Utah Hemophilia Foundation

Best wishes from the IHTC. We hope you are all enjoying the summer. This spring we saw the passage of the biggest health care reform bill since the creation of Medicare/Medicaid in the 1960's, and many of you may have questions about how this will affect your care. Several key points will be enacted this September and will be important for the bleeding disorder community: insurers can no longer deny coverage to children due to pre-existing conditions (adults will have this protection in 2014); elimination of lifetime caps on coverage (annual caps will end in 2014); and insurers are required to allow everyone to stay on their parents' policies until age 26. In addition, insurers will no longer be able to set premiums based on health status; Medicaid eligibility will expand to cover childless adults and children up to 133% of the federal poverty level; all states have increased access to high risk insurance pools; and the Medicare "donut hole" for prescriptions costs will be eliminated in 2019. By 2014, opportunities to purchase your own health insurance will greatly expand through opening new marketplaces and offering subsidies, which will expand available coverage to 32 million additional Americans. If you have questions about insurance issues, including access to the 340B program pricing, please call the clinic social worker, Susan Earl, at 801-662-4557.
 
Another important piece of legislation, The Americans with Disability Act, celebrates a 20-year anniversary this year. This is a law which can insure that people with disabilities and, in some cases, parents of children with disabilities, are protected and given equal rights at work. If you have questions about these issues, contact the Bleeding Disorder Hotline at 1-800-520-6154.
 
Our clinic staff is always working hard to meet the needs of all of our patients. We continue to explore future sites for satellite clinics and continue to make plans for our Southern Utah Outreach Clinic (will be getting those dates out soon).  Please feel free to contact us for any additional needs at 801-662-4726.
 
Dr. Yaish, Dr. Rodgers, Renee, Penni, Lori, Susan, and Heidi