There has been much opinion vomited back on various "news" programs about what the INSURANCE reform bill really means to us.
Misinformation has run rampant--from those who say that 65-year-olds will be given "death pills" so they will no longer burden the system to how it will completely drive small businesses out of business with "forced" policies.
Smarter people than I have really looked into what this bill represents, and here's what it comes down to:
1. It eliminates exclusion of pre-existing conditions such as arthritis.
In 6 months, the nearly 300,000 children living with arthritis will no longer be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. By January 1, 2014 this law will take effect for the 46 million adults with arthritis as well. I wish it were sooner, but at least it's there.
2. It eliminates
restrictive annual and lifetime limits on coverage.
Because of the high cost of biologics, this provision is good news for those with inflammatory forms of arthritis who quickly meet annual maximums. Starting in 2014, the law will prohibit insurance companies from placing annual limits - or caps - on coverage. Until then, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services will determine annual limits starting late September 2010.
3. It allows adult children to stay on
their parents' health insurance policies up to the age of 26.
This provision, which will take effect in less than six months, will allow adult children to stay on their parents' plans longer than most plans currently allow. If you are a young adult trying to get your life going, finish college, find a job, this is crucial to ensure that you get to maintain your health and medical care until you are thoroughly "launched" in your life.
4. It bans insurance companies from
dropping people from coverage when they get sick.
This provision, which takes effect in six months, will provide peace of mind to people with arthritis to know that they are not at risk of losing their health insurance. When I lost my health insurance when I got laid off, private insurance companies REFUSED to insure my son though it was "illegal" to deny him coverage.
Gradually...
5. It improves access
to pediatric rheumatologists.
Through advocating for the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act, the Arthritis Foundation has been seeking a solution to the shortage of pediatric rheumatologists. As part of health care reform, a new pediatric loan repayment program for pediatric sub-specialists was included to encourage doctors to enter into fields such as pediatric rheumatology.
6. It closes the gap
in prescription drug benefits for Medicare Part D.
Currently, people on Medicare are responsible for 100% of their prescription drug costs of up to $1,720 once their out-of-pocket expenses on copays reach $2,830. This $1,720 expenditure is called the "doughnut hole". Effective this year, the Medicare Part D drug program will provide a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who hit the doughnut hole. Next year there will be a 50% discount on brand name drugs for those who reach the doughnut hole. By 2020, beneficiaries will receive discounts of 75% on brand name and generic drugs.
..............................
How can any reasonable person take issue with this? There are more than 46 MILLION people in this country who suffer daily from the ravages of arthritis.
More than 300,000 of them are children--that's more children than suffer from cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and juvenile diabetes COMBINED.
There are 100 diseases in the arthritis family of diseases, including lupus, scleroderma, pulmonary fibrosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and so many more. One in three people have some form of arthritis. The majority of the people suffering from the disease do not have access to adequate care or medications to treat their disease.
How can we as Americans look 1 in 3 of our friends and family in the face and say that we don't care that they live in pain every day and that they don't deserve quality care? How can we tell a child crying in the middle of the night that he doesn't deserve access to the medications that can reduce his pain, prevent joint deformity and affect his growth and development for the rest of his life? How can we tell a 30-year-old new mom that we don't care if her rheumatoid arthritis is so painful most days that she can't even hold her newborn? How can we tell a 16-year-old budding actor plagued with juvenile arthritis since the age of 6 that her disease is so unsexy that even the celebrities and athletes who have it won't admit it (until they are forced to retire) because they would rather live in silent pain than lose their 15 minutes of fame because all we care about in this country is celebrity and titillating gossip?
This so-called "debate" is about so much more than insurance reform. It's about something so dark and twisty in this country that most people don't want to admit it: We just don't give a damn about what's really important any more. We'd rather make sure that the rich can just keep on getting richer.
How's that working out for ya?
Learn more ... http://www.arthritistoday.org/daily-living/consumer-guide-to-health-care/index.php
The bill that was passed is not perfect by any means, but until the other side starts making some cogent arguments and begins to contribute to the process in a constructive way, this is what we've got.
I agree with everyone who has posted here that the Obama reform plan has many benefits. It's a complicated bill, and there will surely be unexpected adverse consequences that will be felt by people who don't have these same problems. "One man's meat is another man's poison," as the proverb reminds us. I don't think it does ANY good to label those who think the problems will outweigh the benefits as "ignorant, irrational, self-destructive" and hateful people who want "good people to . . . die and suffer for no good reason." Actually, it does a lot of harm. I actually know people who care about suffering and death as much as I or anyone else on his blog who think the long term effects of the bill on quality and access will be, on balance, very bad. I know people who support Obama's plan get frustrated when detractors use caricature and assume the worst about his intentions. What does it say about us when we use exactly the same techniques in response?
I was on COBRA for several months last year because I had to wait 90 days after getting this job before becoming eligible and THEN the insurance (such as it is...it's not great) didn't go into effect until the following month.
COBRA is torture. I was unemployed for three months. No income. Just unemployment benefits. Where the hell did they think I was going to get the money to pay $500 a month for insurance? From the happy COBRA fairy? Unemployment barely covered the basics. Thank God I had some savings to get me through.
And thank God that Pres. Obama got us a bit of a respite for COBRA. I got a very nice little rebate on that for the last few months.
Simply put, anyone that has ever been on COBRA already understands the need for reform. We were on that for three months after the church laid me off. Wow, that was a wakeup call.
Thanks Voice for the perspective and the concrete examples of the benefits and the numerical scope of the positive impact on FELLOW AMERICANS of healthcare reform.
However, don't count on it sinking in to those who live to hate and will (thankfully only) verbally spew nonstop their garbage that will be a detriment to their friends, neighbors, coworkers, average decent people they interact with in the grocery stores, repair shops, department stores, restaurants every day, and even their own families and themselves. No accounting for ignorant, irrational and self destructive hate. They would just rather good people continue to die and suffer for no good reason. And yet they sanctimoniously spew misplaced and inaccurate Bible verses to prove they are "good Christians".
My wife had a knee replacement 3 1/2 years ago using my company health plan. the operation cost 44,000 which was cut to 32,000 by the insurance. We had a $500 copay and did all the right paperwork; we thought we were all covered.
When all was said and done the insurance company paid a total of $4000 leaving us on the hook for $28,000. Now my company doesn't offer insurance. Thankfully I found that I can get in VA as a Vietnam Vet but my wife's policy in the high risk pool costs over $11,000 this year with a $2500 deductable.
The cost just keeps rising but Rick Perry doesn't feel we need to be part of the Federal plan!