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Health Care Reform Bill Signing

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Today, LIVESTRONG released the following statement from its president and CEO Doug Ulman, a three-time cancer survivor, regarding the signing of historic health care reform legislation. For the official press release go to www.livestrong.org/mediaroom

?LIVESTRONG celebrates the creation of health care reform that will positively impact the lives of people affected by cancer across the United States.?

?Study after study has shown that those who lack insurance or who are underinsured have higher cancer mortality rates than those who have insurance and therefore better access to care. This new law will provide access to health insurance for 32 million Americans who would otherwise be uninsured.?

?This law will end discrimination by insurers against those with preexisting conditions and end arbitrary annual and lifetime caps on health insurance benefits. For the first time in our nation?s history, routine costs for clinical trials that can save lives and improve the quality of life for many others will now be covered by insurance. And for young adults faced with a cancer diagnosis, a demographic that has long been forgotten by our current health care system, they can now be covered under their parents? insurance policy until their 26th birthday.?

?LIVESTRONG believes this is a big step forward for the rights of cancer survivors and commends all those who have persevered to create an even health care playing field.?

  • Alex

    Sad day for me. I am a huge Livestrong and Lance fan but I cannot bring myself to support universal health care, redistribution of wealth, nor socialist policies. The care provided will get worse as the system gets more use and abuse. People will be forced to pay for health care even if they cannot afford it or they will be fined. 83% of Americans have health care currently and it is likely that the scope will rise to 95%. Yes, more Americans may get the benefits of health care and cancer treatment, but options will be limited within the scope of treatments available. Waiting lists will be a major issue as well. Of the 32 million Americans who do not have health insurance, many of them CHOOSE not to for a number of reasons and that is their right. Health care is not a right.

  • http://millerclimb.blogspot.com/ Daniel Miller

    I’m sorry Alex, but the comment “options will be limited within the scope of treatments available” just frankly isn’t true. That is complete conjecture and there’s nothing to back it up. Citing examples of the UK or Canada doesn’t count because they don’t have the same research infrastructure as is present in this country. MD-Anderson, Sloan-Kettering, Mayo, Hopkins, Mass Gen, etc will not cease to be world-wide leaders.

    Please, read a good summary of what is actually in the bill before adding more false-hoods and hyperboyle to an already ugly debate.

    Here are my favorite things about this bill:
    1. INSURANCE MARKET REFORMS: Starting this year, insurers would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions, and from canceling policies because someone gets sick. Parents would be able to keep older kids on their coverage up to age 26. A new high-risk pool would offer coverage to uninsured people with medical problems until 2014, when the coverage expansion goes into high gear. Major consumer safeguards would also take effect in 2014. Insurers would be prohibited from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more. Insurers could not charge women more.

    2. Companies with 50 or fewer workers are exempt from the requirement pay a fee if everyone isn’t insured

    3. Generous tax credits for purchasing insurance

    4. How it is payed for: the bill applies an increased Medicare payroll tax to investment income as well as wages for individuals making more than $200,000, or married couples above $250,000. The tax on investment income would be 3.8 percent.

    5. Small businesses, the self-employed and the uninsured could pick a plan offered through new state-based purchasing pools called exchanges, opening for business in 2014.

    6. GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN: No government-run insurance plan. People purchasing coverage through the new insurance exchanges would have the option of signing up for national plans overseen by the federal office that manages the health plans available to members of Congress. Those plans would be private, but one would have to be nonprofit.

    7. Expands the federal-state Medicaid insurance program for the poor to cover people with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, $29,327 a year for a family of four.

    I must confess that I am a medical student and cancer survivor and deeply believe that the bill that has been signed is a good compromise between the house and senate bill. The bill makes me proud to be American.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Matthew-Zachary/763524014 Matthew Zachary

    I cannot applaud you enough, Doug. This is an historic time and mere congratulations are not enough. As a 14-year young adult cancer survivor, I respectfully and passionately disagree with Alex above. Health care *is* a RIGHT. Drivers licenses are a PRIVILEGE. And if you leave health care to the rich corporate machines, everyone loses. This is the first step to a better tomorrow. And I’m willing to pay higher taxes if it means reducing the risk of yet another young adult with cancer needlessly dying simply because they are under or uninsured. Amen.

