O ctober 16, 2013 jpnrtlanb (Dbscwer Page 15 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Improving Access to Affordable Healthcare We fought a battle and won A m ericans w ho already have health insurance that you like, you can keep it and you don ’ t have to change a thing. T he only changes you w ill by M arc H. M orial see are new benefits, b etter p ro W e fought and w on tections from insurance co m a battle three years ago pany abuses and m ore value for to im prove access to e v e ry d o lla r y o u sp e n d o n affordable health care health care. fo r e v e ry A m e ric a n F o r ex am p le, you can no and finally it’s here. longer be den ied coverage b e T his m onth a key c o m ponent o f the cau se o f a pre-existing condition A ffordable C are A ct took effect and you c a n ’t be can celed because w hen the new H ealth Insuran ce you get sick. Y oung people can be M arketplace o pened for business, covered by th eir parents up to age allow ing m illions o f A m ericans to 26. shop fo r a variety o f quality, afford- M ost people w ill now be eligible able health plans that best m eet fo r free p reventive screenings like their needs. blood pressure and cholesterol tests, H ere is how it w orks. First, if you m am m ogram s, and colonoscopies, are am ong the vast m ajo rity o f Insurance co m p an ies w ill no longer be able to set a life-tim e d ollar lim it on w hat they spend for your essen tial health services. In addition, 47 million wom en will gain access to preventive health services. T he law m akes it illegal to charge w om en different rates than m en. A nd seniors on M edicare will have access to cheaper drugs, and free preventive care. For the m illions o f A m ericans w ho currently have no health in su r ance, the new law offers a long- aw aited lifeline o f protection. W ith a visit to the H ealth Insurance M ar ketplace at H ealthC are.gov (In O r e g o n , c o v e ro re g o n .c o m an d in W ash in g to n , w a h b ex c h an g e .o rg ) you can learn if you can get low er costs based on your incom e, co m pare your coverage options side- by-side, and enroll. W hen you use the M arketplace, or “health insurance exchange,” as it is also called, you'll fill out an applica tion and see all the health plans avail able in your area. You'll provide some inform ation about your household size and incom e to find out if you can get low er costs on your m onthly pre m ium s for private insurance plans. You'll learn if you qualify for low er out-of-pocket costs. The M arketplace will also tell you if you qualify fo r free o r low -cost coverage available through M ed ic aid or the C h ild ren ’s H ealth Insur ance Program . T he open enrollm ent period runs to M arch 31. C overage begins on Jan. 1. Y ou can also get help by calling 1-800-318-2596 (In O regon, 1-855- C overO R and in W ash in g ton, 1- 855-923-4633). P resident O b am a signed the A f fordable C are A ct into law on M arch 23, 2010. It w as upheld by the S u prem e C ourt on June 28, 2012. In O ctober, the law started to take full effect. W hile there w ill inevitably be som e start-up w rinkles to iron out, this law is good for the health o f the A m erican people and g o o d for the N ation. C ongressional extrem ists bent on stopping its im p lem en ta tion are fighting a losing battle and only putting their ow n political fu tures at risk. O bam acare is here to stay . Marc H. Morial is president and chief executive officer o f the Na tional Urban League. Clean Up Campaigns to Save the Environment An attack on basic democratic principles by M ichael B rune A m e ric a ’s p a rk s closed w ith the g o v e r n m e n t s h u td o w n . B ut w h a t’s really u n der attack is som ething even older C haucer A ffordable than o u r national park system : our a m illion-dollar ra ise — all w hile the dem ocracy. building bum s. H ow did w e reach a point w here W e d id n ’t get here by accident. one fraction o f one party that co n It’s the result o f a system atic attack trols one ch am b er o f C ongress on basic dem ocratic principles by a w ould drive o ur governm ent into handful o f people w ho have no in the g round if it d o e sn ’t get e v terest in a functioning dem ocracy. e ry th in g its m e m b e rs w an t? W hile there is no excuse, there is an ‘T h is s h u td o w n w as lik e a explanation. firefig h ter standing on the hose It starts w ith big m oney. The to stop the rest o f the