I like many of you am very skeptical about the health care bill that was passed on March 21st 2010 because a country that is this far into dept and who hides more things then it shares may have some very unnerving loop holes in the works with such a bill. For example the clause that states that it will now be mandatory for everyone to receive up to date vaccines. This coming from the same president that declared a national emergency with the H1N1 "PANDEMIC" that killed less people than the regular seasonal flu does on average. What do they take us for? Honestly, can we not make our own conscious decisions, I respect all those who choose to be vaccinated but I do not appreciate being forced to take them or face a $1000 dollar fine and no health insurance as a result of my not accepting this. I will definitely be one of those people who will fight for that clause to be changed because it is unacceptable! Now we all know that politically this is the biggest feat for Obama as president so it definitely looks good on paper, but lets not just take the summary of what the health care bill is and celebrate, we must be proactive and think for ourselves. If you would like more information about vaccines just research their pros and cons, you'll be amazed at what you discover! More posts will come where I will try to break the bill down until there is nothing left that is confusing. Here is a summary of what it entails as it appears on the official website...
New Affordable Choices:
-Uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions will finally have the choice of quality, affordable insurance through a new insurance pool;
-Small business owners will be eligible for billions in tax credits to help offer insurance coverage to employees;
-New plans will have to offer preventive care and immunizations at no cost;
-New plans and certain existing plans that offer dependent coverage will have to cover an enrollee’s dependent children until age 26;
-A re-insurance program for employers that offer health insurance to their early retirees will save as much as $1,200 for every family enrolled.
-A new website to help consumers compare different insurance coverage options along with state-by-state health care consumer assistance
-A new independent appeals process for new plans so consumers and patients can appeal insurance company decisions.
Insurance Company Accountability
-Prohibits new plans and existing group health plans from denying coverage for children because of a pre-existing medical condition;
-Review of requested insurance premium increases; health insurers with a pattern of excessive rate increases can be blocked from selling through new insurance exchanges;
-Remove arbitrary lifetime limits on coverage in all plans, and remove restrictive annual limits on benefits in all new plans and existing group health plans so people know that all of the care they need will be paid for;
-Prevent insurance companies from dropping insurance coverage when a person gets sick and needs it most.
-The Act extends Medicaid while treating all States equally. It preserves CHIP, the successful children’s insurance plan, and simplifies enrollment for individuals and families.
-It enhances community-based care for Americans with disabilities and provides States with opportunities to expand home care services to people with long-term care needs.
-The Act gives flexibility to States to adopt innovative strategies to improve care and the coordination of services for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. And it saves taxpayer money by reducing prescription drug costs and payments to subsidize care for uninsured Americans, as more Americans gain insurance under reform.
The Act will protect and preserve Medicare as a commitment to America America
The Act takes important steps to make sure that we can keep the commitment of Medicare for the next generation of seniors by ending massive overpayments to insurance companies that cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars per year. As the numbers of Americans without insurance falls, the Act saves taxpayer dollars by keeping people healthier before they join the program and reducing Medicare’s need to pay to hospitals to care for the uninsured. And to make sure that the quality of care for seniors drives all of our decisions, a group of doctors and health care experts, not Members of Congress, will be tasked with coming up with their best ideas to improve quality and reduce costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
If we want to truly reform health care to benefit American families, we need to transition from a system focused primarily on treating the sick to one that helps keep people well throughout their lives.
The Act will promote prevention, wellness, and the public health and provides an unprecedented funding commitment to these areas. It directs the creation of a national prevention and health promotion strategy that incorporates the most effective and achievable methods to improve the health status of Americans and reduce the incidence of preventable illness and disability in the United States
The Act relies on the innovation of small businesses and state and local governments to find the best ways to improve wellness in the workplace and in our communities. And it strengthens America
The Act empowers families by giving them tools to find the best science-based nutrition information, and it makes prevention and screenings a priority by waiving co-payments for America
By attacking disease before it hits, the Act helps to improve health, save lives, and avoid more costly complications down the road.
Because doctors, nurses, and other health care providers are the backbone of the health care system, the Act supports and expands our Nation’s health care workforce.
By funding scholarships and loan repayment programs, the number of primary care physicians, nurses, physician assistants, mental health providers, and dentists will increase in the areas of the country that need them most. With a comprehensive approach focusing on retention and enhanced educational opportunities, the Act combats the critical nursing shortage. And through new incentives and recruitment, the Act increases the supply of public health professionals so that the United States
The Act provides state and local governments flexibility and resources to develop health workforce recruitment strategies. And it helps to expand critical and timely access to care by funding the expansion, construction, and operation of community health centers throughout the United States
The Act helps patients take more control of their health care decisions by providing more information to help them make decisions that work for them. And it strengthens the doctor and patient relationship by providing doctors access to cutting edge medical research to help them and their patients make the decisions that work best for them.
It brings greater transparency to nursing homes to help families find the right place for their loved ones and enhances training for nursing home staff so that the quality of care continuously improves. The Act promotes nursing home safety by encouraging self corrections of errors, requiring background checks for employees who provide direct care and by encouraging innovative programs that prevent and eliminate elder abuse.
Finally, the Act reins in waste, fraud and abuse by imposing tough new disclosure requirements to identify high-risk providers who have defrauded the American taxpayer. It gives states new authority to crack down on providers who have been penalized in one state from setting up in another. And it gives states flexibility to propose tort reforms that address several criteria, including reducing health care errors, enhancing patient safety, encouraging efficient resolution of disputes, and improving access to liability insurance.
The Act promotes innovation and saves consumers money. It ends anti-competitive behavior by drug companies that keep effective and affordable generic drugs off the market. It extends drug discounts to hospitals and communities that serve low-income patients. And it creates a pathway for the creation of generic versions of biological drugs so that doctors and patients have access to effective and lower cost alternatives.
Establishing a Voluntary, Self-Funding Long-Term Insurance Choice for American Families
The Act provides Americans with a new option to finance long-term services and care in the event of a disability.
It is a self-funded and voluntary long-term care insurance choice. Workers will pay in premiums in order to receive a daily cash benefit if they develop a disability. Need will be based on difficulty in performing basic activities such as bathing or dressing. The benefit is flexible: it could be used for a range of community support services, from respite care to home care.
No taxpayer funds will be used to pay benefits under this provision. The program will actually reduce Medicaid spending, as people are able to continue working and living in their homes and not enter nursing homes. Safeguards will be put in place to ensure its premiums are enough to cover its costs.
The Act makes health care more affordable for families and small business owners by providing the largest middle class tax cuts for health care in American history. Tens of millions of families will benefit from new tax credits which will help them reduce their premium costs and purchase insurance. Families making less than $250,000 will see their taxes cut by hundreds of billions of dollars.
When enacted, health reform is completely paid for and will reduce the deficit by more than one hundred billion dollars in the next ten years.
Reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act:
The Act reauthorizes the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (ICHIA) which provides health care services to American Indians and Alaskan Natives. It will modernize the Indian health care system and improve health care for 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives.
No comments:
Post a Comment