Care Reform

With a far more contentious hearing than expected before the Supreme Court, President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be struck down by a sharply divided court when it rules in June. If that happens, insurance will continue to be priced beyond the means of many. It is therefore prudent to look at possible alternatives for these Americans. Fortunately, a proven model exists today in Howard County: the Healthy Howard Health Plan. With some changes to its financing structure, it could emerge as a viable option for Americans who will not be able to afford to buy insurance should the ACA be struck down.

Thanks to Bob Ehrlich for the long article in Sunday's paper that makes plain, without actually stating it, the big difference between Republicans and Democrats on health care ("A death-knell for employer-funded insurance," April 1). Republicans find the pre-reform status quo acceptable, in which thousands of people died annually, in this wealthy country, for lack of health insurance. Democrats do not, and would like to see the U.S. join the rest of the industrialized world in guaranteeing health care for its citizens.

Last week, theU.S. Supreme Courtheard six hours of oral arguments for and against the constitutionality of the new health care law. As a small business owner, I am not a constitutional scholar, but I can definitively say this: the Affordable Care Act is cutting my health care costs and helping my business. My wife and I run an auto repair shop in Columbia. We started as a small, family-business in 1978. Now, we're a well-respected business with 19 employees, a long string of awards and a reputation for service.

President Obama was correct when he opined that every citizen should have health care coverage and pay for it through insurance premiums. But the very partisan law that was rammed through by the Democratic-controlled Congress without the support of the voters was in direct conflict with his campaign promise to unite the country. How much the public objected to the health care law that President Obama signed was made clear in the 2010 elections. I suspect this year's election will reinforce what the public said in 2010.

Columnist Robert Ehrlich asks why the Affordable Health Care Act is so long ("Obamacare: The 2,300 page monstrosity," March 25). The answer is that in a simpler time it was possible to write a law in simpler form because everyone knew what you meant, and you did not have to defend against every kook whose only goal in life was to look for any possible mistake or alternate meaning of a word or phrase. Anyone who takes the trouble to look into the American health care system realizes the U.S. is sadly lacking in caring for it's citizens.

The state will launch a website today that it hopes will give people a road map to health care reform as the country marks the second anniversary of the signing of the landmark legislation. The website, HealthReform.Maryland.gov, will provide users with information about benefits they can already take advantage of as well as those that will become available later. Most parts of the health care package won't take effect until 2014. Reform provisions already available include those giving seniors prescription drug rebate checks, allowing young adults to remain on their parents' policies until they are 26 and issuing small businesses tax credits for insurance.

Nearly 2.3 million Marylanders with serious illnesses no longer have to worry about their insurance running out because of new provisions under health care reform. The Department of Health and Human Services said that because lifetime limits on insurance were elminated under health care reform that 872,000 women and 585,000 children in Maryland are no longer losing coverage because they can't afford to pay. Before health reform patients with serious illnesses such as cancer risked hitting the lifetime limit on the dollar amount their insurance companies would cover for their health care benefits.  Some plans provide coverage without dollar limits on lifetime benefits, but 105 million people across the country had plans with lifetime limits.

Randy Hart's letter implies everything is great in our health insurance markets right now and that the federal health reform will wreck everything ("Insurance exchanges won't reduce health care costs," Feb. 21). I think Maryland's small businesses and families that are struggling to afford health care would disagree. To paraphrase the late Sen. Patrick Moynihan, Mr. Hart is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts. Mr. Hart asserts that nine in 10 Marylanders have coverage through their employer.

The O'Malley administration will introduce legislation in the coming General Assembly that would create the exchanges where people will buy affordable insurance under health care reform. The Board of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, a group convened to plan and implement the exchanges, released recommendations Tuesday for how they would work. While the board outlined a setup for the exchanges, it put off a decision on how to fund the exchanges until next year. The federal government provides money to run the exchanges during the first year of reform in 2014, but states are responsible after that.

Baltimore was awarded $499,929 Thursday as part of a $14 million grant for school-based health centers around the country. The money comes from the national health care reform law and aims to increase the number of children served by 50 percent, or 53,000 kids. The centers will treat those with acute or chronic illnesses and provide health screenings, education and disease prevention activities. The money will be used to upgrade existing clinics and open new ones. In Maryland, the money will go to Baltimore Medical Systems Inc., an independent nonprofit system for underserved communities in the Baltimore area.