How Obamacare Protects Us
Concerned about losing Obamacare? You’d better be! Because Obamacare has protected millions of Americans from their health insurance companies.
You heard that right. Obamacare has shielded us from Medical Underwriting, pre-existing condition exclusions, and coverage rescissions since 2014.
You might not realize what a big deal this is if you were one of the lucky people with good health. That’s because before Obamacare, you used to blithely fill out health insurance applications while watching Game of Thrones on your iPad. Just draw a line through the “no” boxes. Easy-breezy. With your great health, you weren’t affected personally. Still, you – like most people – probably knew someone who was affected.
Without Obamacare We’re All Vulnerable
Millions of Americans who have health problems, like our own Terri Carlson, were profoundly and negatively affected before Obamacare. They faced health insurance applications with dread. They sure don’t want to go back to the bad old days!
Check out Terri’s first video (in a series of 6) on pre-existing conditions, and the impact of an Obamacare repeal:
Back then, health insurance applications were highly intrusive. We had to provide detailed information about our doctor visits, lab results, medications, and our personal health histories. They even asked about our plans to have a child! And we had to give the health insurance company complete authorization to obtain all of our medical records.
Back then, if you could get a job with an employer who provided health benefits, or married someone who had a job like that, then you could get group health insurance regardless of your health. Or if you qualified, you could get public health insurance, like Medicare. But these were not options for everyone.
For many people the individual marketplace was their only resource. And there, health insurers would only insure healthy people. The information they collected was used against you – to figure out if you were “uninsurable.”
An Illness Can Make You “Uninsurable”
Obviously major illnesses like cancer, HIV/AIDS, stroke, coronary disease and the like would make you uninsurable.
But so would fairly common health issues including arthritis, diabetes, sleep apnea, dementia and obesity – even childhood allergies that you’d outgrown.
Even more surprising is that non-illnesses, such as pregnancy and transsexualism, could make you uninsurable. Yes, these conditions were included on the list of medically-declinable conditions described in health insurer field underwriting guidelines before Obamacare. And it gets worse.
Medications Can Make You “Uninsurable”
The health insurers also maintained lists of declinable medications, including insulin, Coumadin, Epogen and many more. For those who need them, these medications are essential to maintaining their health. Insulin helps diabetics control blood sugar, Coumadin helps us avoid blood clots and heart attacks, and epogen helps people on dialysis avoid anemia. Medicines that helped with mental health issues were highly represented on the list of declinable medications.
Your Job or Hobby Can Make You “Uninsurable”
It’s true.
The health insurers also maintained lists of uninsurable occupations including taxi cab drivers, bodyguards and professional athletes.
Even hobbyists, like scuba divers, hang gliders and strong man competitors had problems getting health insurance!
A Simple Mistake Can Make You “Uninsurable”
When filling out that huge insurance application, did you forget to mention a doctor’s visit? Leave a medication off the list? Fail to disclose that you had acne as a teen? If you get sick, you might find your coverage rescinded! This practice, called post-claim or retroactive underwriting, was increasingly being used by the health insurance industry to avoid paying for your medical care.
The fact is, before 2014 when Obamacare banned the practice, countless Americans were discriminated against because they had a chronic illness, pre-existing condition or discovered they were having a baby.
Everyone – Healthy or Not – is At Risk
This is a big deal because, as we all know, being healthy is temporary.
At some point, you’re going to have an accident, develop diabetes, discover you’ve inherited your mom’s rheumatoid arthritis, or worse. Did you know that as many as 1 in 2 Americans suffers from some kind of pre-existing condition that could be used to deny them insurance coverage?
Dragging Us Back Is Cruel
Yet if Speaker Paul Ryan and the GOP Congress have their way, the ban on health-related declinations and pre-existing condition exclusions will go bye-bye. This is a terrible, brutal idea. We should not be going backwards, we should be going forwards!
Preserve and Build on Our Gains
We need to preserve the gains of Obamacare, and build on them! We need Improved, Expanded Medicare for All!
If you want California to lead the nation with our own Medicare for All system, take action! Join us on Twitter and Facebook, and
Sign our Open Letter to Governor Brown and Our Legislative Leaders!
Dear Governor Brown, Senate President Pro Tem DeLeón and Assembly Speaker Rendon:
California families depend on Medicare, Medi-Cal and Obamacare for our very lives.
Protect these programs, but more.
Give us healthcare that covers everybody for everything for life!
Give us Medicare for All Californians!
Yours Truly,
California should be the first state to approach a Medicare for all Californians. With the size of our California economy being larger the so many other countries who already have national health it is a no-brainer. It’ll save Californians money which they will lnvariably spend back into our own economy. AND, it’ll get the cost of medical benefits off the back of business, more money back into our California economy.
Do,it, do,it. Now…
It’s unbelievable how the vary people elected in office to serve and HELP us are the very ones destroying us and depriving us of rights to qualiry affordable health care. GOD HELP AMERICA!!
P.S. They will reap what they sow in Jesus name!!