O ctober 16, 2013
jpnrtlanb (Dbscwer
Page 15
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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.
-----------------
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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
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