Health Care
FIGHT FOR OUR HEALTH
May 4, 2017 with 217 vs 213 House voted for American Health Care Act with Upton amendment to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without even cost analysis. Thanks to the grassroots movement we all participated, the ACA is still a law of the land. We are part of statewide coalition #Fight4OurHealth and made many calls into red districts/states and asked voters to urge their representatives to #SaveACA.
On September 26, 2017 the last ACA repeal bill died with 3 Republican senators voting No. Since then the administration is sabotaging the ACA in many ways. The latest threat is the SCOTUS candidate who is likely to take away women's choice of reproduction.
Biden administration's first bill, the American Rescue Plan included long awaited ACA fixes, and made purchasing Health Insurance more affordable.
MARKETPLACE
Do you have Health Insurance? For the 15% of population the answer had been "No". On January 1, 2014 the Affordable Care Act (ACA) aka Obama Care started to offer access to affordable quality Health Insurance through the marketplace. As of March 31, 2015 10.2 million people effectuated the Health Insurance through Marketplace. You are eligible as long as you are a legal resident in US. The video below explains the outline of the ACA.
ESSENTIAL BENEFITS
Free preventative care (vaccination, cancer screening, and annual check up)
No more denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition
10 universal essential benefits like hospitalizations, mental health services, and prescription drugs
No more annual or lifetime limits on your coverage’s essential health benefits
Insurance companies must spend 80% of your premium on care
Insurance companies must publicly justify any rate increase by 10 percent or more
Young adults can get covered under their parents' plan till 26 years old
EXPANDING MEDICAID
One way ACA is expanding coverage is by offering financial support to states that opt to expand Medicaid eligibility to all non-elderly individuals in families with incomes below 138 percent of the poverty line. It was meant to be National, but in 2010 the Supreme Court ruling essentially made it optional for states.
As of Jul 3, 2018 34 states including the District of Columbia have seized this opportunity while 3 states are considering the expansion and 14 states have yet to expand Medicaid coverage. ME voters passed the ballot measure to expand Medicaid in Nov 2017. Please visit Status of State Action on the Medicaid Expansion Decision for detail.
Effect of the Medicaid expansion to lower the uninsured rate is undisputable as shown here.
ENROLLMENT PROGRESS IN CA
CoveredCA marketplace along with MediCal expansion, CA has reduced uninsured rate from 17% before the ACA to 6.8% in 2017.
The CoveredCA outreach and enrollment effort had been challenging, and yet rewarding to help neighbors get covered. OFA is NOT working with CoveredCA nor enrolling people. Through CoveredCA Community Outreach Network organization Tri-Valley Progressives, our volunteers helped organize Covered CA outreach and enrollment events 2013-2016.
IMPROVING HEALTH CARE IN CA
Is Health Care a human right? We believe it is, therefore we need to expand the health coverage to everybody who lives in US no matter what the immigration status is. The concept is not new and many countries offer Health Care for everybody. In 2015 CA has set a budget to cover undocumented children. This is a huge step towards #Health4All.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
There's always more we can do to ensure that all Americans have the peace of mind that comes with access to affordable, quality health insurance. Here are some ways you can help:
GET OUT THE FACTS
There have been more than 50 attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Join the team fighting back with the facts. Like Obamacare FB page and follow @Obamacare on Twitter.
JOIN SLACK
For years, OFA volunteers have been working to expand access to health care. Get connected to other supporters who have been involved in this fight—ask them for ideas or share your own. Request to join the OFAction Slack.