- You're going to die someday. Sorry!
- Along the way you'll get sick and injured and sick again.
- Access to good healthcare will prevent #2 from turning into #1 before it should, and before you get the chance to enjoy the many, many happy, productive human days you've got to live.
House bill: It let states opt out of the requirement that they cover the same ten "essential health benefits" or EHBs, set by Obamacare, which include maternity care, prescription drugs, and mental health and addiction treatment. States could opt out with waivers, known as 1332 waivers.
Senate bill: Dramatically expands the state waiver program, and crucially and shockingly, removes the requirement that states applying for waivers have to guarantee to cover as many people with coverage that's as affordable and as comprehensive. Governors can also seek these waivers without consulting their state legislatures, aka the elected representatives of the people the waivers would affect.
What it means: True, a person with cancer couldn't be denied insurance or charged more for a plan, but it's possible that their state would only offer plans that don't cover cancer treatment. Same goes for people with mental health conditions who need inpatient or outpatient care. And this provision would once again permit price discrimination against women simply because they can get pregnant and give birth and men can't.
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It's terrifying to know that the soulless automatons controlling Congress want me to live the rest of my life with the nagging fear that I'll never get affordable health insurance again. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer four months ago, and I've already racked up close to $200,000 in medical bills since. This is despite everything going as smoothly as one could hope for: this the most common form of cancer for young men (I'm 29), I caught it early, and have a medical team with enough experience and data to make treatment a straightforward affair.I still had absolutely zero way of preparing for having $200k of bills dropped in my lap. Except, of course, I'm lucky enough to have a good job with good insurance.