Obamacare: A Fact or Fifty

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1. Starting now and on October 1st you can go to healthcare.gov or call (1-800-318-2596; TTY: 1-855-889-4325) to compare options and select health coverage.

2. Thanks to ObamaCare, insurance companies must cover mental health, substance-use disorder, alcohol misuse screening, domestic violence screening, depression screening, etc. under “essential health benefits.”

3. ObamaCare will increase the need for doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, health information specialists, medical billers, medical sonography, home-care aides, lab technicians, etc. Now, that’s job creation!

4. 360,000 Small Businesses have taken advantage of the Small Business Healthcare Tax Credit to insure 2 million workers.

5. ObamaCare will change work and retirement by tilting power from employers to employees.

6. Young Americans (18-34) are eager to purchase health insurance through ObamaCare.

7. ObamaCare saved 6.8 million consumers $1.2 billion on health insurance premiums in 2012.

8. An easy and informative Twitter list of ObamaCare health insurance exchanges.

9. 63% of young adults who identify as Republicans enrolled in their parents health plans under ObamaCare.

10. Health insurance premiums will cost dramatically less under the ObamaCare exchange marketplace.

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White House – Health Reform

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11. 8.5 million Americans from the 19 states already operating health insurance exchanges will use ObamaCare to purchase insurance. It far outstrips the government’s estimate of 7 million new customers in all 50 states.

12. CDC predicts that 200,000 heart disease related deaths per year could be prevented because of ObamaCare.

13. Thanks to ObamaCare, 6.4 million Americans will be able to purchase insurance for $100 a month or less.

14. A fun quiz that tests your ObamaCare knowledge and helps correct confusions and lies.

15. Five great ways ObamaCare helps small businesses.

16. Eight ways ObamaCare benefits Americans.

17. A typical average family buying insurance on their own will save thousands of dollars thanks to ObamaCare.

18. Thanks to ObamaCare, you can use a subsidy calculator to calculate health insurance premiums.

19. Questions about ObamaCare? There are answers.

20. Annual checkups, colonoscopies, contraception, vaccinations, mammograms, HIV counseling, prescription services, ObamaCare covers all of that.

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White House – Health Reform

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21. Confused about the health insurance exchanges? ObamaCare has a breakdown.

22. You own a business or know someone who does? ObamaCare has a website for you.

23. Thanks to ObamaCare, healthcare costs rose at the slowest rate in 50 years.

24. ObamaCare is not abstract. It helps people.

25. 2014 is around the corner and thanks to ObamaCare, being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition.

26. Major drops in hospital infections? New Jersey credits ObamaCare for that great news.

27. Thanks to ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, 1.3 million uninsured veterans and their families will have health insurance.

28. Doctors are excited about ObamaCare and here’s why.

29. Insurance companies don’t see ObamaCare as a threat. Sorry, GOP!

30. ObamaCare makes it easy for low income Americans to purchase insurance by making sure insurance companies accept cashier’s checks, re-loadable pre-paid debit cards, and money orders.

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Healthcare.gov

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31. ObamaCare helps doctors improve patient quality while saving $1.9B on the cost of care.

32. Seniors concerned about Medicare? ObamaCare has an answer for that.

33. Thanks to ObamaCare, if insurance companies don’t spend 80% of your premiums on your medical services, they owe you a rebate check.

34. Since the ObamaCare “80/20 Rule” for insurance companies went into effect in 2011, Americans have received over $1.5B in insurance rebates.

35. Dealing with mental health issues? ObamaCare has you covered.

36. Thanks to ObamaCare, 3.1M young Americans have health coverage and saved $147M in high medical bills in 2011.

37. Thanks to ObamaCare, 17 million children with pre-existing conditions are no longer denied coverage or charged more.

38. ObamaCare’s insurance application form is simpler than others currently on the marketplace.

39. Thanks to ObamaCare, the average premium increase in 2012, was 30% lower than in 2010.

40. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that $200B will be saved on federal spending for healthcare.

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Health Reform Map

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41. Thanks to ObamaCare, businesses with 50 or more employees will be fined for not providing health insurance.

42. Republican Governors in Ohio, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Mexico, and North Dakota will expand Medicaid.

43. Thanks to ObamaCare, 6.1M Older Americans have saved more than $5.7B on their prescription drugs.

44. ObamaCare could eliminate cost barriers for 40 million people seeking addiction treatment.

45. Thanks to ObamaCare, primary care providers in Medicaid will get a 73% raise.

46. ObamaCare makes sure insurance companies offer a four page summary of your benefits and coverages in easy to understand terms.

47. You’re a woman? ObamaCare has your back.

48. ObamaCare strengthened and lengthened Medicare’s lifespan.

49. Want a fact sheet on healthcare? ObamaCare has that.

50. Thanks to ObamaCare, community health centers received $728M to expand services and provide for more patients.

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Essential Links:

HeathCare.gov

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ObamacareFacts.com

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ObamacareByZipCode.com

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KFF.org

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GetCoveredAmerica.org

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FamiliesUSA.org

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DrsForAmerica.org

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WebMD.com

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What has Obamacare done for me lately?

