According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, "It's really putting in place long overdue consumer protections. ... It's getting rid of some of the worst rules of the industry that prevented people from getting covered at all or, at a time they needed coverage the most, limited the coverage they had."

ABC World News (9/21, story 3, 2:15, Sawyer) reported, "A centerpiece of the President's agenda has been health care reform, and it is now 36 hours until the first major changes from health care reform kick in." ABC (Tapper) went on to show Sebelius saying, "Some of the worst abuses, if you will, of the insurance companies are going to cease to exist." ABC added that "as of Thursday, insurance companies will no longer be able to stop providing coverage to customers because of technical errors on past applications. Or, impose lifetime dollar limits on essential benefits."

The San Jose Mercury News (9/22, Krieger Kleffman) reports, "Significant provisions of the health care reform bill roll out Thursday, reshaping the insurance landscape by significantly broadening access to coverage and care." Notably, "young adults may remain on their parents' policies until age 26 and minor children can't be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Insurers are prohibited from canceling coverage for sick patients or those who have reached coverage limits -- when they need it most." The Lincoln Journal Star (9/22, Andersen) also notes several of the key provisions taking effect on Thursday.

Elimination Of Lifetime Benefit Caps Will Help Millions With Private Plans. Reuters (9/21, Kingsbury) reported that one of the provisions of the healthcare law which will become effective on Thursday is the elimination of lifetime health benefit caps. Notably, this will affect mostly people who have individual insurance policies, but consumers who have run afoul of the cap in the past say that this is a welcome change.