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Senate's McConnell says Obamacare repeal high on agenda.

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Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
I hate to say this, but after what I saw what my new premium will be next year on the ACA (67% monthly increase ), I won't miss it too much. Hopefully Trump truly does replace it with "Something better"

It's going to be worse. Premiums were rising faster prior to Obamacare.

Well, good luck everyone with their health insurance. Luckily, I don't have to worry about me and my family.
 

Jonm1010

Banned

I mean thats sick, but its also sick to cheer on ignorant solutions that do severe harm when the people advocating it can't even articulate a viable alternative.

If Republicans had viable ideas they would of offered them up by now. What we have from them is like one attempt that when you unpack it leaves more people uninsured, plays favorites to reward the authors background industry in the profession, and does a bunch of things that have been debunked as viable solutions.
 
You should always expect your premiums to rise as you are always getting older. At what rate should be questioned. The last two years of the ACA have been ridiculous and came with a reduction in coverage plans/options as well as reduced amount of health care providers. I'm all for universal health care but the system needs to be built from the ground up and not legislation slapped on top of an already dysfunctional system. Losing protection for people with pre-existing conditions is terrible though.

Premiums rose slower.

The only difference is healthcare didn't have "Obamacare" to point to as a reason.

Again, you'll lose the existing conditions protections and your premiums will still rise like a rocket.
 

PSFan

Member
You seem to not understand how ACA works. Healthcare for that matter.

Exactly what will you do when you opt out? By your statement I assume you are on the individual market?

I was. I had a healthcare plan I was very happy with and cost me $200 a month. When I was FORCED to take an Obamacare plan, my rates went to over $500 a month. So it screwed me over from the start, I'm glad to see it go.
 
Pre existing condition clause, along with no maximum lifetime limits and parents keeping their kids on their plan HAVE to be preserved

Pre existing conditions will be the first thing dropped. It was a "strain" on insurance companies which is why prior to Obamacare no insurance company had it. Children until the age of 26 being on their parents insurance will also be dropped fast as hell. Republicans were very much against that at every step of the way.

However I think the absolute funny/sad thing is that Republicans will definitely be trying to decrease medicaid which is the lifeline of a shit-ton of rural Americans. Like congratulations, people have fucked themselves over so hard.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
Premiums rose slower.

The only difference is healthcare didn't have "Obamacare" to point to as a reason.

To be fair, they did jump up this year, A LOT....Or at least in aggregate. The headlines mostly don't do justice to the context though(whats new lol).
http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-...able-care-acts-health-insurance-marketplaces/

For many people that get subsidies, costs for the plans go up but out of pocket expenses don't really, as subsidies rise with costs and are tied to income and out of pocket maxs.

The risk corridors expired, which helped buffer insurers losses into a new market. Something that clearly should of been extended until the market stabilized, but of course why would Republicans do that? Much better to let them expire and use the price jumps for political gain.

The system needed more healthy people to sign up, which would help slow growth and spread risk, keeping premiums lower. Of course why allow Democrats to do the obvious thing and raise the penalties? That would be governing and doing your job and Republicans have no interest in that.

...I could keep going but it gets me upset.
 

bender

What time is it?
Premiums rose slower.

The only difference is healthcare didn't have "Obamacare" to point to as a reason.

Again, you'll lose the existing conditions protections and your premiums will still rise like a rocket.

Your article is from the beginning of 2015 so I'd love to see something more current. My experience has been the opposite as I later briefly described. Maybe my experience is an outlier? And that doesn't address limiting plan options and providers. You'll get no argument regarding existing condition or lifetime limits. Again, I'm all for a universal healthcare system but this implementation is flawed at best.
 
I was. I had a healthcare plan I was very happy with and cost me $200 a month. When I was FORCED to take an Obamacare plan, my rates went to over $500 a month. So it screwed me over from the start, I'm glad to see it go.

Do the millions of people that will be without healthcare (assuming we just revert back to the situation before Obamacare) mean anything to you? Or do you only think about your own situation?
 

