10 THINGS EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HEALTH CARE REFORM (from Moveon.org)
1. Once reform is fully implemented, over 95% of Americans will have health insurance coverage, including 32 million who are currently uninsured.
2. Health insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny people coverage because of preexisting conditions—or to drop coverage when people become sick.
3. Just like members of Congress, individuals and small businesses who can’t afford to purchase insurance on their own will be able to pool together and choose from a variety of competing plans with lower premiums.
4. Reform will cut the federal budget deficit by $138 billion over the next ten years, and a whopping $1.2 trillion in the following ten years.
5. Health care will be more affordable for families and small businesses thanks to new tax credits, subsidies, and other assistance—paid for largely by taxing insurance companies, drug companies, and the very wealthiest Americans.
6. Seniors on Medicare will pay less for their prescription drugs because the legislation closes the “donut hole” gap in existing coverage.
7. By reducing health care costs for employers, reform will create or save more than 2.5 million jobs over the next decade.
8. Medicaid will be expanded to offer health insurance coverage to an additional 16 million low-income people.
9. Instead of losing coverage after they leave home or graduate from college, young adults will be able to remain on their families’ insurance plans until age 26.
10. Community health centers would receive an additional $11 billion, doubling the number of patients who can be treated regardless of their insurance or ability to pay.
p.s. I dropped your name on Gina's post, Barb. ;)
#9—That may be fine with the President, but in my house, once you’re 21 you are on your own! 26 is way too old to be glomming off of mom and dad.
Soooo. You’d rather see your children uninsured because (a) they are still in college and can’t afford individual insurance or (b) they haven’t been able to find a job with insurance benefits and/or with a salary ample enough to be able to afford it? My daughter was in both situations. I wish I had had that option. No one is saying you can’t charge your kids for the additional premium.
I give everyone in my house four years to get an undergrad degree. I’m more than happy to help until you hit that magic age of 21. Once the graduate, they may not immediately find the job of their dreams. I was in that situation, and I found work not in my field…but bartending got me through the tough times. There is alway something to do to make money if you get off your butt and look. I have no time for slackers who think a job is going to magically apper if they stay on the couch watching t.v. all day!
And, one more thing, as I continue my rant…I would let them stay on my insurance, but they’d be forking over some cash. Sorry to sound so callous, but I guess I’ve seen way too many moms and dads coddle their kids for way too long.
Many kids go on to grad school, med school, etc. – these days a 4 year degree doesn’t get you very far – so being able to insure them in case something happens, or they are on expensive meds, etc. is very important. Also, with the cost of college many kids have to work part time at jobs that don’t offer benefits and they might be considered full time students – 12 hrs a semester – but that won’t get them a degree in 4 years – so the additional age helps. Some kids continue to live at home – work whatever job they can – saving money for a year or two – and then use that to help them start college – so again the additional time helps. And with unemployment as high as it is finding a job right out of college with benefits isn’t easy these days. Had a neighbor who’s son became very ill the summer after college graduation. No longer was insured and it was a nightmare. Couldn’t get him the care he needed on medicaid – but if he was still on his parents insurance he might have done better in the beginning and be doing better now. Guess it’s hard to accept the need unless it hits home (or someone close to you).
If my darling daughter makes it into grad school, she will be financing it on her own dime…or through grants and loans, or whatever. Mom and dad are done after four undergrad years.
I have been going through the classifieds with my daughter because she will be working this summer. There are a ton of jobs out there, the problem I’ve seen is that too many young people ( who are unemployed and looking) find it beneath them to work certain jobs.
Some kids continue to live at home…that will not be happening in my world.
So I’m with you on this, our girls are ahead for the game!
Absolutely Track! Right now, the mindset for both me and my daughter: We both want her out of the house after college! However, you are right, I would never want her homeless on the streets, but she would be required to find something that occupies her time and pays some kind of paycheck until she found a job with her degree…and she would be paying me money for her living expenses in my home.
If the IRS is over seeing this plan, why make people get what they do not want?! And then fine them if they do not want it, what! Only Americans will be held accountable, cause they can find you. I wanted health care for Americans, but don’t twist their arm and make money off of it!…TRACK
Amen, Track!
It is not financially feasible to remove caps and preexisting conditions without adding the uninsured to the risk pool. If there is no penalty, there will not be enough compliance. The money will make up for the missing funds from the people who do not participate. Based on Mass. experience using these fines, the amount should be a very small percentage.
The passage of this bill is just a beginning. There will be multiple re-writes and re-votes before the people even see the results. And with all the added agendas tacked on, it will take years before any change is seen. Just hang on to your hats, we are in for a ride — again!
“Fasten your seat-belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
…Bette Davis..All about Eve
…TRACK
I love Bette……….
I believe everyone has their own version of a story, and the truth is somewhere in the middle. Here is another perspective. The information from this response is from Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute:
#4-It won’t be long before Congress is shocked — shocked! — to discover that health-care reform is going to cost a lot more than expected. It’s not just the budgetary gimmicks that Democrats have been employing to hide the bill’s true cost. It’s also that government programs — and government health-care programs in particular — almost always end up exceeding their cost estimates.
For example, when Medicare was instituted in 1965, it was estimated that the cost of Medicare Part A would be $9 billion by 1990. In actuality, it was seven times higher — $67 billion. Similarly, in 1987, Medicaid’s special hospitals subsidy was projected to cost $100 million annually by 1992, just five years later; it actually cost $11 billion, more than 100 times as much. And in 1988, when Medicare’s home-care benefit was established, the projected cost for 1993 was $4 billion, but the actual cost in 1993 was $10 billion.
#5-Insurance premiums will keep rising. The president has tried to convince people that health-care reform will cut their insurance costs. They are in for a surprise. According to the Congressional Budget Office, insurance premiums will double in the next few years. The bill will do nothing to diminish that increase. In fact, for the millions of Americans who get their insurance through the individual market, rather than from an employer, this bill will raise premiums by 10–13 percent more than if we do nothing. Young and healthy people can expect their premiums to go up even more.
Overall: The quality of care will be worse. Doctors’ reimbursements for providing care will be squeezed, making it harder to find a doctor. A new survey in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that 46 percent of doctors may give up their practice in the wake of this bill. While that is probably exaggerated, many doctors will likely decide to reduce their patient loads or retire. At the same time, increased demand will create additional problems.
In Massachusetts, after the passage of Romneycare, the wait to see a primary-care physician increased from 33 to 52 days. Research and development will also be cut back, meaning there will be fewer new drugs and other medical breakthroughs. And the government will increasingly intervene in medical decision making, micromanaging medical decisions and deciding what treatments are most effective or, frighteningly, most cost-effective.
“And the government will increasingly intervene in medical decision making, micromanaging medical decisions and deciding what treatments are most effective or, frighteningly, most cost-effective.” Isn’t that the truth…like everything else the government gets involved with.
I agree people need to be insured, is the right thing to cover everyone, but I think they went about the wrong way. Did anyone take a look at teh Netherlands? It works and it’s NOT socialized medicine.