The ladies over at Feministing have broken down the important details of the healthcare bill. Here’s an except from their most recent posting.

From Jos at Feministing:

“This bill is a major expansion and improvement of the U.S. health care system. This long overdue legislation is the result of almost a century of organizing and political action. It is a considerably weaker bill than we started with about a year ago, though. There is no public option included, surely a win for insurance companies but a loss for the rest of us, and it is not without very serious problems.The bill would:

• Expand coverage to 32 million uninsured in the U.S.
• Create insurance exchanges. The uninsured, self-employed and small businesses could purchase insurance through state-based exchanges. There are subsidies to help purchase insurance through the exchange for those who make between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
• Expand Medicaid to cover those who make up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid.
• Close the so-called Medicare “donut hole,” a costly gap in prescription drug coverage for seniors.
• Ban higher premiums and denial of coverage because of preexisting conditions.
• Ban higher premiums for women.
• Require coverage of maternity care.
• Allow children to continue being covered by their parent’s plans through age 26.
• With some exceptions, require all U.S. citizens to purchase insurance or face a $695 annual fine.
• Require those with 50 or more employees to insurance or pay a $2000 fine per employee every year if any employee receives federal subsidies for purchasing insurance. The actual employer mandate was removed by the Senate.
• Ban undocumented immigrants from purchasing insurance with their own money in the new exchanges.
• Ban the use of federal funds to pay for abortion in the exchange, which experts say will eventually eliminate even private insurance coverage for abortion.”

Feminsting, thank you for your continued education on women and women’s rights.

Healthcare is one of the most important rights for women, especially when autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease affect many more women than men. Fighting for increased access to testing is an important front in the battle for equality.

Also: as usual, the comments at Feministing are worth reading on this one.

Congratulations, USA!

May you collectively save money on acute healthcare costs by diagnosing chronic illnesses sooner, respecting your patients’ concerns, and allowing healthcare access for all members of society so they don’t burden you with much more expensive conditions later.

This is a very important bill for people with CD, especially those 85% who remain undiagnosed. Now that testing and biopsies will become for financially available, perhaps we will see a wave of new diagnoses over the next two years. I hope so.

Again, congratulations to my peeps south of the border.

What does it take to get diagnosed for celiac disease in the United States? Thousands and thousands of dollars, years of being told that you’re a hypochondriac, and persistence. Sweet, sweet persistence.

Don’t get me wrong, I think some of the acute healthcare available in the United States is pretty impressive. But every time I think of being diagnosed with CD, I thank my lucky stars that I was in Canada, where I didn’t pay anything for my blood tests, my biopsy, my dietitian, or my meetings with the osteoporosis specialists. 

It’s still very important to remember that having CD is an expensive pastime - I pay hundreds of dollars in food and nutrition supplements every month that I otherwise would not have to buy. But thank goodness I didn’t have to pay $4,000 for blood work. What a nightmare.

This girl, Orcasisle, has made a great video on CNN’s iReport (apple plug, anyone?) about “the shortcomings of the U.S. health care system during [her] 6 year journey getting diagnosed with Celiac Disease highlighting the need for health care reform.”

I thought it was a great (even better near the end) bit of independent journalism. Congratulations on your diagnosis, Orcasisle, and on getting through the healthcare system despite all the drawbacks you encountered.