Tag Archives: Affordable Care Act

Open Enrollment

TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

It’s Never Too Early to Think About Open Enrollment

We are continuing our advocacy blog series meant to help you take care when it comes to important arthritis health care and coverage issues. If you are just now tuning into this series, check out our previous blog posts on accumulator adjustment programs, pharmacist gag orders, President Trump’s drug pricing blueprint, drug rebates, premium increases, and an update on the Affordable Care Act.

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affordable care act update

TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

Update on the Affordable Care Act

We are continuing our advocacy blog series meant to help you take care when it comes to important arthritis health care and coverage issues. If you are just now tuning into this series, check out our previous blog posts on accumulator adjustment programs, pharmacist gag orders, President Trump’s drug pricing blueprint, drug rebates, and premium increases.

This week, we break down a recent legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A court case was recently thrown into the spotlight as a result of the administration’s decision to file a brief essentially arguing that federal courts should find the ACA’s protection for people with pre-existing conditions unconstitutional. Read on to learn more.

Continue reading TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

21st Century Cures Act

Answering Your Questions About the New Tax Reform Legislation

On Wednesday, December 20, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). There were several health-related changes included in the legislation, such as a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, and changes to the medical expenditure tax deduction. Below we explain the key health provisions that made it into the final law, how it may impact you, and what’s next.

Let’s start with the individual mandate.
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ask the af open enrollment healthcare

#AsktheAF: Open Enrollment Edition!

During this season of open enrollment, the Arthritis Foundation is here to help you make an informed decision in selecting the best health coverage for your unique needs. Open enrollment is the time of year when individuals elect health care benefits through their employer, Medicare, Medicaid, or the federal and state health exchanges created through the Affordable Care Act. Open enrollment periods vary based on the type of insurance you have, but generally occur in the late fall.

As part of our commitment, the Arthritis Foundation hosted a webinar last month to provide a general overview of open enrollment and the tools and resources you need to secure the best health care for you and your family. In addition, we hosted our very first Twitter chat on November 9th devoted to this year’s open enrollment. Thousands of you engaged with us on Twitter to #AsktheAF and we rounded up your questions in one location.

Read on to learn more about open enrollment and the questions you asked during the Twitter chat. If you have further questions, the Arthritis Foundation also has licensed clinical social workers available to talk with you about these options or any other questions you may have about your care. Call toll-free at 1-844-571-HELP.

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american health care act

Answering Your Questions About the Latest Administration Actions on Health Care

On Thursday, October 12, 2017, the Administration took two actions on health care that could affect coverage for people who have health insurance through the exchanges.

President Trump signed an executive order that opens the door for the expansion of association health plans, which aren’t subject to the same level of patient protections as required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Second, the Administration announced the discontinuation of cost-sharing reduction payments, which are payments to health insurers that help reduce out-of-pocket costs for low income people who purchase insurance on the health exchanges.

Read on to learn more about the Administration’s actions and their potential impacts on the arthritis community.

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american health care act advocacy

Senate Health Bills Fall Short for Arthritis Community

The Senate is expected to open debate today on two bills that repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Tell your senator to vote no and work to write a health bill that serves patients!

Not getting health insurance because you have a pre-existing condition.

Thousands upon thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs every year with no end in sight.

Fear of reaching your maximum lifetime benefit because you take expensive drugs or had multiple surgeries and hospital stays.

This is what life looked like for many people before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed into law in 2010. While the ACA is far from perfect, it offers critical protections like caps on annual out-of-pocket spending, a ban on lifetime coverage limits, a prohibition on pre-existing conditions exclusions and minimum essential health benefits like prescription drugs and hospitalizations.

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Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Ruling

Being a Champion of Yes Sometimes Means Shouting -Yes!

By now, news of the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the King v. Burwell ruling has resonated throughout the media and permeated our daily conversations with friends, co-workers and family.

As an organization focused on the mission of leading the fight for the arthritis community, we prefer to direct our efforts and energies toward issues that will improve the lives of people living with arthritis and steer clear of polarizing political issues that serve only to divide us and slow progress. However, this ruling is not a political issue for the Arthritis Foundation. This ruling is a victory for the more than 6- million Americans who faced the possibility of becoming uninsured, including countless numbers living with arthritis.

Continue reading Being a Champion of Yes Sometimes Means Shouting -Yes!