Americans no longer have to live with the fear they could max out their health coverage when they need it the most.
Because of the healthcare law, insurance companies can no longer set arbitrary lifetime caps on benefits, putting millions of Americans one car accident, illness or heart attack away from bankruptcy.
This healthcare law provision is especially good news for people with serious illnesses, something that resonates in a big way with Pennsylvania medical-surgery oncology nurse Kim Klinger.
PHOTO: Kim Klinger, RN, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania
"Thanks to the new law, no cancer patient--or anyone with a serious illness--will be faced with this kind of death sentence again."
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 105 million people no longer have a lifetime "cap" on the care they need to survive a serious illness such as cancer.
Before the healthcare law, most health insurance plans set a yearly dollar limit on how much they would pay for a patient's care. Many plans also set a lifetime limit on what they would pay for the entire time a patient was enrolled in that plan. Patients were required to pay all other costs once the limits were reached.
The healthcare law stops these practices. Insurance companies can no longer put a lifetime dollar limit on most benefits, and the law restricts and phases out the annual dollar limits as well. By 2014, those limits will be eliminated entirely.
Check out SEIU's recently released Better Care, Better Lives report for more stories from healthcare workers about how the healthcare law is helping their patients and families.
How has the Affordable Care Act helped you?
In the time since it first went into effect, the healthcare law has improved the lives and health of millions-with many more improvements to come as the law is fully implemented in 2014.
Share your story as we celebrate the second anniversary of the health care law.
Learn how the Affordable Care Act affects you and your family
The healthcare law is benefitting millions of Americans. Share your story
Don't put Medicaid and Medicare back on the chopping block