com pany Suprem e C o u rt’s C itizens U nited from putting out a blaze until he gets decision opened the floodgates for a tidal w ave o f corrupting corporate m oney into o ur system . But w here is the m oney com ing from and w here is it going? C ourt R etirement L iving • A partments ~ S tudio ,O ne B edroom and M obility I mpaired ’ F ederal R ent S ubsidies A vailable • N o B uy -I n or A pplication F ees • A ffordable R ent 3 0 % of A djusted G ross I ncome ’ I deal U rban L ocation near P ublic T ransportation , S hopping , D ining , and M edical F acilities til X Come See Our Newly Renovated Apartments 1019 SW 10 th A ve • P ortland 97205 |Jort lanh (Obseruer P u blisher : E d ito r : Established 1970 Mark Washington M ich a el L eig h to n E xecutive D irector : Rakeem Washington C reative D irector : P aul N e u feld t O ffice M anager /C lassifieds : A dvertising M anager : H uge am ounts are from polluter- backed groups, w hich spent m ore than $270 m illion on television ads in ju st tw o m onths o f the 2012 e lec tion — and that explains w hy C o n gress has taken m ore than 300 votes attacking clean air and w ater. T he sam e people w ho are poisoning o ur dem ocracy are also determ ined to poison o ur environm ent. It’s no surprise that 80 percent o f A m eri cans agree that political m oney is preventing o ur m ost im portant chal lenges from being addressed. A t the sam e tim e, special interest groups are spending m illions to keep anyone w ho disagrees w ith them aw ay from the polls and out o f of- USPS 959-680 R eporter /P hotographer Donovan M. Smith significant reform. its M cC utcheon w ants o v erturned — and a good num ber o f them are oil, gas, and coal executives, from the sectors that directly co n trib uted $40 m illion in 2012. G ive them free rein to w rite w h atev er size o f a ch eck they w ant, and w e ’ll see that nu m b er skyrocket. T he faster that m oney pours in, the q uicker the voices o f ordinary A m ericans are drow ned out. W e can ’ t let that happen. A nd w e w o n ’ t. T hey m ay have m illions o f dollars, but we have m illions o f people. A nd, thanks to efforts like the D em ocracy Initiative, w e are organizing and com ing together to m ake sure our voices are heard. I f we w ant to see m ore shut dow ns and debt crises, then w e should m aintain the status quo. If w e w ant m ore attacks on our air, w ater, and clim ate, then all w e need to do is turn aw ay in d isg u st at the political posturing. But if w e w ant to restore a dem oc racy that w orks for A m ericans and w ill preserve a healthy p lan et for future generations, it’s tim e to stand up and fight back. C h a lle n g e s to o u r d e m o c ra c y m ight get even w orse. W e ’re fig h t ing a frig h te n in g S u p rem e C o u rt c h a lle n g e to c a m p a ig n fin a n c e lim its th a t w o u ld a llo w in d iv id u als to w rite m illio n d o lla r c h e c k s to b uy in flu e n c e , b ro u g h t to the c o u rt by S h au n M cC u tc h e o n — a co al c o m p an y c h ie f e x e c u tiv e o f Michael Brune is the executive ficer. director o f the Sierra Club, the larg O nly about 1,200 people cam e est grassroots environmental or close to reaching the spending lim ganization in the United States. ----------------- 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORT LAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED The Portland Observer-Oregon s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association Lucinda Baldwin Leonard Latin fice. N o sooner did the Suprem e C ourt gut a key part o f the V oting R ights A ct that state houses w ith R ep u b lican m a jo rities started p u sh in g through suppressive legislation to keep young people, seniors, stu dents, and people o f co lo r aw ay from the polls. It’s no coincidence that those are the sam e citizens w ho have voted against them . T hese challenges have led the Sierra C lub to team up w ith the N A A CP, C om m unications W orkers o f A m erica, and G reenpeace to form the D em ocracy Initiative. O ur goal is to build a m ovem ent to halt the corrupting influence o f corporate m oney in politics, prevent the m a nipulation and suppression o f vo t ers, and address o th er obstacles to CALL 503-288-0033 newsQportlandobserver.com FAX 503-288-0015 adsQportlandobserver.com subscription Qportlandobserver, com P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer, P0 Box 3137, Portland, OR97208