Jonm1010

Banned
I was. I had a healthcare plan I was very happy with and cost me $200 a month. When I was FORCED to take an Obamacare plan, my rates went to over $500 a month. So it screwed me over from the start, I'm glad to see it go.

You realize healthcare cost growth won't magically roll back right?

The Actuary Institute of America lays the overalll rise in premiums first at the feet of care-givers costs rising? That will still happen. Likely accelerated again.

Without the ACA there is nothing to buffer against the market going back to the extreme inflation cost growth pre-ACA.

My guess is you are a healthy, younger or middle aged person with no pre-existing conditions? I also question that your rates jumped up $300 for comparable coverage. Don't know of any marketplaces that had that high of inflation the first year. Something seems a bit off.
 
Obamacare was flawed and the rate which costs were going up was fast. But repealing this and stripping 20 million people of healthcare? As opposed to continually working to improve it and increase viability? As a Canadian it's hard for me to feel anything but disdain for those wishing this away. People are going to suffer over a fixable policy.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
Your article is from the beginning of 2015 so I'd love to see something more current. My experience has been the opposite as I later briefly described. Maybe my experience is an outlier? You'll get no argument regarding existing condition or lifetime limits. Again, I'm all for a universal healthcare system but this implementation is flawed at best.

Check mine.

Also, where do you live? rural, non-urban areas are much more vulnerable to premium rises on the marketplace due to inherent issues in those marketplaces.
 

bender

What time is it?
Check mine.

Also, where do you live? rural, non-urban areas are much more vulnerable to premium rises on the marketplace due to inherent issues in those marketplaces.

Thanks for the link though I wish it covered more than Silver plans. Suburb of Denver.
 

PSFan

Member
You realize healthcare cost growth won't magically roll back right?

The Actuary Institute of America lays the overalll rise in premiums first at the feet of care-givers costs rising? That will still happen. Likely accelerated again.

Without the ACA there is nothing to buffer against the market going back to the extreme inflation cost growth pre-ACA.

My guess is you are a healthy, younger or middle aged person with no pre-existing conditions? I also question that your rates jumped up $300 for comparable coverage. Don't know of any marketplaces that had that high of inflation the first year. Something seems a bit off.

Yes, I'm a healthy, middle aged person with no pre-existing conditions. And yes, I know healthcare won't magically roll back. I had stayed with the company I had and switched to an obamacare approved plan. I have switched companies because I got on the health care plan at my current job and that's lower than what I was paying.

But another thing that I didn't like was not being able to opt out if I wanted to. Because if I did I have to pay a penalty on my taxes. I'd like to have the choice to not have it if I want to.
 

mr jones

Ethnicity is not a race!
How do other countries do it? How does Canada have universal health care? How is it paid for? How well is the program organized? How can we mirror this?
 

JohnsonUT

Member
How do other countries do it? How does Canada have universal health care? How is it paid for? How well is the program organized? How can we mirror this?

Step 1) Have a citizen base that actually cares about others.
Step 2) ???
Step 3) Dont go bankrupt when you happen to get sick.

The only path I can see for US to universal care in the next 20 years is somehow creating a "Medicare for all" plan.

Also, whatever is done for healthcare in the next few years needs to be branded RepublicanCare. When people get denied coverage and when premiums keep increasing, they need to be reminded who did it.
 

Tobor

Member
I hate to say this, but after what I saw what my new premium will be next year on the ACA (67% monthly increase ), I won't miss it too much. Hopefully Trump truly does replace it with "Something better"

Haha. Thanks man, I needed a laugh.

It's not getting replaced with anything. If you were relying on the ACA for insurance you're hosed.
 

dextran

Member
All yours boys.
Keep pre existing condition ban and somehow open it up to aggressive free market competition.
Must remove employment tie in. It limits entrepreneurship.
 
Ok, that's a potential scenario. But given the real one that I'm currently facing where my coverage is prohibitively expensive and getting more so, I can't say I am happy with Obamacare. I never once experienced a hike this severe on my old insurance.
Those mandates are the only leverage people had. Some of the plans before the law changes were downright predatory.
My guess is you are a healthy, younger or middle aged person with no pre-existing conditions? I also question that your rates jumped up $300 for comparable coverage. Don't know of any marketplaces that had that high of inflation the first year. Something seems a bit off.

