Obamacare

Gern Blansten

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/won ... obamacare/

Huffington Post’s Jason Cherkis spent two days at the Kentucky State Fair with workers from Kynect, the state’s health marketplace. He came back with a better understanding of deep-fried Kool Aid (“funnel cake dough flavored with the powdered drink mix”) and this fantastic anecdote.

A middle-aged man in a red golf shirt shuffles up to a small folding table with gold trim, in a booth adorned with a flotilla of helium balloons, where government workers at the Kentucky State Fair are hawking the virtues of Kynect, the state’s health benefit exchange established by Obamacare.

The man is impressed. “This beats Obamacare I hope,” he mutters to one of the workers.
“Do I burst his bubble?” wonders Reina Diaz-Dempsey, overseeing the operation. She doesn’t. If he signs up, it’s a win-win, whether he knows he’s been ensnared by Obamacare or not.

This speaks to a point that others, particularly Jonathan Bernstein, have already made: When Americans actually interact with Obamacare, it won’t be called Obamacare at all. In Kentucky, for example, it will be Kynect, the state health marketplace. In Idaho, local residents will purchase coverage from Your Health Idaho. Covered Oregon will serve (surprise!) Oregonians, while neighboring Washingtonians will purchase coverage from WAHealthPlanFinder. If you watch the ads that states have produced to support their marketplaces, they rarely mention the federal law that has set these changes in action.

This means it’s entirely possible that, even as people start signing up for Obamacare, the program won’t get much more popular at all, something Democrats have roundly expected. “If the ACA works as its sponsors hope, quite a lot of people — maybe the majority — who get their insurance from the exchanges will tell you that, no, they have private insurance,” Bernstein wrote recently in the American Prospect. ”They aren’t getting anything from Obamacare.”

I can't wait for the GOP to spin the success that the state's will have with the exchanges. I'm going to sit back and laugh my ass off.

JimmyV

Found this interesting. I've long believed the GOP would come top regret the Obamacare slur. Maybe not if their base remains this in the dark.

http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/08/ ... obamacare/

A middle-aged man in a red golf shirt shuffles up to a small folding table with gold trim, in a booth adorned with a flotilla of helium balloons, where government workers at the Kentucky State Fair are hawking the virtues of Kynect, the state’s health benefit exchange established by Obamacare.

The man is impressed. “This beats Obamacare I hope,” he mutters to one of the workers.

“Do I burst his bubble?” wonders Reina Diaz-Dempsey, overseeing the operation. She doesn’t. If he signs up, it’s a win-win, whether he knows he’s been ensnared by Obamacare or not.

ajedigecko

UPS cutting benefits.

Intersesting... Due to obamacare?

If lawmakers want to be exempt... That is all i need to know.





Hallowed be Thy Name

unsung

Lawmakers and all the unions that demanded Obama get elected.


Delta estimated its healthcare costs would go up about $100M.

unsung

JimmyV wrote:

The man is impressed. “This beats Obamacare I hope,” he mutters to one of the workers.

“Do I burst his bubble?” wonders Reina Diaz-Dempsey, overseeing the operation. She doesn’t. If he signs up, it’s a win-win, whether he knows he’s been ensnared by Obamacare or not.

Ensnared. Trapped. What's the difference?

Gern Blansten

UPS was cutting employed spouses from their plan. The theory being "If their own employers are required to provide them insurance then why should we bear the extra cost".

A lot of places are using Obamacare as an excuse to cut benefits. Look at their bottom lines and tell me they can't afford it.

Wake up people.

unsung

Why should any company be required by government to bear an additional $100M in fees? These types of things will do three things, raise fares to out of control levels, reduce benefits, or cause a reduction in jobs. Obamacare is a job killer.

ajedigecko

Gern Blansten wrote:

UPS was cutting employed spouses from their plan. The theory being "If their own employers are required to provide them insurance then why should we bear the extra cost".

