The Supreme Court Of America confirms the legality of the Affordable Care Act.
The American Diabetic Association just issued this statement on the Supreme Court Ruling on the Affordable Care Act.
Why was the law needed?
Under the old health care system, it was legal to deny health insurance to people with diabetes or force them to pay more for insurance coverage simply because they had diabetes.
Even for people who had insurance coverage, their plans sometimes didn’t cover the most basic diabetes needs, leaving them with large expenses in addition to the cost for insurance.
This lack of affordable access to care led many people to forgo the care they needed to prevent, delay or slow the progression of diabetes.
That meant cutting back on – or even going without – the doctor visits, insulin, medicines and test strips necessary to managing diabetes.
As a result, many people ended up suffering needlessly from diabetes complications that might have been prevented had medical care been available to them earlier.
I have diabetes. What does the ACA mean for me?
The ACA has many important provisions that impact people with diabetes, including rules about pre‐existing conditions, lifetime limits on benefits, drug costs, and programs aimed at preventing type 2 diabetes.
In 2014, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage because a person has a pre‐existing condition such as diabetes.
Will I have to pay more for my insurance coverage because of my diabetes?
Once the ACA is fully implemented in 2014, insurers will no longer be allowed to charge higher rates because you have diabetes.
The statement goes into more detail about the effects the ruling will have in the lives of those adults and children already diagnosed with diabetes and those who are yet to find out.
There are 80 million undiagnosed diabetics in the USA and 26 million who have diagnosed.
This is an historic day for them.
Robin Ellis 