Healthcare Reform: What does it mean for us?

Thousands of our calls, letters, emails, and visits to our Senators and Representatives in Congress have made the difference, and  President Obama signed healthcare reform into law.

What does this mean for us?

•    Insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny care to patients with pre-existing illnesses in 2014. This prohibition will begin for children within the next six months.
•    Lifetime caps on health coverage will be eliminated.
•    Preventive healthcare services will be covered for public and private insurance.
•    Parents will be able to keep dependents on their insurance policies through age 26.
•    The gap in Medicare drug coverage (the donut hole) will be closed for seniors during 2010.

These provisions will be enacted within six months, and will help more than 32 million Americans afford the healthcare they need. Would you like more information on the provisions of healthcare reform and when they will be enacted? See the immediate benefits of healthcare reform and what this means for Washington.

Even as our nation’s leaders are expanding access to healthcare -  a victory that took decades to achieve - Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has signed on to a lawsuit to delay or even block healthcare reform and prevent our work from moving forward.

Sign the online petition to Rob McKenna and tell him to stop using our tax dollars to obstruct healthcare reform that will help our families and patients. Tell him we’re counting on him to protect the 105,000 Washington residents with pre-existing conditions, and the 163,000 local small businesses who will receive tax credits to help them afford coverage.

We need  Rob McKenna  to stand up for nurses, professional, technical, and service healthcare workers and our patients and families instead of standing in the way of  healthcare reform.