A lot of places are using Obamacare as an excuse to cut benefits. Look at their bottom lines and tell me they can't afford it.

Wake up people.

...obamacare has set these cuts into motion.

Jason P

Gern Blansten wrote:

UPS was cutting employed spouses from their plan. The theory being "If their own employers are required to provide them insurance then why should we bear the extra cost".

A lot of places are using Obamacare as an excuse to cut benefits. Look at their bottom lines and tell me they can't afford it.

Wake up people.

That theory makes sense. UPS is in the business of making money.

gimmesometruth27

as i have stated before, if a company can not afford to give their employees appropriate benefits, such as those fought for and guaranteed by unions, then they have no business being in business.

Jason P

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

as i have stated before, if a company can not afford to give their employees appropriate benefits, such as those fought for and guaranteed by unions, then they have no business being in business.

That appears to be the case.

Gern Blansten

ajedigecko wrote:

Gern Blansten wrote:

UPS was cutting employed spouses from their plan. The theory being "If their own employers are required to provide them insurance then why should we bear the extra cost".

A lot of places are using Obamacare as an excuse to cut benefits. Look at their bottom lines and tell me they can't afford it.

Wake up people.

...obamacare has set these cuts into motion.

So be it. We can't go forward without addressing the problem. The ends will justify the means

Gern Blansten

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/2 ... 18870.html

I think you'll see more businesses speak out like this. Companies that value their workers won't use Obamacare as an excuse to cut benefits.

unsung

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

as i have stated before, if a company can not afford to give their employees appropriate benefits, such as those fought for and guaranteed by unions, then they have no business being in business.

Says the guy that supports the auto industry bailouts.

Jason P

unsung wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

as i have stated before, if a company can not afford to give their employees appropriate benefits, such as those fought for and guaranteed by unions, then they have no business being in business.

Says the guys that supports the auto industry bailouts.

:think:

JimmyV

The idea behind Obamacare was good, but the execution was flawed. I do think we would have gotten a better bill had the GOP chosen to participate in the process. Instead what we got is mediocre at best. Mandatory health insurance does not equal universal healthcare.

gimmesometruth27

JimmyV wrote:

The idea behind Obamacare was good, but the execution was flawed. I do think we would have gotten a better bill had the GOP chosen to participate in the process. Instead what we got is mediocre at best. Mandatory health insurance does not equal universal healthcare.

the gop cut their own throat politically on this issue.

they refused to participate only so they could avoid blame and blame obama for the failure that the gop was trying to make happen. they can say "we repealed it 43 times" instead of saying "yeah we worked together to get the best possible law enacted".

voters are starting to see the benefits of obamacare, and eventually people are going to blame the gop for failing the american people by stonewalling instead of participating in the process and making this law better.

stalling and stonewalling is not offering a different plan, just like threatening to shut down the government is not an economic plan.

unsung

A very large portion of the population doesn't believe in letting the government run their healthcare. There are those of us that want less government intrusion.

gimmesometruth27

unsung wrote:

A very large portion of the population doesn't believe in letting the government run their healthcare. There are those of us that want less government intrusion.

sorry, but most people do not view it as "government running their healthcare."

your private insurance company is running your health care right now at this very moment.

BinFrog

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/04/govern ... alth-care/

Gern Blansten

unsung wrote:

A very large portion of the population doesn't believe in letting the government run their healthcare. There are those of us that want less government intrusion.

We have for profit companies running our health care....that makes a lot of sense

fife

unsung wrote:

A very large portion of the population doesn't believe in letting the government run their healthcare. There are those of us that want less government intrusion.

just a quick question. what do you mean by saying "run their healthcare"? do youmean the government making decision about what is done to you or do you just mean the governemt taking the payment over?

I live in Canada and not once has my government told my doctor what things to do and that goes down to all my family members and other that I know.

