This whole deal is about insuring the PreX people and people who can’t afford health insurance so they will be subsidized at our expense. It is unclear how enrolling several million sick people will make the cost more affordable. Oops! Why is this act called the Affordable Care Act? It will clearly be much more expensive with actuaries predicting a 32% increase next year.
I have owned and operated a small business for the past 20 years. For the past 10 years my 3 employees have been covered under their spouses plans which offer better plans than I can. I reimburse for their portion of their premium, because I feel it is my duty as an employer to loyal employees. However, that leaves me and my family at the mercy of the individual plans. My wife had serious health issues this year and now I cannot get health insurance for her. Under the old health insurance system this would have eventually caused serious financial consequences for me and my family. So when you offer these bullshit, vague and abstract reasons for being against the ACA, I say, screw you. I did everything right, my wife was always healthy, and I should not have to face financial uncertainty because of a cruel, broken and financially unsustainable healthcare system. I can’t wait to sign up for the exchanges in October. I also appreciate a President who actually does look out for the middle class and the small businessowner instead of just paying us lip service every 4 years at election time. BTW… My small business is a P&C Insurance agency and I was a lifelong Republican until the party completely lost their mind and soul.
So Sean, why didn’t you have her covered under a plan before she started having health issues? I had individual coverage for several years covering myself and wife. I would put my wife’s health issues up against anyone with several major operations and she was covered on all of them. Rates surely went up over the years as has all plans. Apparently, you have swallowed the propaganda hook, line and sinker. Enjoy your Medicaid styled plan offered with the exchanges. It will hardly be “affordable”.
So what is going to happen if the spouses plans are not going to be offered? A lot of companies are opting out. What would that do if YOU now have to provide coverage for your 3 employees? And yes, why in the blazes didn’t you have coverage in the first place?
May 3, 2013 at 1:26 am
stupid here says:
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Name?
Address?
How much money did you make?
Too much? You’re screwed, you get no subsidy, but can’t afford your private coverage through your small employer because they’ve been gouged to pay for the freeriders.
Made not enough? Head on over to Medicaid where prescriptions have a $1 copay.
Porridge is just right? Great, your bronze plan will cost you 20k, your subsidy is 6k, What, you can’t afford the difference?
Oh well.
Flash forward to 2014, Republicans take over and burn it. Hold in there, just go to the charity hospital ER if you get a cold.
Hey Wvagt, I just downloaded the revised app to get coverage with the exchanges. It is still 10 pages long and you are right, it is mainly on income to determine if one is in need of a subsidy. It is interesting on the first page that it states – You may qualify for a free or low-cost program even if you earn as much as $94,000 a year (for a family of 4). Hmm! Is something rotten in Denmark or what?
There anticipated enrollment will be a huge disapointment as the majority of uninsured are there by choice. The enrollment will be those who are sick, those whom are rated and moving from existing plans. The healthy and responsible will stick with their underwritten plans.
Look at what happened to the Federal Health Insurance Pool, they folded it’s enrollment due to its dismal responce and interest. It wasnt worth the effort placed into the program. Good luck Obama, its swell that your not up for re election.
I would not say the majority of the uninsured are there by choice.
Case in point, my mother in law:
– Was laid off 2 years ago, could not afford the COBRA premiums.
– Was not able to get approved for an individual policy as she had a pre-existing condition in the last 5 years (cancer).
– Was not able to enroll on the state high-risk pool as she could not afford the premiums.
– Was not able to enroll on Medicaid as in our state it is a lottery system, and her number on the lottery has still not been drawn.
– Working the last 6 months but not eligible for benefits from her employer (they are keeping her hours down and hired her as a contractor, so she is not benefits eligible).
The woman is 60 years old and had insurance her whole life, until the last 2 years. After surviving cancer. For pete’s sake, she needs some health insurance! And don’t tell me she should just cut her expenses so that she could have afforded COBRA or the high-risk pool; she did cut her expenses to bare bones, living with family to not pay rent, etc.
There needs to be a solution. The ACA may not be the full, right solution, but it is a step in the right direction.
