Health Care Blog

The Faces of Health Care: Teresha S.

Posted by Tanya Somanader on May 13, 2015 at 3:04 PM EDT

"I am now able to have quality care in one of the finest cancer institutions in America."

As a self-employed entrepreneur, Teresha never had the chance to get covered. For a decade, she lived without health insurance she didn't know she'd need. But when the Affordable Care Act went into effect, she took it as a sign to purchase the coverage she needed.

"I received my health policy along with my insurance card in the mail which was effective beginning April 1, 2014," she said. "To my surprise, I was diagnosed with breast cancer on July 24, 2014."

Now, she is getting top-notch care that she deserves. With only 8 days of radiation left, she is glad to report that she is cancer free.

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What You Need to Know About the New Contraception Guidance:

Posted by Tanya Somanader on May 12, 2015 at 2:22 PM EDT

It is crucial that insurance companies provide all the benefits that women deserve under the Affordable Care Act, at no cost or inconvenience. So this week, the Obama administration took steps to eliminate any ambiguity around the reforms the ACA calls for. Here is what the Administration’s guidance makes clear:

Most insurers must cover, without cost-sharing, at least one form of contraception in each of the 18 methods for women that the FDA has identified, including the ring, the patch, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and birth control pills.

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The Faces of Health Care: Sarah M.

Posted by David Hudson on May 12, 2015 at 10:00 AM EDT

"You literally saved my life."

When Sarah M. from Antelope, CA turned 26, she was no longer covered under her family’s health insurance plan. She then got a job that gave her a "limited" health care plan, with a care coverage limit of $10,000.

When Sarah lost that limited coverage, she applied for Covered California and enrolled in Medi-Cal coverage.

Shortly after getting covered under Medi-Cal, Sarah got a pap smear, which came back irregular. The follow-up biopsy revealed that Sarah had cervical cancer. Luckily, because she was still in the pre-cancer stage, the doctors were able to remove the abnormal cells.

"If you had not created Obamacare, I would never have caught it early, and would likely be suffering," Sarah wrote the President this past February. She says that the law "saved my life from cancer. I did not have to have chemotherapy and expensive bills to manage my care, because of you."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done."

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The Faces of Health Care: Sangeeta M.

Posted by David Hudson on May 11, 2015 at 11:00 AM EDT

"Thank you for all your efforts in changing our health care system."

Sangeeta M. from Pawtucket, Rhode Island is a mom with two young boys, ages 4 and 9. She and her husband have been self-employed for many years, and over the past decade, experienced troubles with maintaining health insurance.

"As health insurance continued to raise their premiums, we eventually got squeezed out of the system," she wrote in a letter to the President last September. She says their premium went up at least three times within a year, amid a struggling economy.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, however, she and her husband were able to finally get quality health coverage. That coverage was there for them when Sangeeta found that she had breast cancer. Having insurance allowed Sangeeta to get the treatment she needed at a price her family could afford.

"I cannot imagine having to deal with cancer and worrying about how we're going to pay for it all," she wrote. "Not a moment goes by each day where I am [not] filled with such overwhelming gratitude to you and everyone it took to make health care reform happen."

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Women: Don’t Forget Your Own Health

Posted by Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell on May 8, 2015 at 11:30 AM EDT

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' blog. See the original post here.

As a mom, I know how easy it is to put the health of your family before your own. It’s hard to balance it all – from a quick run, to a busy job, to making the parent-teacher conferences, all while trying to eat a balanced diet. It can be challenging.

But as we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, which kicks off National Women’s Health Week, it’s a great time to remember you can’t take care of your loved ones, unless you take care of yourself.

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Celebrating the Latest Law Improving Health Care: The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act

Posted by Cecila Munoz on April 21, 2015 at 6:01 PM EDT

Today, the President will celebrate the overwhelmingly bipartisan law that was enacted last week, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. This law strengthens Medicare, extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and makes numerous other improvements to the health care system. With 392 votes in the House and 92 votes in the Senate, this law proves that we can come together to solve problems.

At last, the doctors who care for seniors and many Americans with disabilities will no longer have to worry that about the possibility of an arbitrary cut in their pay. And, Medicare’s beneficiaries won’t have to worry that this formula will jeopardize their ability to see a provider. The flawed Medicare payment system created 17 potentially deep cuts in the last 13 years – with 5 alone in 2010 (Figure 1). This law eliminates the risk of these steep cuts and ensures that doctors will be paid in full for the care they give.

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