It’s been three months since the Affordable Care Act was passed. Some parts of the law go into effect on July 1, according to a statement President Barack Obama made at the White House on June 22. People with pre-existing conditions can no longer be dropped from coverage. Various cabinet departments, including Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services, will begin issuing regulations that stem from the law being passed, according to the President’s statements.
According to CNN’s report, Obama also met with health insurance company executives to decide how best to proceed with reform. Obama says that they have a lot to gain by having tens of millions of new customers to ensure.
Average Americans
For average Americans such as my family, our insurance choices will hopefully get a lot better. Once the pool of insurance comes online, and we can shop for the best rates and policies with hundreds to choose from, we can see what kind of health insurance we can get.
We’re already smart, and have shopped around for a policy that suits our health insurance needs the most. My wife and I do plan on shopping around once the new system starts, and we are definitely going to keep our kids on our insurance policy until they are 26 years old.
Loopholes
To quote Virgil’s Aeneid, “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.” In English, that means “I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts.” Referring to the giant Trojan horse that allowed Greek troops to sneak into the city of Troy, this giant health care bill will surely have loopholes, scams, and money grabbers, as with any government program.
My wife and I are confident that many Americans will get insurance who couldn’t before, but we are skeptical about the drawbacks. We accept that nothing is perfect, and surely this new health care law will be exploited.
Preventative Medicine
I would be interested to see what happens with the preventive measures in the law that provide for education programs for young people and smoking cessation programs. One such provision is that more money will be spent on smoking cessation for pregnant women.
The point of the law is to be all-inclusive in what it means to be healthy in America. There will be coverage that helps with preventive services, and even increases the adoption tax credit. If you decide to go into the health care field and become a care-provider, there are added benefits as well.
My family hasn’t seen any immediate effects from health care reform yet, but we look forward to seeing what happens to the overall state of health of the United States in the next few years.
CNN, the White House, and the Senate bill summary all contributed information for this article.
