Obamacare

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (ACA) OR MEDICARE FOR ALL - TOWARDS MEDICAL DEBT RELIEF

 

End Medical Debt: Curing America’s $1 Trillion Unpayable Healthcare Debt, by Jerry Ashton, Robert Goff, Craig Antico (Hoku House, Kauai, Hawaii, 2018, 181 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

Of all the forms of equality,

Injustice in health is the most

  shocking and inhumane.

  • Martin Luther King, Jr.

April 6, 2019 (San Diego) - The authors have written a timely and thought-provoking book about healthcare and debt, coming at a time when the Trump Administration is proposing doing away with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or better known as Obamacare.

Jerry Ashton, Robert Goff and Craig Antico, founders of the national charity RIP Medical Debt, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit company based in New York, incorporated in 2014, locates, buys and forgives unpayable medical debt for those burdened by financial hardship. In a phone interview with one of the authors, Craig Antico, he stated to me: “People don’t realize the hardships that medical debt brings.”


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REPUBLICAN HEALTHCARE PLAN WOULD LOWER DEFICIT BUT AT HIGH COST: 23 MILLION LOSING HEALTHCARE, AND SOME SENIORS WOULD PAY 850% MORE FOR PREMIUMS

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 25, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – House Republicans passed repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and  passage of their own American Health Care Act (Trumpcare) without waiting for a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Now the CBO’s report is published—and shows mostly negative consequences of the Republican plan now before the Senate. 


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AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: MILLIONS WILL LOSE HEALTH INSURANCE IF CONGRESS PASSES REVISED HEALTH CARE BILL TOMORROW

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 3, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – House Republican leadership is pushing for a rushed vote on a revised proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare and replace it – without bothering to wait for a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis. But the American Medical Association (AMA), the nation’s largest doctors’ organization, has sent a Tweet warning patients to contact their representatives and urge a no vote.


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SOCIAL SECURITY UNDER ATTACK

 

By nadinabbott on March 6, 2017

Reprinted with permission from https://reportingsandiego.com

March 7, 2017 (San Diego) - The replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was released this afternoon. First off, this is not an alternative to the ACA. It marks up the bill. Second off, it also has a back door weakening of the Social Security Act of 1937.


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MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES COULD DISAPPEAR WITH ACA REPEAL

 

By Mary Kuhlman, Public News Service

Photo:  Millions of Americans struggling with mental health concerns gained access to services because of provisions in the Affordable Care Act. (Pixabay)

March 1. 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Plans to revamp the Affordable Care Act were among President Trump's talking points during last night's address before a joint session of Congress. And one sector of the population stands to be significantly impacted by changes to the healthcare law.


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SHARP HEALTHCARE EXECUTIVES JOIN PATIENTS AND DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS AT “SAVE OUR HEALTHCARE” PRESS CONFERENCE

 

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo credit:  Tom and Nadine Abbott

Photo, left:  Dr. James V. Dunford, UCSD ER Director

January 19, 2017 (San Diego) — Leaders at Sharp Healthcare joined with patients and two Democratic Congressional members outside Sharp Memorial Hospital on Sunday, January 15th, to voice concerns over Senate Republicans vote last week to begin repeal of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, without first passing a replacement plan or providing details of any proposed plan for public review.


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MEDICARE, OBAMACARE ON CHOPPING BLOCK WITH HEALTH SECRETARY NOMINEE

 

By Miriam Raftery

December 5, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – Congressman Tom Price, a Republican from Georgia and medical doctor, is President-Elect Donald Trump’s nominee to served as Health and Human Services Secretary.  But far from protecting the nation’s social safety nets, Price has pledged to dismantle them.


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CALIFORNIA LEADERS REACT TO TRUMP ELECTION

 

"Let's repeal ObamaCare, abolish Common Core, and get constitutional judges on the Supreme Court,"-- California Republican Party

"For the more than 20million Americans who gained health insurance coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act, repeal and replace means death and despair.”-- California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones

By Miriam Raftery

November 11, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Leaders in the California Republican and Democratic parties are speaking out following the election of President-Elect Donald Trump. Reactions range from praise to condemnation.


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COURT FINDS OBAMACARE PAYMENTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL; RULING LIKELY TO BE OVERTURNED ON APPEAL

 

By Miriam Raftery, East County News Service

May 13, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that Congress has the right to sue the President.  Today, Judge Collyer found that the Obama administration violated the Constitution by reimbursing health insurance companies for providing low-cost healthcare coverage to low and moderate income Americans, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.


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SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES

 

By Miriam Raftery

June 25, 2015 (Washington D.C.) –The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling to uphold nationwide federal subsidies in all 50 states to help people buy healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. 

Opponents had argued that the subsidies should be available only to people in states that set up healthcare exchanges .  Currently 8.7 million Americans receive the subsidies, but the vast majority of those – 6.4 million—are in states that did not set up exchanges. Those 6.4 million people would have lost their subsidies if plaintiffs had prevailed in the case, King v. Burrell.

Chief Justice John Roberts voted with liberal justices to support the law.  Writing the majority decision, Roberts concluded, “Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not destroy them.”


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CONSUMER WATCHDOG BLASTS NO-BID CONTRACTS BY COVERED CALIFORNIA

 

By Miriam Raftery

October 13, 2014 (Sacramento)--Why did Covered California award $184 million in no-bid contracts – including millions to consulting companies with ties to executives on the Covered California board?   For instance, $4.2 million went to the Tori Group, whose founder once worked with Covered California’s executive director, Peter Lee, and other contracts went to a subsidiary of a firm  that Lee once led.