She may be the perfect example why reform is needed. but just because a major step has been taken does not mean it’s a step in the right direction. Obama has stepped IN THE WRONG DIRECTION …..OF DESTROYING IT FOR ME TO PAY FOR HER. How is that a step in the right direction?????????????
The tragedy of all this nonsense is that we didn’t have to have a 2,700 page bill with 12,000 pages of regulations to do healthcare reform. That is the Progressive way to make things as complicated and expensive as they can to control the population and force them into a one size fits all scheme that is sure to be 3 times more expensive than they said it would be. Common sense would say that Tort Reform, allowing carriers to sell across state lines to create competition, creating Pools to accept the PreX people would have been the right thing to do. It could have been done at a fraction of the cost of this turkey and with much less angst. This is one of the greatest tragedies ever perpetrated on the citizens of this country.
Agent – if it was that easy to come up with something, why didn’t someone, including the Republicans? And don’t say they did, because that one proposal they brought forward was crap. It’s easy to criticize when you’ve sat back and not done anything…
May 8, 2013 at 9:47 am
Agent says:
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0
Libby, You seem to have selective memory. Don’t you remember the famous Blair House meeting with Obama, Pelosi and Reid on one side and the Republicans on the other side. The Republicans offered several alternatives including Tort Reform, selling insurance across state lines to promote competition, Pools to cover the PreX people and all were dismissed by Obama & cohorts who controlled both houses to force through their Progressive Dream. This is exactly why the House changed hands in the mid terms. I think it is interesting that many Congressmen and Senators who voted in this bill without reading it or understanding the consequences are now saying it is a train wreck waiting to happen.
May 29, 2013 at 5:07 pm
Agent says:
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0
0
This story is BS. I have seen the app in final form and it is 10 pages, not 3. It is onerous and difficult and no wonder Navigators will have to be hired to get one filled out for coverage. Then, if you can’t afford the premiums, you can apply to Sebelius for a subsidy. If you don’t apply, the IRS will hunt you down by the woman who was doing all the bad stuff against Conservatives denying them tax exempt status. What could possibly go wrong?
May 3, 2013 at 3:53 pm
DS says:
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0
0
I think any step is a step in the right direction, when the situation is as it was. If there are parts of the ACA that don’t work, then change those parts. But I feel ANYTHING is better than the status quo we had.
DS, We had the wrong people in charge of Healthcare Reform. This law is so bad that it will bankrupt the country and be unaffordable to everyone seeking coverage. The idea is to repeal it completely and go back to the drawing board and do it with some common sense next time.
May 6, 2013 at 10:20 am
Kev1n says:
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0
0
But they won’t go back to the drawing board and try to start over. They aren’t politically stupid enough to try and do anything, really. It’s much easier and more politically convenient to just say no to what the other party is doing. Not that I agree with the bill, and I think it’s ridiculous not to have Tort Reform, but if ACA gets repealed, the Republicans will not bring anything forward that brings meaningful change.
IMHO, the only possible way it could get done in the current two-party system is to have the Republicans chip away at and fix this monstrosity one piece at a time until it becomes the bill this country needs. In sculpture this is called the subtractive method.
May 6, 2013 at 12:03 pm
bob says:
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0
0
Your family did well in taking her in. It is a hard circumstance.
But, the numbers are the numbers. After the “great recession” the uninsured did not jump that drastically. It had hovered around 30 million. It bounced to over 40 million. You can take the delta from the norm to see how many were uninsured by choice. That’s 10 million extra during the “great recession”
If you want my personal opinion: Give them a public option, leave private healthcare alone.
While I have made my thoughts on obamacare clear I think my anger makes it come across the wrong way.
It’s very true this is absolutely a step in the wrong direction. You talked about your mother, and now likely think these 10 million will have insurance.
What you are missing is the other people that will have a harder time. Think $50,000 to $70,000 joint earning married couples.
The cost of health insurance will go up. I pay nothing right now. My boss covers it. If it goes up 20% he is either reducing comissions or having us cover the costs. If we cover the costs, 20% of my $16,000 total for my family is $3,200. That’s a bill I wasn’t paying before. I am not eligible for subsidies by that point. Do you have any idea how much that could harm retirement and or the economy?
