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Statement

MomsRising Statement On the Six Month Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act

September 22, 2010
Health Care

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

STATEMENT OF Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and Co-Founder of MomsRising, On the Six Month Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act
While some politicians, pundits and prognosticators have taken to the airwaves to insist that the Affordable Care Act is too complicated, cumbersome and doomed to failure, people who are actually affected by the new law are excited about its implementation. How do we know that? They’re telling us.
 
MomsRising has been encouraging moms, dads, grandparents and others to share their feelings about health reform on our web site and the response has been overwhelming. Across the country, families are breathing a collective sigh of relief knowing that loved ones who were previously unable to get health care or who were in danger of being cut off from health care will be able to get the treatment they need.
 
Today marks not only the six month anniversary of this important law, but also the day that a number of provisions go into effect that will curb health insurance industries’ worst abuses. These new provisions include: A ban on insurance companies discriminating against kids with pre-existing conditions, a ban on insurance companies dropping people from coverage when they get sick, and a ban on insurance companies limiting coverage by imposing lifetime caps on coverage.
 
Health reform is helping families. It’s helping kids who couldn’t be covered under their parents’ plans because of pre-existing conditions. It’s helping young adults who are uninsured obtain coverage under their parents’ plans. It’s helping parents whose children have serious health conditions not worry that their insurance will run out because of lifetime caps. And it’s helping parents and grandparents all over the country sleep a little easier at night, knowing their families have greater health care security.
 
Today we celebrate new protections for health insurance consumers and we look forward to seeing this important law realize its promise to help keep our families and our nation healthier. And to the politicians, pundits and prognosticators who want to repeal and defund this law, we say, “No, you can’t!”
 

MEDIA NOTE: To read about how the Affordable Care Act is helping moms, dads and others in their own words, please visit our story map at http://www.momsrising.org/blog/stories-map/?topic=healthcare.
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.