http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRPHHAIAtks&feature=player_embedded
video from 2008 with movie starts still good
facts and figures page
http://healthreform.kff.org/timeline.aspx
http://www.standupforhealthcare.org/learn-more/multimedia
video from kaiser good overview
http://www.standupforhealthcare.org/healthcare-bill-facts
body parts what does the law do for you
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/23/behalf-my-mother
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/10/21/president-obama-it-gets-better
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/22/what-change-looks
Medicare agency unveils massive plan to comply with healthcare reform law
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medicare/135023-medicare-agency-unveils-massive-plan-to-comply-with-healthcare-reform-law?page=2#comments
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Health Care Overview Myths
http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/myths-and-facts
cool video of rewalk device
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-israeli-device-paralyzed-people.html
Myth
Health reform will lead to massive tax increases and kill jobs
Fact
Not true. The Affordable Care Act includes tax credits to help make health care affordable for working families. Small businesses can begin claiming tax credits to help provide insurance to their employees this year. All told, the Affordable Care Act includes the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in American history. Additionally, independent experts predict that the new law will create jobs - estimated at more than 250,000 per year.
This bill does nothing to bring down the cost of health care.
Not true. The Congressional Budget Office found that health insurance reform will reduce the deficit by over $100 billion in this decade and by more than $1 trillion over the following 10 years.
Myth
Businesses will suffer under health reform
Fact
Health insurance reform lowers costs for American businesses - especially small businesses. The independent Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the bill would lower health insurance premiums for the same insurance plan by up to 4 percent for small businesses and 3 percent for large businesses, and the Business Roundtable estimated that provisions to help bend the health care cost curve like those in the bill could save $3,000 per person in health costs.
Myth
The small business tax credits won't actually provide relief.
Fact
Small businesses will receive $40 billion in new tax credits to help cover the cost of health coverage for their employees. The tax credit is designed to both support those small businesses that provide coverage today as well as new businesses who decide to provide coverage. Effective immediately, the tax credit is worth up to 35 percent of the premiums a business pays to cover its workers and in 2014, the value of the credit will increase to 50 percent. An estimated 4 million small businesses will be eligible to receive these tax credits.
http://mainstreetalliance.org/wordpress/3113/sept-23-changes-help-small-businesses/
Myth
Reform will cut Medicare for Seniors
Fact
The new law will not cut benefits for seniors; the same protections that Medicare beneficiaries have now will be there in the future. In fact, the Affordable Care Act will add benefits such as free prevention coverage, an annual wellness visit and a phase-out of the Medicare donut hole. In addition, by reducing waste, fraud, and abuse and cracking down on overpayments, the law will lower premiums, reduce cost sharing, and extend the life of the Medicare trust fund by 12 years.
Myth
Seniors will not have access to Medicare Advantage plans
Fact
Not true. Today, Medicare pays Medicare Advantage insurance companies over $1,000 more per person on average than Original Medicare. These additional payments are paid for in part by increased premiums by all Medicare beneficiaries - including the 77 percent of seniors not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. The new law levels the playing field by gradually eliminating Medicare Advantage overpayments to insurance companies. There is no provision in this legislation that caps or reduces Medicare Advantage enrollment; access to competitive, high-quality Medicare Advantage plans will continue.
Myth
The new law extends coverage to illegal immigrants
Fact
Absolutely not. Under the Affordable Care Act, undocumented immigrants are not able to enter the exchanges to purchase coverage nor are they able to obtain tax credits to purchase insurance. Undocumented immigrants will receive absolutely no assistance from the government.
Health reform will lead to a government takeover of health care.
False. The Affordable Care Act puts people, not health insurance companies or government, in charge of health care. The new law strengthens the existing employer-based health insurance market while making the market fair for consumers by implementing landmark consumer protections. Families and individuals that don't have access to affordable coverage can receive tax credits to help them purchase coverage in the private health insurance market. There is no government-sponsored, public, or "single payer" plan in the law.
You will be forced to purchase insurance you can't afford.
False. The Affordable Care Act will make health insurance affordable for everyone, with tax credits for those who need help buying coverage and a hardship waiver for those who still can't afford it. This ensures that everyone is protected from bankruptcy and has access to care. It also reduces the "hidden tax" that people with insurance pay to cover the health care costs of people without insurance. Otherwise the cost of caring for the uninsured will continue to be shifted to people with insurance, as it is today.
Health insurance reform will use my tax dollars to fund abortions.
Fact
No. The health insurance reform legislation maintains the status quo of no federal funding for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the woman is endangered.
Myth: The reform is 90% coverage and only 10% cost control.
