By Yvette Crenshaw

It is official; 2011 is here. There is so much to look forward to, including New Year’s resolutions and the fact that several of the provisions named in the Affordable Care Act will roll out as early as January 1, 2011. Here is a look at some of the provisions that will be implemented this year that may affect your health center and/or the patients you serve.

In 2011 The Affordable Care Act:

• Begins to close the Medicare doughnut hole, giving beneficiaries a 50 percent discount on all brand-name drugs in the doughnut hole to completely close the coverage gap by 2020.
• Provides $1 billion in new funding for Community Health Centers, in addition to existing discretionary levels.
• Requires employers to disclose the value of the benefit provided by the employer for each employee’s health insurance coverage on W-2 forms.
• Establishes the Community Based Collaborative Care Network Program to support consortia of health centers, safety net hospitals and other providers to coordinate care for low-income and uninsured populations (subject to Congressional appropriations).
• Requires that health centers begin to use the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) for Medicare patients.

For a complete implementation timeline please see NACHC’s implementation timeline or The Kaiser Foundation’s health reform source. Also, please check back soon for NACHC’s Policy Shop blog.