Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

This is the chat section so I thought I'd see what you guys are doing with this Obamacare law for last year. Personally I think the idea they started with was great, free healthcare for everyone, but then it turned into this big "You must buy insurance and pay me $600/month and if you cant afford that then cut off your cell and cable bills plus tighten your fat-boy belt" kinda thing. (Obama actually said that!)

Heres what got me torqued.

2012 insurance: 422.00 for the family with Cigna and dang near everything was covered, $3000 deductible.

2014 insurance: 682.00 for the family with BCBS, $50 for office visits and nothing else is covered, even scripts. $12,700 deductible. :ahhhh:

And we lost our main doctor. Thankfully the kids doctor grandfathered us in, but she won't take new insurance customers either.

How is that better? To top that off you have to guess what your income is going to be for the year. Who knows in advance how much they'll make? Raises? Good day on Ebay? :pullinghairout:

Anyway, I've had to re-file for insurance 3 times this year already because of changing data. This is getting ridiculous. And here's the kicker, I voted for the idiot the first time around. Not the second though. I had enough hope and change! :helpsign:

So are you guys seeing any differences? Problems? refiling? Is anyone just paying the penalty? For us the penalty is almost as much as insurance this year so that's not even an option.

:soapbox:

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

Fetch,

I guess we can keep this up as long as the moderator lets us.

One of the reasons I enjoy working on old vehicles is that it helps get me away from government foolishness, which I know well from employment with the State of California for 25 years.

My daughters who are trying to make ends meet in the private sector have had similar health insurance coverage experiences to what you describe.

I have been more fortunate because public health insurance coverage was not (yet) affected by Obamacare, and I am now required to be in Medicare.

In California, what is going on looks like a shell game where payments for many indigent (meaning services for those unable or not needing to pay) medical services are now extracted before, to provide insurance subsidies, rather than after, in the form of inflated bills. The inflated bills, however, don't seem to have gone away. So it seems that money is being transferred from those paying for insurance and from taxpayers to the health care insurance and services systems. And I recall hearing that Obamacare is not really supposed to work in the long run so that we can, for better or worse and perhaps both, move on to Canadian style socialized medicine.

But this all makes my head hurt, and the cure for it is to go back to figuring out where to get brake line parts to reconnect the hydrovac on my old GMC truck.

JRMunn

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

Family of five with BCBS of Texas is $900/mo with vision, $10-20 copays, realistic deductibles, 80% coinsurance, dental. Don't like it but I'm glad I have it.
Been with same insurance for years. See no effects of ACA so far.

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

Mine went from just under 400 monthly for BCBS family coverage to almost 700 monthly with higher deductables so I have strong feelings about Obama and the state of our government as a whole and I am burying my head in the truck hobby instead of watching Fox news and getting more angry - best to just forget about it and go on I think - that is what the government wants you to do

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

You must make way more $$ than me :) If we (family of 6) had to pay $900/month I'd take the penalty instead or we'd have to move to a smaller (under 1000 sq ft) house. Crunch! Glad you're unchanged though. I wish we were in the same boat. We're using BCBS too.

Tell me about it. I'm about ready to move to Fetch Island somewhere in the pacific so I can make my own rules. This healthcare crap is just crazy anymore.

You might be right. Nothing surprises me anymore. I'd be happy if they just said "You want coverage? No? Ok. Move along." like it used to be. Some years we need insurance, others we dont. Back then I didn't have to spend 4-6 hours on HC dot gov trying to figure out how much it's gonna cost me and answering questions like "Is your 3 yr old married? Does she have a job?"

Come on, Supreme Court....My finances and sanity are begging for release.


:jaw-dropping: :censored:

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

Hello Fetch and Old Truckers,

When we get the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branch higher paid employees all on the same medical plan the rest of us live with, we'll see things worked out in no time. (Last I heard they had a key to the front door at Bathesda National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, or something similar.)

(I'd like to put a smiley face on that paragraph but think I'll wait till it happens.) :=)

Regards,

Culver

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

Obamacare was always going to increase the premiums of those that don't qualify for subsidies so that those who do qualify could have coverage at little to no cost. my individual private plan went from $245 to the new "better plan" for $427/mo so I didn't renew it. Blue Cross of PA assigned me the new plan anyway and I had a **** of time getting them out of my life. I made several phone calls. the past due bills were over $2k before they pulled the plug on me. sent them a strongly worded letter and it worked. had a 30 year relationship with them and it ended badly. at least I still get the newsletters. I don't have insurance now but I guess I have to say Obama is saving me over $5k/yr. LOL

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

So what are you doing Just paying the penalty? We thought about that in hopes that they'd overturn it this year. I still don't see how they can FORCE me to buy something that sometimes I don't want or need.

