Advocates look back on 14th ACA anniversary
MARYLAND – On the 14th Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act going into law, healthcare advocates are praising the impact of the legislation, and the work that is still being built off it on the state level to help people afford healthcare.
The legislation made it so health care providers could no longer refuse coverage, for reasons including preexisting conditions, expanded eligibility for claims, as well as let children stay on their parent’s plan until age 26.
It also included a Medicaid expansion to help those who were unable to afford the plan, though ten states in the US did not take that expansion.
Healthcare advocates say it was a key moment for helping Americans afford their prescriptions.
“Maryland was one of the first to get the exchange running and take the Medicaid money and we see the impact its had,” said MD Healthcare For All President Vinny Demarco.
“The Affordable Care Act, the Obamacare set, the standard that we can do this here in America and in Maryland, over 400,000 people got health care, including tens of thousands on Eastern Shore people who couldn’t get health care coverage before got it,” he said.
He tells us the state’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board also builds on the ACA foundation to help control prices, and a planned expansion would also set per-person monthly payment caps and an ability to directly negotiate drug prices.
He tells us that 14 years in his group is still working to help boost enrollment, and Maryland leads the way nationwide on those efforts.
“We have easy enrollment for when folks go to get their taxes done, and a recent study we commissioned found that has saved all of us in the form of uncompensated care of people going to emergency rooms and causing all of our premiums to go up,” he said adding “drugs don’t work if people cannot afford them.”
MD Healthcare for All says this legislative session, they are encouraged that a bill to expand the MD ACA exchange to immigrants regardless of status is moving forward and is expected to pass.
