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Obamacare, where it stands in the courts:

Nearly two dozen legal challenges have been filed in federal court over the law, NBC’s Pete Williams reports. And while most have been dismissed on technical grounds, five resulted in decisions on the central issue -- whether the law’s requirement that nearly all Americans buy health insurance is unconstitutional. The five cases are pending before federal appeals courts, and one may reach the U.S. Supreme court during its next term. In three of those cases, filed in Virginia, Michigan, and Washington, D.C., judges said the law is constitutional. In the other two, brought by the states of Virginia and Florida, judges said Congress exceeded its powers in passing the law. The lawsuit filed by Florida was backed by 25 other states. Adding Virginia, that brings to 27 the number of states challenging the law’s constitutionality. Six more cases are pending in the lower courts.

*** How is the law affecting you RIGHT NOW? There were cries of, “Have you read the bill?” and “What’s in the bill?” which led to a lot of the confusion. Well, here’s some of what’s ACTUALLY in the bill that’s taken effect already or will this year, per NBC’s Betsy Cline and others:
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• Children allowed to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans until their 26th birthday.


• A 10% tax on indoor tanning services. (Sorry, Snooki.)


• Seniors receive a $250 rebate to help cover the so-called “donut hole” in Medicare drug coverage


• Free preventative care covered by Medicare and private plans. (So, when your company says, “Good news, you now get free health-care screenings, child well visits, physicals and other preventative care,” that comes from the health-care bill.)


• Nursing mothers to be allowed lactation breaks


• Insurance companies no longer allowed to discriminate against children with pre-existing conditions


• Government-run insurance plan set up for adults with preexisting conditions who are denied coverage


• Government-run long-term care program set up. For those who participate, people pay premiums for five years and then will receive benefits if they need them -- “whether they are 20-somethings in snowboard accidents or 80-somethings with Parkinson’s disease,” the New York Times wrote.


• Insurance companies barred from placing lifetime caps on benefits


• Insurance companies barred from dropping patients’ coverage when they get sick


• Insurance companies must prove they spend 80% to 85% of premium revenue on medical services.


• Insurance companies required to disclose rate increases (and the reason) of 10% or more


• Small businesses (with fewer than 50 employees) begin receiving tax credits covering 35% of premiums to help them buy coverage. (This credit jumps to 50% in 2014.)


• States receive billions in funding for community health centers


• Drug companies face $2.5 billion in fees (rises in later years)


• Creation of a government research institute created to examine the effectiveness of medical treatments


• Establishment of a Medicare Independent Advisory Board, which will be tasked with trying to keep Medicare spending down and submitting legislative proposals to do so. It will first submit recommendations in 2016.

*** How will it affect you IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS? If most of that sounds good (that is, unless you’re Snooki), Republicans will rightly argue the law was front-loaded with many of the positive parts. In 2013, new taxes and fees go into effect for individuals making more than $200,000 a year (and families making more than $250,000 a year), on dividends and interest, and on sales of medical devices. By 2014, the individual mandate goes into effect -- if you don’t have insurance, you have to buy it or face a fee. By 2016, that fee will be 2.5% of your income or $695 a year, whichever is more. (Kaiser has a helpful interactive timeline here.)

Read more:

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/23/6327399-health-care-one-year-later