Gaps in care will improve under Obamacare
A new study by the Commonwealth Fund suggests that gaps in health coverage likely will be reduced once the Affordable Care Act kicks in fully in 2014.
The study showed that more than one-third of Americans were uninsured for one month or longer between 2004 and 2007, and 23 million of them lost insurance more than once.
What happens frequently is that people who lose their jobs also lose their health insurance. Since most people can’t afford to continue to pay for their coverage after they lose their jobs, their coverage ends immediately. Even if they find new jobs right away, most employers make new hires wait three months before they’re eligible for health insurance.
Among those with family incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, 64.2 percent of adults and 59.5 percent of children were uninsured for at least one month.
Once the Affordable Care Act kicks in, people who don’t get coverage at work can buy insurance at affordable rates in the health insurance exchanges, and if they’re below 400 percent of the federal poverty level, they will get federal assistance to afford coverage.
Some 20 million people still won’t have coverage, though, and most of those will be the poorest Americans, homeless people, people with psychiatric illnesses — people who need help the most. And if states opt out of the Medicaid expansion, even more of the neediest people will fall through the cracks.
But people who are self-employed or who can’t get insurance from an employer will be able to get coverage more affordably. And their insurance will pay for screening tests such as mammograms, colonoscopies, prostate cancer screenings and more with no out-of-pocket costs to the consumer, even if the person has a policy with a $10,000 deductible.
Insurance will be a lot less expensive for women, who won’t be forced to pay up to 50 percent more for coverage just for being female.
People with pre-existing conditions like childhood asthma or a birth defect will be able to buy insurance — my son died because a birth defect is a pre-existing condition.
Many of the gaps in coverage will close in 2014 — a number of them have closed already. But until everyone has access to quality care, we still have work to do.
Tags: Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Life o’ Mike honors Joe Eblen
Life o' Mike presented its first Michael T. Danforth Community Service Award to Joe Eblen at a luncheon on June 8, in the Friendship Hall of First Congregational Church, 20 Oak St., Asheville.
Joe, seen here with Leslie Boyd, left, and his wife, Bobbie, has spent his life helping children and families, both as a coach and game official for more than 60 years, and as founder of Eblen Charities.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.