Already, children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage, and 2.5 million young people have gained insurance by staying on their parents’ health plans. More than 5 million seniors have saved $3.2 billion on prescription drugs, and 86 million Americans have received free preventive services such as checkups or cancer screenings. Insurance companies can no longer drop patients when they get sick, and 105 million Americans no longer face lifetime caps on care. And when fully implemented, 30 million more Americans will have health care coverage.
With women’s health front and center in the political debate, we celebrate a law that puts women in charge of their own health decisions and, for the first time, gives women access to free, lifesaving preventive care services, like mammograms. Starting this summer, coverage will include other critical services, such as contraception. And when the Affordable Care Act takes full effect, no longer will being a woman be a pre-existing medical condition.
This law is about innovation – using information technology to cut down costs, delivering personalized care to every patient, investing in cutting-edge biomedical research and preventing diseases before they happen. It is about giving small businesses tax credits to help cover their employees. It is about slowing the growth of health costs and demanding insurers invest a large portion of premiums in patient care. It is about fighting waste and restoring transparency and accountability to the insurance industry.
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