How the Health Care Law is Making a Difference for the People of Puerto Rico
For too long, too many hardworking Americans paid the price for policies that handed free rein to insurance companies and put barriers between patients and their doctors. The Affordable Care Act gives hardworking families in Puerto Rico the security they deserve. The new health care law forces insurance companies to play by the rules, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy because of an annual or lifetime limit, or, soon, discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition.
All Americans will have the security of knowing that they don’t have to worry about losing coverage if they’re laid off or change jobs. And insurance companies now have to cover your preventive care like mammograms and other cancer screenings. The new law also makes a significant investment in State and community-based efforts that promote public health, prevent disease and protect against public health emergencies.
Health reform is already making a difference for the people of Puerto Rico by:
Making prescription drugs affordable for seniors
Since the law was enacted, Puerto Rico residents with Medicare have saved a total of $91,963,781 on their prescription drugs. In the first five months of 2012, 17,664 people with Medicare received a 50 percent discount on their covered brand-name prescription drugs when they hit the donut hole. This discount has resulted in an average savings of $688 per person, and a total savings of $12,144,893 in Puerto Rico. By 2020, the law will close the donut hole.
Providing better value for your premium dollar through the 80/20 Rule
Under the new health care law, insurance companies must provide consumers greater value by spending generally at least 80 percent of premium dollars on health care and quality improvements instead of overhead, executive salaries or marketing. If they don’t, they must provide consumers a rebate or reduce premiums. This means that 58,648 Puerto Rico residents with private insurance coverage will benefit from $5,508,831 in rebates from insurance companies this summer. These rebates will average $225 for the 24,400 families in Puerto Rico covered by a policy.
Scrutinizing unreasonable premium increases
In every State and for the first time under Federal law, insurance companies are required to publicly justify their actions if they want to raise rates by 10 percent or more. Puerto Rico has received $1 million under the new law to help fight unreasonable premium increases.
Supporting Puerto Rico’s work on Affordable Insurance Exchanges
Puerto Rico has received $917,000 in grants for research, planning, information technology development, and implementation of Affordable Insurance Exchanges.
- $917,000 in Planning Grants: This grant provides Puerto Rico the resources needed to conduct the research and planning necessary to build a better health insurance marketplace and determine how its exchange will be operated and governed. Learn how the funds are being used in Puerto Rico here.
Preventing illness and promoting health
Since 2010, Puerto Rico has received $3.2 million in grants from the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the Affordable Care Act. This new fund was created to support effective policies in Puerto Rico, its communities, and nationwide so that all Americans can lead longer, more productive lives.
Increasing support for community health centers
The Affordable Care Act increases the funding available to community health centers in all 50 states, including the 68 existing community health centers in Puerto Rico. Health centers in Puerto Rico have received $53.1 million to create new health center sites in medically underserved areas, enable health centers to increase the number of patients served, expand preventive and primary health care services, and/or support major construction and renovation projects.
Strengthening partnerships with Puerto Rico
The law gives states support for their work to build the health care workforce, crack down on fraud, and support public health. Examples of Affordable Care Act grants to Puerto Rico not outlined above include:
- $1.6 million for school-based health centers, to help clinics expand and provide more health care services such as screenings to students.
- $43,000 to support outreach to eligible Medicare beneficiaries about their benefits.
- $1.5 million for Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs. These programs bring health professionals to meet with at-risk families in their homes and connect families to the kinds of help that can make a real difference in a child’s health, development, and ability to learn - such as health care, early education, parenting skills, child abuse prevention, and nutrition.
Last updated: June 25, 2012