Six months ago today, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, one of the most important pieces of health care legislation in more than a generation. Six months later and the sky is still there, grandma hasn't been euthanized, and the dreaded death panels have ceased to materialize. Six months later and insurance companies have begun to be held accountable, small businesses have begun to receive important tax breaks to provide health benefits, and premiums for seniors on Medicare Advantage plans are lower and enrollment is higher. And today, just six months after becoming law, even more benefits of reform take effect.
Not long ago, I explained how in this short span of time, the health care reform law has begun to tackle the very serious problem of rising health care costs for small businesses. Before reform, the stifling effect of double digit premium increases left small businesses with two poor choices of either shifting more of the cost onto employees or not offering health coverage altogether. But right now, according to the non partisan consumer group Families USA, over 83 percent of small businesses are eligible to receive a substantial tax credit towards their health care premiums, putting them on a path to financial security and allowing them to create more jobs.
Today, Americans all across the country can enjoy new benefits as a result of the Affordable Care Act that some have termed the new "Patient's Bill of Rights." I think that is an apt title for these important and long overdue reforms. Provisions such as prohibiting the denial of children based on pre-existing conditions and making the reprehensible practice of rescissions illegal represent a major shift in making America's health care system more equitable and fair for consumers. Additional provisions such as free preventive care for all indicate a move toward making our system give priority to "health care" rather than "sick care." This will increase quality and reduce out-of-control costs from chronic disease which accounts for two-thirds of every health care dollar spent.
Six months later and there is no sign of abatement in the misinformation campaign which continues to paint provisions in the health reform law as an abomination, bad for American consumers and a complete government takeover. But beyond the hysteria of phantom death panels, where is the abomination? Show me the provisions that will hurt consumers, because if you think a $110 billion a year tax break for working class Americans to buy private health insurance is a government takeover, I welcome the debate.
Former President Bill Clinton recently observed that he miscalculated how popular the health reform law would be for two reasons: it took several years to completely take effect and the detractors have used a very effective scare campaign. The misinformation campaign is so rampant that even those fully aware of reform's benefits to the American people, are instead choosing to downplay their support for fear of an angry electorate. This is not a winning strategy in my opinion.
Rather than capitulate to the politics of fear, the administration, the Congress, and the media have an obligation to accurately explain the Affordable Care Act, even if it means going provision by provision, and line by line. I have stood on the front lines of the health care system as a doctor, patient and concerned parent. Those experiences have served as my guideposts throughout the struggle to reform America's health care system. And it's those same experiences that tell me that fear and election hysteria should not overshadow the reality of reform.
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But the health industry continues to lobby for its profits instead of competing for or earning those profits like the rest of Americans. And that is why Americans pay rigged prices and are overcharged more than twice the going rate which is raised many times the rate of inflation.
I've heard from people who buy their own health insurance that their rates are going way up, yet again (notices came this month). My insurance comes from an employer, but even though those additional charges are more hidden, they will mean employers pass on the cost in the way of lower salaries and stagnant wages.
Some will be covered under the new plan who could not afford it otherwise. That's good, but I don't want to pay over twice the going rate for that coverage and I doubt other Americans do, either.
The key problem is cost for all struggling Americans. It hasn't been addressed.
Let's not forget the biggest health killer of all: stress. And when many are paying a huge portion of their income for rigged prices, that means less time and money to take care of their health in the first place.
It's outrageous that Congress has not put an end to the monopolies and rigged prices for something as basic and essential as health care.
The health industry should have to compete just like everybody else.
And kudos to Zhivago for not joining in on the discussion killing name calling.
Most of us ignore them as much as possible.
http://themiddleamericanvoice.blogspot.com/
Dwight D, Eisenhower.
http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2008/04/its_time_for_a.htm
If the Democrats problem is a demoralized base that is withholding its time and money...
Instead of trying to sell a corporate welfare bill that requires people to buy private insurance under tax penalty if they don't...
Why don't you and the other Democrats campaign on keeping Democrats in the majority so they can pass a Medicare buy in using the budget reconciliation process if necessary?