"Many provisions will reduce the amount of spending on health care," Dr. Emanuel pointed out. The greatest reductions will come from the following reductions in spending:
- Cutting overpayment to Medicare Advantage ($136 billion)
- Reduction of payment update factor ($196 billion)
- Administrative simplification ($20 billion)
- Use of generic biologics ($7 billion)
- Enforcement of fraud and abuse laws ($3 billion)
- Payment change for complex imaging procedures ($1.2 billion)
In addition, other provisions will slow the growth rate in spending, including the "Cadillac tax" (an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans), patient-centered outcomes research, hospital 30-day admission policy (ie, penalties imposed when patients are readmitted due to inadequate care), reduction in hospital-acquired infections and other nosocomial conditions, and use of medical homes, accountable care organizations, and bundled payments.
Myth: Even if passed, the cost control provisions will not be implemented.
"Au contraire," Dr. Emanuel said, pointing out the following provisions:
- Reducing payment for high-cost imaging services is in the 2011 Medicare physician fee schedule
- Reducing payment updates for outpatient, hospital, and ambulatory surgical centers is in the 2011 Outpatient Hospital Prospective Payment Rules
- Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules compel Congress not to add to the federal deficit when instituting new spending or tax changes.
Myth: Health-care reform will cost Americans.
"Reform will not add to the budget or budget deficit," he emphasized, citing over $100 billion in savings. He noted that unlike Medicare Part D, health-care reform is "completely, totally paid for" with new resources and offsets. "Health-care reform is likely to be even cheaper than anticipated if cost controls work and health-care inflation is lower, reducing Medicare and Medicaid outlays and subsidies," he added. "I think these reforms will have a synergistic effect."
Myth: All the important parts of reform do not happen until 2014 or later.
"This is partly true," Dr. Emanuel acknowledged. "But if hospitals, physicians, insurers, and others behave like my Harvard undergraduates, and wait until the night before the due date and pull an all-nighter, they will fail, and fail miserably." Changes, therefore, were gradually initiated even prior to the Act's passage.
Debunking More Myths on the Affordable Care Act and Small Business
Posted by Stephanie Cutter on May 27, 2010 at 07:35 PM EST
Today, an
opinion piece in the
Wall Street Journal misstates many provisions of the
Affordable Care Act and fails to mention the many ways the new law will improve our health care system for small business owners and their employees. Here are the facts:
Bringing Down Costs, Reducing the Deficit
Without reform, health care costs will continue to crush business and government budgets. The Affordable Care Act reverses this trend. Americans buying comparable coverage to what they have today in the individual market would see premiums fall by 14 to 20 percent. The total cost of care provided to Americans who get their insurance through the workplace could fall by as much as $3,000 a person and lower costs will make it easier for businesses to provide quality benefits to their employees. And the Congressional Budget Office has also confirmed that the Affordable Care Act will reduce the deficit by more than $100 billion by the end of the decade and lead to even greater deficit reduction in the next decade.
Cost Reduction and Tax Credits for Small Business
An estimated 4 million small businesses nationwide could qualify for a small business tax credit this year, which will provide a total of $40 billion in relief for small firms over the next 10 years. These tax credits are specifically targeted to the small firms that find it hardest to provide insurance to their workers. Qualifying for the credits isn’t difficult, nor does it require small business owners to fill out a long series of new forms. You can learn more about the tax credits
here.
But tax credits aren’t the only way small businesses will benefit from the Affordable Care Act. A number of reforms in the new law will bring down premiums and health care costs for all Americans. Those reforms include rewarding providers for providing high-quality care and fighting waste, fraud and abuse. The new law also gives small businesses access to Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Exchanges. Currently, small businesses pay 18 percent more in premiums and higher administrative costs than large businesses. SHOP exchanges will expand the purchasing power of small businesses and the Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that they will help drive premiums down.
Requiring Insurance Companies to Pay Their Fair Share
Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies will have access to millions of new customers, many of whom will receive support from the federal government to purchase private insurance. With insurance companies reaping such a substantial benefit, it’s only right for them to pay their fair share and do their part to reform and improve our health care system. An analysis of the impact of reform legislation on insurance premiums by the Congressional Budget Office found that the impact of insurance industry fees on small firms would be “modest,” and that even after accounting for these fees, small group plans will face lower premiums to purchase health insurance coverage.
Reporting Requirements
Beginning in 2013, the new law includes provisions requiring new information reporting on the purchase of certain goods. Some in the business community have expressed concerns with this provision and the IRS is looking for every way to minimize any burden on businesses and avoid duplicative reporting. For example, the IRS has already indicated that transactions done with a credit or debit card will be exempt from this provision, so whenever a business uses a credit card for a purchase, there will be no reporting requirement under the new law. The IRS is working diligently to answer questions on this provision and will consider alternate approaches and continue to seek out input and comments from small businesses in the weeks and months ahead.
The Bottom Line
The Affordable Care Act will bring down costs and improve health care for all Americans – including small business owners and their employees. You can learn more about the benefits of the new law for small businesses by clicking
here.
Six Ways Health Reform will Help Small Businesses
Small businesses want to provide health coverage for their workers, but they face extraordinary challenges in doing so, including premiums that are 18 percent higher on average than large businesses pay for the same coverage. Health reform legislation signed by the President includes a number of important benefits to help make coverage more affordable:
Establishes a Small Business Health Care Tax Credit to Help Small Businesses Afford the Cost of Covering Their Workers.
