Social Work Blog Social work updates from NASW
September 23 marked the 18 – month anniversary since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). New census numbers showed 500,000 more young adults have insurance than last year because of the ACA provision that lets parents keep their children on their plans until they are 26 years old. In addition, 18.9 million seniors have already taken advantage of the free preventive care services provided by the ACA. NASW is pleased that the ACA is working and getting more Americans covered.
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I work in a Prmary Care Center funded largely by Medicaid and Medicare and other federal grants (though we do have private pay and self-pay patients as well). The lovely woman sitting in front of me cried in gratitude for having health care for the first time in years since she lost her job and health insurance due to her health conditions; she now has WV Connect. The Affordable Care Act is already helping some Americans “on the ground” and real people are living longer and better because of it.
The so-called Affordable Care Act is forcing private insurance premiums higher and higher. The so-called “free” preventive services have also contributed to higher private insurance premiums. This is merely a thinly-veiled effort to force the market into an involuntary government-run single payer third party payer system.
Our Emergency Departments are already overrun with a combination of uninsured persons, illegal aliens and insured persons who can’t get in to see their own doctors. In countries with government-sponsored single payer plans, the ED is the highest point of penetration in their health care systems. England’s National Health Service is broke and cutting more and more services to save money. They are also looking at allowing privately-paid providers to supplement the system.
Working in health care quality, I can report the increasing governmental oversight for Medicare and Medicaid providers is driving the dollars AWAY from care and to the oversight functions. Who benefits? NO ONE.