Rep. Johnson highlights benefits of Affordable Care Act in Fourth District

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) announced that a new analysis shows that hundreds of thousands of people in his district are already benefiting from the Affordable Care Act. The second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act is March 23.

“It has only been two years since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, but millions of Americans are already seeing lower costs and better coverage,” said Rep. Johnson. “Residents of my district – ranging from young adults to seniors to children with pre-existing conditions – are all already receiving critical benefits from this new health care law.”

The new analysis shows that the new health care law is working for Fourth District residents:

► 360,000 people are now protected from insurance companies from dropping them is they get sick.

► 200,000 residents are protected from insurance companies putting lifetime limits on coverage. In the past, in some cases, lifetime limits on coverage have forced some families to declare personal bankruptcy.

► 6,100 young adults now have health insurance because the law requires health insurers to permit parents to retain coverage for their children until their 26th birthday.

► 4,300 seniors have lower drug costs because the law provides a 50 percent discount for brand-name drugs for seniors in the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole’ coverage gap.

► 43,000 seniors have received free preventive Medicare services such as mammograms, colonoscopies, and annual wellness visits.

► $7 million in public health grants for our community health centers.

► Up to 43,000 children with pre-existing conditions are now protected against insurer denials.

► Nearly 500 small businesses have received tax credits to help maintain or expand health care coverage for their employees.

“As the new benefits of the health care law continue to be implemented, I will continue to fight GOP efforts to repeal this critical law,” said Johnson. “Republican efforts to repeal reform will put the insurance companies back in charge and will lead to higher costs and reduced benefits for millions of Americans across the country.”

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