As of Aug. 1 most employers in the United States are mandated to cover contraception without co-pay, so some legislators are doing the reasonable thing: comparing the requirement to acts of terrorism.
Freshman Republican Congressman Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania called the policy an "attack on religious freedom," saying that Aug. 1 would be a date remembered along with 9/11 and the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a Kansas Republican, claimed the measure reintroduced "anti-Catholic bigotry" to American life.
Though churches and houses of worship are exempt from the mandate, 24 lawsuits have been filed against it, and it remains one of the most contentious aspects of President Obama's Affordable Health Care Act.
Calling the contraception mandate an act of war on America may win support from religious conservatives, but GOP men may also be opening another can of worms ... accusations they are waging a war on women.
Source: Slate Magazine
Showing posts with label Health Care Reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Care Reform. Show all posts
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Black Americans Look To Health Plan For New Hope
I don't take care of my self the way I should and I have not for a long time. But, an article posted on NPR today debates "whether the coming health-care changes will actually ease the health disparities that black Americans face."
Black Americans Look To Health Plan For New Hope
Today, I am going to be the pot and call the metaphorical kettle black. I am going to say "no" simply for these reasons. Having insurance coverage to see a doctor does not mean that you are going to heed his warning or take his advice when you leave his office. It does not mean that you are going to actually get more exercise or take your medication everyday like you should. It does not mean that you are going to bake your chicken this Sunday instead of frying it. Having health care coverage does not do any of these things. It simply provides you a tool (the doctor) to help you get yourself where you need to be health wise.
Until we,black folks as a collective whole actually start following the doctors orders, then it will not matter if he have no health-care coverage or free health-care coverage, we can not be a healthier people.
Credits: Cheryl Corley, NPR
Black Americans Look To Health Plan For New Hope
Today, I am going to be the pot and call the metaphorical kettle black. I am going to say "no" simply for these reasons. Having insurance coverage to see a doctor does not mean that you are going to heed his warning or take his advice when you leave his office. It does not mean that you are going to actually get more exercise or take your medication everyday like you should. It does not mean that you are going to bake your chicken this Sunday instead of frying it. Having health care coverage does not do any of these things. It simply provides you a tool (the doctor) to help you get yourself where you need to be health wise.
Until we,
Credits: Cheryl Corley, NPR
Friday, March 26, 2010
Five key things to remember about health care reform
What? Really? You don't understand the new health care reform legislation? You find yourself confused? If you haven't mastered the minutiae on all 2,309 pages of the health care reform bill signed earlier this week by President Obama, there's nothing wrong with you -- even experts are having a hard time getting a grip on all the details.
So we've done the work for you. If you're going to take away just five things from the new legislation, here they are. If you manage to comprehend these five, give yourself an A+.
If you're adventurous and want to take a stab at reading the bill itself, here's the health care reform legislation. But, if like most people you find it incomprehensible, we've given you links to more easily digestible sources of information.
1. Health insurance companies can't discriminate against you because you have a pre-existing condition.
More than 13 million American non-elderly adults have been denied insurance specifically because of their medical conditions, according to the Commonwealth Fund, and the Kaiser Family Foundation says 21 percent of people who apply for health insurance on their own get turned down, charged a higher price or offered a plan that excludes coverage for their pre-existing condition.
Starting in 2014, the new health care reform legislation makes it illegal for any health insurance plan to use pre-existing conditions to exclude, limit or set unrealistic rates on the coverage an individual or dependent can receive.
In the meantime, if you have a pre-existing condition, starting in 90 days you should be able to join a national high-risk pool, according to Linda Blumberg, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. She also recommends finding out whether your state has an existing state high-risk pool. Here is contact information for the 35 states that have high-risk pools from the National Association of State Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans.
2. Young people can remain on parents' insurance until age 26.
The health care reform legislation requires insurance companies to allow dependent children to stay on their parents' insurance policies until age 26. The children can't have jobs that offer insurance, and they must be claimed as dependents on their parents' taxes.
Currently in most states, dependents get booted off Mom and Dad's health insurance policy before their 26th birthday, sometimes as early as age 19. For the rules in your state, see this list from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
3. You could get a subsidy to buy insurance if you make less than $88,000 per year for a family of four.
Starting in 2014, the health care reform bill provides subsidies for people who don't get insurance from their employers and therefore have to buy it on their own. The size of the subsidy depends on your income, whether you're single or have a family, your age, and where you live.
Here are a few examples:
4. If you don't get insurance from your employer, that might change.
Starting in 2014, if your company employs more than 50 people, it will be required to offer you a health plan that covers at least 60 percent of your overall health costs, or the company will be fined $750 per year per full-time worker. That fine could increase to $2,000 if the reconciliation act passes.
