What the Election Means for Health Care Reform
Two things happened in the election which are more closely linked than you might think – two things which will have a real impact on health care in California.
First, President Obama’s victory means health care reform will go forward, instead of being attacked, reduced, undermined, if not totally repealed. The Federal government will continue to press forward with developing and funding health care for up to 30,000,000 fellow citizens who do not have health care insurance right now.
Second, Proposition 30 passed here in California, and one of the direct benefits from this is that the California Health Care Exchange, now named “Covered California”, will continue to develop, grow, and prepare to open its portal in July, 2013, only 7 months from now. It will offer new affordable health care for more than one million Californians immediately, and later for millions more Californians.
Californians will be able to go to www.hbex.ca.gov and shop for health care coverage, just like you can go on line to compare and shop for airline tickets, books, or electronic equipment. Tax credits and cash subsidies will mean that the unemployed, as well as those in lower wage jobs without any benefits, will be able to participate and find affordable benefits.
What the election may mean for all of us in the long term remains to be seen, but in the short term we can see that it means “full speed ahead” for health care reform.