Tag Archives: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

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CAP Action War Room

07/25/2013 Nativegrl77

The Latest GOP Temper Tantrum

Today President Obama gave a major speech laying out a vision for growing the economy from the middle class out. (Watch this space for more on that tomorrow).

The president also used the speech to call out Republicans for having harmful plans or no plan at all when it comes to strengthening the middle class. In particular, the president chided Republicans for the millions of dollars and weeks of time they’ve wasted on dead-end Obamacare repeal votes while failing to lay out a positive economic agenda for the middle class:

Even if you think I’ve done everything wrong, the trends I just talked about were happening well before I took office. So it’s not enough for you just to oppose me. You got to be for something. What are your ideas? If you’re willing to work with me to strengthen American manufacturing and rebuild this country’s infrastructure, let’s go. If you’ve got better ideas to bring down the cost of college for working families, let’s hear them. If you think you have a better plan for making sure that every American has the security of quality, affordable health care, then stop taking meaningless repeal votes, and share your concrete ideas with the country.

Repealing Obamacare and cutting spending is not an economic plan. It’s not.

Unfortunately, 15 Republican senators are not just in favor of pointless Obamacare repeal votes, now they’re even threatening to shut down the government in order to prevent millions of Americans from gaining access to quality, affordable health care.

Meet the Senate GOP’s shutdown caucus:

BOTTOM LINE: Instead of looking for new ways to sabotage the economy and deny health care benefits to millions of Americans, it’s time for Republicans who disagree with the president to lay out their own agenda for strengthening the middle class. Progressives have a plan to grow the economy from the middle class out, it’s time for Republicans to propose something other than the failed trickle-down policies of the past.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Conservatives gear up to keep top women’s rights advocate off key federal court.

Congresswoman says college affordability “is not the role of Congress.”

You won’t believe how much the melting Arctic will cost.

Bill O’Reilly blames civil rights leaders and “black culture” for crime.

This misplaced priorities of cable news.

Congressman doubles down on claim that undocumented youth are drug mules.

Five reasons to raise the minimum wage right now.

Pro-oil state suing oil giants for damage to wetlands.

Brazil’s shockingly high prices.

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What happened to Kelli

07/19/2013 Nativegrl77

We all have a health care story to tell. Just stand next to the office water cooler and you’ll hear the stories flow.
My co-worker Kelli shared this one with me:
“My older sister was diagnosed with lupus as a child. She spent much of her life in and out of hospitals and taking handfuls of expensive medications. Once diagnosed, no insurance plan would take her on. My family was stuck with our ‘major medical’ insurance, which only covered a percentage of hospitalizations but nothing else — none of her numerous prescription drugs or doctors’ visits were covered. This affected our whole family. It made it impossible for my parents to save money for our educations, their retirement, or anything else. We were always one illness away from financial disaster. If we’d had the health care law then, my family could’ve gotten better health insurance — because, under the new law, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children who have pre-existing conditions.”
Kelli told us her story. Will you share yours?
Maybe you have private insurance that fails to cover the services you need such as mental health care, maternity care, or prescription drug coverage. Maybe high co-payments and deductibles keep you from getting the health care you need. Maybe you’re uninsured simply because you can’t afford it or you’ve been turned down for health coverage after you got sick. Whatever your story may be, it matters.
Thanks to the health care law, change is on the way. Under the law, you won’t be denied health coverage because of a pre-existing condition. You won’t lose your health insurance when you get sick. You’ll soon have affordable insurance options through a new health care marketplace.
But right now, many women and their families are still struggling to pay for health coverage and get the care they need. Sadly, there are still families like Kelli’s. Please share your story today.
I love hearing from you. Thank you for fighting with us to advance the rights of women and their families.
Sincerely,

Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National

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Tara McGuinness, The White House – #ACA is good

07/19/2013 Nativegrl77

If you want tangible evidence of the way that the new health care law is already helping ordinary people, it’s worth having a conversation with one of the 8.5 million Americans who received rebates from their insurance companies this summer. Just ask the folks who got checks in the mail.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, insurers are required to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on medical care, instead of overhead like salaries or advertising. And if an insurance company doesn’t meet that standard, it has to provide a rebate to its customers.

It’s a really big deal, and we want to make sure everyone understands how it works.

Here’s a graphic that breaks things down. Will you share it to help answer questions in your community?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/health-care-rebate

Thanks! Tara

Tara McGuinness Senior Communications Advisor The White House

@HealthCareTara

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Three quick things you should know about Obamacare

06/10/2013 Nativegrl77

Three quick things you should know about Obamacare

Hi all —

In the past few days, we’ve received three really interesting new pieces of information about the health care law, and we wanted to share these data points with you so that you get a big picture of how things are changing for the better as the law gets implemented.

First, the Affordable Care Act is helping to make sure that insurance companies and providers have to compete for your business by creating a Health Insurance Marketplace that offers people more choice and control over their insurance choices. An estimated 80 percent of the people who will enroll in the Marketplaces live in states with five or more different insurance companies to choose from — instead of just one or two. We’ve put together a memo about that, and you can read it HERE.

Second, as the health care law is helping move to a system where data helps improve consumer choices and the quality of care, the government is making more information available to consumers, from hospital charges and quality outcomes to regional health care system performance statistics. Those may sound like dry things, but businesses are springing up across the country and using this data to power new innovation. Secretary Sebelius explains this idea in more detail HERE.

Third, we got some great news about the long-term viability of Medicare. Program cost growth, both long term and short, is down — even as new benefits for preventive care and prescription drugs are now helping tens of millions of beneficiaries. Get more information about the report that shows that Medicare is growing stronger HERE.

We’re sharing this information with you because we’re sure you hear people talk about the health care law in your communities all the time, and if you have questions we’d love to answer them.

Ask your questions about the health care law, and we’ll answer some of them next week.

Thanks,

Tara

Tara McGuinness Senior Communications Advisor The White House

P.S. — Earlier today, the President delivered remarks on the health care law in San Jose. Lean more HERE.

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