WHAT HEALTH REFORM IS ABOUT

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Joy125

Posted Thursday, October 22, 2009 5:39 PM

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Last Login: Today @ 7:45 PM
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What Health Reform Is About: Real People, Real Needs

October 20, 2009 · by Austin Frakt

Excerpts:

" . . . Research released today in the journal Health Affairs, by me with colleagues Steve Pizer and Lisa Iezzoni, shines light on a particularly vulnerable set of Americans in desperate need of health insurance and the access to care it would facilitate. In particular the study reveals that low-income people with chronic health conditions or disabilities can have outrageously high uninsurance rates, nearly 50% if they live in the south and do not qualify for public health programs.

How can so many low-income Americans be uninsured? It is a common misconception that a health care safety net—Medicaid—protects all such individuals. In reality, due to the design of the program and state variation in implementation, many fall through the cracks. . . .

. . . Current federal law specifies that adults with low incomes and assets can qualify for Medicaid if they belong to specific federally defined eligibility categories including: old age, blindness, disability (narrowly defined), being pregnant, or having young children. That means that, in general, under federal law Medicaid may not cover individuals who do not fall into any of these categories no matter how low their income and assets or how seriously ill or functionally impaired they may be. The states have wide discretion in setting eligibility rules for these groups.

Even for those in the federal categories, states establish their own income and asset thresholds, which can vary substantially. For example, income thresholds for unemployed parents in 2009 were 21% of the federal poverty level (FPL) in Florida, 29% in Georgia, and 13% in Texas. Corresponding income thresholds were typically much higher in northeastern states: 150% in New York, 90% in Ohio, and 133% in Massachusetts."

READ MORE:

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/health-reform-is-about/

Link to report, "Uninsured Adults With Chronic Conditions Or Disabilities: Gaps In Public Insurance Programs":

http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.28.6.w1141

________________________________________________________________________

I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition. MARTHA WASHINGTON

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Grandpavan

Posted Thursday, October 22, 2009 11:57 PM

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Last Login: Today @ 4:59 PM
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I do not object to government aid for people who through no fault of their own do not have access to medical care. Also I think this is a state by state responsibility more than a federal responsibility. The constitution says that items not specifically given to the federal government are reserved to the states and I don't think health care is given to to the federal government. Each state elects their own government and if you don't like the laws in your state you can elect a different government or move to a state that has plans you like. God bless.

Age 82, diagnosed RA 12/2001, married since 1952, 4 sons no daughters, 4 grandsons 1 granddaughter. Doing well on Methotrexate and Remicade.

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