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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4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
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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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