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If congressional leaders can reach agreement on the details of health-care reform, the legislation has a long list of effective dates that start immediately upon the president’s signature and extend all the way into 2018. The HR Policy Association, a public policy organization representing human resources executives of the largest U.S. employers, recently released a comprehensive list of effective dates of the House and Senate versions. The complete list can be viewed at http://tiny.cc/rwoZJ or www.hrpolicy.org. Here are some of the provisions that would become effective this year:

House bill:

• The time that health plans can look back for pre-existing conditions is reduced from six months to 30 days.

• Insurers must disclose new health premium rate increases.

• Employers prohibited from reducing retiree health benefits unless same reduction is made to active employees’ benefits.

• Consumer Operated and Oriented Program (CO-OP) created to facilitate establishment of a nonprofit, member-run health insurance cooperative through a Health Exchange.

• Grants for employer wellness programs established.

Senate bill:

• The use of some annual coverage limits prohibited.

• Insurance plans must provide first-dollar coverage for preventive care.

• Insurers must establish an effective appeals process for coverage determinations and claim denials.

• New quality requirements established for nonprofit hospitals.

• Annual non-tax-deductible fees imposed on medical industries, allocated by market share ($6.7 billion for health insurers; $2.3 billion for pharmaceutical makers; $2 billion for medical device manufacturers).