What do you think about Obamacare?

wheres good old joe ....why are'nt the republicans showing the famous clip of him saying in presidents ear...'' this is a big f...ing deal" he was right we've all been screwed

My husband (who is a medical professional) and I have had health insurance for more than 20 years through a group plan associated with a professional organization. Since my husband is the only person in his office who qualifies for this plan, under the ACA we are no longer eligible to participate in this plan because the Act does not allow for a group of one. As a result, I have spent some time this month looking into our options. There are some things that concern me.

Although our monthly premiums will be a couple of hundred dollars lower, our deductible and total out of pocket maximums will be thousands of dollars higher, more than negating the lower premium. Of course, if we don't get sick we will come out ahead, but at our age (early 60's), we probably shouldn't count on that. My adult children are also facing higher deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket maximums through their employer sponsored plans. It is my understanding that low income families will qualify for help with these expenses, but the middle class will not. I think most middle class families would have trouble paying deductibles of $2,000 or more and out of pocket maximums of $12,700 per year.

One of the selling points of the ACA was that medical providers would no longer need to absorb the cost of care for uninsured, low income patients, thus lowering the cost of care for everyone. Will they now be absorbing the deductibles and co-pays of hard-working middle class people who are unfortunate enough to have an ill family member and don't have thousands of dollars in savings to pay these costs?

You can bet that insurance companies will not lose money on these plans. If they did, they would not stay in business. That leaves only two groups to take the loss - the care providers and the patients.

Frankly, I think the whole system is broken. Example, my other half needed a colonoscopy, he has insurance, the charges were $10,000 to the insurance company of which he had to pay $10000. I needed one this month, have not had insurance for 10 years. I was able to find a very good doctor to do the procedure for $1200 including, doctor, facility, and anesthesia. Something is wrong with this picture. Same thing with blood work. The doctor there told me that the Quest labs have to charge so much because they will only get about 30% paid from the insurance company. I found out my friend who is on Medicare goes to Quest for her lab work and actually pays MORE than I do direct pay to a different lab...and the hysterical part is that ultimately my lab work is actually done by Quest!
I am quite anxious to see what the affordable care act has in store for me, but alas, I have tried to log in about 70 times to date and cannot get to see the details of the plans. I can only see the names and what they cost without any subsidy. Not very helpful to shoppers. So many people need a better way, it will be interesting to see how this works out.

And from the LA times, never a bastion of my admittedly conservative perspective:

We are so quick to slam Obamacare because we've been lied to since the beginning. As Nancy Pelosi so famously said, "We'd have to read the bill to know what's in it." Great way to legislate - not! They were just very eager to get government control of 12% of our economy. More money for big gov equals more power and government control over our very lives. I for one, don't think the gov't has any business at all having their nose in my private health records. I don't want them to dictate my behavior. I also don't want them to determine if I get care or not dependent on how I live my life. I don't want to sell my freedom for "free" (what a misnomer) health care.

Now we're finding out what's in and it's damning. We been lied to from this administration and President Obama himself. He promised we could keep our doctors and our own insurance. PERIOD. (His emphasis, not mine).

The news is slowly dripping out that he knew that was not true when he said it. That is called lying in my book.

Now the news is coming out that they knew the website wouldn't work either. http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/29/politics/obamacare-warning/index.html

It's all been lies. I also take issue that we live in a country when only the rich get excellent medical care. I am VERY middle class now tending towards paycheck to paycheck as taxes go up and everything else while pay goes down thanks to the policies of this administration.

And anyone who hasn't had their head buried in the sand the past couple of decades has heard about Canadians coming to the U.S. for medical care. People who need hip replacements, cataract surgery are put on sometimes months long, even years long waiting lists because of their socialized medicine. They come here because they can get the care instead of suffering. I'm sure they are probably 'rich', a class-warfare word you like to throw around. Maybe they just borrowed money and need critical treatment.

I can't think of one person I've talked to that has complained they didn't get excellent medical care because they are not rich. These are all middle class people. None of us are rich. We like our doctors and now everything looks like it's going to be royally screwed up.

BTW, unlike our government, heads roll at companies like Microsoft when they have major "glitches". Incompetency is weeded out and fired. Last I heard Kathleen Sebelius still has her high paid job. And, oh yeah, all of the congresscritters and Sebelius herself are exempt from Obamacare. They still will get the goldplate plans.

