Obamacare: Helpful law already paying big dividends

[babylonsister]

Obamacare: Helpful law already paying big dividends

By Susan Davis


There is no more painful or helpless feeling for a parent than fearing for the health of your child. A year ago, Julie and Brooks felt this way. They could not get health care coverage for their two young children. They were denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition; they have diabetes.

I share their story because today, thanks to the new health care law, their children, and many children like them with serious conditions, will have health insurance.

Susan, a constituent from La Jolla, had breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy. Her insurance company refused to authorize follow-up restorative surgery. She was demoralized by the treatment she received from her insurance company, on top of the physical and mental strain from her condition. She came to my office for help. After intervention by my staff and the California Department of Managed Care, her insurance company complied with existing law and what was clearly its responsibility.

I share Susan’s story because many people believe that if they have insurance they don’t need laws to protect their consumer rights. Wrong! Hers is an example of the need to keep a watchful eye on the insurance industry for its compliance with the law.

Both insured and uninsured alike need consumer protections, and the new law finally makes those protections a reality.

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Having the new law on the books makes the industry look at how our health system delivers care and focus on controlling overall costs through preventive and curative care. Doctors and nurses have told me the new law provides incentives to deliver care in ways that are more cost efficient, increases protections against medical errors and empowers patients and families to have more control over their health decisions.

more...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/dec/17/no-repeal-would-be-foolhardy/

[Clio the Leo]

1. kick nt

[rasputin1952]

2. For all of the talk about "death panels" and...

"bureaucrats", the real demons in the mix are those that sit behind desks making life/death decisions for the insurance industry. Odd how extremely rare it is to read of a "government bureaucrat" in Medicare deciding a procedure can't be done because of cost...and yet, private companies do this all of the time to save a buck; thereby ensuring a higher bonus for the top dogs.

The monsters that run insurance companies are little better than those who would control the flow of men and women being separated in lines by SS agents at the death camps of WWII. One can add the AZ legislature and "Saddlebag" Jan Brewer to the equation as well.

[GeorgeGist]

3. I guess I'm one of those paying the big dividends.

My out of pocket cost for healthcare next year will be double. But I'm glad to know that Julie and Brooks children will make good use of it.