In the meantime, groups like Coverage for All, Ehealthinsurance and the Patient Advocate Foundation specialize in helping people find affordable insurance and free care. You can find links to resources including prescription assistance programs here.
5. The health care reform legislation has some benefits for senior citizens, but it might have some disadvantages as well.
The AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, says health care legislation does two important things for seniors: It gives people on Medicare new access to free preventive services such as screenings for cancer and diabetes. Also, by 2020 it will close the "doughnut hole," the gap in Part-D where Medicare stops paying once a senior has spent more than $2,830 on prescription drugs and resumes when the individual's out-of-pocket spending has reached about $4,550.
However, the Congressional Budget Office, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said the new legislation also presents some downsides. Spending for Medicare beneficiaries will increase 2 percent or less each year, instead of the annual 4 percent increase they received previously. Some analysts worry seniors may start to feel that difference in the future.
Credits: By Sabriya Rice, Elizabeth Cohen, John Bonifield, CNN
So we've done the work for you. If you're going to take away just five things from the new legislation, here they are. If you manage to comprehend these five, give yourself an A+.
If you're adventurous and want to take a stab at reading the bill itself, here's the health care reform legislation. But, if like most people you find it incomprehensible, we've given you links to more easily digestible sources of information.
1. Health insurance companies can't discriminate against you because you have a pre-existing condition.
More than 13 million American non-elderly adults have been denied insurance specifically because of their medical conditions, according to the Commonwealth Fund, and the Kaiser Family Foundation says 21 percent of people who apply for health insurance on their own get turned down, charged a higher price or offered a plan that excludes coverage for their pre-existing condition.
Starting in 2014, the new health care reform legislation makes it illegal for any health insurance plan to use pre-existing conditions to exclude, limit or set unrealistic rates on the coverage an individual or dependent can receive.
In the meantime, if you have a pre-existing condition, starting in 90 days you should be able to join a national high-risk pool, according to Linda Blumberg, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. She also recommends finding out whether your state has an existing state high-risk pool. Here is contact information for the 35 states that have high-risk pools from the National Association of State Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans.
2. Young people can remain on parents' insurance until age 26.
The health care reform legislation requires insurance companies to allow dependent children to stay on their parents' insurance policies until age 26. The children can't have jobs that offer insurance, and they must be claimed as dependents on their parents' taxes.
Currently in most states, dependents get booted off Mom and Dad's health insurance policy before their 26th birthday, sometimes as early as age 19. For the rules in your state, see this list from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
3. You could get a subsidy to buy insurance if you make less than $88,000 per year for a family of four.
Starting in 2014, the health care reform bill provides subsidies for people who don't get insurance from their employers and therefore have to buy it on their own. The size of the subsidy depends on your income, whether you're single or have a family, your age, and where you live.
Here are a few examples:
• A 40-year old individual making $30,000 a year in a medium-cost area of the country will get an $850 subsidy toward buying a policy, which should cost about $3,500, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation subsidy calculator.You can estimate your own subsidy by using the Kaiser subsidy calculator.
• A 40-year-old in the same city who has a family of four and is making $60,000 will get a $4,220 subsidy toward a policy that costs $9,435.
4. If you don't get insurance from your employer, that might change.
Starting in 2014, if your company employs more than 50 people, it will be required to offer you a health plan that covers at least 60 percent of your overall health costs, or the company will be fined $750 per year per full-time worker. That fine could increase to $2,000 if the reconciliation act passes.
In the meantime, groups like Coverage for All, Ehealthinsurance and the Patient Advocate Foundation specialize in helping people find affordable insurance and free care. You can find links to resources including prescription assistance programs here.
5. The health care reform legislation has some benefits for senior citizens, but it might have some disadvantages as well.
The AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, says health care legislation does two important things for seniors: It gives people on Medicare new access to free preventive services such as screenings for cancer and diabetes. Also, by 2020 it will close the "doughnut hole," the gap in Part-D where Medicare stops paying once a senior has spent more than $2,830 on prescription drugs and resumes when the individual's out-of-pocket spending has reached about $4,550.
However, the Congressional Budget Office, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said the new legislation also presents some downsides. Spending for Medicare beneficiaries will increase 2 percent or less each year, instead of the annual 4 percent increase they received previously. Some analysts worry seniors may start to feel that difference in the future.
Credits: By Sabriya Rice, Elizabeth Cohen, John Bonifield, CNN
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Great Thing About the Health Care Law That Has Passed? It Will Save Republican Lives, Too (An Open Letter to Republicans from Michael Moore)
To My Fellow Citizens, the Republicans:
Thanks to last night's vote, that child of yours who has had asthma since birth will now be covered after suffering for her first nine years as an American child with a pre-existing condition.
