President Barack Obama and the Pope met for the first time in Vatican City on 27th March, 2014. Obama offered Pope Francis a box of seeds as a token of their first meeting that provided a fresh start between Catholic leadership and the Obama administration, after long years of constrained relations. Reports suggest that Obama was pressed on the concerns of the Catholic Church over certain provisions in his ACA or the Affordable Care Act, although he said in his conversations that they primarily focused on global conflicts and economic opportunities.
President Barack Obama and the Pope met for the first time in Vatican City on 27th March, 2014. Obama offered Pope Francis a box of seeds as a token of their first meeting that provided a fresh start between Catholic leadership and the Obama administration, after long years of constrained relations. Reports suggest that Obama was pressed on the concerns of the Catholic Church over certain provisions in his ACA or the Affordable Care Act, although he said in his conversations that they primarily focused on global conflicts and economic opportunities.
When asked about the extent of their discussion of the contraceptive mandate, Obama was vague in describing it and also added that Pope Francis actually didn’t touch in the detail of the issue. The health care law of Obama had loomed over his first tête-à-tête with the Pope, and Obama hoped that this would be a moment to bask in the popularity of the religious leader. In his meeting with the secretary of state of Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, they had a conversation of ensuring that religious freedom and conscience was observed while applying the law. Obama assured that his administration has worked hard to make it possible for the Americans, especially women, to access the kind of coverage that the Obamacare offers and he also added that the religious freedom is still complied with.
Is the Pope favouring Obamacare?
The Liberal Catholics are drooling over the message of the Pope to the 25th International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry using his messages to imply Vatican endorsement of the recent health care legislation passed by President Barack Obama and the Democrats. However, the problem is that the Pope isn’t promoting Obamacare in his message but he’s rather expressing his commitment to the vision for health care justice, something that has been lost amidst the noise of Obama’s opponents.
The first thing to be kept in mind is that just due to the fact that the Church is in favour of the health care doesn’t mean that the Church automatically promotes any kind of proposal that claims to offer medical care to people.
The Pope’s views on some hot-button social issues
Obama said that although his conversations with the Pope didn’t dwell upon the hot-button social issues but he also added that the Pope cleared his views on contraceptives and other issues. While Obama differs with some of them, he heartily agrees to most of his views. Obama described 2 main topics of conversation with Pope, the poor and those without any opportunity and the conflicts around the world especially in Middle East and Latin America.
The Affordable Care Act – A sneak peek into some important details
Back after a stumbling start, more than 6 million people have signed up for Obamacare, as a huge rush of people race to get health insurance coverage before the deadline March 31st. Those who still haven’t taken the plunge, are wondering what would happen if they don’t have health care coverage in 2014?
The plight of someone who doesn’t have health care coverage in 2014
Well, if someone doesn’t have health coverage in 2014, he will become liable to pay a fee. He also has to pay for all his health care. The fee is sometimes called “individual responsibility payment” or “individual mandate” or simply “penalty” or ‘fine”. This penalty fees is calculated in either of the two following ways:
1)$95 per person for a year: Using this method, the maximum penalty per family will amount to $285.
2)1% o your annual household income: The amount of income that exceeds the tax filing threshold, which is $10,150 for an individual, is used to compute the penalty.
This penalty is subject to rise every year. In 2015 it is going to be 2% of the income or $325 per individual and it keeps rising year after year.
How the ACA proves to be a blessing for the cancer patients
As it has been 6 months that the Obamacare has been signed into law, this measure will significantly improve the health care system for all those people who are touched by the fatal disease cancer. High risk pools have been introduced in every state to provide coverage to the uninsured. Health plans will be prevented to deny coverage to children below 18 who are looking for cancer treatment. The debate on reforming the health care act is far from being over but the benefits will certainly have a positive impact on the lives of the people who are fighting cancer as they’ll be one-step closer to getting access to sufficient health care coverage for all Americans. At the same time, another important debate is taking place regarding this topic and which has a great impact and value for patients: the one related to the possibility to use medical marijuana for cancer treatment (the decision can differ from state to state, and also at federal level).
In a nutshell, Obama’s health care law comes with a forewarning: the administration is still to announce the number of consumers who have actually closed the deal by paying down their first premium. The program is ultimately beginning to hit its stride in terms of reaching the goals that the administration set and it has way to go in terms of achieving public acceptance.