are an employer or employee? A webinar being organized by TrainHR, a leading provider of online continuous professional education for the HR industry will provide answers. You could attend to find out how the intricacies of the new Act will impact you in direct or indirect ways.
The webinar, titled "Just How Sick Is Our System -Preparing for the New Healthcare Reform Legislation", will have Kathy Coughlin, a seasoned HR trainer and co-founder and president of Team HR, a consulting firm specializing in providing solutions to organizations' human resources challenges, as speaker.
Topics for discussion
At this hour-long session, Kathy will dwell upon key definitions of the new Act. Some of the new terms that will be taken up for discussion and clarification are "applicable large employer", and how "seasonal workers" are treated under the Act. Other terms such as "Minimum essential coverage" and "eligible employer-sponsored plans", which relate to "excise tax penalties", will also be discussed.
Starting at the beginning
This webinar session will begin at the beginning -right at the history of the healthcare system in the US. It will take participants back in time, right up to almost a century ago, to the 1920's, when the first, incipient steps to what eventually took shape as a sector that we call healthcare today, were taken. This webinar will also discuss the definition of minimum essential coverage and what is required for individuals who need to take it, and who is exempt from it. This session will also review what reporting requirements will be mandated for employers who sponsor
health benefits.
It will cover the following areas:
1 History of healthcare in the U.S
2 Overview of healthcare reform
3 Timeline of implementation
4 Employer obligations and penalties