Frank Bruni noted in the New York Times on May 12 that 40% of our fellow citizens mistakenly believe that the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act has been repealed by Congress, thrown out by the Supreme Court or was never enacted in the first place. Yours truly sincerely wishes that the President and Congress had copied Canada's plan - or Hawaii's, or Britain's, or France's, or Germany's or almost anyone other than Romney's - but there are some good provisions of the law that you may need to talk with your health care provider about. My wife and I have both had to argue with physicians' staff about whether or not they could still collect co-payments for flu shots and annual physicals.

Women are getting access to eight new prevention health care services through their private health care plans, with no co-pay or deductibles. Women can now catch potentially serious conditions at an earlier stage. The eight new services are:

• Well-woman visits.
• Gestational diabetes screening that helps protect pregnant women from one of the most serious pregnancy-related diseases.
• Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling.
• FDA-approved contraceptive methods, and contraceptive education and counseling.
• Breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling.
• HPV DNA testing, for women 30 or older.
• Sexually transmitted infections counseling for sexually-active women.
• HIV screening and counseling for sexually-active women.

In addition:

• At least 3 million young adults - including more than 150,000 in New York State alone - have received health coverage since the new health reform law went into effect: Parents can cover children on their policies until age 26.
• Insurance companies can no longer be able to deny children coverage for pre-existing conditions.
• High-risk pools have been created to cover adults denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. 3,000 New Yorkers with pre-existing conditions have gained coverage through the NY Bridge Plan.
• Insurance companies cannot cancel coverage because you get sick or for any other reason except customer fraud.
• Insurance companies can no longer cap the amount of benefits and treatment a person can receive in a lifetime, and annual limits are being phased out.
• There are no longer co-payments for preventive services such as flu shots, child immunization, diet counseling, cholesterol screening, mammograms and colonoscopies.
• If you go to an emergency room outside your plan's network, you can't be charged extra.
• You can now designate a pediatrician or an ob-gyn as your primary care doctor, avoiding the need for referrals (and additional co-payments) that have been required by some plans.
• Patients who join a new plan can keep their own doctors.
• Patients can appeal insurance company reimbursement decisions to a third party.
• Small businesses that cover their employees, including not-for-profits, get substantial breaks on payroll taxes. More than 285,000 employers in New York State are eligible for these payroll tax credits.

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