- Status Quo: Small Businesses Face High Costs in Providing Health Insurance to Their Employees Small businesses face higher costs and few incentives to offer health insurance coverage to employees.
- Solution: A New Tax Credit Takes Effect Immediately to Help Cover Premiums Small Businesses Pay.The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit can cover up to 35 percent of the premiums a small business pays to cover its workers. In 2014, the rate will increase to 50 percent. See the postcard sent out by the IRS to many small business owners below and learn more from the White House fact sheet.
Creates Health Insurance Exchanges to Increase Bargaining Power and Reduce Administrative Costs
- Status Quo: Small Businesses Have Little Bargaining Power, Face High Administrative Costs. Currently, small businesses face not only premiums that are 18 percent higher than large businesses pay, but also face higher administrative costs to set up and maintain a health plan. The premiums they pay have 3 to 4 times as much administrative cost built into them as plans in the large group market. They are also at a disadvantage in negotiating with insurance companies because they lack bargaining power.
- Solution: Health Insurance Exchanges will Provide More Choice, Lower Prices, and Greater Bargaining Power for Firms with up to 100 Employees. Health reform will change this dynamic. Starting by 2014, firms with 100 or fewer workers will be able pool their buying power and reduce administrative costs by purchasing insurance through an exchange. According to CBO, coverage that small businesses purchased through an exchange “would have lower administrative costs, on average, than the policies those firms would buy under current law, particularly for very small firms.”
Ends Price Discrimination against Small Businesses with Sick Workers
- Status Quo: Small Businesses with Sick Worker Face Higher Prices, Sudden Price Increases. Currently, small businesses with just one sick worker can face significantly higher premiums, and having a worker fall ill can lead to a precipitous price increase -- raising premiums just when insurance is needed most.
- Solution: Ending Price Discrimination Based on Illness. Health reform will end this price discrimination. Starting in 2014, “community rating” rules will prohibit insurers from charging more to cover small businesses with sicker workers or raising rates when someone gets sick.
Increases Health Care Security to Unlock Entrepreneurship
- Status Quo: Health Insurance Insecurity Creates “Job Lock,” which Inhibits Entrepreneurship. Our current health care system inhibits entrepreneurship and small business formation by locking workers -- especially those with families or with any sort of health problem --into jobs at large firms that offer family coverage and have a big enough risk pool to absorb the cost of covering pre-existing conditions. This “job lock” causes many workers to stay at large firms even if they would be more productive working at a small business or becoming an entrepreneur.
- Solution: Health Security Empowers Entrepreneurship. By providing health security for every American and eliminating exclusions for pre-existing conditions and price discrimination against those who are sick, health reform will make it easier for small businesses to attract the best workers and easier for entrepreneurs to strike out on their own.
Reduces the Hidden Tax on Small Business Employees with Health Insurance
- Status Quo: Hidden Tax Adds $1,000 to Every Premium. Currently, the cost of treating the uninsured adds a “hidden tax” of over $1,000 to every health care premium.
- Solution: Reduce Hidden Tax by Dramatically Expanding Coverage. Health reform will significantly reduce this tax by covering an additional 32 million additional Americans by 2019.
Reduces Premiums in the Small Group Market.
- Status Quo: Higher Premiums Mean Coverage Is Unaffordable for Small Businesses. In a recent national survey, nearly three-quarters of small businesses that did not offer benefits cited high premiums as the reason.
- Solution: Health Reform Will Lower Costs, Making Coverage More Affordable. Taken together, the measures described above will significantly reduce premiums for small businesses. According to CBO, health reform will reduce the cost of a given plan in the small group market by 1-4 percent by 2016.
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New Analysis Shows Families Are Benefitting from Health Reform Law
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/10/new-analysis-shows-families-are-benefitting-health-reform-law
Health Reform Wins Another Round in Court
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/08/health-reform-wins-another-round-court
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/10/truth-about-health-care-waivers
health
http://www.investingindiscovery.com/documents/view.html
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/cost_containment.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec10/masshealth_11-15.html
New Medicare/Medicaid Projects Aimed At Cheaper, Better Care
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/November/17/cms-innovation-center-berwick.aspx
A Hospital Chief’s Tough Task In Tough Times: Cut Costs, Improve Quality
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/health/healthreform/
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/11/new-medicare-center-aims-to-test-ideas-to-save-money-improve-care.html
health care and smal business
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diDjaccjmyo&feature=related
do a search for how health care addresses mental health needs
Obama Signs Bill on Student Loans and Health Care
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/obama-signs-bill-on-student-loans-health-care/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X18Zax0XDus&feature=channel
seniors
Little Dresses for Africa is a non-profit organization that makes little dresses out of pillow cases and distributes them to the little girls in Central Africa through orphanages and villages, to plant in their hearts that they are worthy. They are not just sending little dresses, they are sending hope.
Apple Needs to Make it in America
