Is the Passage of the the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act a Good Thing?

That is all that I have to say in this day and age. Insurance companies, the tea party and everyone else seems to have it in for our President. While I disagree with the abortion provisions in the healthcare bill I am glad that he was finally able to put it through. He says that it has been a long journey, 13 months to be exact. He knew that if he did not get the bill through by August that he would have a fight on his hands, and he was right.

Are we proud of our President because he was able to do what no other President has been able to accomplish since the thirties by reforming healthcare or is it a moot point? Would you vote for Barack Obama again if he turns the economy around? I sat up and watched the House consider the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Democrats passed it, the Republicans attempted to block it at the last minute, and then the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 was passed in the House as well. I still am not sure about either act though and what it means to me but I do expect a fight over reconciliation in the Senate.

In the first six months after the passage of the bill insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage because of preexisting conditions. Children will be allowed to remain on their parents plan until the age of 27 and insurers are prevented from charging co-pays or deductibles for preventive care and medical screenings. The good news is that people who normally would be insured because of preexisting conditions could qualify for health coverage through the government's program.

Much of this bill deals with discrimination against patients and refusal of service by the insurance companies. Medicaid eligibility will be expanded to 133% of the poverty line and there will be subsidization of insurance premiums for individuals who make up to 400% of the poverty line. Currently the poverty guideline is $10,830 for one person, so you could get medicare if you are making up to $14,403.90 ($6.92 an hour) or you can get the premium subsidized if you are making less than $43,320 ($20.82 an hour). The latter dealt with health insurance exchanges, which amounted to the infamous public option that was a contentious aspect of the initial plan.

A little talked about detail in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the fact that restaurants will have to display how many calories their food while information about saturated fat, carbohydrate, and sodium content must be made available upon request. By 2018 co-payments are supposed to be a thing of the past. The reconciliation bill is a bit ambiguous, one source I found suggested that the primary issue is what to do about those who still refuse to carry insurance; either way there will still be a penalty.

A fight against reconciliation would be just as interesting as the fight against the initial bill was last night. Either way the worst of this is behind us. Senator Bill Nelson from Nebraska has suggested that he will not support it because of provisions for the government to take over student loans from the private sector as well as the idea that $9 billion will be taken away from students as that money will no longer be available in loans to go college. Then again the Democrats do not want Nebraska to receive extra money for Medicaid. At this point I am not sure if I even care about the reconciliation amendments because the battle over healthcare has occurred during a dark age in the history of American politics. To be completely honest I do not even miss my insurance premiums as I have always been able to afford insurance. There was one company that I worked for in which I declined coverage because the cost would have amounted to one fourth of my paycheck. For those who have declined coverage thus far for the same reason this bill could be exactly what they need ...