Topic: Obamacare

Obama Says Passing Health Care Reform Was More Important Than Reelection

President Barack Obama will be sworn in for a second term in less than a week. But in an interview with Las Vegas TV station KSNV, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Obama was willing to risk a one-term presidency in order to pass health care reform. More »

Friday Night Lights Actress Connie Britton Doesn’t Want Romney Using “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” Either

Friday Night Lights creator Peter Berg is pissed at Mitt Romney for stealing his show’s catchphrase–”Clear eyes, full hearts”–and using it as part of his campaign. But Berg isn’t the only one who’s pissed; actress Connie Britton (who played Tami Taylor on FNL) took to an editorial in USA Today to condemn Romney for wrongly using the phrase–partly because it’s basically plagiarism, but mostly because she thinks it goes against the interest of women, particularly the type whose spirit it’s meant to embody. More »

How To Find Out If Your Health Insurance Plan Covers Free Birth Control In 2012: A Flow Chart

When the Affordable Care Act passed, we all rejoiced over what Obamacare would mean for women: Free birth control? Free annual doctor’s visits? Free maternal health care? Hell, yes. Only…if you’re already on insurance, figuring out how to take advantage of the new mandates is confusing, and there isn’t a universal start date for women’s preventive services perks on every insurance plan. Which is why we’re pretty stoked on the National Women’s Law Center‘s complete guide to finding out if your insurance covers free birth control and other women’s preventive care. More »

Romney Won The Debate…But Not Because He Gave Clear Answers On Healthcare

I’m confused about health care. And I was hoping to get some straight answers in last night’s presidential debate. But, even though Mitt Romney was the decided winner according to post-debate polls, he still didn’t give us a clear idea of how he was going to fix our very broken $2.8 trillion healthcare system. More »

Paul Ryan Wants To Limit Your Birth Control Access On ‘Day One’

Paul Ryan may not have mentioned women’s reproductive rights or birth control access during the Republican National Convention, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still a priority with him. At a campaign event on Saturday in Orlando, the republican vice presidential candidate said he “guarantees” that mandating access to contraceptives through insurance would be gone on “day one.” More »

Obamacare At Work: Way More Young People Have Health Insurance Now!

As an uninsured young person, I’m pretty into the Affordable Care Act (called the ACA, or also, originally derisively but now fairly universally, Obamacare). In 2014, it will help me get actual health benefits–something I haven’t had in years. But it’s already making a huge difference in the lives of millions of my peers, who, according to a report out yesterday from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, are more likely to be insured this year than they were last year. More »

Romney Tells ‘Meet The Press’ What He Likes About Obamacare; His Campaign Says He’ll Still Oppose It

Mitt Romney went on Meet The Press yesterday, where he told David Gregory that there are a “number of things” he “likes” about Obamacare–chiefly, the fact that it guarantees coverage for pre-existing conditions, and allows young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance policies. He even made it sound like he would keep those policies in place should he be voted into office. But his campaign quickly clarified to other media sources that his policies wouldn’t uphold any of the provisions he mentioned. More »

Report: The Health Care System Wastes An Astounding Amount Of Your Money

Hey, here’s something that’s not even remotely shocking: The current (read: non-reformed) health care system wastes an astronomical amount of your money. However, the exact amount that they waste will still probably surprise you. According to a report by the Institue of Medicine, out of every health care dollar spent in 2009, 30 cents were wasted. That’s about $750 billion. In one year. But, the panel who put the report together say, there’s hope. More »

Infographic: What The Affordable Care Act Means For Women (Other Than Free Birth Control)

Starting yesterday, women who are insured and employed by non-religious employers who weren’t seeking exemption got a big boost in their health care coverage. August 1st marked the beginning of mandatory coverage of well-women visits, HPV screenings, and even no-cost birth control. But reading lists and trying to parse out government documents can still leave some health care information pretty hazy, so Planned Parenthood has released this very-helpful infographic to explain. More »

What We're Reading:

I’m Uninsured, So Yes, I’m Happy About Obamacare–But That’s Not The Only Reason

Here is why I’m excited for today’s health care decision: Though the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare, or whatever you want to call it) is imperfect in many ways, it is going to help people. It is going to help people like me. I haven’t had affordable access to medical care since I was 21, when I graduated from college and could no longer go to the on-campus clinic. My health is, for the time, pretty great. But I am one of the millions of Americans with no way to get help if that changes. A safety net would be nice. More »

President Obama On The Health Care Decision: Let’s Focus On People, Not Politics

At 12:15 today, President Barack Obama took to the stage to address the citizens of the U.S., regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold his controversial health care reform package, known as the Affordable Care Act, or, at first derisively, as Obamacare. The President both explained the act–and reminded the people of America that this is about people, not policy. More »