The Supreme Court, health care reform and one little girl - Page 1

Why are some of us fighting this? I mean come on the uninsured who have an emergency can't pay anyways which costs all more in the long run. Poor baby.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/27/health/health-care-insurance-lifetime-caps/index.html

Novato, California (CNN) -- When health care reform passed Congress more than two years ago, Julie Walters yelled for her husband to come into the living room where she was watching the vote live on television.

"I was so happy," Walters remembers. "I yelled for Matt. I said, 'Do you know what this means? Do you know what this means?'"

The historic vote meant their 18-month-old daughter, Violet McManus, would be able to keep her health insurance. Without health care reform, she would have gotten kicked off her parents' insurance, perhaps as early as her 5th birthday, because her care is so expensive.

"I was like, Violet's covered now!" Walters remembers. "We're okay. We can breathe."

But now Violet's parents are worried they won't be able to breathe easily again.

This week, the Supreme Court is hearing a debate on health care reform. The court could keep the reform intact, repeal parts of it, or get rid of the law altogether.

"I'm really scared," Walters says. "Like, I-can't-sleep scared."

'Completely blue in her crib'

Violet McManus was born healthy, but when she was 11 months old her parents woke up in the middle of the night in their Novato, California, home to find her having a seizure.

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"She was completely blue in her crib and shaking," Walters remembers.

It was to be the first of hundreds of seizures -- sometimes thirty in one day.

Violet has been hospitalized about six times and each hospitalization cost more than $50,000.

She's now on two drugs to control the seizures and carries oxygen with her wherever she goes because she stops breathing when she has her seizures. She needs speech therapy and frequent doctor's visits.

See more about Violet and her family

Matt McManus, Violet's father, gets health insurance through his work as a video game designer. Before health care reform, there was a $5 million lifetime limit on Violet's insurance policy. Violet is now 3 and her parents calculate she could hit that cap by her 5th birthday, and almost certainly by her 10th.

See a quick breakdown of key health care reform issues

Health care reform made lifetime limits illegal -- which is why Violet's family breathed easier when it passed -- but now her parents are worried the Supreme Court could restore the limits and Violet would lose her insurance. Walters has been so passionate about health care reform she contacted the office of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California) and MomsRising.org to advocate for the law.

If Violet does lose her current insurance, her parents know there's no way another insurance company will want to insure her because her care is so expensive.

"They'd be crazy to want to insure her," Walters says. "I mean, I wouldn't want to insure her if I was an insurance company."

Watching the Supreme Court case closely

Several provisions of health care reform have already gone into effect, so millions of other people, like Violet McManus, stand to lose a lot if all or part of it is reversed.

For example, 2.5 million young Americans get to stay on their parents' insurance until their 26th birthday because of health care reform, according to the Obama administration.

Seniors and people with disabilities have saved $3.2 billion on prescription drugs because of health care reform and insurance companies and 45 million women have received free mammograms and pap smears because of health care reform.

There are ripple effects, too.

After health care reform passed, Walters and McManus felt more secure about Violet's future and decided to have another child. Violet's little brother, Rory, was born two weeks ago.

  Elizabeth Cohen is a senior medical correspondent for CNN.

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Violet's parents know not everyone shares their enthusiasm about health care reform. Some people even traveled to Washington to protest in front of the Supreme Court this week. In particular, they object to the "individual mandate," which requires nearly all Americans to purchase insurance or pay a fine.

The protesters object to being forced to pay for something they don't want, but Walters and McManus see it differently.

At any point in time they say someone could find themselves in a difficult situation like they're in now and would want a system that insures you no matter how sick you are.

As McManus puts it, "I think people just sort of need to change their mindset about health care."

I haven't read what you typed, or watched the videos yet. I'll try to later.  However.....how can they force people to buy something....that many, many people can't even afford in this economy? And then penalize them for what they didn't buy.....that they couldn't afford? Really?

