Yesterday, via Twitter:
Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler 18h
POTUS delays #Obmacare for biz, but not individuals. We want answers on why he won’t protect ALL Americans. RT if you agree 12:45 PM – 9 Jul 13
Interesting, that “protect” word. Is that protecting “ALL Americans” from stuff like this?:
Children’s Pre-Existing Conditions
Under the Affordable Care Act, health plans cannot limit or deny benefits or deny coverage for a child younger than age 19 simply because the child has a “pre-existing condition” – that is, a health problem that developed before the child applied to join the plan….
Under the Affordable Care Act, if your plan covers children, you can now add or keep your children on your health insurance policy until they turn 26 years old….
Curbing Insurance Cancellations
The Affordable Care Act stops health plans from retroactively canceling your insurance coverage solely because you or your employer made an honest mistake on your insurance application….
….Now, an insurer cannot rescind your coverage simply because you made an honest mistake or left out information that has little bearing on your health….
Appealing Health Plan Decisions
The Affordable Care Act ensures your right to appeal health insurance plan decisions–to ask that your plan reconsider its decision to deny payment for a service or treatment. New rules that apply to health plans created after March 23, 2010 spell out how your plan must handle your appeal (usually called an “internal appeal”). If your plan still denies payment after considering your appeal, the law permits you to have an independent review organization decide whether to uphold or overturn the plan’s decision. This final check is often referred to as an “external review….”
The Affordable Care Act prohibits health plans from putting a lifetime dollar limit on most benefits you receive. The law also restricts and phases out the annual dollar limits a health plan can place on most of your benefits – and does away with these limits entirely in 2014….
The Affordable Care Act creates a Rate Review program in your state to help protect individuals and small businesses from unreasonable health insurance rate increases. Starting on September 1, 2011, health insurers must justify any rate increase of 10% or more before the increase takes effect….
Value for Your Premium Dollar: 80/20 Rule and MLR
The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to spend your premium dollars primarily on health care. It does this by enforcing a policy called the “80/20 rule” to hold insurance companies accountable.
The Affordable Care Act helps preserve your choice of doctors by guaranteeing that you can choose the primary care doctor or pediatrician you want from your health plan’s provider network. It guarantees that you can see an OB-GYN doctor without needing a referral from another doctor. The law also ensures that you can seek emergency care at a hospital outside your plan’s network without prior approval from your health plan.
Just asking.
The right wingnut republican controlled House has voted to repeal the health care law thirty-seven times. And plans on another vote:
Surprise! Boehner says ‘count on’ another Obamacare repeal vote
2:31 PM on 07/09/2013House Speaker John Boehner promised Tuesday to hold yet another vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act following the Obama administration’s announcement to delay the law’s employer mandate….
And we don’t hear “repeal and replace” much from republicans anymore (from a year ago):
Republicans focus on repealing, not replacing, ‘Obamacare’
Their retreat from a 2010 campaign promise to deal with the nation’s healthcare problems their own way has even some conservative experts saying voters deserve better.
July 11, 2012|By Noam N. Levey, Washington BureauWASHINGTON – Congressional Republicans, who once promised to “repeal and replace” President Obama’s healthcare law, for now have all but given up pushing alternatives to the sweeping legislation the president signed in 2010….
….Republicans say they will not try to move a replacement plan until 2013 at the earliest. “There might be a chance for us to do this next year,” House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-San Dimas) said Tuesday….
….the retreat from a central 2010 campaign promise to deal with the nation’s healthcare problems has prompted even some conservative healthcare experts to say Republicans owe voters more detail about how they would control costs and protect sick and poor Americans….
[emphasis added]
That must have gone well. We’re still waiting for their replacement plan, aren’t we? Maybe they don’t want to include all those protections (to appropriate their phrase) in the ACA. In that case, they just need to repeal and leave us all to the mercy of the good old days. Oh, wait…