  • stephanie burnett

    Thank you so much for standing up for people in America. There has been so much hate and anger among Americans because of this bill. It’s nice to see some positive thoughts and encouragement.
    stephanie from Utah

    I dedicate this song to Congress/Politicians/and the Tea Party Group

    One love mary j blige u2
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpDQJnI4OhU

  • Tara

    I really hope that Alex has never attended, nor has children that attend our “socialist” public school system.

    Waiting lists for life saving treatments and diagnostic tests ALREADY exist here in the same numbers as they do in the UK and Canada. I waited over 6 months for an “emergency” colonoscopy. The irony is that a long time friend in Canada was also having a cancer scare and only waited a few weeks for his. Neither of us has private insurance….so the difference is that I was going to have to pay over $2K for mine, and his cost him….car fare to the hospital.

    The good news is that I was cancer-free (good thing because I might well have passed the point of being able to catch it n time after that wait), while unfortunately my friend turned out to have a very aggressive cancer. The good news though was that he had access to an amazing and humane system, received top notch treatment and is now in remission. He’s pretty right wing (he couldn’t understand why I wasn’t a fan of Bush), but he does think that our Right wing is barbarically off-base when it comes to health care.

    Truth be told, no one has free-market health care anyway. Unless and EMT can leave you by the side of the road, bleeding and possibly dying after an accident because you don’t have proof of insurance on you, then we already have government mandated health care. All this does is change *how* available it is to people who had little or no access to preventive care prior to this.

    so many of these folks talking about the free market and how this is “socialist” is blinding themselves to all the things they like to use and take advantage of on a regular basis are already “socialist” systems. Highways, schools, hospitals, Ambulances….the list goes on. Unless the argument is to privatize every and all of those, then the “free market” as it pertains to life saving health care falls on these deaf ears.

  • Cameron

    I’m also sad to hear Livestrong, an organization that does such good by building awareness and research on the strength of private donations and involvement (which is perfectly proper and laudable), supported such monstrous legislation.

    I’ve already had too many debates on this issue to rehash it all here, about how it is not the duty or the right of the federal government to take money from private citizens to spend it on objects of benevolence, but suffice to say that Livestrong will get my support from now on only by the use of unjust force.

    Of course, now that the federal government effectively has the power to do just that (though they usurped it), I guess my personal objections are of little consequence.

  • http://everythingchangesbook.com Kairol Rosenthal

    Thank you Doug for your comments. Your clear language makes it so helpful to understand what this bill will do for cancer patients.

    If others are interested, I have written a Quick Guide to Understanding How Healthcare Reform Will Impact Cancer Patients. It is a non-partisan, easy to understand explanation of a few of the changes that will be taking place. It can be found at my website above.

    Keep on livingstrong!

    Kairol

  • Ron W

    If I weren’t a Veteran, I really have no idea what I could be doing for health care at this time because of pre-existing conditions (some that I had prior to service). I am happy that steps are now being taken to correct that, it’s seems a shame that so many nay sayers want to ditch this big step in acceptable health care and leave folks like me and others in a terrible situation.
    All change is scary, until you quit fearing it. Let’s all see what the bill actually does for our country, rather than be afraid of everything as many power brokers count on….

  • Luke

    Personally, I am against the health care bill….as the majority of our citizens are. I believe people with cancer or any life threatening should be taken care of. Instead of forcing everyone to provide health care, they should have forced insurance companies to not deny people for pre-existing conditions and lowering prices for everyone.

    Something I hear people say all the time is, “I have thousands of dollars in hospital bills…I want this to pass so the government pays it. Way off target…!!

    Briefly:

    *Companies will give employees the worst/cheapest coverage available
    *Deductibles will be high and you will probably pay more than 20% for surgeries or bills WITH insurance
    *Companies will cut back on employees fewer jobs/worse economy

    Life threatening conditions such as (cancer,transplants,etc.) should be helped…

    Healthcare is an option. Lower the prices and give people the choice to purchase it, without denying anyone. 8-)

  • http://www.evolveselection.co.uk/index.php?target=article&task=cat&cat=4 Dental Recruitment

    Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.