I don't think the Health Insurance Reform Act was a great progressive achievement.

[dflprincess]

45. Access to care is not guaranteed

It will cover certain screening tests but it does not require that any follow up those tests indicate you need be covered. It can cost several thousand dollars just to find out the weird spot on the "free" screening mammogram is benign. If it isn't benign, your surgery, radiation and chemo will all be subject to out of pockets.

Emergency care from everything from an appendectomy to a heart attack will still be subject to the the out of pockets.

Care for chronic conditions (like diabetes) is still subject to copays and deductibles. As more employers go to higher deductible policies, there is a growing number of people with chronic conditions who are not getting the routine care they need and who are stretching prescriptions out trying to make them last longer because they can't afford the out of pockets. Meanwhile the insurance companies this bill protects have been posting record profits.

As out of pocket limits increase more people will find themselves either without care or in deep financial trouble because they couldn't avoid the doctor.