40 WAYS OBAMACARE IMPROVES LIVES

So the GOP has now voted to repeal Obamacare 40 times. To mark the occassion the White House just released the 40 ways Obamacare is working to improve lives in America. You'll understand why I italicized #16 below when you click here ...

1. Say goodbye to lifetime limits: Insurance companies will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on coverage.
2. Children can no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
3. Starting in 2014, adults will no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
Free preventive care, including:
4. Annual check-ups
5. Contraception
6. Vaccinations
7. Gestational diabetes screenings
8. Mammograms
9. Screening and counselling for HIV
10. Cholesterol screenings
11. Colonoscopies
12. Blood pressure screenings
13. Cancer screenings
14. Osteoporosis screenings
15. Young adults can stay on their parents' insurance plans until the age of 26.
16. If insurance companies aren't spending your premium dollars on your health care—at least 80 percent—they've got to give you some money back.

17. Insurance companies can't raise your rates by double-digits without justification.
18. Insurance plans can’t require higher co-payments or co-insurance if you get emergency care from an out-of-network hospital.
19. Women will no longer be charged more than men just because they're women.
20. The health insurance marketplace will be ready to go in every state starting October 1 of this year.
21. No-hassle comparisons: The online marketplace provides easy access to information on all available plans, so you can do a side-by-side comparison and find a plan that works for you.
22. Many Americans will be eligible for financial assistance to help them buy health insurance on their own, so you can afford a plan that will be there if you get sick.
23. When you buy insurance through the marketplace, premiums can be determined based only on these four factors: where you live, how old your are, how large your family is, and whether or not you are a smoker.
24. In the marketplace, you can choose a plan that matches your budget and needs: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze.
25. By 2020, the Medicare prescriptions drug "donut hole" will be closed for good.
These are the essential benefits that all health plans in the marketplace must cover:
26. Ambulatory patient services
27. Emergency services
28. Hospitalization
29. Prenatal care
30. Neonatal care
31. Mental health services
32. Prescription drugs
33. Rehabilitative services and devices
34. Laboratory services like bloodwork
35. Preventive care
36. Wellness services
37. Chronic disease management
38. Pediatric services, including oral and vision care
39. Lower prescription drug costs for people on Medicare.
40. These states are already foreseeing dramatic drops in premiums: New York, California, Nevada, Connecticut, Oregon.

If you couldn't make it through all 40 just imagine what's (not) happening in our GOP-led Congress, where their obstructionism has them preparing to vote against Obamacare for the 41st time.

 - Mark