President Obama will sign the historic health care reform legislation today. Many have tried for decades to make health care a benefit of American citizenship. Obama was able to make it happen. This achievement will certainly be noted in the history books.
Some changes will take place immediately. Seniors will get $250 rebates for the Medicare drug coverage gap. Also, young adults will be allowed to stay on their parents' plans until age 26.
In the short term, insurance companies can't deny coverage to children because they are already sick or had a sickness in the past.
Also, insurance companies won't be able to cancel people because they get sick. This is one of the biggest insurance company abuses. People pay premiums for years. Then when they get sick and need a return on their investment, the insurance companies drop them. This happened to my mom. She worked, paid for insurance, then got cancer and got dropped. Imagine the emotional distress this causes to someone who is already facing a life-threatening illness. Now this person will have to worry about how he or she will pay for treatment and hospitalization. My mother was lucky. I've seen many who were not so lucky, who died unnecessarily because of lack of medical care.
By 2014 no one will be denied because of preexisting conditions. People will be able to get tax credits to help pay for insurance. Medicaid will be expanded to cover more people. For example, a family of 4 with a household income of $88,000 will be eligible for some benefits.
Eventually, the number of uninsured will drop by more than half.
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