What do you think about Obamacare?

[Dbkrantz 16]

Hi guys,

With registration opening in just a couple of days, I wanted to know your opinion about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Do you think it's going to change things for better or worst?

Look forward to reading your ideas.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

With registration opening in just a couple of days, I wanted to know your opinion about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Do you think it's going to change things for better or worst?

Look forward to reading your ideas.

I think there are a lot of good ideas, but I don't think the final "product" is a good one.

My colleague and I have discussed this at length. In her case: She is divorced with 4 kids who are covered by their dad's health insurance and she pays the co-pay (in installments because even that is hard for her income). She is low-income enough to more than qualify for food stamps, medicaid and all that jazz but hates using the government like that. She said she would HAVE to go on medicaid once this kicks in. She can't afford her own health insurance, our employer is small enough that he doesn't need to provide health care, and even if she DID have health care, she can't afford the co-pay anyway.

Her statements about it were thus. You're fining people through their taxes if they don't have healthcare, yet they don't get anything for this "fine" (as in, it's not like they're paying to use medicaid through their taxes or whatever. You're taking money from someone for being unable to afford something... and they're seeing nothing in return for their money). They don't have healthcare because they can't afford the healthcare. Forcing people to get healthcare, however "affordable", still won't have the people use it because they still can't afford the associated co-pays. So instead, you're making people poorer, without any added benefit.

We have health insurance and my husband STILL doesn't like to use it. We have a decent plan too. But his surgery cost us $1100 with deductible and co-pay. That's not a LOT of money, but it's still enough that it helped us see how truly screwed some people would be.

The main benefits to Obamacare are the women's health stuff. Having my BC rod removed will be free. Having it inserted the fee would depend on my income back last year I looked into it and it was going to be about $600-900 because of our income and the fact it's not the "popular" method of BC (I refuse to do the IUD and the pill sucks). I like the free breast pump for breast feeding mothers but have read that certain health care funds are getting around that little gem by only offering the manual hand pump. It still fulfils the "free pump" requirements but no BF'ing mother I know would use it so they end up paying for an electric one.

Every week I see people going bankrupt for medical bills. There's even a term for it it's that common. Obamacare won't stop that because people are still poor, co-pays exist (no matter how small they may be) and people will be "fined" for being too poor to afford it... a joke if I ever heard one. Medicaid is going to be flooded with applications so I suggest people apply now before the rush.

[Protocol417 161]

VanessaTony makes some good points.

I'm on the fence, and will wait until all implications are in before I make the final call about what I think, but if I had my way it would be universal healthcare.

I'm in the same boat as Vanessa/Tony. I have insurance, but I never use it. The last time I did, it was for an endoscopy which cost me $550 and wasn't diagnostically helpful in the long run. Back then, I could afford that, but now? It wouldn't put me on the streets, but it would be pretty detrimental. And because my employer covers enough to make my premium affordable, I'm stuck with it.

This is yet another band-aid on a really, really long list of band-aids on our health care system. But I'm hoping that it will get us one step closer to an actual solution.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

VanessaTony makes some good points.

I'm on the fence, and will wait until all implications are in before I make the final call about what I think, but if I had my way it would be universal healthcare.

I'm in the same boat as Vanessa/Tony. I have insurance, but I never use it. The last time I did, it was for an endoscopy which cost me $550 and wasn't diagnostically helpful in the long run. Back then, I could afford that, but now? It wouldn't put me on the streets, but it would be pretty detrimental. And because my employer covers enough to make my premium affordable, I'm stuck with it.

This is yet another band-aid on a really, really long list of band-aids on our health care system. But I'm hoping that it will get us one step closer to an actual solution.

Agreed. I think if we had the money for healthcare taken from our taxes, and the amount of "copay" was regulated to a small affordable amount that it would be fantastic.

I REALLY want this to be a good thing. Your endoscopy is a perfect example as well. My husbands surgery didn't occur right away. It was after a doc visit, then a specialist visit, then testing, then a specialist visit, then more testing, then surgery, then follow-ups. We knew there was something wrong but we had to pay multiple co-pays, attend multiple appointments, before the surgery actually occurred. What if we WEREN'T sure there was something wrong? That's a lot of money to lay out. And it's NOT transparent at all. It's just "wait until the end and be surprised by the bill".

I need to be tested for celiacs. My aunt (she's 86 this year) was just diagnosed and it would explain a lot. I'm terrified of how much the "testing" will cost. What's involved? What if my insurance doesn't cover some obscure testing for food allergies? I'm having a sleep study done soon as well. Same thing, what if my insurance doesn't cover it all? I can make payments towards the medical bills, but is the stress of worrying over that worth it? It's just scary. I want it to be standardised. THAT would be awesome.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Obamacare is essentially Republican health care policy. A lot of it came out of the Heritage Foundation back in the early 1990's and Newt Gingrich used Obamacare (it wasn't known under that title then, of course) to derail Clinton's attempt to reform the unfunny joke that is mistaken as health care system in this country. Nothing that comes out of the Heritage Foundation has ever been any good so naturally, Obamacare is pretty crappy. It's maybe going to improve a few things around the edges - I'm sure that many people that have no way to obtain health care coverage today will be thrilled - but it's far from what is needed to finally bring a health care system that's worth the label to this country.

