Your New Rights! A Blog Carnival Celebrating New Healthcare Rights For Families
Posted September 23rd, 2010 by Kristin Rowe-FinkbeinerWhile some politicians, pundits, and prognosticators have taken to the airwaves to claim that the Affordable Care Act is too complicated, cumbersome, and doomed to failure; people who are actually affected by the new law are excited about its implementation. How do we know that? They’re telling us.
MomsRising invited moms, dads, and grandparents, as well as bloggers, elected officials, and organizational leaders and others to share their thoughts and feelings about health reform on our web site. The response has been overwhelming. Across the country, families are breathing a collective sigh of relief knowing that loved ones who were previously unable to get health care or who were in danger of being cut off from health care will be able to get the treatment they need.
Today marks not only the six month anniversary of this important law, but also the day that a number of provisions go into effect that will curb health insurance industries worst abuses. These new provisions include:
* A ban on insurance companies discriminating against kids with pre-existing conditions;
* A ban on insurance companies dropping people from coverage when they get sick;
* And, a ban on insurance companies putting a lifetime limit on the amount of coverage they provide, so families can live with the security of knowing that their coverage will be there when they need it most.
These provisions are already making a huge difference in the lives of so many families in our nation, families whose voices are rarely heard but who’ve been struggling to meet the healthcare needs of their families, and they can now sleep better at night.
Check out these moving personal experiences here. And take a moment (or two moments) to read these wonderful blogs from parents, policy experts, and other opinion leaders.
*Check out the links below and leave your thoughts in the comments below! We look forward to hearing from you. And feel free to share the link to this blog carnival far & wide so others can learn more about their new rights too.
Today we celebrate new protections for health insurance consumers and we look forward to seeing this important law realize its promise to help keep our families and our nation healthier. And to the politicians, pundits and prognosticators who want to repeal and defund this law, we say, “No way, no how!”
General Overview
*Six Months of the Affordable Care Act: Real rights, real protections, real benefits for real people, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
*10 Major New Health Reform Benefits Take Effect Today, Rep. John Larson
*Women Will Steer the Fate of Health Reform, Dora Calott Wang, MD
*What Will it Take to Get Health Insurance?, Athena Jones
*Putting the Law on Your Side: Six Month Health Care Law Anniversary, Stephanie Drahan and Thao Nguyen
Six Months Later: Top 10 Updates on Healthcare Reform and Implementation, Medicine e-Learning
The Cartoon Version of Health Reform, Health Access
Health Reform Implementation Timeline, Kaiser Family Foundation
Understanding the Health Insurance Exchange, Matthew Reiman
Children
*Kids Don’t Have to Wait – Connecting Kids to Coverage Event Makes Case for Enrolling Kids Now, Jocelyn Guyer
*Increasing Poverty and Lack of Insurance Underscore Need to Keep Affordable Care Act Strong, Jocelyn Guyer
*Key Provisions of the Affordable Care Act Addressing Infant Mortality, Brent Ewig
*Children’s Lives Will Be Changed for the Better, Lisa Shapiro
Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan Announce National Coalition to Enroll Uninsured Kids in Health Care
COVERAGE: Everything You Need to Know About Dependents, Kavita Patel
Young Adults
*Young Invincibles- What Getting Covered Means for Young People, Aaron Smith
*Anger, Threats and Fear - six months later, Dawn Comer Jefferson
Implementing Health Reform: Young Adult Coverage, Timothy Jost
Health-care reform will help young adults get coverage, Timothy Chapman, Althea Fung, Allison Chopin
Special needs
Healthcare Reform is a Necessity, Not an Option, Laura Tellado
Health Care Reform: What Does it Mean for the Autism Community?