You are NEVER going to convince the base that passing a mandate without a public option was the right or even moral thing to do.
As written, it would have affected less than 5% of the population.
The trouble is, simple minds got stuck on the term "public option".
The professional left has a big hand in that - pushing the public option as the magic silver bullet, while ignoring the actual legislation.
Anti-healthcare advoates preference for emotional engagement over reasonable arguement has allowed rethugs/tea partiers/wealthy to blind them to their own interest. They appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: the fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortuante.
To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
Absolutely.
Some might suspect that the Administration is not doing so because they have a disdain for democracy and know that some of the provisions are not in our best interest.
Some saw the value of medical insurance stocks immediately rise during and after the passage of the bill.
How many politicians acquired health insurance company stock before voting for the mandatory-purcase provision? How many family members and other related parties? It's something that we will never know.
There is a constant flow of information from the adminstration if one desires to be informed. We need to get off our butts!!
What outside-the-box (legal, of course) strategies are we not thinking of?
I think we really need to have this discussion.
A family who is trying to care for someone who is sick, even dying doesn't have the time to sue. And if a patient dies because some "insurance manager" wanted a bonus? Well, that sound like murder to me.
No, no one will take this as seriously as it deserves. Health Insurers made money even when they PAID THEIR CLAIMS. Allowing them to rip off the consumer is simply wrong. But nothing...not one single THING was done to make Health Insurers toe the line between the Clinton and Obama administration. Ignore a problem,and it will grow. This isn't perfect. Not by a long shot---but it beats the hell out of pretending that the companies will play fair, unless they are FORCED to.
Republicans cried "death panels if this bill passes!" A total lie. The death panels already existed in the form of the actuaries who denied coverage, or put annual or lifetime limits on coverage. The bill ends that. And I agree with you that this comes very close to murder, or at least negligent homicide. Democrats and the Administration need to trumpet the truth about the reforms, and call B.S. on the fear-mongers and nay-sayers who denigrate this legislation solely in order to protect and further ingratiate themselves with the insurance industry - and industry that makes obscene amounts of money for mostly doing nothing but collect money from the masses.
Oh, yeah. Fanned.
Here's a big problem with this new bill: it's not going to cut costs, it's going to increase them. Our already "most expensive health care system in the world" is going to get considerably more expensive. You've got already existing health insurers and their profiteers, and now you're adding a slew of regulators and a slew of health care employees to fight with the regulators. It's complicated, it's messy, and it's senseless. It's a joke: it's like trying to fight cancer by putting a pretty hat on a giant tumor.
Go ahead, I double dare you: don't read a sales pitch for this bill, read about what it actually does. Then educate yourself about the real problems in our health care. The thing is a giant, embarassing mess. It's the Iraq War of health reform. It's a joke.
All this talk about how there is "nothing good in this bill" is typical right wing rhetoric. Try reading the blog before you post your nonsense, then explain to me what exactly is bad about this?
"Provisions such as prohibiting the denial of children based on pre-existing conditions and making the reprehensible practice of rescissions illegal represent a major shift in making America's health care system more equitable and fair for consumers. Additional provisions such as free preventive care for all indicate a move toward making our system give priority to "health care" rather than "sick care.""!
Which of those three things do you suggest insurers do in order to accomodate the new health insurance requirements? And if you say cut dividends, think about this. If a company cannot attract stockholders because they can't pay reasonable dividends, the company loses the ability to finance expansion, hire employees, research alternative medicines, and the like.
So what's it gonna be?
I have no sympathy for an entity that feels it's fine to take my money when I'm healthy and then fight me with my own money to avoid paying my medical bills which they agreed to pay to begin with. Like I said at the beginnning of my post, single payer is the better option... but there wasn't enough support for that.
Because these costs are low to begin with, they are affordable. With insurance, my visit in Europe would have been free. The insurance costs about $125 per month, per person. The wait was about ten minutes.
Believe what you want about socialized medicine, but it is cheaper and more efficient than anything we have here!
Glad you get it.
So many righties whine about the deficit without a single clue what they are referring to.