The department of Health and Human Services has put together an easy-to-read timeline re: what happens when under the federal health care reform law.
Small business health insurance tax credits, for example, started taking effect Jan. 1. The first $250 checks to 4 million senior citizens hitting the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage were mailed in June.
The big stuff still lies ahead. A major round of provisions start taking effect Sept. 23rd: young adults can stay on their parents' health plan until age 26, there will be no pre-existing condition waiting period for children, insurers can't cancel a policy except in the case of fraud, no lifetime caps on benefits, and there will be no copays, etc. for preventive care. (In general. There are a variety of exceptions and exemptions for grandfathered plans and other factors.)