GREAT POINT...its not about forcing everyone to buy it, its about making affordable when everyones or most everyones buy it....just like electric...power....water....if you dont monopolize it, it will be too expensive for everyone....................why people fight this?? 1. because they are Republicans first,regardless of what is good for the people 2. because they are racists and cant believe an African-American had the guts to stand against the big insurance underwriters-companies, when everyone else in the government is lining their pockets of lobbying money.....who is against this health care reform??? this will tell you why is good for us: the hospitals, the insurance companies and the doctors, in their majority......this is how it started in Switzerland,and now is perfect and everyone is covered....lets think about the old ,the ones holding odd jobs, the ones working in thousand of places that dont provide insurance....BUT mainly,so an insurance company can not tell you " this disease is an old chronic,we will not cover it..its a pre-existing condition,sorry ""....lets hope the Supreme court does the right thing, and not just vote along party lines....this is a historic vote

Sorry, guy I knew this was going to be one of the arguements. Does the government(state) force you to buy car insurance and what about flood insurance, the government forces us to buy a lot of things we don't want to, but hey when this little girl and pleny of others like her are cut off you will still PAY and if you can't see that sorry not much explaining, reading or watching is going to help. What about PMI? TRY DRIVING AROUND WITHOUT INSURANCE AND WHEN YOU GET CAUGHT YOU WILL BE PENALIZED. So, really right back at you GUY. Or can't you see all the things our government forces us to buy because you can't see past the republicans spin? Sad that we would let our children suffer but worry about them before they are even born. It goes to the state of mind of your parties leaders.

On your 2nd point, if you have a major sickness and it costs you 100000s of thousands of dollars I know I would rather pay that monthly insurance premium than pay 100s a month to try and pay off a hospital bill. It really is that simple. And if you think it can't happen to you you are wrong, I had a mini-stroke when I was in my twenties it cost 1000s of dollars for tests, hospital stay and treatment--I didn't have insurance so thanks for paying it for me with higher health care costs because the hospital ate it when I had no choice but to file bankruptcy, ruined my credit for 10 years but hey so what, right? And what about the cost to you when the bank and credit cards companys had to eat the losses from my bankruptcy. No biggie, right and what about the millions who have had to do the same, it doesn't add up as a huge burden on society, does it? REALLY? Plus, if you are lucky to have a job that has health insurance you have to pay premiums, right? What is the difference if I pay it to my employeers coverage or I pay it to insurance companies directly?

The Republicans are all worried about that unborn fetus but when that baby is born, screw you you are on your own to pay for it if you have no insurance coverage. Hell there is even one whacked Republican that is worried about contraceptives you may want to use to avoid STDs and unwanted pregnancies, even tough millions of Christian women use pills, but we know how the republician leaders feel about women. If that person somehow wins election watch out there will be religious war because there can only be one right way, according to him.


jdiaz1791--Nice.

Is this what we really want???  Not me!

lol, spin away. when they don't have facts scare tatics always seem to work on the party line.

All you have to do is look at Greece--socialism, including medicine.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/05/greece-healthcare-brink-catastrophe

lol. All because of health care. I doubt it. Fine by me then you will still pay when these people all get cut off. Poor little girl.

BTW, the little girl is about facts and the right wing site that produced that video--well you be the judge.

My wife is still a Canadian citizen, from Quebec. The horror stories out of Canada concerning healthcare are amazing.

My wife's cousin was put on some kind of medicine because of a bad back. No one monitored his medicine etc. It eventually shut down his kidneys and he is no longer with us.

But of course Michael Moore said it is free. Yep health care is FREE. I guess the government just keeps printing more money to pay for it, just like they are doing now.

I mean anything the government runs is the pits. Plain & simple.

Or they could print more money to fight bogus wars. Health care or bogus wars? I chose health care.

I like all the scare tactics when they don't have facts fear is their only weapon. And people eat it like candy, mmmm, give me more.