On Monday, three days of Supreme Court hearings begin on legal challenges to health care reform. The Affordable Care Act doesn't take full effect until 2014 but more than 30 new provisions of the law are already in place. YNN'S Kafi Drexel takes us through a quick primer on some of the biggest changes and where things stand now.

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On March 23rd, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Some changes were almost immediate.

Senior citizens hitting a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage dubbed the "donut hole" get one-time rebates and start to see brand-name discounts to help cover costs.
President and CEO of the private New York State Health Foundation, James Knickman has been watching the changes closely.

Knickman said, “They set us on a path to the full implementation that will happen in 2014. And they also start to show the benefits right away.”

Six months after the law passes, more big consumer protections begin to take effect. Young adults can stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26. And insurers can no longer cancel policies because of illness or pre-existing health conditions. And deductibles and co-pays for preventive care like colonoscopies, mammograms and some immunizations also get scrapped.

Federal health officials estimate 54 million people nationwide including more than 3 million New Yorkers are now getting those services with no additional cost because of that provision.

Fast forward to this year. New insurance plans beginning August 1st start providing a range of women's health services without co-pays from breast pumps to birth control.
Birth control remains one of the most controversial pieces of the law. Just how it will be covered for plans attached to religious non-profits is still being worked out.

By 2014 more than 30 million Americans, including more than 1 million New Yorkers are expected to gain coverage who didn't have it before. That's supposed to happen through an expansion of Medicaid and the creation of state-run health insurance exchanges. That is of course if the mandate survives a court test.

Knickman said, “the legal case before the Supreme Court will really clear the air. If they uphold the law I think you will see New York move quickly to approve an exchange and finish its work. If they don't uphold the law everything is up for grabs.”

Capital Tonight will have more on what the Supreme Court case could mean to you, beginning on Monday at 8 p.m. And to catch up with the latest political headlines any time, visit our blog at www.capitaltonight.com/stateofpolitics/.