THE ANGRY BLACK MAN: 07/01/2012

Monday, July 2

WHAT OBAMACARE DOES AND WILL DO FOR US POOR BLACK FOLKS

By now I know most of us Black folks have heard of ObamaCare but you probably say….what the hell is ObamaCare? Well the President has taken on health care reform through a series of health care reform proposals since he was sworn into office. And you still didn’t know?? Thus the name…. "ObamaCare". The President’s major healthcare reform plans can be broken down into two phases; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and The Health Care for America Plan (which we refer to today as ObamaCare). I am a Black man and a private citizen who is very interested in presenting the facts on Obama's health care reform. The Angry Black Man does not have any funding or agenda, I lean toward truth, not a party line. Of course, if you would like to donate to my broke ass…..send in please! The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The first phase of Obama health care reform began in 2009, which included The Affordable Health Care for America Act; followed by The Patient Protection Act, which ended with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2010 also known as the "Affordable Care Act" (this is what we should call it). After going through several changes, the "Affordable Care Act" was signed into law by the President on March 23, 2010. This Act reformed certain aspects of the American Health Care system, but there was still more work to do. ObamaCare: The Health Care For America Plan The Next phase of ObamaCare (this is what Obama Care Means as of today... July 2, 2012, is the current Health Care for America Plan. ObamaCare or the Health Care for America Plan is smartly focused on health care funding, reducing the cost of healthcare for us Black folks, increasing coverage, and removing the burden that health care has become on us Black people! In the two years since it's become a law the Affordable Health Care Act, has already made a big difference in our communities. In Connecticut, health insurance companies are now required to provide health insurance for sick Americans. That’s right….sick Americans, which we Black people are, at an alarming rate! No system is perfect, but this shit aims to reform the American medical system towards the favor of the people and away from the monopoly of the medical industry. ObamaCare Update The last memo from the Obama administration, congressional Democrats, and much of the media (that includes me) is that if the Supreme Court struck down all or part of Obamacare, it would place the Court’s legitimacy itself at risk. It did!! After all, 28 state attorneys generals, two District Court Judges and five Circuit Court Judges (including a Bill Clinton friend), numerous out of touch law professors, and 72 percent of the American public believed that Obamacare’s attempt to force every American to buy a specific commercial product is unconstitutional, it would have obviously be an unprecedented act of judicial activism for the Court to agree. News of The Day: Can ObamaCare Save Medicare There was a lot of talk from supporters of Obamacare saying that if Obamacare is not allowed, Medicare may be heading for disaster. Obamacare supporters say Medicare's payment system which handles over 100 million monthly claims is in jeopardy if health care reform does not "fix" this issue. Obama Care: National Health Care For Everyone ObamaCare or Health Care for America is a universal health care reform plan that will grant affordable health insurance to all Americans. This means that Black folks who have the means to pay for private health insurance will still do it, while those who don't make enough will be provided aid. This system of health care will work similar to Medicare and existing employer-provided healthcare plans. Hum!! The aim of Obama Care is not to take away things from people or to give handouts to people who don't deserve it. It is only to provide affordable health insurance to all Americans so they can continue in their pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness without the American Health Insurance companies standing in their way. Obama Care Health Care Reform: Health Care For America Under the Health Care for America Act, every legal resident of the United States of America who is not already covered under Medicare or an employer-provided health care plan will be eligible to purchase coverage through "Health Care for America". Black folks will be presented with the choice between affordable and free health care choices and more expensive private health care choices. It will be up to every Black person to look at the situations of themselves and their families and pick the right health care option for them. What does ObamaCare Cover? ObamaCare Healthcare for America Plan provides complete and comprehensive medical coverage for every damn body. Health care for America when combined with private insurance and current Medicare plans will cover every aspect of necessary healthcare including mental health, child health and woman's health. It will also provide drug coverage and free preventative care and checkups for our children. IN A NUTSHELL Medicaid already covers the poor, WHICH MANY OF US ARE. Many lower income families will now qualify for Medicaid or low cost plans, if you don't already have insurance through your employer (as most Americans do). If you have kids, they can stay on your policy until age 26. You can no longer be dropped from your health insurance if you become ill. You can no longer be denied insurance if you are sick. You will get all of you basic checkups with no copayment. You no longer have to worry about caps in coverage.....so if you get cancer and need chemotherapy, they will cover ALL of your treatments, and not deny your care midway through your chemotherapy. Etc. Damn good shit ain’t it!!!!!!!! When will the law go into effect? Actually, parts of the plan have already gone into effect. For example, new health plans are required to provide free preventative care for services like colonoscopies and mammograms, and young adults are covered by their family's insurance plan until they turn 26. So parts of the plan have already been implemented, but with this ruling, we will see more changes to come. In addition, many of the major changes will happen in 2014. MORE GOOD SHIT!! What are some things to look forward to? We Black folks will see a lower cost of medications and more preventative care coverage. You'll also be able to access the new health insurance exchange programs, which are said to be the healthcare version of online travel companies like Orbitz. Competition among the companies is expected to drive down insurance prices. Other benefits of the plan include more help for our people who can't afford insurance, and insurance companies won't be able to deny people with preexisting conditions coverage. What's this about a fine if I don't get health insurance? If you ain’t covered by insurance by 2014, you need to get it or your ass will be fined. In 2014, uninsured people will face a fine of $95 or one percent of their income, and in 2015, the penalties are even steeper. This fee is meant to encourage younger people in good health to take up insurance, and the money goes towards funding for the older patients and those who AIN’T in good health. Those exempt from this fine includes people make very little income, certain religious groups, and families who pay over eight percent of their income to insurance premiums even after employer contributions and federal subsidies. How will we Black folks fund the new law? In 2013, people who make more than $200,000 have to pay an additional 0.9 percent tax for the Medicare Part A payroll tax, on top of the 1.45 percent they already pay. This will help fund the healthcare changes. Those who make money through investments might have to pay a 3.8 percent tax on what they make on capital gains and dividends. The mandate to buy insurance or pay a fine will also help fund these new efforts. How does this affect insurance companies? In 2014, insurance companies will not be able to exclude or limit coverage to people who have current or past health conditions. In 2014, businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to insure their workers or pay a $2,000 fine per uninsured worker. This places more pressure on your employer, but it doesn't necessarily mean the company will comply. Is this law here to stay? I don’t know…… It will stay in effect for now, but the future of the plan depends on the outcome of the November elections.

