One year anniversary of national health care reform- guest column in my paper

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2011/03/22/opinion/doc4d88fe3919fe1034120964.txt


One year anniversary of
national health care reform
Published: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 3:01 PM CDT
Stacey Pogue
PUBLIC Policy PRIORITIES

The Affordable Care Act, commonly called national health reform, turns one year old this week. Here in Texas, that’s good news for our 1-year-olds, 100-year-olds, and everyone in between. The Affordable Care Act has attracted a lot of attention, but too little of it has focused where it belongs most: on those of us here in Texas already helped by this law.

If you already have insurance, you are better protected under the law.

Lifetime limits on coverage are no longer allowed, making health coverage more secure and protecting people with serious conditions from bankruptcy. Important preventive care, like vaccinations, well-child visits, and cancer screenings, no longer require copayments in a growing number of health plans. And insurance companies can no longer cancel your coverage after you get sick — just when you need it most.

Our kids have seen big wins already. Children can no longer be denied care or discriminated against because of pre-existing conditions. And parents can keep college-age children on their family health insurance policy until their 26th birthday.

Our seniors should not have to choose between paying higher prescription drug costs or going without medicines they need. Last year, 193,000 seniors on Medicare in Texas received help paying for prescription drugs when they fell into the “donut hole” gap in Medicare drug coverage. Over the next several years, the Affordable Care Act completely eliminates the donut hole. And since January, Texas seniors also can get an annual check-up and important preventive tests with no co-pay.

Our small businesses are already getting help with insurance costs. The Affordable Care Act provides tax credits that help bring down the cost of coverage. Right now, 248,000 small businesses in Texas are eligible for these tax credits if they provide coverage. Lower premiums mean some small businesses can start offering coverage. For others, it means they can maintain existing coverage and make other investments in their business, like hiring new workers.

If you are uninsured — one out of every four of us in Texas, or 6.4 million people-health reform will mean access to good, more affordable coverage. Today, the self-employed and others who do not get insurance through their job can be locked out of the market by high costs and discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. This stops in 2014.

Starting in 2014, everyone who is in this country legally will have access to good coverage options and no one will be denied because of pre-existing conditions. In return, all but the very poorest among us will be expected to contribute to their health care. Low- and middle-income families will be able to get sliding-scale help with private health insurance costs, finally putting coverage within reach of millions.

Is the new law perfect? No law is. But that doesn’t mean it should be repealed. Repeal would only take us back to the mess we were in where insurance companies could ration care based on pre-existing conditions or drop people’s coverage when they get sick. What we need to do is fix what needs fixing and move forward, both in Washington D.C. and in Austin.

One way to move forward is to create a new health insurance marketplace or “exchange,” sort of like a Travelocity for health insurance. The Affordable Care Act provides the tools and the funding for states to create exchanges that provide clear information on plan choices and drive competition. The decisions on whether we will create an exchange and how well it actually works are up to the people we elected in the Texas Legislature.

One year into the new health reform law, we are already benefiting — our sick kids are getting care, our seniors are getting help with prescriptions and preventive care, our small businesses are getting tax credits, our young adults can stay on their parent’s coverage, and our coverage is more secure. But we have more work ahead and need to keep moving in the right direction. In Washington, our leaders should work to improve the health care law. And in Austin, our leaders should make sure that health reform translates into more competition and better coverage for all of us.

Stacey Pogue is a senior policy analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities and consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

[freshwest]

1. So this is the result of the letter you were getting vetted here? Well done. I'm sharing it.