Obama tried to argue that a payroll tax that amounted to $800 a year at the average $40,000 income would be enough to “stimulate” the economy, Obama and democrats argued that returning tax rates to Clinton’s era with tax cuts (but this means to some degree it is also the tax rate) would shock the economy into shrinking. How about $3,200 of additional costs for the middle class family?
What happens when the middle class buckles?
Then no one is getting anything. Obama took the step toward making insurance unaffordable, while picking and choosing to get subsidies. And by the numbers, if the premium even goes up 20% for people in the younger age group, you’re going to see a slammed economy, slammed retirement funds in that age group, and a larger need for assistance in old age.
Your mother survived. How about if she saved $3,200 less per year for 30 years of her life? She would not have made it.
DS – add to that any chidren who are born with health problems or develop them in childhood. Under the current rules, the employee would be at a severe hardship to change jobs (let alone as a result of being laid off) as they would not be able to get insurance for pre-existing conditions on any of their children.
Holes??? LIke the grand canyon?? Celtica, there’s no spin necessary. The reality is that in Obama trying to broaden welfare, he screwed the rest of the country. And he knew it. He likes welfare. Welfare votes Obama. Obama gives welfare. Democrats in congress were just too stupid to see it. But they are seeing it now…..There were alot simpler ways to provide healthcare to those who are uninsurable. He did not have to wreck it for everyone else.
Libby – they did….but your party in the Senate, in love with Obama at the time, saw no other way but their own. And it’s proving to have been a bad poorly thought out idea. It’s amazing that you have not even heard any other ideas. You must not be listening.
Just yesterday there was an article about how not even the health insurance companies are signing up to SELL on the few exchanges because of the lack of clarity regarding pricing and rules, and a continued inability to cross state lines. These insurers are signing up to sell on the exchange in known profitable markets where they already exist, but are NOT REACHING OUT to states that lack adequate options. Libby, remember the Republican idea to allow selling in these areas, to benefit those people. Gosh that was probably one of those good ideas Republicans had that you can’t even remember.
“The health care questions will disappear, but they’ll be replaced by questions about your income.”
New “simplified” application – 4 questions;
1) Name
2) Address
3) How much money did you make last year?
4) Send it in.
This whole deal is about insuring the PreX people and people who can’t afford health insurance so they will be subsidized at our expense. It is unclear how enrolling several million sick people will make the cost more affordable. Oops! Why is this act called the Affordable Care Act? It will clearly be much more expensive with actuaries predicting a 32% increase next year.
I have owned and operated a small business for the past 20 years. For the past 10 years my 3 employees have been covered under their spouses plans which offer better plans than I can. I reimburse for their portion of their premium, because I feel it is my duty as an employer to loyal employees. However, that leaves me and my family at the mercy of the individual plans. My wife had serious health issues this year and now I cannot get health insurance for her. Under the old health insurance system this would have eventually caused serious financial consequences for me and my family. So when you offer these bullshit, vague and abstract reasons for being against the ACA, I say, screw you. I did everything right, my wife was always healthy, and I should not have to face financial uncertainty because of a cruel, broken and financially unsustainable healthcare system. I can’t wait to sign up for the exchanges in October. I also appreciate a President who actually does look out for the middle class and the small businessowner instead of just paying us lip service every 4 years at election time. BTW… My small business is a P&C Insurance agency and I was a lifelong Republican until the party completely lost their mind and soul.
So Sean, why didn’t you have her covered under a plan before she started having health issues? I had individual coverage for several years covering myself and wife. I would put my wife’s health issues up against anyone with several major operations and she was covered on all of them. Rates surely went up over the years as has all plans. Apparently, you have swallowed the propaganda hook, line and sinker. Enjoy your Medicaid styled plan offered with the exchanges. It will hardly be “affordable”.
So what is going to happen if the spouses plans are not going to be offered? A lot of companies are opting out. What would that do if YOU now have to provide coverage for your 3 employees? And yes, why in the blazes didn’t you have coverage in the first place?
Name?
Address?
How much money did you make?