Gern Blansten

fife wrote:

unsung wrote:

A very large portion of the population doesn't believe in letting the government run their healthcare. There are those of us that want less government intrusion.

just a quick question. what do you mean by saying "run their healthcare"? do youmean the government making decision about what is done to you or do you just mean the governemt taking the payment over?

I live in Canada and not once has my government told my doctor what things to do and that goes down to all my family members and other that I know.

You're from Canada? You can probably tell us about the horrible lines and waiting lists for procedures then. That's usually the first thing out of a conservatives mouth when Canada is mentioned alongside health care.

fife

Gern Blansten wrote:

fife wrote:

unsung wrote:

A very large portion of the population doesn't believe in letting the government run their healthcare. There are those of us that want less government intrusion.

just a quick question. what do you mean by saying "run their healthcare"? do youmean the government making decision about what is done to you or do you just mean the governemt taking the payment over?

I live in Canada and not once has my government told my doctor what things to do and that goes down to all my family members and other that I know.

You're from Canada? You can probably tell us about the horrible lines and waiting lists for procedures then. That's usually the first thing out of a conservatives mouth when Canada is mentioned alongside health care.

i won't lie and say that everything is perfect with our health care system. there are lines for certain things and people do have to wait for help in the emergency rooms but it all depends on the emergency.

we have people in canada who would rather turn our health care system to be more like the American. the only thing i will say is that i have faced many serious health issues and my doctors have saved my life and to be honest i f i was in America I would have died or gone broke..

riotgrl

unsung wrote:

Why should any company be required by government to bear an additional $100M in fees? These types of things will do three things, raise fares to out of control levels, reduce benefits, or cause a reduction in jobs. Obamacare is a job killer.

Or UPS is using this as some bullshit excuse to not provide the benefits promised to their employees. Considering the dividends they've payed out for the past 10 years have continued to rise, I don't think they can continue to blame a slow economy or even push Obamacare as the real reason they refuse to honor the benefits package promised - and UPS tells these employees they pay less but offer better benefits.

http://www.investors.ups.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62900&p=irol-dividends


In other words, investors are more important than employees.

Gern Blansten

fife wrote:

i won't lie and say that everything is perfect with our health care system. there are lines for certain things and people do have to wait for help in the emergency rooms but it all depends on the emergency.

we have people in canada who would rather turn our health care system to be more like the American. the only thing i will say is that i have faced many serious health issues and my doctors have saved my life and to be honest i f i was in America I would have died or gone broke..

No system is perfect, that's a fact.

My sister in law was diagnosed with skin cancer a few years ago. Her doctor referred her to a specialist and she was told it would be six months before he could schedule surgery. Imagine having to live with a malignant tumor for that length of time. Luckily she was able to call around and get it done sooner but whenever I hear someone talk of lines in Canada I always remember her.

The issues that people opposed to "socialized" care tend to attribute to it are generally the same problems we have here. The only difference is that in the USA the insurance companies don't make money by providing care. They make money by denying it.

fife

Gern Blansten wrote:

fife wrote:

i won't lie and say that everything is perfect with our health care system. there are lines for certain things and people do have to wait for help in the emergency rooms but it all depends on the emergency.

we have people in canada who would rather turn our health care system to be more like the American. the only thing i will say is that i have faced many serious health issues and my doctors have saved my life and to be honest i f i was in America I would have died or gone broke..

No system is perfect, that's a fact.

My sister in law was diagnosed with skin cancer a few years ago. Her doctor referred her to a specialist and she was told it would be six months before he could schedule surgery. Imagine having to live with a malignant tumor for that length of time. Luckily she was able to call around and get it done sooner but whenever I hear someone talk of lines in Canada I always remember her.

The issues that people opposed to "socialized" care tend to attribute to it are generally the same problems we have here. The only difference is that in the USA the insurance companies don't make money by providing care. They make money by denying it.

i guess it all depends, both my parents got their cancer treatment right away. i think it depends on numerous issues such as where you live etc.

