Discontinuity of Care

“If anyone could manage to obtain treatment under the Affordable Care Act,” The New York Times reports, “it should have been Liz Jackson. With a severe nerve condition that forced her out of a job, Jackson did not just qualify for a government‐​subsidized plan, she also knew her way around the new system, having been trained as a volunteer ‘health care navigator’ to help others sign up. Yet the collapse of her insurer, Health Republic Insurance of New York — the largest of 12 health care co‐​ops nationwide set to close this year — has left her and more than 200,000 others in a panic over medical coverage after their plan ceases on Nov. 30.”

The Obama administration has boasted that under the Affordable Care Act, “all Americans now have secure access to health insurance,” and “Americans will have the security of knowing that they don’t have to worry about … being rated up or denied coverage altogether due to a disability.” Liz Jackson’s story demonstrates that these promises, like others made by Obamacare’s authors, are not true. Jackson is one of (so far) 750,000 people who lost their existing coverage when an Obamacare co‐​op collapsed, threatening their continuity of care. Her experience, which she will detail in person at this highly compelling event, further shows that the amount enrollees pay for their Obamacare plans can skyrocket due to a disability. Jackson argues Congress should mend the Affordable Care Act, not end it. Can Congress fix Obamacare? Or are these sorts of failures inevitable consequences of a government guarantee of access to medical care? Join us.