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Walgreens.com

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CVS.com

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Get Covered!

The Fight For The Future Of Texas Has Begun

So the people of Texas (well within their rights) peacefully showed up at the Capitol to make their objections known about the horrific HB2 bill that would destroy thousands of women’s lives.

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Then the misogynistic TX Lege GOP thought they would shame women by forcefully taking away their tampons and pads. They only succeeded in exposing themselves to the scorn and mockery of the world.

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#TXLege GOP Madness: State troopers searching all bags and confiscating tampons and pads but you can bring a GUN into the gallery. #HB2 #SB1

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) July 12, 2013

#TXLege Republican Madness: Tampons forbidden because they pose a security risk but GUNS allowed in the Senate Gallery. #SWTW #HB2

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) July 12, 2013

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@scATX

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Pro-lifers claim to care about human life yet support cuts in food subsidies, healthcare, education, childcare and social programs. #HB2

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) July 13, 2013

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This cretin doesn’t cry because thousands of women will die and thousands of women will have their lives destroyed due to his bill; nooo…he cries while watching Disney movies.

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TexasTribune

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Hegar doesn't cry for the thousands of women whose lives will be destroyed due to #HB2. He cries watching Disney movies. This is the GOP.

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) July 13, 2013

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The amazing Sen. Wendy Davis challenging Sen. Hegar for his non-factual testimony on HB2. Hegar’s response? “Umm..I don’t know..I really don’t know.” Wendy’s response: “I would suggest that you read a little bit.” Message to all Republican men.

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Texas Tribune

The Good That Is ObamaCare

Information is power. ObamaCare works and is here to stay, so go out into the world and educate people. 2014 is around the corner and we have to be our own news and become even more proactive. Don’t let the media, so called progressive experts or the GOP demoralize you. Even if you only inform one person about the fantastic awesomeness that is ObamaCare, you have created a ripple effect because that person will tell another and another and another. Nobody said implementation of ObamaCare would be easy; Medicare and Social Security had a rough ride initially, but now? Try to mess with them negatively and watch the backlash explode. I will keep on providing tools that will help you disseminate facts and stop the lies. 😀

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RWJF: Traditionally, individuals considering leaving their job to strike out on their own have worried that they may be denied health insurance coverage because they have preexisting conditions, fear losing access to a trusted physician, or are unable to afford the premiums without an employer sharing the costs. The result is that some U.S. workers feel “job lock,” being tethered to their jobs and unable to leave, even if their skills and talents no longer match their position.

New research estimates that the number of self-employed Americans will be 1.5 million higher in 2014 because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Beginning next year, access to high-quality, subsidized health insurance coverage will no longer be exclusively tied to employment, which could lead people to pursue their own businesses as self-employed entrepreneurs.

More here

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More good Obamacare news. Up to 259 plan choices for small biz & 34 choices for individuals in DC. Coming to your state soon: #Competition

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David Simas (@Simas44) May 17, 2013

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Denise Early: Around 900,000 people living in Arizona do not have health insurance. Over 90% of them will get help from Obamacare. 94% of uninsured people in Tucson will get help paying for their health insurance under Obamacare, according to Enroll America. Based on census data, 50%  of the uninsured in Tucson would qualify for expanded Medicaid. In Arizona, Medicaid is run by AHCCCS, pronounced “access” (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System). 44% of uninsured Tucsonans would qualify for help with their health insurance premium.

More here

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Thanks to #ObamaCare, 3.1M young adults saved $147M in high medical bills in 2011 alone. thinkprogress.org/health/2013/05… The law works.

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) June 01, 2013

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The White House Blog: The Medicare Trustees reported some good news for seniors and taxpayers: The Medicare program will be solvent through 2026, nearly a decade longer than projected at the time of passage of the Affordable Care Act. This is 2 years longer than projected last year. Their annual report also shows that the long run actuarial deficit in the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund – a measure of its long-term fiscal health – has been cut by more than 70 percent since enactment of the health care law. The long-run Medicare deficit has fallen from 3.88 percent of taxable payroll in the 2009 Trustees Report to 1.11 percent in this report.

These long-run gains are matched by short-term relief: the Trustees also project that the Part B premium will not increase between 2013 and 2014, keeping out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries down. Medicare cost growth has remained at historically low levels over the past three years even as new benefits for preventive care and prescription drugs have helped tens of millions of beneficiaries access care at lower cost. The law reduces prescription drug costs by closing the donut hole, a policy that has already saved more than 6 million seniors more than $700 each. And more than 32 million seniors have accessed a free preventive service under the law, helping them stay healthy and avoid future illness.

More here

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Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas: In 2009, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that a medium-level “silver” plan — which covers 70 percent of a beneficiary’s expected health costs — on the California health exchange would cost $5,200 annually. More recently, a report from the consulting firm Milliman predicted it would carry a $450 monthly premium. Yesterday, we got the real numbers. And they’re lower than anyone thought.