Wasn't a problem with people not being able to keep their previous insurance plan because those plans didn't really cover anything? Plans got dropped/changed because the law required a minimum standard. Insurance companies were happy to let you pay for coverage, because they knew they could deny claims if they were made.
 
How do other countries do it? How does Canada have universal health care? How is it paid for? How well is the program organized? How can we mirror this?
Wait times can be a little long, priority goes towards those who need it.

It's a great system. The idea that I'd have to consider paying for something that I, in a lot of major ways, have no control over sounds like an absolute nightmare. Just a complete fucking nightmare. I honestly can't imagine it.

Honestly, I can't stress enough how alien that concept is to me. That something so fundamental, something so base, so human, could be handled in the way it has been in the US.

I'd have to imagine it feels like nobody gives a single ounce of care towards me, in even the slightest of platitudes.
 
How do other countries do it? How does Canada have universal health care? How is it paid for? How well is the program organized? How can we mirror this?

We don't have universal health care man. All the conservative pundits were right.

When we want Tylenol, we have to smuggle it across the US border. If we want surgery to fix a broken leg, we have to get fake IDs and pretend to be Americans to get that sweet, sweet healthcare you guys have. Everything Trump said was true.
 
How do other countries do it? How does Canada have universal health care? How is it paid for? How well is the program organized? How can we mirror this?

Some things
1. Longer wait times
2. Much higher taxation
3. Significantly smaller populations
4. Not having socialism demonized and "bootstraps" romanticized
 

shandy706

Member
I've been paying $146 a month for a family of 4 and GREAT health insurance. Small copay, low deductible, made life so much easier under Obamacare.

Wtf am I going to do if I have to go back to $750 month insurance?! #&#*!&!&##*#&#&!

I'm going to effing sue our Government or something.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
Thanks for the link though I wish it covered more than Silver plans. Suburb of Denver.

Silver plans are the benchmark metrics used for a number of technical aspects of the bill like setting subsides and such. So that is why it is focused on.

If you want, Kaiser is an incredible resource. There is a good chance they some more, newer analysis that may be up. That may get into some of those technicals you are looking for.

It is flawed for sure, so is any legislation likely to get passed in our system and in this time period. The best chance we had for meaningful improvement on healthcare likely just lost last night. People see the headlines but in reality some very simple(though obviously not always politically easy) tinkering could help actual consumer costs immensely.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
Yes, I'm a healthy, middle aged person with no pre-existing conditions. And yes, I know healthcare won't magically roll back. I had stayed with the company I had and switched to an obamacare approved plan. I have switched companies because I got on the health care plan at my current job and that's lower than what I was paying.

But another thing that I didn't like was not being able to opt out if I wanted to. Because if I did I have to pay a penalty on my taxes. I'd like to have the choice to not have it if I want to.

Insurance works by pooling risk. The ACA only works because you are building a large pool of healthy people to offset the sick ones. And the system will forever be marred in high costs to the system if you aren't covering everyone with some basic level of comprehensive care......Or we as a country go very dark and allow people to die on the streets.

What you are asking for, the ability to opt out of a market you ultimately have limited control in using, is not a tenable idea.


Based on what you are saying though, the tax was very minimal and still isn't that high. If it was such an issue, why not just pay the penalty if that was the only good option?
 

Jonm1010

Banned
Wasn't a problem with people not being able to keep their previous insurance plan because those plans didn't really cover anything? Plans got dropped/changed because the law required a minimum standard. Insurance companies were happy to let you pay for coverage, because they knew they could deny claims if they were made.

That is true. Insurers used to rescind claims(there is even some pretty upsetting investigative pieces on this pre-2008), weed out pre-existing conditions and offer vague, unregulated policies that had numerous loopholes and often left people facing bankruptcy. Which 2/3rds of all bankruptcies are in part due to the inability to pay for medical bills.
 
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