You see the guy in the photograph, he's holding a card. This card gives him something very precious in our depraved country. It gives him the right to get healthcare. This man, could be any of us, he has a pre-existing condition and is considered not worthy of life by our reviled for-profit insurance industry.
You heard me right, not worthy of life.
But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, there's an option for those who can scrape together the bucks to pay for it. The Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). It's not cheap, it shouldn't be this way, but it is available--if you can afford it.
Tragically, we continue to live in a country where health care is a privilege. Little has changed since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, though on the margins, things have improved for some.
One group for whom life (post ACA) should be a bit better, are those of us, with pre-exisiting conditions, deemed not worthy of life, by the merciless for-profit insurance industry.
So today, I'm writing specifically about the PCIP, this stands for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan. This piece of the ACA was one supposed to be of its crown jewels. Many people, myself included, thought the five billion earmarked by the legislation for the PCIP would be woefully inadequate. We were wrong. In fact enrollment across the country is lagging and is not at all what it should be. As of April 30th, approximately 21,000 people have enrolled in this 'lifeline to 2014'.
Here's a link to the HHS PCIP web site with all the information, you need to enroll. If you qualify, this is the insurance card you'll get. And chances are you will qualify, if you have a pre-existing condition, because as we know, in our profit driven, Wall Street healthcare system, only the healthy are welcome.
And here's a link to the PCIPin each state.
It tears my guts out to think how many people could really benefit from this lifeline but can't afford it. But this is life in our country.
HHS is very aware of the problems, and beginning July 1, rates will be lowered quite significantly. Jay Angoff, who is the senior advisior to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was on the health policy panel at Netroots Nation. He was very outspoken about the changes they are implementing to make the PCIP a reasonable alternative (for some), until the exchanges open in 2014, Medicaid expansion begins, and tax subsidies to purchase for-profit insurance kick in.
None of this means that the present iteration of the Affordable Care Act is what we voted for in 2008. The legislation is fundamentally, many would argue, fatally flawed. This is because both political parties are fully owned by corporate interests. There is an unbridgeable conflict between the profit-making goals of the insurance industry and the public-health needs of the American people, at the heart of any real health care reform. The ACA leaves the for-profit insurance industry smack in the middle of this new 'reformed' system.
Moving on.
The second huge stumbling block on PCIP enrollment, was the necessity of being turned down by an insurance company, and presenting a letter to that effect with your application. This onerous and demeaning chore will no longer be required. Now, you'll only need a letter from a health care professional (doctor, nurse, midwife), stating that you have one of a long list of the dreaded pre-existing conditions.
Quite honestly, I'm trying to get a handle on why enrollment is so low. I believe there are two reasons. One, seems very obvious. Even with the lower rates, the PCIP is still very expensive for most Americans. The out-of-pocket costs are not insignificant and when you add this to the monthly premium and co-pays, it is financially out-of-reach for countless millions who would otherwise benefit.
The second reason I think enrollment is so low, is that people don't know this program exists. The government has probably not done a good job of disseminating information about this program. There should be signs in hospitals, pharmacies, buses, airports, train stations, magazines, newspapers, just everywhere, but in fact, this has been marketed (or not marketed, as the case may be), in a very unsatisfactory manner.
But the bottom line (no pun intended), remains that the enrollment for this program is dramatically under what anyone expected.
I think this is because of the terrible condition of the economy, and that people simply don't have the $$$, even at the lower rates, for such a 'luxury'. Always remember in the United States, health care is a privilege not a right.
I'd like to know from you (and I'll do my best to pass on this information to Mr. Angoff), what you know about this program, do you qualify, is it too expensive? Have you applied and been turned ?
Speak up. Please.