What healthcare reform means for Americans
Some changes have already been implemented
All of this healthcare reform jibber jabber has certainly left many confused. Last year President Barack Obama signed into law the Affordable Healthcare Act that promises Americans better coverage.
Changes were instituted as of Sept. 23, 2010.
According to the new plan, if individuals purchased or joined a new plan on or after that date, insurance companies must do the following:
• Cover recommended preventive services without charging out-of-pocket costs. Services like mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, prenatal and new-baby care are covered, and insurance companies are prohibited from charging deductibles, co-payments or co-insurance.
• Provide an opportunity to appeal coverage decisions. Consumers are guaranteed the right to appeal insurance-company decisions to an independent third party.
• Guarantee enrollees their choice of primary-care provider. Consumers will have their choice of provider within the plan’s network of doctors, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians, without a referral, as well as out-of-network emergency care.
According to the proposal, the new provisions are expected to help up to 88 million people by 2013.
Also, insurance companies are prevented from forcing terminally ill patients and those with chronic diseases to accept lifetime limited coverage or refusing coverage.
Other changes include new benefits, protections and cost savings that will be gradually implemented through 2014.
Child dependents are also allowed to receive coverage under their parents’ plans until their 26th birthday.
http://ourweekly.com/features/what-healthcare-reform-means-americans
“Oh what a tangled web we weave ….”
The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is starting to rear its ugly head. Many of us think the concept is dangerous and costly. What is evolving is that it is the worst thing to ever happen to the U.S. economy. Right now this is clear: the federal government has taken over our healthcare industry. It has taken it over without any expertise or clear strategy. Almost daily new horrors are popping up. My brothers and sisters we are about to emulate Sweden and Canada. Socialized medicine is coming to America.
On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law.
And while the term started out as an insult, even the president seems to have gotten used to ACA being called “Obamacare,” and it’s a central part of his legacy. And a worthy legacy it is, helping millions of Americans who have struggled to pay for healthcare.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — County officials today raised concerns about Gov. Jerry Brown’s plans to use anticipated savings under health care reform to pay for other programs for the poor.
At the end of life, Black kidney disease patients are more likely than White patients to continue intensive dialysis instead of choosing hospice care, according to a new study.
Researchers also found that racial differences in kidney disease treatments became more extreme in the highest Medicare spending regions of the U.S.
Nathan Cox-Reed has a toothache.
He thinks he needs a root canal, but the full-time student, 22, is uninsured. He can’t afford a trip to the dentist.
“I’m only working 30 hours a week. I wouldn’t have enough money to do something like that,” said Cox-Reed, a film and video student at Columbia College in Chicago.