Health Care Reform: How Does it Affect People with Diabetes?, Kerri
Impact of Health Reform on Patient Mental Health Needs, Diana Lee
Pre-existing Conditions
Enrollment of Children with Pre-Existing Conditions
Health Reform Law’s Pre-Existing Condition Plan Kicks In, Elder Law Answers
Interim Final Rule Addresses Eligibility, Premiums For Temporary High-Risk Program, Lauren Bikoff
The Ugly Roommate, Goldie Taylor
Business
Federal Health Reform: Impact on Small- and Medium-Sized Employers, Ashley Cohen, MPH
Report: Help On the Way for Small Business Employers and Employees, Stephen Majors
Health Reform is Good for Small Business Employees, Kate Pickert
Diagnosing President Obama’s Health Reform Bill: How Will Dem Plan Change New Yorkers’ Lives?, David Saltonstall
Parent Voices
*For All the Worrying Moms and Dads…, Donna Norton
*My Backyard Meeting with President Obama, Dawn Josephson
*Health Benefits Can Provide Real Benefits for My Friends Peter, Greta and baby Thomas, Ashley Boyd
How the “Affordable Care Act” Could Benefit All Mamas on Bedrest, Darline Turner-Lee
*Why Can’t Health Reform Be Sexy?, Gloria Riesgo
*Will Work For Health Reform, Xochitl Oseguera
*Families Need More Health Care Options, Dariela Cruz
*Mama Grizzlies for Health Reform (Heck Yah, We’re All Mama Grizzlies for our kids), Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
We’re improving people’s lives. If we don’t lose heart, the public will notice, Harold Pollack
Latinos
*Puerto Rico: Now, It’s the Island’s Turn to Work on Health Care, Natalia Bonilla
*Tenemos Que Seguir Luchando Por La Reforma de Seguro Médico, Luz Villafana
*The Fine Line, Liz Cerezo
Obama and Latinos Post Health Care Reform, Marcela Sanchez
Servicios de prevención gratis bajo nueva ley de salud, Vanessa Hand Orellana
Evelyn Rivera Speaks About Disparity in Health Care for the Hispanic Community, Hispanic Ohio
Lifetime and Annual Limits
The New Health Care Law and Annual and Lifetime Coverage Limits, Susan Jaffe
Three Terrifying Words: Lifetime Maximum Benefit, Timothy Foley
HHS Releases Guidance on Prohibition of Annual Limits, Mental Health Care Reform
Seniors
Seniors: Health Care Reform FACTS Regarding Medicare, Sharon Shaw Elrod
Health Care Reform: Early Retiree Reinsurance Program, Susan M. Nash, Amy M. Gordon, Joanna C. Kerpen
The Affordable Care Act’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program
California
*California is Blazing a Trail On Establishing Health Insurance Exchange Under ACA, Michael Odeh and Kristen Golden Testa
*How will passage of Health Care Reform Act impact CA public health?, Kevin Reilly
*Health Care Reform and Breastfeeding, Saray Hill
*Banner Day for Nation’s Children, Wendy Lazarus
*A Doctor’s Rx For Healthy Children, Laura Mabie, MD
California Children’s Health Initiatives Success Stories, CCHI
Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan now accepting applications, Cliff Sarkin
Need Health Insurance for Your Child?, Children Now
*Post featured on the MomsRising blog. Click these posts and leave your thoughts in the comments– we’d love to hear from you. Thanks!
19 Comments
September 23, 2011 at 4:03 pm by alex dIf your going to have Medicare Supplemental Insrance you should think about what you value most in your health plan find the plan that fits your needs the best.
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November 11, 2010 at 11:52 am by Health Care Reform MedicaidNice to see some personal stories about the affects of health care reform. It’s just the beginning of many twists and turns to come till we have the right form of health care for our country.
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September 25, 2010 at 12:09 am by Kim UsherI am not sure if the Healthcare Bill stops preexisting conditions. It makes a fine for doing it at $100 a day. That’s alot cheaper then a kidney.
And today I learned that the Bill also has a 3.8% sales tax included on the Sale of your Home.
The same with Senate Bill S.510, supposed to be for food safety, but not. It’s for Monsanto and their likes to control the food supply. It is not a coincidence that Michael Taylor, former FDA policy maker who brought us Aspartame and GMOs, will be our Govs. Food Czar. When Taylor left the FDA he became VP at Monsanto, a lawyer for Monsanto and a lobbyist for yup…He also wrote this bill….It changes basic law, through USC Code and Federal Law, from “Death or serious harm to humans and animals” to “reason to believe”…We will never win a court case if we have a problem with this…As whatever the FDA believes is the law.If you care for the health of yourself or your family call your senator.
This is the telephone number for the United States Senate 202-224-3121, what ever state you live in – the operator will direct you to your Senator’s office, even if you don’t know your Senator’s name, tell them which state you live in . They all have message machines on the ready 24/7. Leave your name, and tell them NO WAY, NO Industry take over and FDA/Monsanto control of our nutrition and health. We are big kids we can take care of ourselves.
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Anita Reply:
October 14th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
@Kim – There’s more information on pre-existing conditions and how they’ll be dealt with here: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/question-of-the-week-is-my-now-healed-sports-injury/
A policy expert at FamiliesUSA wrote this post for folks who have questions about how pre-existing conditions will affect coverage and how insurance companies will deal with them.
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I like your point view on Equality and women and i am doing a paper on that same topic and i was wondering if could interview you through e-mail. That would be really lovely i would like for you to answer some question please get back with me about that.
Thank you
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September 20, 2010 at 10:46 pm by Laura TelladoHere I am again, this time to share the link to my blog post tonight, which I hope you will include in your Healthcare Blog Carnival!
My blog is “Holdin’ Out for a Hero,” and this post is titled “Health care reform is a necessity, not an option.”
http://holdinoutforahero.org/?p=2320
Thanks! =)
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Anita Reply:
September 21st, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Thank you for writing and sharing your experience, Laura! Great post.
