Repeal and Replace
Hester Hill Schnipper, LICSW, OSW-C Program Manager, Oncology Social Work
MARCH 07, 2017
I am going to try very hard to keep my personal politics out of this, but it is glaringly apparent that we all need to be paying attention to what is happening in Congress re the changes in the ACS/Obama Care. Now that the Republicans have presented a plan, we can begin to read it, to discuss it, to advocate for what we know is important for cancer patients.
I am going to give you a link to a short but excellent statement from a group of patient groups that are not all cancer-related. Although my own focus is fairly narrow, it is heartening that groups like the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association are right on top of this, too. We will need each other to raise loud and insistent voices.
Here is the summary of what I think all Americans need and deserve: affordability, accessibility, and adequate coverage. Losing any one of these things could mean losing care--whether for cancer or heart disease or severe diabetes-that might mean losing life.
Here is the start and a link and a plea to call your Senators and Representative and register your thoughts.
MONDAY, March 6, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Congress needs to focus on certain areas as it considers changes to the Affordable Care Act, according to a coalition of 11 major patient groups.
"As Congress begins debate on how to improve the nation's health care system, our organizations will evaluate any proposed changes based on a set of Consensus Health Care Reform Principles we believe necessary to provide affordable, accessible and adequate coverage for all Americans," said a March 6 statement from the coalition.
The coalition represents millions of patients. These 11 patient groups have banded together to ensure that any changes in the health care law, sometimes called Obamacare, address the concerns of those patients.
"First, we believe that any new plan cannot jeopardize the health care coverage Americans currently have through employers, the marketplace, Medicaid or Medicare. They should be able to keep that coverage and ideally, any reform plan would go further to extend coverage to the uninsured or underinsured, lower costs and improve quality for everyone," the group wrote.
The coalition also said three key factors must be included in any proposed changes to the current system. These factors are: affordability, accessibility and adequate coverage.