Makes me wonder what's next.

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

I'm sorry to hear that some people are having problems with the Affordable Care Act.
The statistics are showing that it has been a benefit to most people.
The increase in policy costs is less this year, below the trend, saving people money.
More people are insured, so hospitals are saving money (hopefully that means prices won't go up). In fact Hospitals are reporting fewer charity cases overall, apparently those with insurance aren't going to the ER anymore.

I know some people have seen increases. Some are due to not looking into other policies and just accepting what the company replaced your current policy with. Others are likely to have just gone up regardless. Also places with the largest increases or the most problems have been the states which did not implement the provisions in the ACA.

The ACA was needed. It is about time something was done about insurance costs. Now if Congress had tried to refine the program instead of waste time, time we paid them for, maybe it would be a better program.

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

I usually stay out of this kind of thread but a brief comment is in order. My son is an older college student at 28, can't be on our insurance anymore (to 26) and has been quoted about 600 bucks a month. He works a 10 dollar/hour job during the summer and even with that small income he can't get any assistance or subsidies. Pay the penalty and hope to stay healthy I guess.

Wife and I have decent insurance and got to keep our doctors, but the copays on our prescriptions have doubled and tripled on some and a couple have been dropped and we were told to buy them "over the counter" somewhere. More than canceled out our meager raises this year.

Yeah---what's next?!

DAC

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

So I says to myself, Ken, I says...I says don't get in this pepsi trap. Because you're on Medicare and don't worry about it and don't pay anything when you get sick. I will never be on Obamacare. But in deference to my kids and grand kids, who don't want to join 6066 to discuss this, I must say. Anyone who says there is little effect or it's working and helping lots of people needs to realize what has happened. Millions had no insurance but got medical treatment somewhere before ACA. None of them complained. Obamacare was a way to get votes, "a chicken in every pot" thing. Really the American thing to do. Now those people who got free health care before are getting it now. The community activists, Like our Pres used to be, took their laptops around to all the poor neighborhoods and signed them up for Medicaid. I say Medicaid boys. A bunch of other people who somehow got into the government ACA system signed up and got subsidies, I say subsidies boys. And millions signed up with no subsidies. Now the Medicaid people ain't complaining, people in Government who can keep their insurance ain't complaining, Old folks ain't complaining and people start thinking it's a cool deal. Everybody is insured, we did it.
We just ignore the millions who are trying to tell us that they now can not afford insurance at all or they don't go to the doctor when they are sick and just spread what they have to the Medicaid folks who can go to the doctor. These people just suffer at work. They can't stay home because companies have reduced the work week and the sick time. So they are sick at both of their jobs. They have enormous deductibles and co pays and don't go to the hospital. So when I go, the Government pays, when the medicaid'ers go, the Government pays, when the subsidy people go, the Government pays some. Who is the Government? Why it's the people with two jobs. This is the shell game as pointed out.
Tell your adult kids that what others are doing is: Outside of ACA, insurance co. will write a one year policy for a single young person for a very low premium ($200/mo) and if you don't abuse it you can re-up, all the while paying the $100 penalty.

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

Obama repeatedly and knowingly lied when he said "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor."
He could just as well have said, If you like your freedom, you can keep your freedom.

I believe that this is not truly about improving our health care, rather its about government control over our lives with the resulting loss of our personal freedom.

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

BTW: Don't ever say Medicare is an entitlement unless you mean I am entitled to it...and not say it as welfare. I paid a lot of money into it (forced payment) and I am still paying an insurance premium every month into it and buying a supplement. The bureaucrats call Medicare an entitlement program and lump it in with Medicaid and all the other welfare programs people get who NEVER paid a dime. They subtly try to convey that we are a drag on the economy, we are living off of Uncle Sam. Trying to brainwash the unknowing that we are on welfare and draining the fund. Guess who drained the fund. I paid into it for 40 years. Ever hear of FICA?
Is this off topic? Can you be off topic in an off topic post? Is this post about GMC's? G-overnment M-edical C-are ? I gotta FetchMeABeer.

