This presentation was delivered in Second Life in Virtual Ability's Independence Island to discuss the potential impacts of the Affordable Care Act on the Disabled community and their caregivers.
2. "Of all of the forms of
inequality, injustice in
health care is the most
shocking and inhumane.”
-- Martin Luther King Jr., addressing the Medical
Committee for Human Rights in Chicago, 1966
3. What are the basic components of the
Affordable Care Act?
• Expansion of access to insurance
• Increased consumer protection
• Increased emphasis on health prevention and
wellness
• Improvement of the quality and performance of
the health care system
• Expansion of the health care workforce
• Works to curb rising health care costs
4. Expanded Access to Insurance Coverage
• Development of high risk insurance pools
• Creation of health insurance “exchanges”
• Health insurance coverage for dependents
until age 26
6. Impacts on Medicaid
• Community First Choice Option
• Improved coverage of anti-seizure, anti-spasm
and anti-anxiety medications
• Medicaid Health Homes
• Extension of Money Follows the Person Program
7. Increased Consumer Protections
• Pre-existing conditions – no longer can you be
denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions
• Prohibits discrimination based on disability
• Prohibits rescissions
• Bans annual and lifetime limits
8. Emphasizes health care prevention and
wellness
• Increased funding for immunizations, screenings
for diabetes and depression, autism screening for
children and developmental screenings.
• Creates the Prevention and Public Health Fund to
study and promote health and wellness and
develop public health priorities
9. Improvement of the Quality and
Performance of the Health Care System
• Requires disability awareness training for all
medical professionals
• Development of stands for accessibility of all
medical equipment,
• Requires federal government to collect health
survey data from people with disabilities in order
to better understand their health care needs.
10. Expansion of Health Care Work Force
• Expansion of nursing work force
• Expansion of primary medical care
• Expansion of community based services
11. Decreases Rising Health Care Costs
• Health Insurance Exchanges
• Provider Incentives
• Innovation Center
12. Potential Negative Effects
• Individual Mandate
• Purchase of wheelchairs may be eliminated
• Increases tax on durable medical equipment
• Limitation of choices for wheelchairs and other
equipment
13. In Summary
• For those who are disabled and their caregivers it
appears that the ACA offers positive benefits with a few
potential negative ramifications.
• In general, a step forward in addressing health care
inequity and injustice.