What the Election Means to the Bleeding Disorder Community
Horizons in Hemophilia, November 2012
By Michelle Putnam, Associate Director of Research and Advocacy
The Affordable Care Act is here to stay. President Obama's re-election and the continuation of Democratic control in the Senate will ensure that the health law moves forward as planned. Buoyed by the election, the White House will waste no time in pushing out the remaining parts of the law, which include expanding coverage, offering tax credits to help pay for insurance premiums, and establishing health exchange marketplaces.
People with bleeding disorders are already benefitting from the most popular parts of the law. These include eliminating lifetime caps, ensuring that children under 19 are not denied because of pre-existing conditions, and allowing dependents under 26 to stay on their parent's insurance plan. Going forward, we will see the pre-existing condition provision expand to adults. In addition, we'll see other parts of the law kick in, including premium tax credits for families and small businesses.
Although much of the law is laid out, Georgia has flexibility in how the law continues to be implemented. Governor Deal will soon decide whether the state will expand Medicaid coverage to people making less than $15,000 a year (or $30,600 for a family of four). 600,000 Georgians, mostly low-wage workers, would gain health coverage under this expansion. It will be paid for entirely by the federal government for the first three years, after which the federal government will pay ninety percent. So far, Governor Deal has repeatedly stated that he will not go forward with this expansion. However, he is facing increased pressure from hospitals and advocates who see it as a way to decrease costly emergency room admissions.
Georgia also has a choice in creating its own health exchange. An exchange is a one-stop shop where people will be able to compare insurance policies, determine whether they qualify for tax credits, and sign up for coverage. In states that do not choose to run their own exchange by the November 16, 2012 deadline, the federal government will step in and run it for them.
For the past few months, policy makers at the state and federal level have been at a standstill, with little progress being made in rolling out further details about the law. Now that the campaign is over, we can return our focus to implementing the law and ensuring that it fulfills its promise of expanding quality coverage and lowering costs. Going forward, lawmakers will want to discuss the federal deficit, which means that some parts of the health law may be subject to change, but overall the major benefits are here to stay. Four years from now, our Presidential nominees will discuss how we can improve the law, not how we can repeal it; and that is a step in the right direction for the bleeding disorder community.