Message from CEO Carl E. Coan
A thousand little moments.
That's what our patients' stories reveal to us: a thousand little, unforgettable moments in which our care providers and our partners have had the opportunity to play a role in changing your lives.
We love hearing your stories.
They remind us all that Eisner Pediatric & Family Medical Center makes a real difference in the lives of our neighbors in this community.
Today, we're moving forward with anticipation and excitement as more stages of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the health reform law, are put into action to protect patients. The entire law will take effect by 2014.
Why are we excited? The Affordable Care Act offers the promise of real change in the way we approach health care in this country. It rewards patient-centered health care, the kind of care EPFMC is dedicated to practicing.
The health care reform law places more focus on prevention and helping each of us get and stay healthy. The reason this is so important is that 75% of our current spending for health care goes to treat chronic diseases. Many of these diseases are preventable. That means that much of this suffering is preventable.
What does this law mean for you? A few of the most important changes for patients:
- Health plans put into effect since 2010 eliminate co-payments and deductibles for preventive screenings for many chronic diseases, vaccinations, and wellness and domestic violence counseling. Mammograms, pap smears, colonoscopies, and tests for high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol are included. All must be covered in the plan.
- Young adults who are not covered by an employer can remain on their parents' health plan policies until they turn 26.
- No longer can children under 19 (and many adults) with pre-existing conditions be denied coverage. By 2014, all discrimination against pre-existing conditions will be outlawed.
- Well-baby and well-child doctor visits are covered until age 21.
- Well-woman care, breastfeeding services, contraceptives, and more services for women's preventive care will be covered (no co-payments or deductibles) in new plans, starting in August 2012.
- Preventive care services for seniors on Medicare are free. No more co-payments or deductibles for screenings and other important preventive services.
- Lifetime limits on your insurance coverage have been eliminated.
The law will invest heavily in community health centers, such as our own, that provide care to underserved communities. Similarly, investments in more school-based health centers will be increased to serve some of the health care needs of teens and adolescents. The move to electronic health records will help cut costs and increase sharing of information and coordination of your care by your health care providers. EPFMC recently completed the conversion of paper-based records to electronic health records.
In short: Patients will gain more control over their ability to manage their own care on a daily basis. Doctors will be rewarded for improving health outcomes for patients, not just for controlling costs.
We're excited to see and be an active part of a national movement that makes health care more efficient and effective by doing the things that are right for patients.
The Affordable Care Act also seeks to increase the number of primary care doctors working in underserved communities, such as our own. Eisner Pediatric & Family Medical Center is taking steps to expand the coverage we can offer patients in our community. Recently, we joined with the Keck School of Medicine's USC Family Medicine Residency Program and the California Hospital Medical Center to form the USC-Eisner Family Medicine Center at California Hospital. The center is located at 1400 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 101, a couple of blocks from EPFMC and across the street from the California Hospital Medical Center.
The USC-Eisner Family Medicine Center at California Hospital embraces the care model of the Patient Centered Medical Home that is central to the Affordable Care Act. This union will allow us to reach even more of our neighbors with more services and more primary care doctors, committed to providing patient-centered family medicine.
Very simply: This model of health care changes lives. It will save lives. It will aid us and our partners in providing the best cradle to end-of-life care we can give to our neighbors.
Yes, there will be lots more stories. Thousands of little moments.
We feel privileged to serve you and be a part of your life-changing moments.
This we promise: We'll be here, creating new stories, new moments - a thousand more little moments - with you.