[Dbkrantz 16]

I really love your ideas on this. Very interesting.

For me, it's hard to make sense of it all. I grew up in France so, I never had to deal with any of it. In France, it's standardised, transparent and it just works. Now, the downside to this is that Doctors and Nurses are paid pretty close to nothing for the hours and responsibility and the government has lost a lot of money because of Sécurité Sociale, but overall, for us mere citizens, it seems to be working well.

I am a bit confused as to why you would not use insurance if you have it? Can you clarify that please?

[Pooky 3,838]

Obamacare was legislation they could pass, not legislation they should pass.

Instead of eliminating insurance companies from the equation, thus ensuring that the 20% of movies paid did not get leeched out of the system, the legislation locks them into the system, ensuring that this cycle continues with the added mandate. Healthcare should be about health, not shareholder profits.

But this bill was bought and paid for, by the pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies and the Congresspeople and Senators that ensured that got a good deal for their votes. Now, when even some of its biggest supporters are begging for opt-outs, or, in the case of the unions, sounding dire warnings, realizing that it's going to hurt their members, Nancy Pelosi's words are coming back to haunt the very people who voted for it. They did so, now they're finding out just what was in it.

[Protocol417 161]

I am a bit confused as to why you would not use insurance if you have it? Can you clarify that please?

On top of your monthly insurance premium, you're also responsible for any co-pays, deductibles, and/or procedures/services/medication/etc. your insurance company will not cover. This amount can depend greatly based on the type of coverage you have, and is really hard to figure out in advance (pretty sure it's complicated on purpose). It can rack up to hundreds, if not thousands of dollars... you usually don't know until you get the bill in the mail.

Therefore, if you know (or you're afraid) that you're not going to be able to afford your "share" of the costs, you might "tough it out" instead of seeking medical help, just like you'd do if you never had insurance in the first place.

Also, secondary clinics (such as "minute clinics" in pharmacists/corner drug stores which take care of basics, urgent care centers, etc.) are popping up all over the US now, and even if they don't accept insurance, they may be cheaper than going to your regular doctor or hospital under your insurance plan.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Meh. I have an HMO. I pay what they tell me to pay, and my out of pocket seems reasonable, especially when I see what I didn't have to pay when I get my statements. I don't expect much to change.

[Danno 1,228]

The hope behind Obama-care is this it will deliver what all Gov't involvement promises

-You will get out of it more than you put in.

So far my rates have gone up considerably so I'm thinking a Legal case for FALSE ADVERTISEMENT might be well made....

concerning the Affordable care Act.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The hope behind Obama-care is this it will deliver what all Gov't involvement promises

-You will get out of it more than you put in.

So far my rates have gone up considerably so I'm thinking a Legal case for FALSE ADVERTISEMENT might be well made....

concerning the Affordable care Act.

Do you think your rates would not have gone up, or not gone up as much, without Obamacare?

[Danno 1,228]

Do you think your rates would not have gone up, or not gone up as much, without Obamacare?

Absolutely not, how could they not go up when the Gov't required them to give more coverage to illnesses and adults up to 26 on their parents policy, you think those medical bills are paid from nothing?

The cost will only go higher now, I would be big-bucks on that.

In fact I challenged 3 lib friends of mine who were all for it

to a bet on the cost of insurance over the next five years.

If it was more affordable I would pay $1000 to anyone willing to take the bet, none did and you wouldn't either.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Absolutely not, how could they not go up when the Gov't required them to give more coverage to illnesses and adults up to 26 on their parents policy, you think those medical bills are paid from nothing?

The cost will only go higher now, I would be big-bucks on that.

In fact I challenged 3 lib friends of mine who were all for it

to a bet on the cost of insurance over the next five years.

If it was more affordable I would pay $1000 to anyone willing to take the bet, none did and you wouldn't either.

Looks are a fairly consistent graph to me:

I expect you would be laughed out of court.

Edited September 23, 2013 by The Patriot

[Danno 1,228]

Looks are a fairly consistent graph to me:

I expect you would be laughed out of court.

Thanks for that graph.

I'm sure it would get laughed out of court but the larger point remains......Will it live up to it's claim? Making Healthcare noticeably more affordable?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Thanks for that graph.

I'm sure it would get laughed out of court but the larger point remains......Will it live up to it's claim? Making Healthcare noticeably more affordable?

Well, since the stuff that is supposed to make that happen doesn't begin until after October 1st, we will find out. However, the roll out seems to be a clusterfuck so far, so let's see how long it takes them to get up and running as efficiently anything the US government ever does, and see what happens to premiums over the next five years, or so.

But, I suspect without the cost controls and rationing the insurance companies already have in place, not much will change if the government programs want to remain solvent, without additional subsidies (taxes). Eventually they will get to a single payer system, when they make it impossible for the insurance companies to compete with the government through price controls and more surcharges (taxes).

My impression is that all this does nothing to do with the actual reason health costs, and therefore premiums, keep going up. Unless people are willing to accept mediocre care, and forget about life extending and quality of life procedures past the age of 55, costs will continue to go up.