Katie Keith on ACA+COVID-19: "I think it is undisputable that the changes made by the ACA have really strengthened the safety net system, and we would be at a much worse place trying to fight the #coronavirus battle that we're all facing right now without the #AffordableCareAct."
-
-
Show this thread
-
"One of the best examples of evidence-based public health policymaking is the preventive services provision," says Katie Keith. "Over 140 million Americans have gotten free preventive services because this was included in the
#AffordableCareAct."#ACA10.Show this thread -
Katie Keith also notes the role Westmoreland played in the preventive services provision: "Tim Westmoreland was the mastermind behind this incredibly important provision in the
#AffordableCareAct. "One of the best examples of true, evidence-based public health policymaking."Show this thread -
For decades, the Medicaid program was limited to people who were poor and "something else." Poor and pregnant, poor and 65+, etc. During the AIDS epidemic, that was one of the principal hurdles to getting people w/ HIV infection access to the drugs," says Tim Westmoreland.
#ACA10Show this thread -
Westmoreland adds: "Because of the Medicaid expansion, it's now available to everybody who is low income, everybody under 138% of poverty (FPL) in those states that have chosen to expand."
#ACA10Show this thread -
How has the
#AffordableCareAct improved access for people w/private health insurance? "Dramatically," says Katie Keith. The preventive services provision, the ban of discrimination against people with pre-existing medical conditions, core benefits, annual out-of-pocket maximums.Show this thread -
"Folks forget about the wild wild west days of coverage, when you could be excluded and turned away and charged more, and we don't have that anymore," Keith adds.
Show this thread -
On current legal challenge before
#SCOTUS from Texas court that suggested invalidating#AffordableCareAct entirely due to individual mandate dispute: "The idea that you could wipe away a law so significant, after a decade, because of a court decision, I think is outrageous."Show this thread -
Westmoreland: Some say 'we barely got through the incremental reforms of the ACA, 'it will be very difficult 'to start from scratch with a single-payer system.' Election 2020 will be a question of whether we can start over, or whether we continue to improve
#AffordableCareAct."Show this thread -
"High deductibles and having to pay out of pocket costs for care is something that millions of families are probably worried about." ... "The polling data is pretty consistent, folks care about their wallet & how much they're paying for healthcare," Katie Keith re: 2020 election.
Show this thread -
"There are things that still need to be improved. There are bridges that still need to be passed in litigation, legislation and elections. But one thing we know is that ACA has made what is happening now, a little more bearable than without it," notes Prof. Tim Westmoreland.
Show this thread -
With ACA, we're more equipped to respond to a public health crisis like
#COVID19, thanks to "Medicaid expansion, improvement of services to Medicare beneficiaries, availability of private health insurance, preventive services without cost-sharing," Westmoreland adds.Show this thread -
WATCH the full discussion on
#ACA10#AffordableCareAct featuring#GeorgetownLaw professors Timothy Westmoreland and Katie Keith (contributor@Health_Affairs) here:https://bit.ly/3bqBTnrShow this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.