Affordable Care Act not partisan legislation

Reduced mental health and substance use care will only increase the numbers in our criminal justice system.

Former president Barack Obama warned Thursday against approving a Republican bill that would repeal his signature health care reform law unless the measure improves coverage for Americans. And there was no explicit protection for transgender patients from discrimination based on their gender identity. In general, poor children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities will be disproportionally affected by any changes in ACA.

“Florida is the number one state with Affordable Care Act enrollments, we stand to lose the most with repeal”, Crist said.

In Cumberland County, 2,330 plans were purchased over the exchange by people over 55, according to DHS, 29.3 percent of the total county residents who purchased insurance on the public exchange. One example is that some states will not support pre-existing conditions.

Today, these enormous gains are under attack. That means people in their 50s and 60s who are buying health insurance on their own might have to pay up to $8,400 per year more than they do now.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, led by republican appointed Keith Hall, came out with estimates that the American Health Care Act will result in 26 million less people being insured nationally by 2026.

The law would turn Medicaid into a block grant program, capping the amount of federal money that supports it. A HealthNet plan didn’t cover outpatient rehabilitative services. Twenty percent of women aged 15-44, equal to 12.9 million women in 2015, are covered by Medicaid. “No matter where you turn, some type of person with some type of disability or family members is going to be affected by this disgusting, frightful insurance”, said Executive Director Maria Dibble. The ACA tilted the opposite way, offering more options for older, sicker Americans whose health care claims eroded insurers’ profits.

The ACA had stated goals, including protecting patients against arbitrary actions by insurance companies, reducing costs and, most significantly, expanding health care coverage to as many Americans as possible.

Unsurprisingly, Congressional Republicans also zeroed in on coverage of abortion care.

Cannon favors full repeal of the ACA, allowing insurers to charge higher premiums for more expensive patients and helping consumers pay for plans with tax-favored health savings accounts.

Women already face incredible hurdles when trying to access abortion care, not the least of which is being able to afford care. “People’s lives are on the line with this vote”. The bill would have repealed penalties on these employers.

But another meeting Thursday among members of the caucus and the president ended with no deal to secure all of the caucus’ votes, possibly throwing the future of the Republican health care bill into doubt.

Since maternity care and childbirth costs about $30,000 for a vaginal delivery, families who had coverage before the Affordable Care Act were essentially prepaying for the care they were getting.

Such a policy change fails to take into consideration that a typical older American seeking private health insurance has a median annual income of under $25,000.