Who are the greedy ones in all this? If Obamacare is good enough for us, why is it not good enough for all the players in Washington, D.C.?

When you can answer that, I'll believe you are sincere.

Why are we so quick to slam the Affordable Care Act software as a failure. We are so much more forgiving when Microsoft roll outs "buggy" Windows software. Can you imagine where we'd be today if we shut down Microsoft every time their program didn't work in the first days!? We need to be proud that FINALLY someone in this country had the nerve to go up against the Insurance Industry to provide the American people with a more humane medical system. Thank you, Mr. President. Next step is to get these ultra-rich, ultra-powerful insurance companies out of the way of us getting GOOD medical care instead of EXPENSIVE medical care. We, the richest democracy on the Planet, are the only Democracy that does not provide universal medical care for its citizens. We live in a country where only the rich get excellent medical care. Let's help our President roll this system out. HE cares.

OK, so I'm not particularly worried about death panels, though perhaps I should be! Here is what aggravates me. We had a percentage of the population that was uninsured. AND yes, everyone should have the opportunity to be covered. So, instead of creating an opportunity for those to be covered (via high risk pools, medicaid, clinics, etc) the lovely Washington DC crowd turned the world upside down with no apparent benefit insight. Insurance companies have spent a FORTUNE to comply with the mandates. So too, have employers. The latter will have (very small) penalties to pay if they don't comply. HELLO Washington, it will be far less money to pay the penalty than to provide employer sponsored insurance. At the same time, the politicians have added a laundry list of new requirements that the insurance must cover. HELLO out there, that means the premiums will have to pay for all of the mandated preventative visits, primary care visits, etc. Meanwhile, the poor will still be visiting the ER as doctors in their area won't be able to see all of the newly insured. There are no 'quick clinics' for the poor (with or without) insurance to visit to see a nurse practioner to get antibiotics, diabetes testing, blood pressure screening etc etc. This approach (via a 2000 page bill, that we had to pass in order to read!) has to be the screwiest way of providing insurance for a small percentage of people that needed it. It would have been far cheaper for the taxpayers (yes that is us) to pay all of the medical bills for this population. I've been fortunate, always worked for large employers and had insurance (yes I paid for my share of the premiums.). Now, my employer, like so many others is dropping coverage but I won't be eligible for subsidies. When Ilook at the new plans, I could have paid for someone else's coverage in addition to my own and it would have been cheaper than the new 'affordable' insurance. Of course it was supposed to bring in competition but my state only has 3 companies willing to be part of the plan. No competition there.

America's physicians will opt out of taking the exchange insurance initially. Then they will opt out of medicare. (no typo, yes medicare). They will take private pay only and the rich will be able to afford it and the rest of us will be on a waiting list for an appointment or procedure.

Obamacare’s Death Panels Will be Implemented in Two Years Unless We Act Now
by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 6/20/13 11:30 AM

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The Independent Payment Advisory Board is set to go into action later this year. The IPAB is a Medicare cost-cutting board of “experts” legally possessing the power to impose its advise, even over the desires of Congress or the president.

It has been derisively referred to as a death panel because so many have called for it to have health care rationing powers and because its decisions could result in cost-cutting measures that deny lifesaving medical treatment. The Independent Payment Advisory Board was one of the most controversial parts of the Obamacare legislation — mainly because it puts 15 unelected strangers in charge of health decisions for most Americans.

In the name of “cost-certainty,” IPAB would have the authority to limit which specialists you see, what treatments are available, and in some cases, whether you’re eligible for care at all.

Integral to the Obama Administration’s stated mission to drive down what Americans choose to spend for life-saving and health-preserving health care, the IPAB is charged with a key role in suppressing health care spending by limiting what treatment doctors are allowed to give their patients.

David Rivkin, a former Justice Department official during the Reagan administration who represented 26 states in challenging ObamaCare, and Elizabeth Foley, a professor of constitutional law at Florida International University, issued a hard-hitting piece in today’s Wall Street Journal about how the IPAB is gearing up to launch.

