How is Obamacare going to help you?

[Jdriller]

So far my health insurance premiums have gone up 25% in the last year. I am now unemployeed and do not have the income I used to have. A friend of mine age 62 has been unemployed for 3 years, does not get medcare/medicade, food stamps, has no income other than the help of her family. She has no medical insurance and can no afford any (much less the fine that starts next year if you don't have medical insurance) I have looked on the internet and I have not found any medicat insurance plans for a woman her age with a history of heart attack for less than about 300.00 which would be about half her monthly income (in the form relatives chipping in to help her out) Where is the free Obamacare for the poor? As far as I can tell we are all going to get screwed by this plan rich, poor, black, white, it won't matter.

[Guest040616]

Sorry Jdriller if you have hit upon hard times. FYI, up until now health insurance is still business as usual. Whatever your health insurance plan was prior to the legislation being passed, it probably still is today. Up to and including the rapidly increasing premiums. As I recall, the Feds will not begin phasing in the major components of Obamacare until 2014, at the earliest.

[JD Barleycorn]

Ah, but the taxes start this year and the regs are going into affect now. So you just have to survive the intervening year or two.

[Guest123018-4]

The cost effect of Obamacare kicked in shortly after it was passed. Doctors that did not have the means for electronic records increased the cost of visits and procedures to cover the cost of implementing the purchase of computers, software, record storage. In addition many good doctors retired rather than deal with Obamacare.

The AHA is a horrible piece of legislation that will do nothing to make healthcare more affordable without reducing the quality and availability of healthcare for all.

[Yssup Rider]

Originally Posted by The2Dogs

The cost effect of Obamacare kicked in shortly after it was passed. Doctors that did not have the means for electronic records increased the cost of visits and procedures to cover the cost of implementing the purchase of computers, software, record storage. In addition many good doctors retired rather than deal with Obamacare.

The AHA is a horrible piece of legislation that will do nothing to make healthcare more affordable without reducing the quality and availability of healthcare for all.

Actually you're only about half right there, at best.

I'd like to see evidence that HIT (Health Information Technology) costs caused doctors to raise prices of visits.

In fact, billions were made available to help subsidize the docs who switched over to electronic records as part of the ARRA. Those funds will continue through 2016 I believe.

From my experience, Ive seen the doctors who are "retiring"because of the price of HIT implementation are either of retirement age to begin with and can't justify making a large investment with a short future, or are shutting their private practices to move to larger groups and clinics with the HIT infrastructure already in place. Additionally, the move to HIT has been going on for a LONG time. PPACA incentivizes those who haven't yet made the switch.

Either way, 2Dogs, I think you're off the mark here. In the long run... Shit, in the short run ... HIT makes the delivery of health care more efficient, reduces costly errors, saves money and lives.

[CJ7]

Originally Posted by Jdriller

So far my health insurance premiums have gone up 25% in the last year. I am now unemployeed and do not have the income I used to have. A friend of mine age 62 has been unemployed for 3 years, does not get medcare/medicade, food stamps, has no income other than the help of her family. She has no medical insurance and can no afford any (much less the fine that starts next year if you don't have medical insurance) I have looked on the internet and I have not found any medicat insurance plans for a woman her age with a history of heart attack for less than about 300.00 which would be about half her monthly income (in the form relatives chipping in to help her out) Where is the free Obamacare for the poor? As far as I can tell we are all going to get screwed by this plan rich, poor, black, white, it won't matter.

quit whining like a liberal ...

man up, and deal with it like any good republican would do ... only the strong survive


oh yeah, call Perry and ask him where the free healthcare is for your friend, he opted out of the program ... like any good republican would do ..

We in Texas have no intention to implement so-called state exchanges or to expand Medicaid under Obamacare,” Perry said in a statement. “I will not be party to socializing healthcare and bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution and our founding principles of limited government.”

[satexasguy]

Seems like the liberals keep forgetting the part of Obamacare that states premiums will be based on local market conditions. Does anyone seriously believe this will actually be "affordable" healthcare for everyone? Hell no. The only ones that will benefit are the Obama voters who are on welfare and will continue to get free healthcare.

[Yssup Rider]

Originally Posted by satexasguy

Seems like the liberals keep forgetting the part of Obamacare that states premiums will be based on local market conditions. Does anyone seriously believe this will actually be "affordable" healthcare for everyone? Hell no. The only ones that will benefit are the Obama voters who are on welfare and will continue to get free healthcare.

Define "local" so I better understand what you're trying to say. It would seem that folks in the RGV would come out ahead no matter what, no?

In fact, why not point me to the part THE liberals keep forgetting.

[JD Barleycorn]

Whatzup, your eyes are purple from all of the Kool Aid you've been drinking. Would you tell me what retirement age is for doctors. I have spoken to a couple who are in their fifties who are leaving the profession. Doctors can practice well past 67 years old.

Obama care was about providing healthcare to everyone and not reduce cost. Remember the 40 million without healthcare? The cost was added later (and it is a lie) to sell the program. How do you cover 40 million more with the same number of healthcare professionals, facilities, and keep the price even the same much less lower? You can't.

[Yssup Rider]

Precisely. that's why Obamacare was designed to increase primary care in under served areas, with medical school loan repayment incentives, increased funding for practice transformation, etc.

Unfortunately red states like Texas have slashed funding for medical education and state driven graduate programs.

You gotta get the doctors to where the uninsured people are. and make a whole shitload more of them.

then you gotta make people healthy.

You need to spend more time trying to understand the health care delivery process and less time on, ahem, anatomy.

[CuteOldGuy]

[Jdriller]

Fortunately I have been able to keep my personal health insurance plan, which is a PPO. The amazing thing is I just spent 4 days in the hospitial and the total bill was 21,000. The in network PPO adjustments knocked off 15,000 of the charges reducing the bill to about 7,000.00 My deductible is about 3,000 (which I have to pay) and they picked up the rest (4,000). So if you go into the hospital without insurance your bill would have been 21,000 and there would have been no PPO adjustments. How is this right?

[jbravo_123]

Originally Posted by Jdriller

Fortunately I have been able to keep my personal health insurance plan, which is a PPO. The amazing thing is I just spent 4 days in the hospitial and the total bill was 21,000. The in network PPO adjustments knocked off 15,000 of the charges reducing the bill to about 7,000.00 My deductible is about 3,000 (which I have to pay) and they picked up the rest (4,000). So if you go into the hospital without insurance your bill would have been 21,000 and there would have been no PPO adjustments. How is this right?

Welcome to modern day American healthcare?

[TexTushHog]

I expect my premiums for the employees of my two businesses to go down over time as I won't be paying for uncompensated care via insurance premiums for my insured employees. Our insurance group premiums actually went down this year, and were only up 8% the year before. So between the ACA and the recession, we've actually reduced our insurance spending this year and actually added some additional benefits (mostly slightly lower deductibles on drug cards). Nothing bad has happened to us. We're in the group market, not the individual market. We don't have an el cheapo policy that covered very little, but have generous benefits. So we're among those that were expected to gain in any event, and we have.

[Yssup Rider]

Reverend!