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Friday, May 5, 2017

Health Care Reform and Our Clients



With the new administration, the topic of healthcare has been at the top of the debate list. The proposed health care reform significantly affects three major groups of Origin SC’s clientele. Older Americans, mental health patients, and victims of domestic violence are among those who may soon have a more difficult time finding affordable coverage.


Origin SC’s representative payee and conservator departments work with seniors and individuals receiving mental health services. Our Family Violence Intervention Program works with individuals who have physical conditions resulting from rape or battery. Many of these clients also struggle with mental disorders such as depression or PTSD resulting from abuse. Under the proposed American Health Care Act, these types of services will not be covered under public health care.



Origin SC’s representative payee and conservator departments work with seniors and individuals receiving mental health services. Our Family Violence Intervention Program works with individuals who have physical conditions resulting from rape or battery. Many of these clients also struggle with mental disorders such as depression or PTSD resulting from abuse. Under the proposed American Health Care Act, these types of services will not be covered under public health care.


The second provision that would put Origin clients at risk is the elimination of protection for people with pre-existing conditions. In the world of medical insurance, the term pre-existing condition is not limited to conditions that one is born with. A pre-existing condition is defined as any health problem that was present before the start of an insurance plan. This can include innate conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or blindness. It can also include conditions that developed later in life but before the insurance policy began. Some of these conditions may already be part of your family’s history and have come about genetically. Others are a result from a traumatic event such as rape or paralysis resulting from a car accident.


Innate mental disability, socio-emotional disorders, and physical conditions resulting from traumatic events are all in the category of pre-existing conditions. Under the Affordable Care Act, people with pre-existing conditions were protected by a provision preventing companies from refusing coverage or increasing rates based on such histories. The proposed American Health Care Act would take away this legislation and would allow states to regulate protections to the degree that they individually determine.

The United States House of Representatives has passed the American Health Care Act on Thursday, May 4. The bill still has to come before the Senate, but Republican Senators have stated that they do not plan to vote in favor of the bill written. Rather, a 12-member Senate committee has been working on  drafting another health care reform bill. To alert your senators about your concerns with the potential changes, reach out to them at their contact info below:


Senator Tim Scott


Senator Lindsey Graham

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