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For Immediate Release
September 17, 2010
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For more information,
contact:
Greg White
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| Consumers for Affordable Health Care
Points to Annual Report Numbers
as Need for National
Health Care
Reform .
The U.S. Census
Bureau finds that the number of America's
uninsured increased
for the first time since 1987.
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(AUGUSTA)- Consumers for Affordable Health
Care (CAHC) cites a recently released annual report by
The U.S. Census Bureau as evidence that health
reform was needed in 2009 more than ever. The U.S. Census
Bureau report, Income, Poverty, and Health
Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009
(http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.pdf) found that the number of
uninsured
people nationally increased for the
first time since 1987 (the first year comparable data
were collected). The two year average of Mainers who were
uninsured rose to 10.3% in 2008-09, an increase of 1.2%
from 2006-07 totals. Although the overall number
of Mainers without insurance is still under
the national average of 16%, the fact that Maine
saw any increase is troublesome and a trend
that many advocates hope will end with further
implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
"It's also not surprising, in these tough
economic times, that the number of people with private
and employer based coverage is decreasing while the
number of people qualifying for Medicaid or
Medicare is increasing. People are finding it
increasingly difficult to afford premiums for private
coverage, especially coverage that often doesn't
meet their medical needs, and businesses are finding it
increasingly difficult to continue to offer health
insurance as a benefit to employees. The reforms
offered as part of the Affordable Care Act will help
reverse these trends over the next several years as the
Act is implemented," says Mia Poliquin Pross,
CAHC's Director of Policy and
Operations.
The Affordable Care Act will celebrate its
six month anniversary on September 23 and many of the
Act's provisions go into effect on that date. Some
of the provisions that are already in effect or that go
into effect this month include:
- Many young adults under age 26 will be
able to stay on their parents' health plan rather than
go uninsured
- Health insurance companies will be held
more accountable to keep down premiums and end
discrimination and abuses
- More people will have access to
preventive care without paying out-of-pocket expenses,
enabling them to stay healthy and out of costly
emergency rooms
- Many small businesses will qualify for
tax credits this year to help them pay for coverage for
employees, with 23,000 small businesses eligible in
Maine alone
- Seniors hitting
the prescription drug coverage gap (a.k.a. the
donut hole) will get an automatic $250 rebate to help
with drug costs this year, and the gap will slowly close
over
time "Further improvements happen in 2014 when
Mainers will have access to a new competitive health
insurance market through an Exchange. The Exchange
will give more individuals and small businesses
access to quality, affordable coverage. This will
help people stay healthy and start to drive down
costs in our system," says Poliquin
Pross. |
Consumers for Affordable
Health Care
is a non-profit, non-partisan
organization that has been helping Maine people get
quality, affordable health care for more than 20
years. If you have any public or private insurance
questions please call our toll free consumer HelpLine at
1-800-965-7476.
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