and the worst are full of passionate intensity...

Remember those couples in high school who celebrated their six-month anniversaries? There was, as we remember it, always something pretty underwhelming about that particular milestone.  In making such a big deal of reaching half a year, these starry-eyed lovers seemed to unwittingly signal that maybe the full 12 months was a bit too much to ask for.  

The lifespan of adolescent romance came to mind this week as we read news reports marking the 6th-month anniversary of the national health care reform law.  

For health centers and our uninsured, low-income patients, the anniversary worth celebrating doesn't come until 2014, when Medicaid expansions will move millions more onto insurance coverage and into our clinics.

So while important provisions of the law take effect this week, health centers will, to extend the analogy, probably send the happy couple a card, and skip the party.  

There may, however, soon be a time when we need to organize a massive block-party style Health Reform celebration with all our friends and neighbors.  

Because we know this: Health Reform is something of a political hot potato in a country where 45% of the population still doesn't really know what the law says, and the people who feel most passionately about it seem intent on striking it from the books.  

It occurs to us that if the only people who care about Healthcare Reform are the people who want to overturn it, then eventually it really will be in trouble.  

Health centers need to take up the flag as Chief Defenders of Healthcare Reform.  We owe it to our patients to make sure that this landmark, groundbreaking, game-changing law is around in 4 years, when it really starts getting good.  

The six month anniversary of health care reform might not have significant impact for our target population, but the legacy of this law is in our hands.

Comments

[Three C]

There are various efforts underway that are focused on providing education on the various benefits of the law. The California Endowment is in the process of launching a comprehensive education campaign and the California Primary Care Association has also contributed resources to creating health ambassadors that can help with the educational efforts. More information on these efforts can be found on their respective web-sites.

[healthcarehawk]

i agree with whmis - there needs to be more done by the government to educate those who (like young people up through age 26) stand to benefit from the law as of now.

[whmis training]

I think, the law should provide some guidelines on how to educate the youth regarding what the law is emphasizing and what they can gain from it.