General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAffordable Health Care – What’s in it for you and me?
Thanks to Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court upheld President Obamas Affordable Health Care Act by a narrow vote of 5-4. THIS IS MAJOR. The outcome of a 100-year fight for U.S. national health care (bloomberg.com/news), made Obama the FIRST PRESIDENT to get constitutionally meaningful health care reform passed into legislation, and Chief Justice Roberts was the ONLY Conservative justice who had the judicial integrity to put the American people above the radical right wing agenda!
So, what was the Radical Right Wings response to the Supreme Court decision? Tea Partied Republican House Republicans vowed to hold a vote to repeal health care reform on July, 11th. Tea Partied Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney pounced on the Courts decision stating that the first thing he will do IF he becomes President is to repeal health care reform. Romney is so not ready for prime time that he doesnt even know that Congress is the ONLY branch of government that can repeal any law NOT a President. The radical, irrational, mean-spirited responses of Tea Partied Republican House representatives and Romney adds to the ever-growing list of reasons why WE need to make sure Romney and every Radical Tea Partied Republican Congressional member up for reelection in November is voted OUT!
Heres whats in it for you and me
INDIVIDUAL MANDATE BENEFIT
Right now, hospitals pass the cost of treating the uninsured off onto paying patients by overbilling their insurance (answers.yahoo.com article entitled Who pays for the medical costs of the uninsured), and Federal Government taxpayer contributions cover two-thirds of uninsured care in the form of disproportionate share hospital payments (Kaiser Commission Report on Medicaid and the Uninsured). The "individual mandate - which goes into effect in 2014 - will cut the above "hidden" costs you and I dish out to compensate medical services for the uninsured, AND your current insurance premiums will be REDUCED because the overall costs of coverage will be spread among a GREATER NUMBER OF PEOPLE who choose to participate in new "health insurance exchanges".
BENEFITS FOR ALL AMERICANS
Current benefits all Americans receive as a result of the Affordable Health Care Act (unless you are a woman living in a state where the REPUBLICAN Governor and/or REPUBLICAN state legislators have passed legislation to DENY you coverage) are: 1) insurance companies can NO LONGER deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions like diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure; 2) ALL Americans joining new insurance plans have the freedom to choose from ANY primary care provider; 3) ALL Americans joining a new health care plan can receive recommended PREVENTIVE services, like mammograms, vaccinations, new baby care and well-children visits with NO out-of pocket costs; 4) women CANNOT be charged more for individual insurance policies simply because of their gender; 5) Americans are freed from worrying about losing their insurance, or having it capped unexpectedly if someone is in an accident or becomes sick; 6) now you can add or keep children on your health insurance policy until they turn 26 unless your child's employer offers health coverage; (healthcare.gov)
MEDICARE BENEFITS
According to a factsheet published by the Alliance for Retired Americans entitled Myth Busters: New Health Law & Other Myths: 1) the new health law provides seniors under Medicare a FREE yearly medical checkup and FREE preventive screenings for diseases such a diabetes, heart disease and cancer; 2) the new health law ELIMINATES the wasteful overpayments to private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans; 3) according to the Medicare actuaries, the new health law EXTENDS the life of Medicare by 7 Years, and 4) the new health law has NOT increased Medicare premiums and, in fact, in some cases, it has REDUCED premiums."
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MORE FACTUAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ACT
www.healthcare.gov/law/index.html (health care law and you
theobamadiary.com/2012/03/22/the-story-of-the affordable... www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/03/aca_womens_quiz... interactive quiz: how the affordable care act benefits women
leftstreet
(36,111 posts)For those who can afford to purchase it
It's not health CARE reform though and people should stop confusing the two
Wounded Bear
(58,692 posts)though the state has been cutting back on our version of it.
Can't seem to find any care elsewhere.