Too much? You’re screwed, you get no subsidy, but can’t afford your private coverage through your small employer because they’ve been gouged to pay for the freeriders.
Made not enough? Head on over to Medicaid where prescriptions have a $1 copay.
Porridge is just right? Great, your bronze plan will cost you 20k, your subsidy is 6k, What, you can’t afford the difference?
Oh well.
Flash forward to 2014, Republicans take over and burn it. Hold in there, just go to the charity hospital ER if you get a cold.
Hey Wvagt, I just downloaded the revised app to get coverage with the exchanges. It is still 10 pages long and you are right, it is mainly on income to determine if one is in need of a subsidy. It is interesting on the first page that it states – You may qualify for a free or low-cost program even if you earn as much as $94,000 a year (for a family of 4). Hmm! Is something rotten in Denmark or what?
There anticipated enrollment will be a huge disapointment as the majority of uninsured are there by choice. The enrollment will be those who are sick, those whom are rated and moving from existing plans. The healthy and responsible will stick with their underwritten plans.
Look at what happened to the Federal Health Insurance Pool, they folded it’s enrollment due to its dismal responce and interest. It wasnt worth the effort placed into the program. Good luck Obama, its swell that your not up for re election.
I would not say the majority of the uninsured are there by choice.
Case in point, my mother in law:
– Was laid off 2 years ago, could not afford the COBRA premiums.
– Was not able to get approved for an individual policy as she had a pre-existing condition in the last 5 years (cancer).
– Was not able to enroll on the state high-risk pool as she could not afford the premiums.
– Was not able to enroll on Medicaid as in our state it is a lottery system, and her number on the lottery has still not been drawn.
– Working the last 6 months but not eligible for benefits from her employer (they are keeping her hours down and hired her as a contractor, so she is not benefits eligible).
The woman is 60 years old and had insurance her whole life, until the last 2 years. After surviving cancer. For pete’s sake, she needs some health insurance! And don’t tell me she should just cut her expenses so that she could have afforded COBRA or the high-risk pool; she did cut her expenses to bare bones, living with family to not pay rent, etc.
There needs to be a solution. The ACA may not be the full, right solution, but it is a step in the right direction.
She may be the perfect example why reform is needed. but just because a major step has been taken does not mean it’s a step in the right direction. Obama has stepped IN THE WRONG DIRECTION …..OF DESTROYING IT FOR ME TO PAY FOR HER. How is that a step in the right direction?????????????
The tragedy of all this nonsense is that we didn’t have to have a 2,700 page bill with 12,000 pages of regulations to do healthcare reform. That is the Progressive way to make things as complicated and expensive as they can to control the population and force them into a one size fits all scheme that is sure to be 3 times more expensive than they said it would be. Common sense would say that Tort Reform, allowing carriers to sell across state lines to create competition, creating Pools to accept the PreX people would have been the right thing to do. It could have been done at a fraction of the cost of this turkey and with much less angst. This is one of the greatest tragedies ever perpetrated on the citizens of this country.
Agent – if it was that easy to come up with something, why didn’t someone, including the Republicans? And don’t say they did, because that one proposal they brought forward was crap. It’s easy to criticize when you’ve sat back and not done anything…
Libby, You seem to have selective memory. Don’t you remember the famous Blair House meeting with Obama, Pelosi and Reid on one side and the Republicans on the other side. The Republicans offered several alternatives including Tort Reform, selling insurance across state lines to promote competition, Pools to cover the PreX people and all were dismissed by Obama & cohorts who controlled both houses to force through their Progressive Dream. This is exactly why the House changed hands in the mid terms. I think it is interesting that many Congressmen and Senators who voted in this bill without reading it or understanding the consequences are now saying it is a train wreck waiting to happen.
This story is BS. I have seen the app in final form and it is 10 pages, not 3. It is onerous and difficult and no wonder Navigators will have to be hired to get one filled out for coverage. Then, if you can’t afford the premiums, you can apply to Sebelius for a subsidy. If you don’t apply, the IRS will hunt you down by the woman who was doing all the bad stuff against Conservatives denying them tax exempt status. What could possibly go wrong?
