Health Care Reform 101- Knowledge Check!

Welcome once again to our new weekly feature, Health Care Reform 101- Knowledge Check! Today. we have a new set of questions to test your skills on the new health care reform legislation. So get ready!



Health Care Reform 101- Knowledge Check!


Question #1:

Will the health reform law revise the current Medicaid program to uninsured and low-income adults regardless of whether or not they have kids?                 


-Yes

-No

Answer: Yes. Medicaid will be expanded to cover nearly all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level ($14,400 for an individual or $29,300 for a family of four in 2010). 

Question #2:

Will the health reform law provide financial help to low and moderate income Americans who don't get insurance through their employer to assist them in getting coverage?  

-Yes                                                                                                   
 
-No

Answer: Yes. Individuals without access to affordable coverage who have incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for premium tax credits based on their income. They will be able to purchase coverage through new insurance exchanges.

Question #3:

Will the health reform law prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage due to person's medical history or pre-existing health condition? 
                                                           
-Yes                                                                                   

-No

Answer: Yes. Starting in 2014, all health insurers will be required to sell coverage to everyone who applies, regardless of their medical history or health status, including pre-existing conditions. 

The High Cost of Health Care

Health care reform is certainly a hot topic in our country, especially today as new health care legislation is about to take effect. Many opponents of the new law claim that they are concerned with how the new bill will be funded to support the millions of new patients which will be added to the health care pool. They posit that the health care system will not be financially secure enough to support the new influx of patients, and thus, it will collapse under its own weight. This is a claim that was also put forward by presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who vowed to repeal ObamaCare should he win office.They also claim that ObamaCare will raise premiums and taxes on the middle class, with the burden of providing for the masses of newly insured patients. This has been one statement in particular that has caused much backlash from Americans who are already under a lot stress from a failing economy.They fear that the new legislation will cause even more strain, and in revolt have vehemently denied the reform bill. Now although ObamaCare is certainly not free from its own set of issues, there is one important piece of the puzzle that opponents of ObamaCare are not considering. Under the current health care system we have in our country, we are already paying high taxes and premiums to support the uninsured. As Nancy Hudson, the executive health care director of the Charlotte Health Care Clinic explains, the 30 million uninsured Americans we have in our country are in desperate need of health care, and a good portion of the people she sees in her clinic are below the national poverty level. This means that they cannot afford health care, and thus, both preventative and routine medical care are not available to these individuals. Henceforth, the majority of their doctor visits are to the emergency room, which equates to high costs and dire prognoses for these individuals. In turn, these high costs are then passed down to us in the form of high taxes and raised insurance premiums. So, as we see, even if ObamaCare is non-existent, we still have this major issue on our hands. The difference however, is that with Obamacare these individuals can get preventative and routine care, which will in turn help them to become healthier, and avoid costly and life threatening emergency room visits. Moreover, Hudson also points out that the majority of the individuals currently without health care are the working class, who are unable to work and provide for their household if they become ill. This is yet another issue that opponents of the new reform bill may not be considering.The fact of the matter is, that ObamaCare is not a cure-all to the current health care system, and it has a long way to go before all the potential issues with the bill are worked out. However, we as a country need to also realize that things are not going so well with the status quo. In short, we need new health care legislation, and one that is willing to provide health care to those who need it the most must be commended for the initiative it is undertaking.

Being Fair on Healthcare.

Having an equal playing field avoids controversy but if it is not managed right it can go south.   People need to work hard and get educated themselves to support their own weight.   As well as government shouldn't have their foot in every door.  More over helping people that can’t afford a hospital bill; not set their whole future up.  According to the article the Herald, “If people are left to decide for themselves what they are capable of doing, life would be more predictable.”  Meaning that it would be so complicated, if someone couldn't afford something they couldn't get it.  But with government involved now all the sudden they can afford it.  That can be taken even further to the next level which would be socialism.  According to wikipedia, Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of means of production.  That’s what it is going to come down to, whether or not everything is going to be free to everyone.

ObamaCare Makes History

Although the country may still be divided on Obama’s Affordable Care Act, it marks the first time in history that we have a patient’s “Bill of Rights’ so to speak. As the Huffington Post reports, one of the most significant measures of the new health care reform bill, is that it ensures patients will not be denied treatment due to pre-existing conditions. In addition, it prevents gender bias by not allowing insurance companies to charge more based on an individual’s sex. In short, it provides all citizens with basic health care coverage, something many Americans have gone far too long without. So, whether you are in favor of Obama’s new bill or not, we all must agree that it has set a major precedent in the area of health care reform. Furthermore, the Obama administration will be implementing wellness programs into the new legislation which will reward individuals for taking charge of their health with preventative measures, such as smoking cessation and weight loss. The Hill’s Health Blog reports that smokers participating in cessation programs will be eligible for as much as a 50 percent discount. This not only gives individuals an added incentive for taking a pro-active approach to their health, but it also helps prevent disease, which will make the individual healthier in the long run. Thus, the wellness initiative will not only be beneficial to the patient, but also to the medical companies by cutting down health care costs. Thus, everybody is a winner, and even the opponents of Obama Care cannot argue with that logic.

Here is a video about the new health care bill from President Obama, which was taken shortly after the Supreme Court upheld the decision that the Affordable Care Act was constitutional. It outlines the provisions of the health reform bill and explains who is affected by the new legislation, and more importantly, how they would be affected if ObamaCare didn't exist.

It's How You View It!

There are many ways to flip and turn the Obama health care plan.  One side of people says it’s not good while the other side is saying it is.  Here is what people are saying about it.  On one end of the spectrum are the people that can’t afford it.  Who work many hours and after all the bills and food that have to be bought to serve, there is not much left over to purchase health care.  There is just Medicare that is available and they can only be seen by doctors that accept it.  You also have the people who don’t want to work hard, that take advantage of food stamps and welfare, convincing themselves that they are entitled to everything, using the money in every wrong way.   So where do you draw the line for this?  How do u decide who really deserves free health care.  On the other end of the spectrum you have hard working people who are able to purchase health care, although at the same time having to pay higher taxes in order to cover for others who are unfortunate.  I feel as though people who have to cover for others won’t mind so much as long as people that are less fortunate are paying their dues and working just as hard.   I try to look at the big picture of this all and that is you are going to have more people who are not willing to put in the work as for people who are.  Ultimately that is going to have a domino effect because people are going to see that the other person right next to them is doing nothing while getting the same benefits as me.   So than the country will be losing out on more money and having to tax people of higher income a greater amount.  I would agree with everyone having health care, I just don’t thinks it’s fair to have to put more pressure on someone else who is already working hard to support their family and life style, now making them support other people who could make it easier who don’t.  I love supporting organizations and helping people who are in need but that ends up becoming harder to do when so much is put on me to have to take care of.  There are more and more responsibilities that have to be taken care of because priorities are left astray believing that someone is going to walk up and do it for them.  I guess ultimately you have to come to a point in your decision and say what would I really do if I was really in that persons spot of a higher income, would I want to be put under that pressure due to the lack of laziness or should they reap what they sow?  The world is not fair and it will always be like that but one thing can be fair and that is people holding their own, having to work hard.

Health Care Reform 101- Knowledge Check!

The new health care reform legislation is promising big changes to our current health care system. However, as we have seen many Americans are still in the dark about what the new legislation will actually mean to citizens, especially with all the misinformation out there about the new law. So we here at Healthcare Watcher are implementing a weekly feature titled: Health Care Reform 101- Knowledge Check! This weekly feature will offer you a short quiz on the new health care reform law to test your knowledge. So take our quiz and invite your friends and family to do the same and see if you know the real facts about our new health care legislation!




HEALTH CARE REFORM 101- KNOWLEDGE CHECK!

Question #1:

Will the health reform law require nearly all Americans to have health insurance starting in 2014 or else be subject to a fine?

-Yes

-No

Answer:

Yes. Starting in 2014, most U.S. citizens and legal residents will be required to obtain health coverage, or be subjected to a penalty. Some exemptions apply, such as those with religious objections or where insurance would cost more than 8% of their income. 

Question #2 

Will the health reform law allow the government to make decisions about end-of-life care for people on Medicare? 

-Yes 

-No 

Answer:
No. While it is true that early versions of the law did contain provisions that would allow Medicare to reimburse physicians for voluntary discussions with patients about end-of-life, these provisions are not a part of the final legislation.



Question #3
.
 Will the health reform law cut benefits already granted to those on Medicare? 

-Yes 

-No

Answer:
 No. The law reduces payments to privately administered Medicare Advantage plans, but  all benefits that are covered by traditional Medicare will continue to be granted. 

Success For the Future

Setting up systems for future success is an important strategy to come out on top in the long run.  Most people tend to want what’s most important now and not later.  Not looking at the big picture and realizing how this is going to affect us in the long run.  As it stands now, we as a country see that giving everyone health care is the right thing to do.  It may work for a couple of years but when the shit hits the fan than what.  How do we climb out of the hole we dug for ourselves.   Looking at this new socialized medicine it seems to me that we will soon be in a really big financial crisis.  Here’s my point, imagine that you have a class room full of students  and you told them that the class as a whole was going to have one grade how will that turn out in the end.  Most likely the system is going to fail because most people are not going to hold their end of the bargain and going to let others do all there work.    That is how this health care reform bill is going to be like.   You’re going to tax the rich more and more until they have no money, than what?  The only two things left to do is either barrow more money from other countries or have to see society at its finest fall to a system that is so corrupt.  How will we as a country even be able to fund the workers of these hospitals when there is so much in consumption that we use on the daily to provide for the sick and the hurt?  There are so many other things that we have to take care of in this country already.  In a business you don’t go to other companies and ask them to pay your employees for you.  You have to do it yourself, which means that you have make money and support your own weight so that you can live to see another day.  That is where we as a country don’t understand, hospitals are like a business too they need to make money and barrowing more money from other countries isn’t going to cut it for us.  Eventually it all fails.