Strategic Planning & Timelines

Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) offered on state and federal exchanges must include a sufficient number of Essential Community Providers (ECPs) – such as community health centers, Ryan White providers, and others – in their networks, but these providers may not know how to identify or connect to QHPs. This fact sheet reviews ECP guidance and upcoming deadlines, and provides tips to help connect safety net providers and health plans.

HHS released the timeline for the Federal Basic Health Plan, laying out the steps for its launch in 2015. According to the timeline, the Federal Basic Health Plan will begin enrollment in October 2014 and begin operations in January 2015.

In May 2011, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed legislation to implement Green Mountain Care (GMC), a single-payer, publicly financed, universal health care system. Vermont's reform law passed 15 months after the historic federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law. In passing reforms, Vermont took matters into its own hands and is well ahead of most other states in its efforts to implement federal and state health care reforms by 2014. Although Vermont is a small state, its reform efforts provide valuable lessons for other states in implementing ACA reforms.

HHS has published a non-exhaustive database of essential community health providers (ECPs) as outlined in its letter to issuers on federally facilitated and state partnership exchanges. This database is intended to help qualified health plan issuers comply with the ECP requirements of the ACA.

On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law. While the date for full implementation of most provisions of the law is January 1, 2014, the impact of the ACA can be seen over the past three years. The brief provides an overview of the ACA’s early impacts on private insurance and exchanges, Medicaid coverage, access to primary and preventive care, Medicare, and dually eligible beneficiaries.