How the Affordable Care Act Impacts Allergy & Asthma Patients

MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As Congress continues to debate the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Capitol Hill, Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA), a leading patient education organization, has taken the lead in examining how the national healthcare law impacts allergy and asthma patients.

"Under ACA, many people with allergies or asthma will breathe easier," says Tonya Winders, AANMA chief operating officer. "They are more likely to obtain cost-effective and much-needed preventive, primary and specialty care services."

Health Insurance Marketplaces, commonly referred to as Health Exchanges, opened for enrollment on Oct. 1. For those with chronic asthma and allergies, major elements of he law are effective now while others go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Key provisions include:

• Health insurance companies cannot arbitrarily cancel your health insurance due to a chronic illness, such as asthma, or high use of healthcare, such as immunotherapy.
• Doctor-recommended allergy and asthma screenings and tests are covered under all plans at no cost.
• Patients can buy individual health insurance policies that go into effect Jan. 1, 2014. These policies cannot charge more for pre-existing conditions.
• Parents can purchase health benefits for children on the individual health insurance market without being denied or paying significantly more due to pre-existing conditions.
• Lifetime dollar caps for all health insurance policies are now illegal. Annual caps are being phased out and will be eliminated by Jan. 1, 2014.

It's essential that allergy and asthma patients understand the new health insurance marketplace and make informed decisions about their healthcare coverage and benefits. Read more about ACA and its impact on allergy and asthma patients at http://www.aanma.org.

The winter issue of Allergy & Asthma Today, AANMA's quarterly magazine, also takes a closer look at ACA. The magazine will be available to consumers in November (http://www.aanma.org/publication).

About AANMA

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending needless death and suffering due to asthma, allergies and related conditions. AANMA specializes in medically accurate and family friendly information through its award-winning publications Allergy & Asthma Today magazine and The MA Report newsletter, its web site at http://www.aanma.org and numerous community outreach programs. Follow AANMA on Facebook at facebook.com/AANMA and on Twitter at twitter.com/AANMA.

Contact: Gary Fitzgerald
Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics
703-641-9595 
[email protected]

SOURCE Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics