As a 2009 college grad with Type 1 diabetes, the passage of the Affordable Care Act just one year later gave me some hugely helpful breathing room. It’s far from perfect, but it has successfully put medical procedures, prescriptions, and treatments within reach for millions of Americans like myself and I’m grateful for it every day.
For chronically-ill Americans, the 2010 Affordable Care Act offered an unprecedented level of protection and relief. President Obama’s signature policy meant that insurance companies could no longer discriminate against those with lifelong health concerns. Obamacare forbids insurance companies from limiting yearly or lifetime coverage expenses for essential health benefits.
Other ACA provisions have also been profoundly beneficial—an end to coverage denial for pre-existing conditions, young people able to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26 and access for those without employment-based insurance to (relatively) affordable coverage options partially subsidized by the government.
Republicans have desperately tried to kill Obamacare since Day One. They’ve been obsessed with the idea of taking people’s health care away from them. The GOP has made 70 attempts to kill the ACA.. They tried and failed three times to get the Supreme Court to overturn it.
Republicans have desperately tried to kill Obamacare since Day One. They’ve been obsessed with the idea of taking people’s health care away from them. The GOP has made 70 attempts to kill the ACA.. They tried and failed three times to get the Supreme Court to overturn it.
Naturally, Donald Trump, while President, promised a “terrific”, “phenomenal” and “fantastic” plan to replace Obamacare but of course his magical plan was non-existent. The Replacement Plan Trump actually put forward would have dismantled much of the ACA. The plan would have caused 23 million Americans to lose coverage. Fortunately, three Senate Republicans stopped it from becoming law.
Republican priorities continue to favor gigantic tax giveaways to the wealthy while stingily counting every penny that might help meet the healthcare and other critical needs of millions of middle class and lower income Americans.
Republican priorities continue to favor gigantic tax giveaways to the wealthy while stingily counting every penny that might help meet the healthcare and other critical needs of millions of middle class and lower income Americans.
Chronically-ill Americans, who count over 133 million people in their numbers cannot afford the heartless policies Republicans would put in place. The respite that I receive from the ACA can’t be overstated: insurance companies can’t jack my rates up because I’m diabetic, and while the ACA plans are still fairly pricey, the tax rebate offered makes these plans attainable for freelancers like myself who don’t receive health coverage from our jobs.
With the retail cost of my supplies at over $16,000 per year, tackling those expenses without any insurance-related help would drain my resources and potentially put me at risk of making dangerous choices and compromises about my own care. If I couldn’t pay for insulin as prescribed (a very real possibility, as the retail cost of a single vial of insulin can top $300), I’d be dead within two weeks.
If I couldn’t pay for insulin as prescribed (a very real possibility, as the retail cost of a single vial of insulin can top $300), I’d be dead within two weeks.
Contrary to his own loudly-declared claims, Trump did nothing to lower the cost of insulin during his presidency; in fact, prices rose to historically-high levels. It was President Joe Biden who successfully enacted the $35 Medicare price cap for insulin as part of his Inflation Reduction Act. The $35 a month price cap would have covered everyone, not just those on Medicare if Republicans hadn’t blocked it.
The good news is that the Medicare max of $35/month has set a precedent and alerted pharma companies to the fact that the Biden administration won’t lay off the pressure to make these life-saving drugs more affordable for all Americans. As a result, I’ll see my own insulin copays drop from $50 a month to $35 starting in January (when the price cuts go into effect). Considering the overall cost of being a Type 1 diabetic in this country, that small savings will come in handy and gives me hope that further efforts to reduce out-of-pocket expenses may be on the horizon.
Like many Democrats, I dream of a day when single-payer healthcare will be the law of the land. I firmly believe that healthcare is a human right, and I acknowledge that the Affordable Care Act and Biden’s work to shore up that legislation don’t solve this country’s massive medical-affordability problems. But as someone with some memory of the insurance landscape before Obamacare–and as someone with a LOT to lose if the ACA disappears and Republicans replace it with a far-less-comprehensive plan or with nothing at all–I know that we can’t afford to backslide.
Joe Biden and the Democrats recognize the problems with our healthcare system and have taken action to improve and build on the Obamacare framework. Donald Trump and the Republicans want to tear down our protective fortresses and leave us completely vulnerable to the greed and avarice of pharmaceutical execs and insurance companies. That’s why every American with a chronic illness (or anyone with a loved one with a chronic illness) needs to vote in 2024. Healthcare is on the ballot.