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U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES WOMEN WORKERS CAN BE DENIED COVERAGE FOR BIRTH CONTROL IN FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES

 

5 Catholic justices issue ruling, raising question over lack of religious diversity on the high court

By Miriam Raftery

July 6, 2014 (Washington D.C.)--The Supreme Court decision last week in the Hobby Lobby case is drawing strong reactions across the nation and here in San Diego County—and raising questions over whether the Supreme Court lacks adequate religious diversity.


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SCIENCE AND HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS


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MARCH 31 IS DEADLINE TO SIGN UP FOR HEALTHCARE THROUGH COVERED CALIFORNIA: PENALTIES KICK IN FOR UNINSURED

 

Update: The Obama adminsitration has announced it will extend the deadline for anyone who started applying online before March 31, but was not able to complete an application due to technical difficulties.

By Miriam Raftery

March 23, 2014 (Sacramento) – If you don’t have health insurance, the Affordable Act requires that you purchase it by March 31, or pay stiff fines.  If you’re low income, there are subsidies available to help you afford healthcare for you and your family.

March 31 is also the last day for anyone to sign up for healthcare in 2014 through Covered California (www.coveredca.com) , the new healthcare exchange programs in our state. So far, over 1 million Californians have signed up.

The law requires that you have insurance by March 31, either through Covered California,  private insurance, or another program such as Medicare or  TriCare for veterans.  If you have no health insurance, the penalty will be the greater of the following: 1% of your family income above the tax filing threshold,  or  $285 per family ($95 per adult and $47.50 per child) in 2014. Rates rise steeply over the next two years.


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SURGE IN LAST-MINUTE ENROLLMENTS FOR OBAMACARE

 

Could Obamacare provide impetus for a county hospital in East County?

By Miriam Raftery

December 29, 2013 (Washington D.C.) – Consumers signing up for  new healthcare options or “Obamacare” through Healthcare.gov rose seven-fold in December, when over 975,000 people enrolled.  From October 1 through December 24, a total of 1.1 million people signed up for the new health insurance marketplaces nationwide.  Over a million more signed up through state websites, bringing the total to two-thirds of the 3 million goal set by the White House.

Marilyn Tavenner, administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, called this a “welcome surge in enrollment as millions of Americans seek access to affordable heatlh care coverage,” adding hat the surge came in part because “we met our marks on improving HealthCare.gov.” She added that the site supported 83,000 concurrent users on December 23rd alone before the deadline to sign up for coverage starting January 1.


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HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS


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GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS AS REPUBLICANS AIM TO LET FEDERAL SPENDING EXPIRE UNLESS HEALTHCARE REFORMS ARE REPEALED

 

By Alex Riggins

November 19, 2013 (Washington D.C.) -- Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down the government if they don’t get what they want – the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare", defunded.

The House of Representatives will vote Friday on a bill to fund the government beyond the Sept. 30 budget deadline, but the bill would completely defund the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.


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WORLD REFUGEE DAY HEALTHCARE FAIR DRAWS HUNDREDS

 

 

Event is part of massive roll-out to educate local refugees on new healthcare laws and more

By Miriam Raftery

June 24, 2013 (City Heights) – “This is the largest refugee resettlement community in California and one of the largest in the United States,” Councilmember Marti Emerald said at Somali Family Service Community Healthcare Fair held on World Refugee Day event Saturday in City Heights Community Park, in collaboration with East African Collaborative.


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HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REPEAL AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, ROLL BACK CONSUMER PROTECTIONS

By Miriam Raftery

July 12, 2012 (Washington D.C.) – San Diego’s Republican representatives Duncan Hunter, Brian Bilbray and Darrell issue joined the Republican majority in the House of Representatives in voting to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act—taking health benefits away from their constituents as well as eliminating the mandate for coverage.

California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton sent an email blasting the vote.  “If ever anyone was looking for a reason to vote Congressional Republicans out of office in November, this has got to be it.”


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HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES PREPARE FOR HEALTH CARE CHANGES: NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED

July 5, 2012 (San Diego) -- The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010, will take full effect by 2014. In light of a recent Supreme Court decision ruling the law constitutional, you may wonder how the law will affect California's small businesses.


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SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE AND LEGAL EXPERTS, POLITICAL LEADERS REACT TO SUPREME COURT DECISION UPHOLDING OBAMA HEALTHCARE PLAN


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HOUSE REPUBLICANS STICK TO CAMPAIGN PROMISES BY VOTING TO REPEAL HEALTHCARE REFORM


Senate leaders vow to block repeal--but a Virginia judge declares mandate to buy health insurance unconstitutional

By: Jeremy Los

January 20, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- House Republicans have stuck to their campaign promises and passed a measure to repeal the newly established health care bill. In what was a strictly symbolic vote, since the repeal will most likely die in the Democrat-controlled Senate and would not be signed by President Obama, the House Republicans have sent a strong message to the nation that they mean business.

 

Local Republican representatives Brian Bilbray, Darrell Issa, and Duncan D. Hunter fell in line with conservative cohorts, as every House Republican voted to pass the repeal. On the other side of the aisle local Democratic representatives Bob Filner and Susan Davis voted against the repeal.


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