One of the many problems with the Affordable Care Act, disrespectfully known as Obamacare, is that insurance companies in the temporary exchanges for people with preexisting conditions were charging an arm and a leg. Yesterday Kathleen Sebelius announced a change that promises some much needed relief for those people.
The government announced Tuesday that it will lower premiums and ease eligibility requirements for its fledgling health insurance program for people shut out from the private health insurance market because of pre-existing conditions. Premiums will fall by as much as 40 percent in some states.
The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, run by the Department of Health and Human Services in 23 states and by state governments in the rest, offers relatively affordable coverage for people who’ve been uninsured for at least six months because of conditions like diabetes or heart disease. The plan launched last summer as one of the first components of the health care reform signed into law by President Obama in March 2010.
"This program changes lives, and in many cases saves lives," HHS director Kathleen Sebelius said on a Tuesday conference call with reporters… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Huffington Post>
To be clear, no matter what is done to fix the ACA, it will fall short of what what America needs, until and unless it is transformed into Medicare for all. Nevertheless, it’s a major improvement over RepubliCare. In RepubliCare, you pay a private insurance company until you get sick. Then they cancel you, you become uninsurable, and you die.
10 Responses to “An Improvement in the ACA”
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I am not afraid of death and I will not go bankrupt trying to get health care if I lose mine…fuck ’em they can send out the old guy pushing the wagon yelling “BRING OUT YOUR DEAD.” That is how far we as a compassionate nation have sunk. I will not leave this plane with my wife alive and no money in the bank to live off of. This must as yoou say be just a stepping stone to medicare for all from cradle to grave.
Oh yeah while we are at the discussion pay back the 4 trillion they owe us in what they looted from Social Security. But the right WANTS the government to default and wipe that particular debt off the books. with that kind of space to breathe we can then borrow more than the 1.5 trillion we owe China.
The problem with government in general since 1960 it really has turned into an US vesus Them between the People and the Government.
Mark, as I understand it the Social Security Trust Fund is held in interest bearing Treasury securities.
With 1200 plus pages of legislation I guess they couldn’t cover everything. Rome wasn’t built in a day. With time and patience a lot of the holes will be plugged. I’m just happy they got the basic framework down so the system can become established and move forward. However we might feel about him, we need President Obama to stay in office for another term if we want this legislation to have a chance of succeeding.
Blue, the chance that I might vote Republican is somewhere between none and “you gotta be bullshitting me”. 😀
Flawed as it is– this health care plan was and is needed—–Medicare works– in spite of the repugs who are so trying to destroy it—-
Phyllis, I agree.
I don’t think Obamacare is a disrespectful name, despite the attempts by Reps to make it seem that way. It will stay in the public mind of those who are benefitting from what the Republicans would try to deny them: affordable health care. I’m just fine with it being called Obamacare. Yay President Obama!
Yes, it needs more, but it’s a good first step.
Marva, I agree. Most of the people who use the term are Republicans, and they always use it with disrespect.
It works for me as long as the last step is single payer.
Quibbling over Obamanible under-the-table craps. He PROMISED SINGLE-PAYER for DEM majorities in CONgress and HIS presidency; we The PEOPLE DELIVERED, he RENEGED!
Bruce, you do not have the right to invent your own facts. Your comment is untrue. Obama ran on a health care plan that included a single payer public option. It was Republicans in the Senate, aided by a couple DINOs that killed the public option.