The way this competition can drive down rates is already evident in Oregon. There, one insurer came in with monthly premium costs in the $169 range, while other insurers asked to charge more than $400. But then, seeing  what their competitors were charging, two insurers came back to the state’s regulators and asked if they could refile at lower rates. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be competitive in the exchange. The Obama administration was ecstatic to see this: It’s exactly what they’re hoping will happen across the country.

More here

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USA TODAY: Market forces and an impetus to attract younger, healthier people into the insurance market will help keep health insurance premiums lower as the 2010 health care law takes effect on Jan. 1, industry analysts and insurance officials say.

“If they price too high, young people won’t buy insurance, and that’s going to hurt the companies,” said Jay Angoff, who led initial implementation of the law for HHS. “They need these people to come in. It’s an industry problem.”

More here

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Ezra Klein: Last week, California released early information on the rates insurers intend to charge on the new insurance marketplaces — known as “exchanges” — that the state is setting up under Obamacare. They were far lower than anyone expected. “This is a home run for consumers in every region of California,” crowed Peter Lee, director of the state’s exchanges. The Affordable Care Act’s critics saw it differently. Avik Roy, a conservative health writer at Forbes, said Lee was being “misleading” and that “Obamacare, in fact, will increase individual-market premiums in California by as much as 146 percent.” Obamacare, he said, would trigger “rate shock,” the jolt people feel when they see higher rates.  Roy got his 146 percent by heading to eHealthInsurance.com, running a search for insurance plans in California and comparing the cost of the cheapest plans to the cost of the plans being offered in the exchanges. That’s not just comparing apples to oranges. It’s comparing apples to oranges that the fruit guy may not even let you buy.

Click to buy the plan and eventually you’ll have to answer pages and pages of questions about your health history. Ever had cancer? How about an ulcer? How about a headache? Do you feel sad when it rains?  Is there a history of cardiovascular disease in your family? Have you ever known anyone who had the flu? The actual cost of the plan will depend on how you answer those questions. According to HealthCare.gov, 14 percent of people who try to buy that plan are turned away outright. Another 12 percent are told they’ll have to pay more than $109.

Comparing the pre-underwriting price of this plan to those in Obamacare’s exchanges is ridiculous. The plans in Obamacare’s exchanges have to include those people. They can’t turn anyone away or jack up rates because of a history of arthritis or heart disease. They also have to offer insurance that meets a certain minimum standard. Under Obamacare, for instance, the out-of-pocket limit for someone making 100 to 200 percent of the poverty line is $1,983. Under the Value 4500, you could spend up to $9,500 before the out-of-pocket limit kicked in. Obamacare also has subsidies for people making up to four times the poverty line. The poor pay next to nothing. The rich pay full freight.

More here

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Sy Mukherjee: Golden State small businesses and their employees got some great news: two of the state’s largest insurers will have to give them over $36 million in insurance rebates because of an Obamacare consumer protection.

The health law forces insurers to spend at least 80 percent of the premiums they charge on paying for actual medical services, rather than administrative overhead or profits. That means more money for ordinary consumers — and less for profitable insurance companies.

Thanks to #ObamaCare major insurers must give back $36M to CA small business because they violated the 80/20 rule. thinkprogress.org/health/2013/06…

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) June 05, 2013

The so-called “80/20 rule” put $1.5 billion back into Americans’ pockets in 2011 alone. The average rebate was $151 per family across all insurance markets, and in states where insurers blatantly gouged prices, average rebates topped a whopping $500 per family.

Now, the benefits for Californians with small business health plans are beginning to materialize. Blue Shield of California will be forced to pay back $24.5 million in rebates. Anthem Blue Cross will have to pay back another $12 million.

More here

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Study confirms that ObamaCare's birth control without a copay mandate will reduce abortion rate. thinkprogress.org/health/2012/10… The law works.

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) June 07, 2013

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Tara Culp-Ressler: A new study focusing on low-income women in St. Louis, MO concludes that expanding access to free contraception — just as the health care reform law does through its provision to provide birth control without a co-pay — leads to significantly lower rates of unintended teen pregnancy and abortion. Researchers found that when women weren’t prohibited by cost, they chose more effective, long-lasting forms of birth control and experienced many fewer unintended pregnancies as a result.

More here

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Thanks to #ObamaCare insurance companies give rebates but more importantly, are lowering premiums. thinkprogress.org/health/2013/06…

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) June 09, 2013

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ThinkProgress: Americans who bought individual health plans in 2012 saved $2.1 billion thanks to Obamacare consumer protections that limit how much insurers can profit off of Americans’ premiums, according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The vast majority of those savings stem from individual health plan providers lowering the premiums they charge Americans in an effort to comply with the reform law.

The Kaiser study comes shortly after several major California insurers announced that they would have to pay back $36 million to small businesses and their employees after charging them too much. Obamacare mandates that insurers on the individual market spend at least 80 percent of the premiums they charge on actual medical services, or reimburse the amount they overspent to their customers.

But insurers can avoid writing those checks after-the-fact if they just lower their premiums to begin with — and KFF’s study concludes that’s what many individual plan providers have been doing.

More here

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President Obama signing the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23rd, 2010.

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Barack and Michelle…a photo or two

The Early Years…

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The Campaign Years…