The Affordable Care Act is Working in Texas

[boutons_deux]

While so many Texas conversations around the Affordable Care Act (ACA) revolve around conservatives' baseless political attacks, the facts clearly point to clear successes here in Texas. We've embedded the letter below, but here are some key facts and figures you should know:

7,536,000 - Number of Texans that no longer have a lifetime limit on their health insurance plan thanks to ACA
6,044,690 - Number of Texans helped by health reform's prevention coverage improvements thanks to ACA
5,003,000 - Number of Texans protected by the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) "80-20 Rule" thanks to ACA -- and thanks to your work!
300,731 - Number of young adult Texans that have gained health insurance through their parent's plans thanks to ACA
103,000 - Number of Texas seniors who saved an average of $565 per person in prescription drug costs because of fixes to the infamous Medicare "donut hole" - thanks to ACA
4,029 - Number of Texans who have gained health care coverage through the Pre-existing condition insurance plan thanks to ACA
120 - Number of Texas employers who have received over $425 million in federal support to make early retiree health coverage more affordable, thanks to ACA

Of course, the successes of the Affordable Care Act could never be quantified with numbers alone. In the coming days and weeks, as the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act approaches, we'll be sharing stories from individuals. In the mean time, we hope you use these numbers as pushback the next time conservatives try and tell you that the Affordable Care Act is not working in Texas.

http://progresstexas.org/blog/affordable-care-act-working-texas

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Can RickyBobby and his Repug asshole ideological, venal mafia fuck up ACA in TX? They will certainly "vow" to.

[boutons_deux]

Rick Perry Announces Texas Won’t Implement The Affordable Care Act, Leaving Millions of Texans Uninsured

Early Monday morning, Gov. Rick Perry (R) announced that Texas won’t create a state insurance exchange nor accept expanded Medicaid funds outlined in the Affordable Care Act.

Perry’s announcement is an especially harmful move because Texas will benefit more from the Affordable Care Act than any other state. Texas was recently ranked worst in the country for health care delivery by the federal Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, scoring “weak” or “very weak” in nine of 12 categories. Perry’s office discounted the study as overly broad, and has argued that Texans’ real problem is personal health choices, not lack of health insurance.

More than 25 percent of Texans – 6,234,900 people – are uninsured, the highest rate in the nation. After five years of the Affordable Care Act, Texas would be able to insure 1,798,314 more Americans under the Medicaid expansion alone – more than any state in the nation. Setting up a state health insurance exchange would enable the remaining millions of uninsured Texans to purchase affordable health insurance. Thus, despite Perry’s claims, implementing the Affordable Care Act results in better patient protection and in more affordable care.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/07/09/512671/texas-wont-implement-obamacare/

[mercos]

Not setting up the exchanges is no big deal, as I believe if the states don't do it the federal government will. In the case of Texas, that may be for the best. Turning down the Medicaid expansion sucks, because it would have helped a lot of people. I'm not from Texas, and all I know of Rick Perry is what I saw in the primaries. Can't say I was to impressed by him. After doing this, I'm even less impressed.

[belindaB]

Exchanges are new organizations that will be set up to create a more organized and competitive market for buying health insurance. They will offer a choice of different health plans, certifying plans that participate and providing information to help consumers better understand their options.

[belindaB]

The Affordable Care Act is a health care law that aims to improve our current health care system by increasing access to health coverage for Americans and introducing new protections for people who have health insurance. Part of the Affordable Care Act is the creation of “health care trades". No wonder, Defiant states may get stuck with federal health care exchanges (http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2012/08/08/health-care-exchanges/). The trades will essentially be online areas where individuals can shop for health insurance. The states are supposed to create them, but those that don't will get a federal exchange enforced on them.