Giving the Sick A Fighting Chance ObamaCares

September   23, 2011

One   Year Later: Patient’s Bills of Rights Provides America’s Families with   Health Care Freedoms Millions of Children with pre-existing Conditions   Protected From Discrimination, Millions of Seniors Already Receiving Help   With Prescription Drugs

One year ago today, the Affordable Care Act’s “Patient’s Bill of   Rights” went into effect, putting families, not insurance companies, in   control of their health care and providing new health care freedoms for   everyone from children to young adults to seniors. Thanks to the “Patient’s Bill of Rights”: Children under the age of 19 with pre-existing conditions and pregnant   women are freed from discrimination by insurers, Young adults have the freedom to stay on their parents’ insurance plan   until the age of 26, Families are free from worry about unreasonable premium increases, annual   limits, and losing their insurance when a family member gets sick, And seniors have more freedom to get the prescription drugs and   preventative care they need. Today, Americans are seeing a difference and health reform is providing   lower costs and better health care coverage. Here’s a look at the   numbers: Up to 17 million children with pre-existing conditions are   protected from discrimination Over 500,000 additional young people gained health care   insurance 165 million Americans with private insurance are now   protected from lifetime and annual limits on their coverage 1.3 million seniors have received a 50% discount on brand   name drugs, collectively saving over $650 million in   out-of-pocket costs 19 million seniors have already received one or more   preventative services 1.3 million seniors have taken advantage of a free Annual   Wellness visit 4 million small businesses are eligible for tax credits if   they offer coverage to their employees While Democrats are committed to reining in health care costs and   protecting patients, Republicans have repeatedly voted to roll back these new   health care freedoms and still have not offered a solution for skyrocketing   health care costs and unfair insurance company practices. In addition,   Republicans voted several times to end Medicare, raise health care costs and   balance the budget on the backs of seniors. We hope they’ll abandon their   partisan agenda and work with us to ensure all Americans can access   affordable health coverage, strengthen Medicare and reduce the deficit in a   balanced way. Click here to read the pdf.