What Does Health Care Reform Mean for People with Celiac?
This past week our country witnessed history in the making when President Obama signed the healthcare reform bill. As a population whose lives have been altered since being diagnosed with celiac disease, this new law will dramatically change one particular aspect of celiacs lives – individuals with the disease will no longer risk being denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
While many other elements of this legislation will undoubtedly affect individuals on varying levels, children with celiac disease and their families will begin benefiting as quickly as this year. Older individuals with celiac disease will officially become protected in 2014 when insurers will be unable to refuse to sell or renew policies because of a health status and health plans will no longer prohibit persons with pre-existing conditions from receiving coverage.
Read more about how the health care law will impact Americans and when various new regulations will go into affect.
Among the many other provisions included in the health care bill, chain restaurants with 20 or more outlets will now be required to disclose the number of calories on their menus or menu boards. The new regulation aims to help Americans manage a healthy diet, even when dining out, and is a giant step towards more frequent and complete ingredient and nutrition information labeling on restaurant menus.
For more information about the new menu labeling laws, click here.
To read the complete health care reform bill, click here and download.