Juan Villalobos, of Porterville, gets checked out by Elizza Casim-Cometa, MD, Wednesday at the Porterville Family Health Center. Starting today, millions of children are eligible for the first phase of benefits in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama.
RECORDER PHOTO BY RENEH AGHAAND. The concern about health insurance companies NOT writing children's policies in the future belongs to the Conservatives. They obstructed the ONE mechanism that would have stopped insurance companies from grabbing for profits all along the way and that was 'A TRIGGER' TO SINGLE PAYER.
If health insurance companies don't want to write policies that is just fine with me. It is now the obligation of the President to institute "Single Payer' for any child that cannot obtain health insurance because of corporate obstructionism. He needs to consider an Executive Order for this emergency.
There are many, many states that already have State sponsored health care for children. It is just a matter of extending this coverage to the uninsured children and for the states that do not provide such coverage for children then it needs to be handled through Medicaid or Medicare for parents to subscribe. It is just that simple. Let's get on with it, because, there isn't a Republican or Tea Bagger alive that can do anything different.
If a 'trigger' to Single Payer remained in the legislation there would be NO insurance company that would not write a policy for anyone. It is the CONSERVATIVES that are responsible for any boondoggle that occurs and no one else. Everyone needs to appreciate that FACT.
If health insurance companies don't want to write policies that is just fine with me. It is now the obligation of the President to institute "Single Payer' for any child that cannot obtain health insurance because of corporate obstructionism. He needs to consider an Executive Order for this emergency.
There are many, many states that already have State sponsored health care for children. It is just a matter of extending this coverage to the uninsured children and for the states that do not provide such coverage for children then it needs to be handled through Medicaid or Medicare for parents to subscribe. It is just that simple. Let's get on with it, because, there isn't a Republican or Tea Bagger alive that can do anything different.
If a 'trigger' to Single Payer remained in the legislation there would be NO insurance company that would not write a policy for anyone. It is the CONSERVATIVES that are responsible for any boondoggle that occurs and no one else. Everyone needs to appreciate that FACT.
...Some of the changes effective Thursday are: (click title to entry - thank you)
- Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to a child without health insurance because he or she has a pre-existing health condition.
- Young adults can begin signing up to stay on their parent’s insurance until age 26.
- Insurance companies will be required to cover preventive care, including immunizations, at no cost to the family.
- Insurance companies won’t be able to drop children when they are sick, or limit the lifetime value of coverage.
- Families will be able to use a website — healthcare.gov or cuidadodesalud.gov — or call a toll-free number (1-877-KIDS-NOW) to learn about health coverage options available to them — whether it is a publicly subsidized program such as Children’s Health Insurance Program (Healthy Families in California), Medicaid, employer coverage, a state’s High Risk Pool, or, after Jan. 1, 2014, the state’s health insurance marketplace called the Exchange.
“After decades of working to achieve this monumental improvement, we must now make sure the Affordable Care Act works well for families, and that starts immediately with children,” said Wendy Lazarus, founder and co-president of The Children’s Partnership, which advocates for improvements in child health care.
“Step 1 is to shout this news from every pulpit, school, workplace, recreation facility, and anywhere else we can reach parents—and to help parents enroll in the coverage their kids qualify for right now. At least 5 million children will be able to get basic health care as a result....
