Watch: Nurses offer some real talk on Obamacare

The quick and dirty breakdown of one of the most significant laws affecting our generation in 90 seconds.

h/t Upworthy

Update: Transcript after the jump thanks to commenter Katie. 

Transcript:

“The healthcare law is here to stay. We are nurses and we care for our patients. So we are here to give you all the facts. The law offers more affordable healthcare, for hard-working, middle-class families and protects every American from the worst insurance company abuses. Now young adults can stay on their parents’ plans until age 26. Now insurance companies are required to provide preventative care, like mammograms and cancer screenings, at no additional cost. Now many seniors are getting big discounts on prescriptions. Insurance companies can no longer deny children care or charge more for pre-existing conditions and in 2014 the same will be true for all adults. Small businesses with up to 50 employees are receiving tax credits for providing healthcare. Also, by 2014, middle-class families and individuals will be eligible for tax credits to buy insurance and there will be an onlie marketplace where insurance companies have to compete so you can do one-stop shopping for the plan that’s best for you. Insurance companies can no longer put an annual or life-time dollar limit on your health coverage. Women cannot be charged more for men for the same plan. They can’t cancel your coverage if you or a family member becomes sick. Insurance companies are now required to spend at least 80% of their premiums on actual healthcare, not CEO bonuses. The law will reduce our nation’s budget deficit. No more excuses. No more delays. Politicians need to be standing up for middle-class Americans so we have basic healthcare security, not standing in our way. To learn more and contact your elected officials, go to HealthLawBenefits.org.”

 

SYREETA MCFADDEN is a Brooklyn based writer, photographer and adjunct professor of English. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches and Storyscape Journal. She is the managing editor of the online literary magazine, Union Station, and a co-curator of Poets in Unexpected Places. You can follow her on Twitter @reetamac.

Syreeta McFadden is a contributing opinion writer for The Guardian US and an editor of Union Station Magazine.

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