I think any step is a step in the right direction, when the situation is as it was. If there are parts of the ACA that don’t work, then change those parts. But I feel ANYTHING is better than the status quo we had.
DS, We had the wrong people in charge of Healthcare Reform. This law is so bad that it will bankrupt the country and be unaffordable to everyone seeking coverage. The idea is to repeal it completely and go back to the drawing board and do it with some common sense next time.
But they won’t go back to the drawing board and try to start over. They aren’t politically stupid enough to try and do anything, really. It’s much easier and more politically convenient to just say no to what the other party is doing. Not that I agree with the bill, and I think it’s ridiculous not to have Tort Reform, but if ACA gets repealed, the Republicans will not bring anything forward that brings meaningful change.
IMHO, the only possible way it could get done in the current two-party system is to have the Republicans chip away at and fix this monstrosity one piece at a time until it becomes the bill this country needs. In sculpture this is called the subtractive method.
Your family did well in taking her in. It is a hard circumstance.
But, the numbers are the numbers. After the “great recession” the uninsured did not jump that drastically. It had hovered around 30 million. It bounced to over 40 million. You can take the delta from the norm to see how many were uninsured by choice. That’s 10 million extra during the “great recession”
If you want my personal opinion: Give them a public option, leave private healthcare alone.
While I have made my thoughts on obamacare clear I think my anger makes it come across the wrong way.
It’s very true this is absolutely a step in the wrong direction. You talked about your mother, and now likely think these 10 million will have insurance.
What you are missing is the other people that will have a harder time. Think $50,000 to $70,000 joint earning married couples.
The cost of health insurance will go up. I pay nothing right now. My boss covers it. If it goes up 20% he is either reducing comissions or having us cover the costs. If we cover the costs, 20% of my $16,000 total for my family is $3,200. That’s a bill I wasn’t paying before. I am not eligible for subsidies by that point. Do you have any idea how much that could harm retirement and or the economy?
Obama tried to argue that a payroll tax that amounted to $800 a year at the average $40,000 income would be enough to “stimulate” the economy, Obama and democrats argued that returning tax rates to Clinton’s era with tax cuts (but this means to some degree it is also the tax rate) would shock the economy into shrinking. How about $3,200 of additional costs for the middle class family?
What happens when the middle class buckles?
Then no one is getting anything. Obama took the step toward making insurance unaffordable, while picking and choosing to get subsidies. And by the numbers, if the premium even goes up 20% for people in the younger age group, you’re going to see a slammed economy, slammed retirement funds in that age group, and a larger need for assistance in old age.
Your mother survived. How about if she saved $3,200 less per year for 30 years of her life? She would not have made it.
DS – add to that any chidren who are born with health problems or develop them in childhood. Under the current rules, the employee would be at a severe hardship to change jobs (let alone as a result of being laid off) as they would not be able to get insurance for pre-existing conditions on any of their children.
Republicans — care to spin that one?
Here’s just hoping they buckle down and fix the holes FAST.
Holes??? LIke the grand canyon?? Celtica, there’s no spin necessary. The reality is that in Obama trying to broaden welfare, he screwed the rest of the country. And he knew it. He likes welfare. Welfare votes Obama. Obama gives welfare. Democrats in congress were just too stupid to see it. But they are seeing it now…..There were alot simpler ways to provide healthcare to those who are uninsurable. He did not have to wreck it for everyone else.
Stupid – if it was so easy, why didn’t someone come up with something better???
Libby – they did….but your party in the Senate, in love with Obama at the time, saw no other way but their own. And it’s proving to have been a bad poorly thought out idea. It’s amazing that you have not even heard any other ideas. You must not be listening.
Just yesterday there was an article about how not even the health insurance companies are signing up to SELL on the few exchanges because of the lack of clarity regarding pricing and rules, and a continued inability to cross state lines. These insurers are signing up to sell on the exchange in known profitable markets where they already exist, but are NOT REACHING OUT to states that lack adequate options. Libby, remember the Republican idea to allow selling in these areas, to benefit those people. Gosh that was probably one of those good ideas Republicans had that you can’t even remember.
Something better than spitballs against the wall…