Posted by PHILLIP NORTON at 9:38 AM No comments:
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A LIL BIT ABOUT ME

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Phillip Norton. I 'm a 63 year old Black blooded writer/visual activist/urban street missionary with four outstanding adult sons. I was raised in a house, but I'm field certified. America is the place of my birth, but I consider myself a citizen of the world. I’m the editor and founder of The Angry Black Man. I, as a righteously angry Black man growing up in the Gary, Indiana urban experience have witnessed many events in my life from a very unique point of view, one that is almost impossible to express through the so called mainstream media that will never showcase a talent who doesn't echo their spiritually twisted and hypocritical perceptions of Black reality.

As an outspoken Black writer/artist, it is very difficult to express myself fully when the medium that publishes my work has the final say in the finished product, most often literally robbing it of its intended impact and message! My writing has been featured by The Indianapolis Recorder, Salon, Huffington Post Black Voices, Chicago Defender, Blackagendareport, and Mother Jones. My work has also been referenced by FOX NEWS, MSNBC, the Rush Limbaugh Show, as well as online magazines and publications such as The Atlantic Buzzfeed, Earhustle 411, AMPS Magazine, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. But I know all too well from experience that it is next to impossible to gain any lucrative acknowledgement from the very oppressors to whom I target in my work. I attempt to enlighten the ignorant and break the mental chains put on us through an educational system that never will activate the dormant greatness that exists in our mighty Black souls.

Read on and let the much-needed detoxification, cleansing and reprogramming begin. My talents are spiritually given and do not belong to me, so I have a responsibility with all I have been exposed to in this life to enlighten others in my own unique way to the lessons that I have learned.

Much love and solidarity, brothers, and sisters!

The views expressed on this site are mine and mine alone. They do not reflect the views of any contractual employer, or any professional or legal organization with which I’m affiliated.

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FRED HAMPTON “POLITICAL PRISONER” VIDEO

CLICK ON PHOTO TO SEE VIDEO. On December 4th, 1969, Chicago police raided Fred Hampton’s apartment and shot and killed him in his bed. He was just twenty-one years old. Black Panther leader Mark Clark was also killed in the raid. While authorities claimed the Panthers had opened fire on the police who were there to serve a search warrant for weapons, evidence later emerged that told a very different story: that the FBI, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the Chicago police conspired to assassinate Fred Hampton.