Before the puckishly named Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law, 45,000 was generally accepted as the number of Americans who died every year of conditions that would have been curable, had they not been diagnosed too late in an Emergency Room.  Thanks to Mr. Obama’s inspired and innovative health care scheme, that number may now be as low as 25,000 dead Americans a year for lack of health insurance.  Almost half of the 60,000,000 previously uninsured Americans are now covered under the PPACA.  An achievement anybody would be proud of, any way you slice it.   Shoot, 7,300 American veterans take their own lives every year in this country, for Christsake, as the president informed us on Veteran’s Day (20 American veterans take their own lives every day).

Admittedly, the PPACA health insurance system is still not perfect, even in states that adopted it early and eagerly, like New York State.  If you want a wee taste of the PPACA in action, and a very dry little chuckle, read the helpful paragraphs below and click on the link to see the list of providers.  This is from the New York “State of Health” “Marketplace” website.  It is for sure worth a quick click:

On this page, you will see the plans that are available for you to purchase. You can search plans by different criteria such as how much you will pay each month (monthly premium), the category (metal) of the plan you want, and/or the health insurance carrier you prefer. You can search for plans based on their quality ratings.

You can also see the plans that your doctor accepts, or plans that include hospitals or other facilities that you use. Click here to search for doctors and facilities. By clicking on the link, you will be re-directed to the NYS Provider & Health Plan Look-up website. However, this does not guarantee that your doctor accepts the plan. In addition to using the search function, call your doctors hospitals, or other facilities to see what plan they accept.