One Year After Failed Repeal Effort, Affordable Care Act Continues to Help Americans 19JAN12

THE Affordable Care Act was passed one year ago 19JAN12. I remember staying up and watching the vote on C-SPAN, praying it would pass, thank God it did. Here is a short article from the WH noting the first anniversary of the legislation and the benefits already being realized.

Nancy-Ann DeParle

Like many Americans, Gail Freyer needs health insurance to help her manage her diabetes.  For years, she has struggled to find an insurance plan that would accept her with her pre-existing condition – and with a premium she could afford.  Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Gail was able to enroll in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan in Arizona.  Now, Gail knows she’ll be able to access the care she needs to manage her diabetes and stay healthy.
This story could have ended very differently if Republicans in the House had their way.  One year ago today, on January 19, 2011, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the health reform law, and take us back to the days when insurance companies had the power to decide what care residents of the United States could receive – allowing them to once again deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, cancel coverage when people get sick, and place lifetime or low annual dollar limits on the amount of care people can get, even if they need it.  What’s more, without the law, insurance companies could overcharge for insurance just to boost their profits. And if House Republicans had gotten their way:
•             2.5 million young adults wouldn’t have health insurance.
•             2.65 million seniors would have paid $1.5 billion more for prescription drugs
•             24.2 million seniors would pay for preventive services they are getting for free.
Thankfully, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and it’s helping Gail and millions like her. Check out the short report we’ve done about some of the Americans who are being helped by the law and what would have happened if the law has been repealed here.

Nancy-Ann DeParle is the Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff.

FIND INSURANCE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, THE UNINSURED AND THOSE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS AT HEALTHCARE.GOV 1JUL10 &U.S. Health Care Expensive And Underperforming: Study 24JUN10

For many families and small businesses, finding the right insurance plan has meant spending hours on the phone deciphering confusing insurance company lingo and reading way too much fine print. Today finding health insurance just got easier with the launch of HealthCare.gov.
The innovative new website developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services helps you understand all the health insurance options available in your local area for you and your family. After answering just a few basic questions, the website's insurance finder will identify public and private coverage options that might be right for you.  

From HealthCare.gov you can receive updates on the implementation of the new law and, as the website grows, you will be able to research health plan quality ratings, learn about disease prevention, and compare health plan prices all in one place. 

This website is just the beginning of the transparency and peace of mind promised by the new law to check the insurance companies' bad practices and greedy behavior. HealthCare.gov represents an important step in implementation and allows us all to take health care into our own hands.

HealthCare.gov represents an important step as we move forward to end the insurance company's stranglehold over the American health care system.  We hope that this resource will move us closer the peace of mind promised by the new law.

In Solidarity,

Melinda Gibson
Health Care for America Now

P.S. Uninsured due to a pre-existing condition?  Check out the new high risk insurance pools at HealthCare.gov.

 

U.S. Health Care Expensive And Underperforming: Study

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/us-health-care-expensive_n_624248.html

We'll have to wait and see how well the United States men's soccer team fares now that they are in the knockout stages of international competition at the World Cup, but if there's one thing we can all take pride in is the fact that we are the Champions of Health Care! Top prize goes to the system that best combines mediocrity with stratospheric costs, right?
No? Well, that's bad news then, because according to a new study by the Commonwealth  Fund that relieves health care reform proponents of having to cite outdated statistics from the World Health Organization, that's precisely the sort of health care we have. And it's all been rendered in handy-dandy chart form:
Ezra Klein notes: "The issue isn't just that we don't have universal health care. Our delivery system underperforms, too. 'Even when access and equity measures are not considered, the U.S. ranks behind most of the other countries on most measures. With the inclusion of primary care physician survey data in the analysis, it is apparent that the U.S. is lagging in adoption of national policies that promote primary care, quality improvement, and information technology.'"
Nonetheless, I expect no abatement in the tendency of anti-health care reform wags to bleat, "Bu-bu-but, the United States has the best health care in the world!" That's true, in the same way that José Andrés's Minibar has the best molecular cuisine in Washington, DC -- if your life depends on having it, you'd better have the financial security of Ezekiel Emanuel and Antonin Scalia.