The health care debate that has raged over the last year has been, to say the least, contentious.
During the debate, Republicans have focused on cost containment, while Democrats have focused on expanding coverage to America’s 54 million uninsured. Time magazine reports, however, that many economists believe it will be impossible to bring spending down unless everyone is insured.
In her closing statements before the House vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “‘All politics is local.’ And I say to you tonight that when it comes to health care for all Americans, ‘All politics is personal.'”
I think Pelosi is right because the people who most passionately support the bill are often those who have been adversely affected by health issues or access. I also believe that once the legislation goes into effect, its benefits will become apparent and ideological anger over its passage will largely turn into pragmatic approval.
In fact, just after its passage, approval of the bill rose dramatically in the polls. As of Tuesday, Gallup reported that 49 percent believe the bill’s passage was “a good thing” while 40 percent think it was “a bad thing.”
Despite assertions that reform will harm Democrats’ chances in November, health care is likely to play less of an issue than people think during the mid-term elections. Polls have also shown that the public views Democrats’ handing of the legislation more favorably and trust them more than Republicans to handle major changes in the health care system.
Putting divisive politics aside, there is much in the legislation passed on Sunday that will directly benefit current students and recent graduates as well as future students.
Currently, most insurance plans stop coverage when the dependent ceases to be a full-time student or reaches a certain age, usually under 25. The new legislation will require insurance companies to cover dependents until their 26th birthday unless employment insurance is available, even if the person is married.
With many companies requiring dependents to be full-time students, students may find themselves without insurance upon graduation. This is particularly true during the recession where recent graduates are one of the least likely groups to find employment. Large gaps between coverage could arise if a graduate is unable to find a job that offers insurance, but the reforms will close these coverage gaps.
I will personally benefit from the reforms in several ways. My parents’ insurance stopped covering me in January, and because I am a Type I diabetic, it is prohibitively expensive for me to purchase individual private insurance. I am currently enrolled in a COBRA plan that costs more than $600 a month for coverage.
The bill would provide me with the option of going back on my parents’ insurance or enrolling in a federal high-risk pool for people with pre-existing conditions that will go into effect in June. In 2014, these high-risk pools will be phased out when it becomes illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against applicants based on their health status.
Starting this year, insurance companies will be banned from imposing lifetime limits on coverage, restricted from imposing annual limits, and prohibited from canceling policies for anything other than deliberate fraud. In 2014, there will be a ban on annual coverage limits.
These changes can benefit all students, as anyone can get cancer or be in a catastrophic accident that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat. Annual and lifetime limits quickly run out in these situations.
It is vital that insurers be banned from arbitrarily rescinding policies since many companies have systematically targeted individuals recently diagnosed with catastrophic illnesses for policy cancellation. According to a recent article from Reuters, Assurant Health followed a strategy of targeting people recently diagnosed with HIV and investigating their policies. Records show that clients’ policies were canceled for false or insubstantial reasons, leaving these people without coverage and cutting years off their life.
Even though the issues surrounding health care legislation can be controversial, it cannot be denied that there will be numerous benefits for millions of Americans. Many people have expressed concerns over the cost of the reforms because the price tag on the bill is enormous. Few people realize that the cost of doing nothing is much higher.
If no reforms had been enacted, health care costs would have eaten up 20 percent of our GDP by 2020 and almost 68 million people would have been uninsured. Most policy experts believe this legislation does more to address the problem of exploding costs than anything else in history. It may not be everything we need. But it will certainly place on the right path.
Katie Allen is a senior majoring in political science. She can be contacted at [email protected].