Signs of ObamaCare’s failings mount daily, including soaring insurance costs, looming provider shortages and inadequate insurance exchanges. Yet the law’s most disturbing feature may be the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The IPAB, sometimes called a “death panel,” threatens both the Medicare program and the Constitution’s separation of powers. At a time when many Americans have been unsettled by abuses at the Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department, the introduction of a powerful and largely unaccountable board into health care merits special scrutiny.

For a vivid illustration of the extent to which life-and-death medical decisions have already been usurped by government bureaucrats, consider the recent refusal by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to waive the rules barring access by 10-year old Sarah Murnaghan to the adult lung-transplant list. A judge ultimately intervened and Sarah received a lifesaving transplant June 12. But the grip of the bureaucracy will clamp much harder once the Independent Payment Advisory Board gets going in the next two years.

The board, which will control more than a half-trillion dollars of federal spending annually, is directed to “develop detailed and specific proposals related to the Medicare program,” including proposals cutting Medicare spending below a statutorily prescribed level. In addition, the board is encouraged to make rules “related to” Medicare.

The ObamaCare law also stipulates that there “shall be no administrative or judicial review” of the board’s decisions. Its members will be nearly untouchable, too. They will be presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed, but after that they can only be fired for “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.”

Once the board acts, its decisions can be overruled only by Congress, and only through unprecedented and constitutionally dubious legislative procedures—featuring restricted debate, short deadlines for actions by congressional committees and other steps of the process, and supermajoritarian voting requirements. The law allows Congress to kill the otherwise inextirpable board only by a three-fifths supermajority, and only by a vote that takes place in 2017 between Jan. 1 and Aug. 15. If the board fails to implement cuts, all of its powers are to be exercised by HHS Secretary Sebelius or her successor.

The IPAB’s godlike powers are not accidental. Its goal, conspicuously proclaimed by the Obama administration, is to control Medicare spending in ways that are insulated from the political process.

What hope is there of stopping the IPAB’s implementation?

While the board is profoundly unconstitutional, it is designed to operate in a way that makes it difficult to find private parties with standing to challenge it for at least its first several years in operation. An immediate legal challenge by Congress might be possible, but also faces standing difficulties. Unless and until courts rule on IPAB’s constitutionality, Congress should act quickly to repeal this particular portion of ObamaCare or defund its operations.

The dangers of Obamacare’s IPAB are real, as attorney Jennifer Popik of the National Right to Life Committee explains.

“The health care law instructs the IPAB to make recommendations to limit what all Americans are legally allowed to spend for their health care to hold it below the rate of medical inflation. The health care law then empowers the federal Department of Health and Human Services to implement these recommendations by imposing so-called “quality” and “efficiency” measures on health care providers,” she says.

“What happens to doctors who violate a “quality” standard by prescribing more lifesaving medical treatment than it permits? They will be disqualified from contracting with any of the health insurance plans that individual Americans, under the Obama Health Care Law, will be mandated to purchase. Few doctors would be able to remain in practice if subjected to that penalty,” Popik continues.

She concludes: “This means that a treatment a doctor and patient deem advisable to save that patient’s life or preserve or improve the patient’s health–but which exceeds the standard imposed by the government–will be denied even if the patient is willing and able to pay for it. Repeal of IPAB is critically important to prevent this rationing of life-saving medical treatment.”

Republicans have taken steps to stop the IPAB, but the Senate must act or be held accountable in the next election.

Forgot to say, thanks for starting this thread, Jinx!

While Congress was still debating whether to pass Obamacare, I had some definite opinions and wrote to Congress and to the media, etc. But now, I save my energy for other things.

Whatever the higher level faults may be, there are a lot of middle level people trying very hard to make it work for us. Bless them.

I am employed by a 2 large corporations since 1985, I have always had good insurance. V
I may lose this anytime....just the way it is
My concern is that the quality of care will decrease, or that companies will seize to offer insurance as a standard benefit.

Only time will tell.

I suspect the answer will be similar to what my British friend described to me. They have public health insurance, but people with middle class means buy separate policies to prevent the unacceptably long waits and poor quality of what is delivered.

Suffice to say, as I plan towards retirement, I am planning on paying a premium for high end health care.

I draw on a local comparison to the public school system. In Florida, the public system is good in some areas and horrible in others. Parents who want and can afford better pay for private schools.

