Celebrating health care

Lutheran Family and Children's Services is a not-for-profit agency that works with children and families across the state of Missouri. We provide adoption services and support for families, training for foster families, assistance and support to women faced with unplanned or crisis pregnancies, as well as counseling and other services for seniors. In every facet of our work we see how important health care is to our clients and how devastating the lack of health insurance (or the poor quality of health insurance) can be for people.

While we recognize that no bill is perfect, we are very excited about the improvements within the Affordable Care Act and want to encourage people to take a second or two with the recent anniversary of the law's passage to reflect on these benefits and what they mean for Missourians: new protection for children with pre-existing conditions; young adults who can now stay on their parents' health plan; small businesses getting tax credits to help cover their workers; seniors getting help with drug costs and preventive care; and more.

If you want to learn more about the Affordable Care Act, we encourage you to visit www.covermissouri.org or www.familiesusa.org.

MOLLY STRICKLAND, Cape Girardeau