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“Without the Affordable Care Act, I simply could not have retired at 62.”

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Donald L., Palm Coast, FL

Health Care Blog

  • Giving Women Control Over Their Health Care

    Posted by Kathleen Sebelius on July 31, 2012 at 2:42 PM EDT

    Ed. Note: This article is a cross post from Healthcare.gov. On Wednesday, August 1st at 1:30 PM ET, Secretary Sebelius will participate in a live online discussion with WebMD. You can watch the conversation live at www.healthcare.gov/live.

    Women deserve to have control over their health care. Aug. 1, 2012, ushers in a new day for women’s health when, for the first time ever, women will have access to eight new services at no out-of-pocket cost to keep them healthier and to catch potentially serious conditions at an earlier, more treatable stage. This benefit will take effect for millions of adult and adolescent women over the course of the next year—and it’s just one of many benefits of the health care law that let women and their doctors, not insurance companies, make decisions about a woman’s care.  

    When it comes to health, women are often the primary decision-maker for their families and the trusted source in circles of friends. Women often take care of their families first and put off their own health care needs. Too often, they have gone without preventive services, worrying about what even a $20 insurance copay would mean to their families’ budgets and choosing to pay for groceries or rent instead.  

    But now, thanks to the health care law, many women won’t have to make that choice.  

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  • From the Archives: The Medicare Bill of 1965

    Posted by Jeannie Chen on July 30, 2012 at 12:28 PM EDT

    On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Social Security Act Amendments, popularly known as the Medicare bill. It established Medicare, a health insurance program for the elderly, and Medicaid, a health insurance program for the poor. 

    Former President Truman participated in the signing ceremony with President Johnson. Harry S. Truman and Bess Truman received Medicare registration cards numbers one and two.  At the time, Mr. Truman was 81 years old, and he described it as a “profound personal experience for me.”

    The National Archives have put together a gallery featuring images and artifacts from the event in Independence, Missouri 47 years ago today.   Check it out:  

    • Medicare card number 488-40-6969A given to Harry S. Truman

      This is the Medicare card believed to have been given to Harry Truman by President Lyndon Johnson.

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    • Medicare card number 488-40-6969B given to Bess W. Truman

      This is the Medicare card believed to have been given to Bess Truman by President Lyndon Johnson.

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    • President Lyndon Johnson hands President Harry S. Truman a pen at the signing of the Medicare Bill at the Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, Missouri

      President Lyndon Johnson hands President Harry S. Truman a pen as Lady Bird Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and Bess Truman look on.

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    • President Lyndon Johnson signs the Medicare Bill at the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri

      President Lyndon Johnson signs the Medicare Bill. President Harry S. Truman is seated next to him.

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    • Page 1 of remarks by the President at the Signing of the Medicare Bill, Independence, Missouri

      The first page of the press release issuing the remarks President Lyndon Johnson made upon signing the Social Security Amendments of 1965.

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    • Page 2 of remarks by the President at the Signing of the Medicare Bill, Independence, Missouri

      The second page of the press release issuing the remarks President Lyndon Johnson made upon signing the Social Security Amendments of 1965.

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    • Page 3 of remarks by the President at the Signing of the Medicare Bill, Independence, Missouri

      The third page of the press release issuing the remarks President Lyndon Johnson made upon signing the Social Security Amendment of 1965.

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    • President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Daily Diary for July 30, 1965, Page 6

      The entry from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Daily Diary from when he signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965.

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    • Social Security Act Amendments, “Medicare”, Page 1

      Page 1 of the Social Security Act.

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    • Social Security Act Amendments, “Medicare”, Page 2

      Page 2 of the Social Security Act.

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    Learn more about the Medicare bill: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=99

     

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  • First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts Let's Move! London

    Posted by Marissa Duswalt on July 27, 2012 at 5:20 PM EDT

    Today, First Lady Michelle Obama joined 2,000 American military children and American and British students at Let’s Move! London, an event held to spread the spirit of the Olympic Games in London. The First Lady is leading the U.S. Delegation to the Summer Games and Let’s Move! London was designed to turn the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games into action by encouraging kids to get moving.

    “That’s what Let's Move is all about. It’s about helping kids like you live happier, healthier lives,” Mrs. Obama told the crowd gathered at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence in London. “And that’s really why we brought you all here today… because we want you to see that there all kinds of ways that you can stay active and have fun doing it. You don't have to be an Olympian. You don't have to join a team. But there are so many ways that you can have fun and keep yourselves moving.”

