Obamacare: Three sentences that say it all
I was poking around on the healthcare.gov site when I came across this gem in the pre-existing conditions section:
Being sick doesn't keep you from getting coverage.
Starting in 2014, being sick won't keep you from getting health coverage. An insurance company can't turn you down or charge you more because of your condition.
It's only three sentences, but for me it captures the essence of the miracle that is the ACA.
I'm sitting here tearing up at what this means for so many. What it means for me and my extended family. What it means for all of us.
This is what change looks like. And it's amazing to be alive to bear witness to so much history in the making.
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A new day is coming!
...I'm a cancer and heart attack survivor with several other preexisting (from birth) conditions. I haven't had health insurance in over 12 years. Haven't seen a doctor in 10. Though I'm absolutely terrified to finally see a doctor, I can't tell you how grateful I am to our President and our Democrats for making it possible.
5 years ago my boss tried to get health insurance for me. It would have cost almost $1000 a month, plus they wanted me to sign a rider that would have exempted almost any health issue. Somehow, anything could have been related to any of my preexistings. The only thing it would have covered would have been an accident. And, I'm sure they would have fought that, as well.
The numbers keep fluctuating, but I'll be paying somewhere between $65-$150 a month. I can afford that. I could possibly stay alive long enough to hold a potential grandchild.
So, I'm giving myself a break this once and letting it be about me. It's pretty cool that a lot of other people that have much more important lives will benefit, as well. 
glad you were able to survive the onslaught of medical conditions!
It must be so comforting to know that just around the corner you're going to be able to get health coverage that you can Afford!
Obamacare is about you. It's about all of us!
have people been able to get affordable health insurance with pre-existing conditions.. and in 2014 it will happen. Children are able to get it now.
And, from sheshe's OP.. here's another "fact or two" that will help people out..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/110212098
No wonder the republicons want to repeal it.. it's not especially easy on Insurance Companies.. and helping Americans who need it? that's against their credo.
BOG
The major provisions are right around the corner and it's only going to get better and better as time goes by.
If I were one of the ACA naysayers or part of the GOP, I would be quaking in my boots, too!
I truly believe that Obamacare is going to be woven into the fabric of American life alongside social security and Medicare.
It's so big and important, cha, that I can hardly wrap my head around it.
It is a BFD! 
health, Chaz 
So you're able to partake because Gov Brewer let Obamacare in?
It's a fantastic site. There's an interactive tool that you can use to describe your situation. And after you do that, the site returns a general overview of what the ACA will mean for you.
There's a lot more about premiums and pre-existing conditions here: https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-i-have-a-pre-existing-health-condition
Pretty cool, huh?
It's a serious question and I'm not trying to be rude. The media made the bill sound more intimidating than it actually is.
I'm on the wonky side, so I read much of it. There's a lot to like about Obamacare. Everything on healthcare.gov is from policy based on the guidelines set forth in the ACA. The entire bill can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/law/index.html.
You can run a search for the issues you care about. It's all there in black and white. And good reading if you like that sort of thing.
The awareness campaign is getting started, but I wished they would have primed the pump more, too.
My husband says the same thing, BTW. "Why should I have to read a law??" So you're in good company.
Here's to medicare!
It was a nice break from DU new normal.
Take care.
I grew up poor, and my dad, a laborer, wasn't able to get health insurance. He had to have emergency surgery and we almost lost our home, which he built with his own two hands. Thank goodness that the hospital was able to get some kind of poverty assistance for us, but we came so close to losing everything.
That was more than 20 years ago, and I have thought often about sitting with my mother in the hospital business office as she signed some kind of paper that put our home in jeopardy. It was a defining moment for me and animates my passion about the ACA.
So when the House passed the ACA, I was stunned. Then I cried. And then I broke into a happy dance!
The bad old days are almost behind us.