I have no issue with my tax dollars used for schooling or public health, I acknowledge I may be paying twice. I do think he government needs to be more responsible and aggressive for investigating fraud in all government entitlement programs.

Anyone who thinks ObamaCare isn't going to hurt this country has blinders on. Our elderly are going to find it much harder to get the care they need because as far as this plan is concerned, they are elderly so lets not waste time and resources on them. I am already seeing it affect my elderly mother who goes to the podiatrist every 2 months to get her toe nails clipped and her feet checked. She needs to have these appointments as she has had issues with her feet and toes. When we were there last week we were told she could not be seen anymore on a bi-monthly basis, that she could only be seen every 6 months now. She also had to pay a co-pay for the first time ever. The doctor told us that these changes are directly related to Obamacare. I know for many of you think this may be insignifigant but its the first sign of our eldery being cast aside because of their age. I know the Obama supporters are going to crucify me on here but I know this is true, I have seen it with my own eyes and nothing you can say will change my mind. I will tell you one thing, if my mom ever needs care for something more significant and is refused I will not go away quietly and I will do everything in my power to get her what she needs. This country needs to do something with the healthcare system, I agree 100% but ObamaCare is not the answer.

Glad I have Tricare Prime. I checked the website for what it would cost me as a comparison to what I have now based on my family income. It would cost me about $200.00 a month with the Insurance Exchanges. I pay $22.00 a month for my present insurance. For me, it is not affordable. I am sure for others it is a blessing, especially those with pre-existing conditions. The one thing I have learned is when the governement gets involved nothing is smooth sailing, too many bureaucrats getting involved!

I've always thought the main problem was trying to contain the cost of healthcare. There is no reason for it to cost as much as it does. A single payer system would have contained the cost, which people who had capital interest in hospitals, doctor offices, and pharmaceuticals did not want. As we know, they can only charge as much as insurance will cover.

I think Obamacare is a propagandistic misnomer. Isn't it Affordable Healthcare Act? Other than that I don't have a lot of opinion, except adequate healthcare should be considered a basic human right in an advanced society. I am not sure how that can be best accomplished. Personally, I benefitted from the model program here in Massachusetts when my husband and I hit a finanacially rough spot. He's now on Medicare C (Blue Cross/Blue sheild) and I pay my own way with a private plan since I am self employed.
I sometimes get irritated since many funds are wasted by folks without insurance or money who head to the emergency room for anything. And it seems to need to be a better way to handle the huge problems associated with addictions. I guess I think the real issue is not the insurance,affordable care act but the insurance industry. they are for profit. As long as profit is the driving force, how can it work? Making huge amounts of money off of sick people just seems wrong.

modernbird, Toni Townes-Whitely and Michelle Obama have had close ties for years. They were not just two of 5,000 students on campus that possibly never met. This article from the Examiner elucidates the point.

Short irrational rant. You're only entitled to an opinion on Obamacare if you're uninsured.

I said it was irrational, didn't I?

i like obama as a visionary but id still like to see merkel slap the slack out of his jowels for eavesdropping on her business and private communications.

ive read that the stipulations placed on insurers is designed to crash and burn them and health care will end up being a single pay system. i think that beats the hell out of what we have now which is big insurance simply being a revenue engine with outrageous profits and infinate influence on the political parties. i lean a little towards socialism having seen how governments in europe defend the population from greedy profiteers.
what i think doesnt change the reality that 9 dollar an hour jobs are not going to support hefty health insurance premiums mandated or otherwise. gorbachev said it best years ago. the way forward will require a measure of capitalism and an equal amount of socialism. automation is making manual labor obsolete. in the near future a doctor could be replaced with a hologram and a program. its simple data diagnostics. the minute you walk in the door of a va hospital you go straight to blood draw. they dont need your bs , bloodwork speaks volumes.

It wasn't outsourced. CGI Federal is the US branch of multi-national CGI (publically traded on the NYSE) and employees 12,000 people in 50 US offices. CGI Federal was pre-approved for no-bid contracts up to a certain upset amount that was higher than the total amount of this contract.

The vice -president n question was a classmate (not roommate) at Princeton the same time that Michelle Obama attended. Princeton's undergraduate enrollment is above 5,000 students.