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I forgot to state that my blog is located at http://www.mamasonbedrest.com/blog and How the “Affordable Care Act” Could Benefit All Mamas on Bedrest” is located at http://www.mamasonbedrest.com/2010/07.
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Anita Reply:
September 21st, 2010 at 12:26 pm
@Darline – Thank you for sharing your blog and this informative post! And many thanks for sharing about the blog carnival on Twitter and Facebook. The more families that know about and use these resources, the better! Let us know what your readers think of the post you shared with us!
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Hello Everyone,
I run a company that serves high risk pregnant women called Mamas on Bedrest & Beyond. As part of disseminating information, I write a regular blog and post fairly regular podcasts.
In July of this year I wrote a blog post describing how the Affordable Care Act’s Homecare Grants for Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood intervention could go a long way towards helping reduce both maternal and infant mortality in this country. Currently the United States has some of the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the world, and leading those numbers are the mortality rates of African American women. While home visits won’t be a panacea, I do believe that they will be a start towards improving care to women and children and reducing maternal and infant mortality rates.
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September 20, 2010 at 7:18 pm by Laura TelladoHi everyone! My blog in general deals with many health care-related issues, because it is where I chronicle my life with Spina Bifida and my mission to find a public spokesperson to champion the cause.
“Holdin’ Out for a Hero” addresses the whole gamut of health care topics as they relate to SB, including bladder/bowel issues, paralysis, stem cell research, hydrocephalus, mental health and wellness, and one issue that I’ve found particularly disturbing of late, the abortion of children diagnosed with SB, even in the later months of pregnancy.
Please join me as I attempt to shed a bright light on some of the most critical issues to our society pertaining to SB.
http://holdinoutforahero.org/
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September 20, 2010 at 4:42 pm by Jennifer L.Short blog post on Mike Huckabee’s callous and tone-deaf comments to the “Value” Voters last week: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=153743191314135
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Anita Reply:
September 20th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
@Jennifer L.- Thanks for sharing! And feel free to copy the text of that comment on over here.
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Study Links Fluoride to Pre-term Birth and Anemia in Pregnancy
Fluoride avoidance reduced anemia in pregnant women, decreased pre-term births and enhanced babies birth-weight, concludes leading fluoride expert, AK Susheela and colleagues, in a study published in Current Science (May 2010). http://www.fluorideandfluorosis.com/Anemia/Current%20Science%20Reprint.pdf
Susheela’s team explains that anemia in pregnancy, which can lead to maternal and infant mortality, continues to plague many countries despite nutritional counseling and maternal iron and folic acid supplementation. This is the first examination of fluoride as an additional risk factor for anemia and low-birth-weight babies.
Fluoride chemicals are added to 70% of US public water supplies and is in virtually 100% of the US food and beverage suppl.
Anemic pregnant women living in India, whose urine contained 1 mg/L fluoride or more, were separated into two groups. The experimental group avoided fluoride in water, food and other sources and ate a nutritious diet per instruction. The control group received no instructions. Both groups supplemented with iron and folic acid.
Results reveal that anemia was reduced and pre-term and low-birth-weight babies were considerably fewer in the fluoride-avoidance group as compared to the control. Two stillbirths occurred in the control group, none in the experimental group.
Susheela et al. writes, “Maternal and child under-nutrition and anemia is not necessarily due to insufficient food intake but because of
the derangement of nutrient absorption due to damage caused to GI (gastrointestinal) mucosa by ingestion of undesired chemical substances, viz. fluoride through food, water and other sources.”
Fluoride avoidance regenerated the intestinal lining which enhanced the absorption of nutrients as evidenced by the reduction in
urinary fluoride followed by rise in hemoglobin levels, they report.
Could the same thing be happening in the United States? State University of New York researchers found more premature births in fluoridated than non-fluoridated upstate New York communities, according to a presentation made at the 2009 American Public Health Association’s annual meeting.
Previous published research shows fluoride can
interfere with the reproductive system (http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/repro).
Susheela writes in the journal Fluoride, “Where the use of fluoride has been promoted, women who are pregnant may find our protocol equally beneficial for preventing anemia and ensuring a normal, healthy birth outcome.”
Current Science reports that adverse reactions of fluoride consumption are known to occur including
reducing red blood cells, reducing blood folic acid activity, inhibiting vitamin B12 production and the nonabsorption
of nutrients for hemoglobin biosynthesis.
“Citizens must demand that water fluoridation be stopped,” says attorney Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. “It’s disturbing that public-health officials and organized dentistry continue to ignore the overwhelming evidence revealing fluoride to be non-nutritive, unnecessary and unsafe,” says Beeber.
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