The landmark health care reform legislation enacted this past spring includes new programs and services designed to help people with special needs and also alters the way many existing government benefit programs work. Several months later, the federal government has designed a new Web site, HealthCare.gov, that helps people, including those with special needs, navigate the new law.

As we pointed out in our summary of health care reform, the new law has many moving parts that will affect everyone differently. The new Web site aims to provide consumers with succinct answers to their health care questions in easily understood language. Since most of the changes to the health care system will be phased in over time, the site also features a helpful timeline that illustrates exactly when benefits will begin and who will receive them.

The HealthCare.gov site includes a section devoted entirely to helping people with special needs. This section outlines changes in the health care legislation that may affect people with special needs, and focuses on a portion of the new legislation that prevents insurers from denying coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions -- something that advocates for people with special needs have long sought. The Web site also provides tools for people looking for health insurance, including descriptions of both public and private programs that may be of use to people with special needs.

To explore HealthCare.gov, click here.

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