As a 2009 college grad with Type 1 diabetes, the passage of the Affordable Care Act just one year later gave me some hugely helpful breathing room. It’s far from perfect, but it has successfully put medical procedures, prescriptions, and treatments within reach for millions of Americans like myself and I’m grateful for it every day.
For chronically-ill Americans, the 2010 Affordable Care Act offered an unprecedented level of protection and relief. President Obama’s signature policy meant that insurance companies could no longer discriminate against those with lifelong health concerns. Obamacare forbids insurance companies from limiting yearly or lifetime coverage expenses for essential health benefits.
Other ACA provisions have also been profoundly beneficial—an end to coverage denial for pre-existing conditions, young people able to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26 and access for those without employment-based insurance to (relatively) affordable coverage options partially subsidized by the government.
Republicans have desperately tried to kill Obamacare since Day One. They’ve been obsessed with the idea of taking people’s health care away from them. The GOP has made 70 attempts to kill the ACA.. They tried and failed three times to get the Supreme Court to overturn it.
Republicans have desperately tried to kill Obamacare since Day One. They’ve been obsessed with the idea of taking people’s health care away from them. The GOP has made 70 attempts to kill the ACA.. They tried and failed three times to get the Supreme Court to overturn it.
Naturally, Donald Trump, while President, promised a “terrific”, “phenomenal” and “fantastic” plan to replace Obamacare but of course his magical plan was non-existent. The Replacement Plan Trump actually put forward would have dismantled much of the ACA. The plan would have caused 23 million Americans to lose coverage. Fortunately, three Senate Republicans stopped it from becoming law.
Republican priorities continue to favor gigantic tax giveaways to the wealthy while stingily counting every penny that might help meet the healthcare and other critical needs of millions of middle class and lower income Americans.
Republican priorities continue to favor gigantic tax giveaways to the wealthy while stingily counting every penny that might help meet the healthcare and other critical needs of millions of middle class and lower income Americans.
Chronically-ill Americans, who count over 133 million people in their numbers cannot afford the heartless policies Republicans would put in place. The respite that I receive from the ACA can’t be overstated: insurance companies can’t jack my rates up because I’m diabetic, and while the ACA plans are still fairly pricey, the tax rebate offered makes these plans attainable for freelancers like myself who don’t receive health coverage from our jobs.
With the retail cost of my supplies at over $16,000 per year, tackling those expenses without any insurance-related help would drain my resources and potentially put me at risk of making dangerous choices and compromises about my own care. If I couldn’t pay for insulin as prescribed (a very real possibility, as the retail cost of a single vial of insulin can top $300), I’d be dead within two weeks.
If I couldn’t pay for insulin as prescribed (a very real possibility, as the retail cost of a single vial of insulin can top $300), I’d be dead within two weeks.
Contrary to his own loudly-declared claims, Trump did nothing to lower the cost of insulin during his presidency; in fact, prices rose to historically-high levels. It was President Joe Biden who successfully enacted the $35 Medicare price cap for insulin as part of his Inflation Reduction Act. The $35 a month price cap would have covered everyone, not just those on Medicare if Republicans hadn’t blocked it.
The good news is that the Medicare max of $35/month has set a precedent and alerted pharma companies to the fact that the Biden administration won’t lay off the pressure to make these life-saving drugs more affordable for all Americans. As a result, I’ll see my own insulin copays drop from $50 a month to $35 starting in January (when the price cuts go into effect). Considering the overall cost of being a Type 1 diabetic in this country, that small savings will come in handy and gives me hope that further efforts to reduce out-of-pocket expenses may be on the horizon.
Like many Democrats, I dream of a day when single-payer healthcare will be the law of the land. I firmly believe that healthcare is a human right, and I acknowledge that the Affordable Care Act and Biden’s work to shore up that legislation don’t solve this country’s massive medical-affordability problems. But as someone with some memory of the insurance landscape before Obamacare–and as someone with a LOT to lose if the ACA disappears and Republicans replace it with a far-less-comprehensive plan or with nothing at all–I know that we can’t afford to backslide.
Joe Biden and the Democrats recognize the problems with our healthcare system and have taken action to improve and build on the Obamacare framework. Donald Trump and the Republicans want to tear down our protective fortresses and leave us completely vulnerable to the greed and avarice of pharmaceutical execs and insurance companies. That’s why every American with a chronic illness (or anyone with a loved one with a chronic illness) needs to vote in 2024. Healthcare is on the ballot.