Health Care Blog
Voices of Health Reform: Jim’s Story
Posted by on January 24, 2011 at 8:49 AM EDTEditor’s Note: This post is part of a series where readers can meet average Americans already benefiting from the health reform law, the Affordable Care Act.
Jim Houser and his wife have owned an auto repair shop in Portland, Oregon for over 25 years, and it’s important to them to retain their employees and keep them healthy. They invest time, energy and money to train their workers and they don’t want to lose valuable employees.
That’s why Jim has always provided health insurance to his employees. But in the last ten years, Jim has been forced to contend with skyrocketing premium increases, with premiums making up over 20% of his payroll.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Jim and small business owners like him are getting immediate relief.
The health reform law provides tax credits for small businesses that offer employees health insurance. Up to 4 million small businesses could be eligible for relief from high health insurance premiums and, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office, the tax credit will save small businesses $40 billion by 2019. And small business owners like Jim are benefiting from the tax credit today. Jim estimates that the tax credits will save him over $10,000.
Tax credits aren’t the only benefit for small businesses in the Affordable Care Act. The law creates new, competitive state-based insurance Exchanges. Exchanges will enable individuals and small businesses to pool together and use their market strength to buy coverage at a lower cost, the same way large employers do today, giving them the freedom to launch their own companies without worrying whether health care will be available when they need it.
Small businesses are the engine of our economy and President Obama and his team will continue to do all we can to help small businesses grow, create jobs and succeed. That’s why the President called on Congress to eliminate the overly burdensome 1099 reporting requirement requires businesses to report to the IRS all purchases that exceed $600.
As Jim notes, the Affordable Care Act is already helping businesses like his “offer the kind of support that keeps employees with your company.” Listen to his story:
Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President for Special Projects.
Learn more about Health CareVoices of Health Reform: Paul's Story
Posted by on January 21, 2011 at 9:25 AM EDTEditor’s Note: This post is part of a series where readers can meet average Americans already benefiting from the health reform law, the Affordable Care Act.
Paul Horne and his wife from Indianapolis, Indiana, have spent a lot of their time thinking about or making life decisions based on their health care coverage.
A few years ago, Paul went without medical treatment for the better part of a year because he didn’t have enough coverage, or money to pay for it. As a result his condition worsened.
Now Paul is on Medicare and his health has improved, but he has been forced to contend with the prescription drug coverage gap known as the donut hole. Hitting the donut hole has devastating consequences for millions of seniors. In some cases, Americans in the donut hole are forced to choose between paying their mortgage bill, buying groceries or getting the medicine they needed.
But that’s changing thanks to the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act has already provided a $250 rebate check to more than 3 million seniors like Paul who hit the donut hole. This year, seniors who hit the donut hole will receive a 50 percent discount on their brand name prescription drugs. And by 2020, the donut hole will be closed completely.
If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, the donut hole will remain and seniors will pay more for their prescription drugs. But under the new law, Paul won’t have to struggle to afford the prescription drugs he needs.
Paul’s family is also benefiting from the other provisions in the Affordable Care Act that prohibit insurance companies from limiting the amount of care you can receive even if you need it. Paul’s wife’s policy had a one million dollar lifetime limit on the amount of care she could receive. Paul says the provision in the law that eliminates lifetime limits “kind of freeing, makes you think your health care [plan] actually has something to it.”
Listen to his story:
Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President for Special Projects.
Learn more about Health CareVoices of Health Reform: Libbie and Natalie’s Story
Posted by on January 20, 2011 at 9:00 AM EDTLibbie Hough from North Carolina spent a lot of time worrying about her daughter, Natalie, who has a pre-existing condition.
Natalie had a previously undiagnosed condition, went into cardiac arrest while at school, beat the odds and survived. But Libbie knew that such an episode would be classified as a pre-existing condition and make it very difficult for Natalie to find quality, affordable health insurance. And she worried about what her daughter would do when she graduated from college and had to find insurance on her own.
She also knew that Natalie’s pre-existing condition might make it impossible for her to take a job or other opportunity if it didn’t come with health insurance. Libbie didn’t like that her daughter would feel constrained in her life choices, or have to worry about the cost of being covered when she should be able to focus on going to college, getting an education and pursuing her dreams.
Thankfully, the Affordable Care Act is helping people like Natalie across the country. Thanks to the new law, Natalie will be able to stay on her parent’s insurance plan until she turns 26. And when it comes time for her to look for health insurance on her own, insurance companies will be prohibited from discriminating against her because of her pre-existing condition.
The new law is giving young adults like Natalie the freedom to focus on priorities other than health insurance, and letting parents like Libbie breathe a sigh of relief.
Listen to her story:
Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President for Special Projects.
Learn more about Health CareEditorial Boards Across the Country Agree: Repealing the Affordable Care Act is a Bad Idea
Posted by on January 19, 2011 at 4:30 PM EDTAs you may have seen in our earlier posts from Secretary Geithner and Assistant to the President for Special Projects Stephanie Cutter, Republicans in the House of Representatives have scheduled time today to vote on a bill to repeal the new freedoms, control over health care decisions, and cost savings the health care law---the Affordable Care Act---provides the American people.
