By Jack Bernard, Peachtree City, Ga. | So far, over 12 million people have been enrolled in health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. Millions more have gotten Medicaid via the expansion option, for a total of 20 million. Obviously, there is still a long way to go to achieve full coverage for all of our citizens, but we should not denigrate our progress thus far. Let us remind you of what we faced before the first open enrollment period began in October, 2013.
Bernard
According to the August 2013 Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll, confusion about the Affordable Care Act (also called the ACA or Obamacare) was high before implementation began. Roughly half the public (51 percent) said that they did not have enough information about the ACA to understand how it would impact them and their family.
The share who felt that they didn’t have enough information was particularly high among Hispanics (64 percent), the uninsured (62 percent), young adults (62 percent of those ages 18-25), and those with lower incomes (60 percent of those with family incomes less than $40,000 per year). Further, a large share were confused about the law’s status, with 44 percent either thinking the law had been repealed (8 percent); overturned by the Supreme Court (5 percent); or unsure whether it remained the law or not (31 percent).
The law was passed because there were 50 million of our friends and neighbors (including 2 million Georgians) without health care in this nation, the wealthiest in the history of man. Plus, approximately 50,000 of our residents died each year because of the lack of insurance. This deplorable situation was directly addressed by the ACA and is the main reason that Congress originally passed this historic law in 2010.
So what did the health insurance marketplaces that were established in various states and by the federal government mean for consumers? Consumers were able to compare prices and shop for private health insurance in the “health insurance marketplace” established either online or by phone. Many were able to get help paying for their new insurance, according to income guidelines, as explained below.
Regardless of the plan chosen, the new law required that:
- The insurance has to cover basics like doctor visits, hospitalizations, maternity care, emergency room care, prescriptions, and more.
- Insurance plans cannot deny coverage to consumers with a pre-existing condition.
- All insurance plans will have to show the costs and what is covered in simple language with no fine print.
Additionally, there were trained personnel (“Navigators”) certified by the government and available to provide in-person assistance to help them understand the new coverage options. In the tradition of private enterprise, citizens were able to shop for, compare and choose a private insurance plan which suited their needs. And no one could be denied coverage because they are sick or have a preexisting condition like asthma, diabetes or even cancer.
There is still a lot of misinformation about health care policies being unaffordable under the ACA. In fact, this is not true for the vast majority of our citizens. Some 84 percent of Americans who enrolled through the Health Insurance Marketplace received financial help to lower their monthly premiums. This is by design.
Having health care coverage should not be a financial burden. We believe that because Americans are caring people, the public will ultimately agree, supporting the ACA and efforts to enroll the uninsured.
- To learn more, visit www.GetCoveredAmerica.org.
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