As for the New Jersey-ites. They haven't been cancelled, just informed that their current policies do not conform to what will be required. That's 9% of New Jersey's 8.856 million total population. Whether this is good, bad, or indifferent is too soon to tell. None of us know how their individual policies will be changed or whether there will be an increase/decrease in cost/coverage, given subsidies and other benefits available. FYI, 1.3 million are currently uninsured in New Jersey, 15% of the population. New Jersey did expand medicaid, so no donut hole problem there.

Yes, the federal website roll out was absolutely horrible, no doubt about it. Heads should roll. But let's be accurate and not create boogey men.

I could add more about other false statements I've read on here, but I won't. Except to say that only one adult to child lung transplant has ever been done before, and the efficacy is unknown. What is known is that when one person moves up on the waiting list, another person moves down. Read more about the OPTN and its protocols - and who developed them.

3 years and a wasted $634,000,000 (Yes that's in millions) on a website that doesn't work could've paid for a heck of a lot of healthcare. Obamacare is a major fail.

It's also interesting that the Canadian firm, CGI, paid to create the website is in part run by Michelle Obama's college roommate and friend. Why did our government outsource $634,000,000 of our tax dollars to CANADA to create the website? Shouldn't OUR money, our hard-earned tax dollars from We The People stay in our country? That's ludicrous! They're are plenty of people in the U.S. that could use jobs.

Follow the money and the Chicago way. The answers lie in big payoffs to political cronies. The government and this administration couldn't care less about us little people that fund all their cr@p at our expense.

800,000 people in N.J. are receiving cancellations on their health insurance because their current plan doesn't include the required Obamacare standards which require coverage for birth control, maternity and the like.

I know not many elderly are concerned about that type of coverage.

Thanks jinx for starting this thread. It will be interesting, indeed. :)

Twopupsmom, Media Matters says the whole "death panel" claim is a bogus fear-mongering canard. http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/08/13/conservative-media-death-panels-lie-returns-in/195381

And PolitiFact Named "Death Panels" Its 2009 "Lie Of The Year"

But somehow I doubt you'll listen to either of these sources. Sigh.

I'm thrilled about the Affordable Care Act and am waiting until the website is improved so I can buy my coverage. I have individually purchased coverage now and I'll be saving several hundred dollars a month with my new plan. So I can now purchase dental insurance with my savings. I love the ACA!

health care would work if the government would take the time to clean up the fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, Disability, and on & on, what concerns me is the Obamacare’s Death Panels IPAB
this is the panel of 15 that will determine whether you live or die, thank you Obamacare!

It is okay, modernbird. This has been a horrible business year. People are just not buying extra things. I'll just have to pull down some retirement savings and put it in the bank -- not much interest, but I can't afford the huge increase in my monthly premiums. I know a lot of people are in the same position I am in. I know things will work out. It will just take a little bit of dealing with the insurance people.

Oh Jessie, I'm so sorry that you are in one of those states that didn't do the expansion. I can only imagine how stressful this is.

I was able to get affordable health insurance with a pre-existing condition not excluded when I was in between jobs and did not qualify for cobra, thanks to Romneycare in Massachusetts. Not sure if I would have been able to get coverage in another state at that time. I probably would have been a basket case. Right now I can't get long term care insurance due to an existing condition, which is pretty nerve wracking as I care for my mom and make plans for her future. I might be pretty screwed when that time comes for me..

FWIW, no one has tried to repeal Romneycare in the 10 years that it has been the law in Massachusetts, and we have a lot more insurance companies (and therefore more competition and lower $$) offering policies than we had before.

I only offer my personal experience and observations.

I am one of the people who fell through the cracks, so was personally hurt. I don't make much now, so don't qualify for subsidies, but have too much retirement savings to qualify for Medicaid (which I wouldn't want). I am going to have to start drawing some of my retirement savings so my insurance premiums won't be so high. At the moment I'm confused about what to do.

We needed reform very much. I was personally hoping for universal healthcare, which would have been a lot less confusing.

Reform was/is DESPERATELY needed. Whether this act will provide adequate/beneficial reform will become more apparent over the next few years.

But I highly endorse keeping the discussion of it out of other posts.

stinks to high heavens