Thanks to last night's vote, that 23-year-old of yours who will be hit one day by a drunk driver and spend six months recovering in the hospital will now not go bankrupt because you will be able to keep him on your insurance policy.
Thanks to last night's vote, after your cancer returns for the third time -- racking up another $200,000 in costs to keep you alive -- your insurance company will have to commit a criminal act if they even think of dropping you from their rolls.
Yes, my Republican friends, even though you have opposed this health care bill, we've made sure it is going to cover you, too, in your time of need. I know you're upset right now. I know you probably think that if you did get wiped out by an illness, or thrown out of your home because of a medical bankruptcy, that you would somehow pull yourself up by your bootstraps and survive. I know that's a comforting story to tell yourself, and if John Wayne were still alive I'm sure he could make that into a movie for you.
But the reality is that these health insurance companies have only one mission: To take as much money from you as they can -- and then work like demons to deny you whatever coverage and help they can should you get sick.
So, when you find yourself suddenly broadsided by a life-threatening illness someday, perhaps you'll thank those pinko-socialist, Canadian-loving Democrats and independents for what they did Sunday evening.
If it's any consolation, the thieves who run the health insurance companies will still get to deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions for the next four years. They'll also get to cap an individual's annual health care reimbursements for the next four years. And if they break the pre-existing ban that was passed last night, they'll only be fined $100 a day! And, the best part? The law will require all citizens who aren't poor or old to write a check to a private insurance company. It's truly a banner day for these corporations.
So don't feel too bad. We're a long way from universal health care. Over 15 million Americans will still be uncovered -- and that means about 15,000 will still lose their lives each year because they won't be able to afford to see a doctor or get an operation. But another 30,000 will live. I hope that's ok with you.
If you don't mind, we're now going to get busy trying to improve upon this bill so that all Americans are covered and so the grubby health insurance companies will be put out of business -- because when it comes to helping the sick, no one should ever be allowed to ask the question, "How much money can we save by making this poor bastard suffer?"
Please, my Republican friends, if you can, take a quiet moment away from your AM radio and cable news network this morning and be happy for your country. We're doing better. And we're doing it for you, too.
Yours,
Michael Moore
Thanks to last night's vote, that child of yours who has had asthma since birth will now be covered after suffering for her first nine years as an American child with a pre-existing condition.
Thanks to last night's vote, that 23-year-old of yours who will be hit one day by a drunk driver and spend six months recovering in the hospital will now not go bankrupt because you will be able to keep him on your insurance policy.
Thanks to last night's vote, after your cancer returns for the third time -- racking up another $200,000 in costs to keep you alive -- your insurance company will have to commit a criminal act if they even think of dropping you from their rolls.
Yes, my Republican friends, even though you have opposed this health care bill, we've made sure it is going to cover you, too, in your time of need. I know you're upset right now. I know you probably think that if you did get wiped out by an illness, or thrown out of your home because of a medical bankruptcy, that you would somehow pull yourself up by your bootstraps and survive. I know that's a comforting story to tell yourself, and if John Wayne were still alive I'm sure he could make that into a movie for you.
But the reality is that these health insurance companies have only one mission: To take as much money from you as they can -- and then work like demons to deny you whatever coverage and help they can should you get sick.
So, when you find yourself suddenly broadsided by a life-threatening illness someday, perhaps you'll thank those pinko-socialist, Canadian-loving Democrats and independents for what they did Sunday evening.
If it's any consolation, the thieves who run the health insurance companies will still get to deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions for the next four years. They'll also get to cap an individual's annual health care reimbursements for the next four years. And if they break the pre-existing ban that was passed last night, they'll only be fined $100 a day! And, the best part? The law will require all citizens who aren't poor or old to write a check to a private insurance company. It's truly a banner day for these corporations.
So don't feel too bad. We're a long way from universal health care. Over 15 million Americans will still be uncovered -- and that means about 15,000 will still lose their lives each year because they won't be able to afford to see a doctor or get an operation. But another 30,000 will live. I hope that's ok with you.
If you don't mind, we're now going to get busy trying to improve upon this bill so that all Americans are covered and so the grubby health insurance companies will be put out of business -- because when it comes to helping the sick, no one should ever be allowed to ask the question, "How much money can we save by making this poor bastard suffer?"
Please, my Republican friends, if you can, take a quiet moment away from your AM radio and cable news network this morning and be happy for your country. We're doing better. And we're doing it for you, too.
Yours,
Michael Moore
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