Here's my proposal. No one can talk about Obamacare, except on this thread. People on both sides have very strong feelings. Express them here, and keep them out of other threads.
I personally have benefitted from RomneyCare, so I am willing to give Obamacare a chance.
Wait until 2015 when we see the true rates and deductibles under this plan.
BTW, I don't give a crap what you or anyone else drives. That's actually none of my business. The politics of envy are ugly.
It seems they want this good man to die. Something needs to be done in the country about the health care business, and it is a business, who puts profits above the welfare of the patients.
Whether it is Obamacare or not that takes us in the right direction, something had to be done. And we all need to understand what we hear on Foxx, or MSNBC, or any liberal or conservative publication is slanted.
Personally, I hope Obamacare works.
My neighbor's daughter was employed by Disney. Decided she want to quit her job and get her masters degree in Education. My neighbor thought she would add her back to her teacher's insurance program. No, the daughter had taken Accutane (an acne med) or they thought. So no, she had a preexisting condition. But she never took Accutane, so they decided, yes, we will insure you after all. But we are going to charge you 75.00 a month more. Why? who the hell knows.
So, I am guessing you have very good insurance or are on Medicare. And if not, I hope you don't get sick.
@LloydBraun - you're lucky re: ER rooms being empty. I used to work in a hospital that belonged to the Cleveland Clinic system. The ER was never empty.
Once I was a patient myself, admitted with an attack of gallstones. I can tell you firsthand, they are frequently understaffed, and I could feel it.
I don't know about your 'sniffles' stats... Sounds like an attitude. In my working years, we had uninsured admitted and they did have problems requiring hospitalization. Not 'sniffles'.
I didn't mean to offend with my broad generalization. As a frequent visitor to the ER at all hours of day and night, I see the empty waiting rooms. With 98% of residents insured in Massachusetts, people who used to use the ER for their primary care are able to go to primary care docs or drop-in med centers. The ER is now freed up for true emergencies and we no longer have to subsidize the free riders.
These people worked and paid taxes. Now that they don't work any more and having no health insurance for a number of reasons (pre-existing conditions is one of them), what are they supposed to do? I myself can't afford health insurance for that very reason; hope I won't end up at the ER.
Then again, regular visits to a doctor don't prevent one from an emergency situation.
But I digress.
I know a person who didn't have insurance. Every time she and her children got sick, they went to the emergency room for care. Why can't we provide care in less expensive places than the emergency room for people who don't have health insurance? We need a lot more low-cost clinics and I would think the health systems who are raking in millions of dollars and building fancy new hospitals while not paying taxes should be responsible for building and maintaining them. When people without insurance end up in the emergency room and can't pay that debt, don't all taxpayers end up paying the bill anyway?
This would definitely include dental care; we just had a free two day dental event here in Des Moines and people had driven from miles away and lined up for hours to get dental care.
The other thing that infuriates me is that Wellmark BC/BS just built a huge lovely building here in downtown, pays its CEO a huge salary, and has a excessive amount of money in its coffers. Yet they want to continue raising premiums. Aren't they supposed to be a non-profit? Doesn't that excess money belong to rate-payers?
Since I have ulcerative pancolitis and related kidney stones, I'm lucky to have insurance through my job. Otherwise, my pre-existing conditions would make it very hard to get any type of affordable comprehensive insurance.
Signed up in about seven minutes on the improved website. My new BC/BS plan (I have BC/BS now) drops my current $2,600 deductible to $1,500. I go from paying $494 a month to $288.06 with my tax credits. I can now afford dental coverage and to join the fitness center associated with my local hospital. At $68/month I didn't feel like I could afford it until now. I now have the funds to take even better care of my health by taking fitness classes and using the swimming pool.
Thanks Obama and thanks Obamacare. I'm stoked!!
THANKS OBAMA!!!
Plus I am so glad that health insurance companies can no longer turn anyone down because of a pre-existing condition. We all have pre-existing conditions that we have inherited from our parents. Plus, insurance companies cannot cancel your policy if your costs are too expensive, that was always the fear for some who were seriously illness or were born with a health related issue.
We also need to pay attention to what are unfounded rumors and total myths. There is a lot of that rolling around the Internet. People need to go to legit websites that can answer any health insurance they might have, instead of listening to those who don't like Obamacare and have wrong information.
If the reason is *political* to for dislike of Obamacare, please note back in 1993 there was the "Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act" which, unfortunately, never made it out of Congress. It was very similar to the Affordable Care Act, and it was written by Republicans.
This is where it all is going. Myself, I can't afford any premiums, with my SSD benefits being low, so am prepared to pay the penalty. However this one can't get collected unless I get a tax refund, which I don't because my Social Security benefits are not even taxable. Here we go.
My preferences are, worse case scenario, a DNR and no tube feeding. I would allow some comfort measures such as IV fluids etc., but if my time comes to go, I wouldn't want to prolong it. I believe Oregon has a Death With Dignity Act, and there is no length of residency requirement. One can probably should be able to locate a participating physician online. I don't see anything wrong with that.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101225308
Proceed with caution and arm yourself with all available information. Healthcare.gov has NO security built into it.