Access to Affordable Healthcare
While there's still a lot that's unknown about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it's important that those who are in office are committed to improving access to healthcare, not walking back the progress that's been made. Among its many benefits, the ACA made it possible for young adults, including those with disabilities, to stay on their parent's insurance until age 26 — a policy that originated in state legislatures. Many people with disabilities also rely on Medicaid, a benefit that under the ACA, should be more accessible than ever.
Michael J. Parker, an attorney who specialises in long-term disability and social security disability, explained that the ACA sought to expand Medicaid coverage for individuals by broadening the eligibility to adults with incomes of up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. However, many states have opted out of the Medicaid expansion, making it more difficult for people to receive Medicaid coverage.
"There are far less restrictions under Medicaid than there are under the policies provided under the Affordable Care Act," Parker told POPSUGAR. "As the law stands now, an individual in South Carolina, where the state government refused the Medicaid expansion to protect people up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, would be required to purchase insurance under the Affordable Care Act and would be forced to pay a deductible that they probably could not afford, if they used that insurance." If states like South Carolina would accept federal funds to expand Medicaid, people with disabilities would have better coverage with either no deductible or a smaller deductible.
It's an important reminder that elected officials at every level of government should be working to build on the ACA, as well as safeguard protections for the most vulnerable should the law not survive its legal challenges.