Gern Blansten

fife wrote:

Gern Blansten wrote:

fife wrote:

i won't lie and say that everything is perfect with our health care system. there are lines for certain things and people do have to wait for help in the emergency rooms but it all depends on the emergency.

we have people in canada who would rather turn our health care system to be more like the American. the only thing i will say is that i have faced many serious health issues and my doctors have saved my life and to be honest i f i was in America I would have died or gone broke..

No system is perfect, that's a fact.

My sister in law was diagnosed with skin cancer a few years ago. Her doctor referred her to a specialist and she was told it would be six months before he could schedule surgery. Imagine having to live with a malignant tumor for that length of time. Luckily she was able to call around and get it done sooner but whenever I hear someone talk of lines in Canada I always remember her.

The issues that people opposed to "socialized" care tend to attribute to it are generally the same problems we have here. The only difference is that in the USA the insurance companies don't make money by providing care. They make money by denying it.

i guess it all depends, both my parents got their cancer treatment right away. i think it depends on numerous issues such as where you live etc.

Definitely....she actually lives in Ohio and came to Indiana for treatment

lukin2006

Gern Blansten wrote:

fife wrote:

unsung wrote:

A very large portion of the population doesn't believe in letting the government run their healthcare. There are those of us that want less government intrusion.

just a quick question. what do you mean by saying "run their healthcare"? do youmean the government making decision about what is done to you or do you just mean the governemt taking the payment over?

I live in Canada and not once has my government told my doctor what things to do and that goes down to all my family members and other that I know.

You're from Canada? You can probably tell us about the horrible lines and waiting lists for procedures then. That's usually the first thing out of a conservatives mouth when Canada is mentioned alongside health care.

don't kid yourself ... the waits for elective surgery can be long, ER is generally a long wait, a lot also depends where you live ... if you live in more densely populated area you stand a better chance of having a family doctor which should eliminate the need for ER visits for common ailments. If you live in a less densely populated area healthcare can be a nightmare and can really be frustrating. The community I lived in 6 years ago only had 1 walk-in clinic and all family doctors had closed practices, my parents still live there and their doctor passed away 2 years ago and have been unable to obtain another doctor ... the community still has only 1 walk-in clinic and and 1 emergency department so waits at the ER easily can run 4 or more hours with the clinic being a little better. So far no one has found a solution that seems to work, Canada is kinda in tough because many doctors and especially specialist choose to work in the states, nurses do as well. Our system is just patched together, healthcare isn't even close to equal going community to community ... but if you get really sick you are taken no matter where yo live.

Losiento

Well, that is the thing. It is a cap on insurance companies. They cant raise their rates/premiums which is way out of whack with inflation. What will eventually happen is, as they keep raising rates making it unaffordable for the "average joe" the more people will fall into the category of getting federal insurance or socialized medicine.


The wait times sound just as the same to me.

Gern Blansten

lukin2006 wrote:

don't kid yourself ... the waits for elective surgery can be long, ER is generally a long wait, a lot also depends where you live ... if you live in more densely populated area you stand a better chance of having a family doctor which should eliminate the need for ER visits for common ailments. If you live in a less densely populated area healthcare can be a nightmare and can really be frustrating. The community I lived in 6 years ago only had 1 walk-in clinic and all family doctors had closed practices, my parents still live there and their doctor passed away 2 years ago and have been unable to obtain another doctor ... the community still has only 1 walk-in clinic and and 1 emergency department so waits at the ER easily can run 4 or more hours with the clinic being a little better. So far no one has found a solution that seems to work, Canada is kinda in tough because many doctors and especially specialist choose to work in the states, nurses do as well. Our system is just patched together, healthcare isn't even close to equal going community to community ... but if you get really sick you are taken no matter where yo live.

Just like in the USA. Not equal community to community.

I bet you never have to argue with an insurance company to pay your bill.....like never