Affordable Care Act Remains with President Obama’s Election

Senior caregivers often do not have health insurance.  Why?  Because it is not currently easy for small businesses to obtain affordable group health insurance and because many senior caregivers work part-time and do not qualify for the health insurance benefit that companies can only offer to full-time employees.  This just seems sort of wrong that we would ask someone to provide care services for a senior and yet not offer them health insurance. 

Caregiverlist advocates for quality senior care and for the proper care of caregivers.  This means senior caregivers should receive payroll benefits, such as contributions to Social Security (so the caregiver can retire and collect Social Security benefits) and unemployment insurance to allow them a cushion while they seek a new job should a senior pass away or get better and no longer need care.  In addition, worker’s compensation insurance benefits are a necessity in an industry which requires the transfer of a senior from a bed to a wheelchair to a toilet to a shower.  Senior care is not at all like child care and seniors also need caregivers who are properly trained.

Many Americans believe our country has a moral obligation to provide its citizens with coverage for health care and that promoting preventive health care and disease prevention will improve the medical profession and result in a reduction of health care costs.  President Obama’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act will be an achievement that will change many lives for the better and perhaps inspire more and more incentives for Americans to live a healthy lifestyle.

Senior caregivers will now have access to affordable health insurance – for this reason alone, the Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction.  Like all new initiatives, certainly there will be some things that work as expected and some things that need to be changed.  If you have ever moved into a new house or bought a car, you know the reality of reality vs. expectations.  Most things do not turn out exactly as you had planned but the fun part is making the enhancements and improvements once you have begun a new journey.  Americans will figure out how to make health insurance for everyone work and work better than the current system where you can walk into an emergency room and be treated “for free” but not have access to affordable health care.  Except, as medical personnel know, the E.R. isn’t really free at all – we have just been inefficiently footing that bill by overcharging those who do have health insurance.

Affordable Insurance Exchanges will begin in the Fall of 2013 and tax credits for middle-class families will begin in 2014.  Review the  timeline for the Affordable Care Act here as we prepare for all Americans to enjoy health insurance benefits.  Professional senior caregivers who have not enjoyed health insurance in the past can now plan ahead for this new benefit.