    Taking her own advice, the First Lady participated in a whirl of activities -- starting with a soccer game alongside David Beckham, Brandi Chastain, players from Manchester United, and Spongebob Squarepants as the goalie. Next up was the NBA Fit station, where Mrs. Obama practiced ladder hurdles with Grant Hill and Dikembe Mutumbo and passed the basketball with young players. Other activities included running a shuttle relay with Carl Lewis, watching a field hockey game with Gabriel Diaz De Leon, competing in a game of tug-o-war with Apolo Ohno, Jeff Sutphen, and Nastia Luikin and then assorted games with Summer Sanders, Bart Conner, and Ian Baranski, before finally joining a doubles match on the tennis courts with Shawn Johnson.

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  • Secretary Clinton to AIDS 2012: “We Will Not Back Off, We Will Not Back Down”

    Posted by Ambassador Eric P. Goosby, MD on July 26, 2012 at 2:38 PM EDT

    I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that Secretary Clinton electrified the AIDS 2012 audience with her keynote address at this week’s conference. Her speech was a perfect combination of substance and inspiration, and the enthusiastic reception made it clear that she had hit all the right notes.

    Last November, of course, she articulated the goal, made possible by recent scientific advances, of an AIDS-free generation. This laid the groundwork for President Obama’s groundbreaking announcement on World AIDS Day of ambitious new combination prevention goals for PEPFAR, including a 50% increase in our treatment goal, to 6 million by the end of fiscal year 2013.

    In her remarks this week, the Secretary updated the world on PEPFAR’s progress since then. We’ve dramatically increased the pace of treatment enrollment, reaching nearly 4.5 million with treatment through the first half of this fiscal year – putting us on track to meet the 6 million goal on time. One of the other goals was to reach 1.5 million HIV-positive pregnant women with services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV – and we’re on target to achieve that as well, reaching 370,000 women in the first half of FY 2012. We’ve also performed 400,000 voluntary medical male circumcisions in that same time frame – with an accelerating pace as countries come to understand what a cost-effective, smart investment it is. Looking to the future, Secretary Clinton announced that she has asked me to produce, by World AIDS Day this year, a blueprint for the next steps in America’s contribution to an AIDS-free generation.

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  • How Far We've Come on AIDS

    Posted by Matt Compton on July 26, 2012 at 11:24 AM EDT

    This week, Washington, DC is hosting the International AIDS Conference. To mark the occasion, we asked a group of White House officials to sit down and discuss the impact that HIV/AIDS has had in their own lives and how far we’ve come in the fight against the terrible disease.

    Gayle Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Development and Democracy for the National Security Staff, described how she first heard about the disease and how the progress we've made in combating the illness has been built on a foundation of science, collaboration, and human dignity.

    Watch a video on how far we've come on AIDS.

    See additional accounts and testimonials videos from other Obama Administration officials:

    Learn more 

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  • CBO Confirms: The Health Care Law Reduces the Deficit

    Posted by Nancy-Ann DeParle on July 24, 2012 at 5:39 PM EDT

    This afternoon, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest look at the Affordable Care Act – the health care law. This report affirms that repealing the health care law would deny tax credits for millions of middle class families and result in higher deficits and fewer Americans with insurance.

    Once again, the Congressional Budget Office has found that repealing the health care law will increase the federal budget deficit by more than $100 billion in the first decade and more than a trillion dollars in the next decade.  CBO also found that 30 million Americans would remain uninsured without the Affordable Care Act.

    And CBO projects that most Governors will choose to expand their Medicaid programs. The Medicaid expansion is completely paid for by the Federal government in the first three years, and the Federal government will cover at least 90 percent of these costs in the years ahead. According to CBO “…states and local governments will probably realize savings in existing programs that provide direct care to people who are uninsured or that cover uncompensated costs incurred by providers serving uninsured residents.” Other independent analysts have also found that states that fully implement the Affordable Care Act could save money through reductions in the amount they spend to care for the uninsured.

    We hope states will take advantage of the options in the health care law to improve access to affordable coverage.  And history suggests that they will act.  All but two states implemented Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) within five years of enactment – despite less generous financial support than the Affordable Care Act provided for this Medicaid expansion.

    As the President has said, this law is here to stay, and we will continue our efforts to work with States to deliver the benefits of the law to the American people.

    Nancy-Ann DeParle is the Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff

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