Obamacare Saves
More folks have signed up for Obamacare in the last two days than all of October – and many are discovering that #ObamacareSaves money and lives.
Without health insurance, an illness or even a minor injury could turn your world upside down. Thanks to the Health Insurance Marketplace, millions of more Americans finally have the opportunity to enjoy the security and peace of mind that comes with being insured.
How many of us, or our friends and family, have had a pre-existing medical condition just to have our insurance cancel the coverage for the illness even though the premiums were paid on time for years? Now, thanks to Obamacare — lives are saved because people can afford needed medical attention when they need it the most.
Can you imagine how it must feel to have your little son or daughter contract cancer, and then not be able to afford to get them needed medical attention? Many parents have lost their homes, their savings and have gone bankrupt trying to save their child’s life. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act this will never happen again to any parent. No one deserves to lose the life of a precious loved one because an insurance company arbitrarily cancelled their coverage. Obamacare saves lives.
As we get older we all know how important it is to get an annual physical, but because they became more and more expensive each year we had to make choices such as going every other year, or not getting the most expensive tests done such as a mammogram or colonoscopy. People should not have to make these kinds of choices, because in the long run an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to our health. President Obama knew this, and that is why he put such a big emphasis on free preventative care. Now women can get a mammogram, and people can get annual laboratory tests, and other important preventative care for free each year. We are grateful to this President for fighting for us, and thousands of Americans like ourselves because Obamacare saves us a lot of money every year. We don’t have to put off going to the doctor because we can’t afford it anymore.
In these times of severe income and wealth inequality — in an American jobless economy, most folks are having to choose between expensive health insurance premiums, and food or rent. We should not be forced by big insurance companies to pay insurance premiums that ratchet up 30%, 40% and 50% every year with less and less care, and higher and higher deductibles! The insurance companies were taking advantage of us, and selling junk policies for high prices. The Affordable Care Act ends this vicious cycle and saves us money.
Young folks know they are running the odds by not being insured. I have seen one young woman taken to court and forced to pay a nonprofit corporation $30,000 just for a couple of days in the hospital when she slipped and fell. These young people are being taken to collections and their credit is badly damaged as a result of not being able to afford to pay the hospital bill for a three or four day stay. Today, many young people are able to pay premiums of around $50 a month, depending on their income, for good health care coverage thanks to Obamacare.
Having mental health care parity may not seem like a big deal to some people, but when you or your family member needs mental health care that is not covered by your insurance…it is a big shock to discover it is too expensive to obtain. The costs of medication and treatment for mental health has skyrocketed because of overpricing by big pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies have basically denied coverage for it. Not very many people can afford to pay for it out of their own pocket. This is detrimental to society in many ways such as through unnecessary gun violence due to lack of mental health care. Obamacare saves lives by elevating mental health care to the importance of any other medical care, and insurance companies can no longer refuse to cover it.
Yes, Obamacare saves lives and money — and we think you agree.
Here are some stories:
Coverage for Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions
Tracy Wirtanen-DeBenedet, Wisconsin
Tracy’s 9-year-old son Sami was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow throughout the nervous system, including the brain. Now, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Tracy and her family no longer have to worry about Sami being denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition because the law makes it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions. “We don’t want to have to spend our time worrying if we’re going to be thrown off insurance or if it’s going to be ‘capped off,'” she says.
Coverage for Young Adults Under 26
Abby Schanfield, Minnesota
Born with a rare congenital disease, Abby, a 20-year-old student at the University of Minnesota, has been able to stay on her parents’ health plan until she turns 26. This provision of the health care law assures her that she’ll continue to get the care she needs, and that assurance relieves her of stress that could worsen her condition. “There was a point before the Affordable Care Act was passed, I was very concerned about my future and whether I would be able to access care. … [With the health care law,] I have a world available to me,” she says.
Giving Seniors Peace of Mind and More Money in Their Pockets
Helen Rayon, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia grandmother Helen Rayon has been working the past six years at a local senior center as a health/wellness coordinator, arranging for health and fitness workshops and activities. She knows they have the same issues she has had with the costs of staying healthy. “If it weren’t for the health care reform, many of our seniors would not get to a doctor or get mammograms,” Helen says. “It is expensive for us to keep good health.”
Ending Lifetime Limits on Coverage
Judy Lamb, Colorado
Judy has been fighting breast cancer that has spread to her bones and liver and undergoing weekly chemotherapy. In the past, Judy’s insurance company had a lifetime limit of 2 million dollars, and with her care costing anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000 a year, Judy had felt like the clock was ticking on her treatments. But the health care law ended lifetime dollar caps on coverage, which means she can focus on staying well and living her life. Judy says, “It’s bad enough that you have cancer, but then you have to worry about the insurance companies cutting you off. I would die if I didn’t have insurance.”
Thank you for joining together at UniteBlue.
Laurel Davila
Advisory Board
@LaurelDavilaCPA
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