Repeal would be bad for business, bad for the economy, and bad for families’ bank accounts. It would also leave Americans to once again worry about:
- Losing their insurance, or having it canceled unexpectedly if they are in an accident or become sick;
- Insurance companies raising premiums by double-digits with no recourse or accountability;
- Insurance companies denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions; and
- Limiting the amount of care people can receive, even if they need it.
Editorial boards and columnists in newspapers across the nation have written at length about why repeal doesn’t make sense for the country:
The Case Against Repeal
New York Times
New York, NY
Reform means that tens of millions of uninsured people will get a chance at security; and many millions more who have coverage can be sure they can keep or replace it.
Sacramento Bee
Sacramento, CA
…Americans now have a clear choice on solutions. The 2010 law offers a real fix, providing a base upon which to build. The House Republican solution is a sham and a giveaway.
Charlotte Observer
Charlotte, NC
Repealing health care reform will add to the deficit by an estimated $230 billion over 10 years.
Bemidji Pioneer
Bemidji, MN
[Republicans] …offer nothing but to undo what the Democrats have done, even against their own ground rules.
The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, WA
House Republicans plan to hold a vote on repealing the new health care law, but no replacement is in sight.
The Reporter
Vacaville, CA
Making any meaningful changes will require the GOP to get serious about governing and not just grandstanding.
Sacramento Bee
Sacramento, CA
Instead of focusing on joblessness and other pressing priorities, the new GOP majority in the House appears stuck in the past.
Kansas City Star
Kansas City, MO
This brief GOP proposal offers nothing in the way of solutions for a health care system that every politician, GOP or Democrat, had admitted was broken..
Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach, FL
[Republicans] should help to figure out which parts of the law work and which parts don't, then focus on improving health care reform, not stopping it.
Las Vegas Sun
Las Vegas, NV
Republicans just don’t get it. Americans largely support the health care law’s key provisions.
Baltimore Sun
Baltimore, MD
GOP's health care repeal zealotry unlikely to sit well with the millions who stand to lose insurance coverage — or who prefer a smaller deficit.
Eugene Robinson
Washington Post
[Repeal]…is purely theatrical - and woefully ill-advised.”
Wilmington News Journal
Wilmington, DE
[Republicans]… have been long on promises and short on specifics.
St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg, FL
... it's worth noting the substantial strides the Affordable Care Act has already achieved in making health care more accessible, and those coming in 2011.
La Opinión
Republican critics…[have misrepresented] the bill as an enlargement of the federal government that would lead to socialism and the creation of 'death panels.'.
Learn more about Health CareVoices of Health Reform: Betsy’s Story
Posted by on January 19, 2011 at 9:20 AM EDTYesterday, we launched Voices of Health Reform to feature stories of Americans who are benefitting from the Affordable Care Act.
In the latest installment, we’re highlighting the story of Betsy Burton, of Salt Lake City, Utah. Betsy started the King's English book store 33 years ago in Salt Lake City and pays the full cost of health benefits for many of her employees, even as premium costs rise.
Betsy is one of millions of Americans who will benefit from the tax credits included in the new law that will make it easier for small business to provide coverage to their workers.
Today, small businesses pay 18 percent more for health insurance premiums than large businesses. The Affordable Care Act changes that by providing tax credits for small businesses that offer employees health insurance. Up to 4 million small businesses could be eligible for relief from high health insurance premiums and, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office, the tax credit will save small businesses $40 billion by 2019. And small business owners like Betsy are benefiting from the tax credit today.
The tax credits are just one of the ways the health reform law will help small businesses. The law will also help level the playing field with large employers by allowing small businesses to band together to get a fairer deal from insurance companies through the creation of competitive private health insurance markets called Exchanges that go into effect in 2014. Exchanges help organize the health insurance marketplace to help consumers and small businesses shop for coverage in a way that permits easy comparison of available plan options based on price, benefits and services, and quality. Pooling people together can help bring costs down and Exchanges will make our health care system more transparent and competitive by making it easier for consumers to compare costs and benefits.
Betsy feels very strongly about providing insurance to her employees and is thrilled that the new tax credits for small business owners will make it easier for her to give them the benefits they have earned and deserve.
Listen to her story:
Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President for Special Projects.
Learn more about Health CareWhite House White Board: The Costs of Repealing Health Reform
Posted by on January 19, 2011 at 7:10 AM EDTToday, Republicans in the House of Representatives are voting on a bill to repeal the new freedoms, control over health care decisions, and cost savings the health care law---the Affordable Care Act---provides the American people. As Secretary Geithner noted this morning, repeal would be bad for business and bad for the economy.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act would also have a significant effect on families’ bank accounts. Stephanie Cutter, an Assistant to the President who has been working on implementing the health reform law, takes to the White House White Board to explain what repealing it would mean for family premium costs and American jobs:
Learn more about Health Care
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