It really is a new year
by Mary
We’ve been talking a long time about how things will be different once we get to January 2014, and HERE WE ARE!
When Obamacare was first signed into law in 2010, some of its changes took place in the first year. For example, children with pre-existing conditions, like MOST of those served by Easter Seals, could not be dropped from coverage. In addition, the law did great things for young adults under age 26, like Ben Trockman, the Easter Seals 2012 National Adult Representative, from Evansville, Indiana.
Ben is a 24-year-old college student who incurred a spinal cord injury in 2006 and has been able to retain quality benefits by remaining on the insurance plan of his parents. He is looking forward to his college graduation now so he can get his own professional life started in the public relations field.
These modest reforms have been life-changing for many of the families we serve, and now that it’s 2014, the bulk of the new protections are also available: adults with pre-existing conditions can buy health insurance. Wow! Under the rules in 2013, practically no insurance companies would sell a plan to someone with a pre-existing condition. It didn’t matter if the person could afford the coverage, no one would sell him or her a plan.
We know there may be bumps in the Obamacare road ahead of us. But from this month on, many of the people we serve will no longer have their health insurance coverage, or lack thereof, dictate the major decisions of their lives. Welcome, 2014. Happy new year!