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

I will have to check with my accountant when I do taxes. I had insurance thru the end of june so technically I wasn't uninsured this year. 88% of the 7 mil on the exchanges are getting a subsidy or qualifying for Medicaid. that was the purpose of the exchanges. virtually everybody in the private healthcare market that buys their own insurance is paying more--or they are opting for higher deductibles and/or higher copays and narrower provider networks to keep the premium down or at least control it to the upside. many companies have and will convert full timers to 29 hours. a lot of employers/unions are absorbing increases where they can and/or are doing the higher deductible/higher copay angle and passing somewhat higher premiums to the employees or union members. my sister-in-law works for Amtrak and their new plan is a $5k deductible. they held a rally for the employees in her building to roll out the new plan and the guy from DC almost got skinned alive. people were flipping out. in year 2018 the Cadillac tax goes into effect where many plans will be taxed as income and at a 40% rate. the lower end of those health plans are nowhere near what anyone would consider a Cadillac plan. employers and individuals will be forced to up deductibles and copays to avoid the Cadillac tax. I believe this will rock local, state govts as well as private companies and unions. promises have been made to retirees and current employees. the money has to come from somewhere. look for lots of creative ways to raise tax revenues. you can argue that something had to be done but this was never a good idea unless you were a politician. there are no legislative fixes for this and upending the entire healthcare system to qualify 7 mil for subsidies never made sense to me. repubs will nibble away in places where there may be agreement but they know the dems will blame the failure on them if they try to go big. this law is so filled with perverse incentives, dictates, mandates, penalties, etc that tinkering with it creates unknowable problems. plus theres almost no chance the president will sign anything. supreme court will probably uphold that the intent of the law was to provide subsidies to state and federal enrollees in the exchange. if you are on the exchange and live in a state that did not set up an exchange you will probably do ok in the supreme court decision. in my opinion the dems were drunk on power and thought securing this law would guarantee them majorities everywhere into perpetuity. the opposite is probably true. and im not a fan of either party. also the 26 year old will pay very little on the exchange. theres no reason not to sign up when enrollment comes back around next fall. sorry, way long here.

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

I'm a little late to the party and didn't read every post, word by word, but will say that, those w/o insurance anyway, now have to pay a penalty for just being born.

That is Unconstitutional.

Personally, my insurance and my wife's insurance has been affected a little bit (more money, higher deductibles), but I have some friends as well as many acquaintances that are having to now pay a "mortgage" payment, instead of a reasonable health care payment.

Bill

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

Sounds like a lot of people are in the same boat as me. I just heard the Repubs are offering up a proposal that would cancel the requirement (the penalty) and still offer the credits to poor. Some key points that sounded good

"It also allows insurers to sell plans across state lines and caps the amount of monetary damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice litigation."

It provides for targeted tax credits to individuals and families up to 300 percent above the poverty line to encourage people to buy plans in the market place.



Ok, 300% is probably high, but it beats "Buy overpriced insurance or die, you working class SCUM!".

Anyways, if this passes I'll vote for the next Repub president and I don't care if he dresses up as a klan member on the weekends and marches in the national Eat A Baby Every Day parade. I'm so done with the ACA I'd vote for anyone or any thing that kills it. :banghead:



Die, you bastard law. Die like you killed my soul. :machinegun::machinegun::machinegun::poop:

Re: Off topic stuff...Obamacare
 

There are no free market reforms that will fix this or make it better. And Harry Reid will hold the line with the Ds on a veto proof majority. Some Ds will join in because it may be reelect time but he will never allow enough for a veto proof majority. Anything the Rs get to the president will be DOA. The Rs also know even if they could get a veto proof majority the effort is not going to fix anything. They will be accused of being the ones that made it fail. We are all prisoners here. Some of just don't know it yet. Remember these subsidized plans are going up in cost as well. Even though the exchange plan is subsidized the cost of those plans are going up the same way the private plans are. This is cost shifting the burden to tax payers--many of whom are reeling from their own private plan increases. Ditto for businesses, state and local govt and unions. States that accepted the 3 year Medicaid expansion $ will be needing to find the $ for Y4 which is coming up fast. And the Medicaid enrolleee #s have ballooned(no offence meant to Medicaid enrollees) Economics is pure logic. This will bust at some point and it will be very ugly. There are no legislative fixes and Single Payer type socialized medicine will never be sellable by Ds as the remedy. In my view there is nothing to indicate Ds will be winning much for a long time. They pulled this stinking fish into the boat all by themselves and will be remembered as such for a long time. Healthcare is a very personal thing to people. All of this was knowable and predictable. Just my 2 cents. Tom