(UPDATED) Trying to stay out of the Obamacare debate...

mikepegg44 · April 2014

gimmesometruth27 said:
GOP alternative??

stop getting sick?

ogey38 · April 2014

Here's my true story of the Affordable Care Act. I was laid off from my job in Nov 2013. After my severance ran out, I started researching the ACA. Now, being only on unemployment, my funds are really limited to what I can afford for healthcare. The best policy I could find, that was really over my budge, was a $5000 annual deductible with a premium of $398/mo. I'm not playing the blame game, just can't understand how this is affordable. And believe me, I did do my research.

ldent42 · May 2014

I think I posted in this thread before the Obamacare started but I can't figure out how to search my old posts.
I have to say I'm disappointed. None of my doctors take the new Obamacare plan. I went to a dentist that has really good yelp reviews who was listed on the "find a dentist" portion of the site but they don't take it either. I did get to go to two doctors, both of whom I already knew, both of whom explained to me that no one who didn't already take Medicaid is going to accept Obamacare plans. They explained that the administrative costs required to get paid from Medicaid outweighs the payment itself. From a business perspective it just doesn't make sense for Doctors who have a lot of patients to take it. One of them told me he accepts medicaid because it's the "right thing to do" and because "people need to be treated". Both these doctors were specialists, mind you.

Anyway the only PCP I found to take my insurance is a Community Clinic. I had to wait 5 weeks for my first appointment. The appointment itself didn't go bad at all the doctor was really nice. I didn't actually get any of my issues resolved though. Anyway about a week later this thing with my ear starts acting up again HARDCORE. I called to get an appointment and I can get one in 4 days, not too bad. But it won't be the same doctor. "Your doctor is a resident so she's not here all the time." I have no idea what this means, but ok. I missed that appointment which is entirely my fault. I called to reschedule and played phone tag for a week. That's partially my fault too cuz I haven't been awake during most of their office hours, but they never bothered calling me back. Anyway I just got off the phone, the soonest appointment they can give me is two weeks from today.

The problem, I think, is that without any kind of law mandating that doctors take the new Obamacare plans all they are doing is putting an increased burden on an already strained system. And it's messed up because from what I can see so far, established Doctors with experience, the kind you might trust or who might get called 'good' don't accept these plans and have no interest in accepting them. It feels like the patients on these plans wind up getting 'second class' care or whatever the nice way of saying it is.

I definitely wish it was done better. and I don't see myself getting fixed (I need surgery) for several more years until I get on a private insurance plan from an employer.

Godfather. · May 2014

Dear Reader,

You may have heard about a new currency law coming to America.

On July 1st of this year, Title V of the Obama Administration’s HR Bill #2847, known as FATCA, goes into effect.

And after collectively spending more than 100 hours reading the actual legislation and its associated news coverage, we found 4 concerns we think you need to be aware of…

1. Most people mistakenly think they’re not affected by FATCA. If you are a U.S. citizen… or if you hold any of your money in U.S. dollars, this new law definitely affects you.

2. The more you trade and invest, the more likely you are to get hit hard by this new bill.

3. It is not difficult for an American tax payer to be labeled “recalcitrant” as part of this new law. And as soon as you are…you potentially become subject to a 30% tax.

4. The implementation of FATCA has been delayed several times, but now the IRS says it will not be delayed anymore. It will go into full effect on July 1st of this year.

In fact, on April 2nd of this year, the new IRS commissioner said, “Whatever else we are going to do, we are going to implement the non-discretionary legislative mandates we have been given: the Affordable Care Act and FATCA”

We think every American needs to learn about this law, which is set to go into effect in fewer than 70 days.

Get the facts, and learn how to protect yourself.

To help, we’ve put together a slide show presentation on our website, which you can access free of charge.

Click here to learn more about this new law.

Sincerely,

Mike Palmer, Senior Researcher
Stansberry Research

no I did not resurch this.....sorry but it sure sounds interesting.

Godfather.

rgambs · May 2014

You can tell why a doctor went into medicine just by asking if they accept Medicaid or not.

concertaholicshirt · May 2014

ldent42 said:
Anyway the only PCP I found to take...

I know that Obamacare leaves a lot to be desired, but this isn't the answer :P

Shawshank · August 2016

Well it looks like the Exchange is collapsing. And i jist read where one region has no more insurance providers participating.

I'm about to lose my 3rd and final insurance provider. I lost my original plan, which was the best insurance I ever had. Then I had Blue Cross Blue Shield...they bowed out in this area and I would have had to drive over an hour to the network doctor. My next provider did pretty much the same thing. Lasted a year and left the Exchange. Now my 3rd provider, and the last one that would allow my wife to see her cardiologist is dropping out of the Exchange. So once again I have to say, fuck you Obamacare!!!

Go Beavers · August 2016

Interesting article that's relevant:
blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/08/29/the-aca-marketplace-problems-in-context-and-why-they-dont-mean-obamacare-is-failing/

Shawshank · August 2016

What difference does it make if people can get insurance if there are no insurance providers in your area??? And with more and more areas with only a single insurance provider, what will keep those premiums from skyrocketing?

jeffbr · August 2016

I know the ACA apologists don't or won't look at the real world effects of this policy, but while it is great that ACA created coverage for the poor who couldn't previously afford insurance, it is now about to tank the middle class' ability to receive healthcare. The policy choices are disappearing, rates are skyrocketing, coverage is diminished, insurers are either getting double digit rate requests approved, or leaving exchanges, etc... This has been going on for awhile. I know this past year in this thread there have been people who buried their heads in the sand and said all is well, ACA is a success. But the consequences of ACA are getting harder and harder to obfuscate no matter how much hand waving and misdirection they use. All across the country exchanges are getting decimated and choice is disappearing. That blog post link a couple of posts above basically acknowledges all of the failures, but decides that the ACA isn't a failure because 20 million more people have insurance. Well, many of them were forced to get it, and most who have it can't use it because of high deductibles. So while "failure" may be too harsh a word for the blog post author, it is an accurate word for those of us struggling with the effects of premium hikes and high deductibles.

Obamacare Is Stuck in a Feedback Loop of Bad Policy and Bad Politics

Shawshank · August 2016

jeffbr said:
I know the ACA apologists don't or won't look at the real world effects of this policy, but while it is great that ACA created coverage for the poor who couldn't previously afford insurance, it is now about to tank the middle class' ability to receive healthcare. The policy choices are disappearing, rates are skyrocketing, coverage is diminished, insurers are either getting double digit rate requests approved, or leaving exchanges, etc... This has been going on for awhile. I know this past year in this thread there have been people who buried their heads in the sand and said all is well, ACA is a success. But the consequences of ACA are getting harder and harder to obfuscate no matter how much hand waving and misdirection they use. All across the country exchanges are getting decimated and choice is disappearing. That blog post link a couple of posts above basically acknowledges all of the failures, but decides that the ACA isn't a failure because 20 million more people have insurance. Well, many of them were forced to get it, and most who have it can't use it because of high deductibles. So while "failure" may be too harsh a word for the blog post author, it is an accurate word for those of us struggling with the effects of premium hikes and high deductibles.

Obamacare Is Stuck in a Feedback Loop of Bad Policy and Bad Politics

^^^^^^^
[/endthread] That pretty much says all that needs to be said, and unless you're just obtuse, there is literally no argument against it

Go Beavers · August 2016

Would it be obtuse to say that in the 20 years before ACA people's premiums were skyrocketing, coverage was getting more and more limited, and they were being dropped by insurance companies?

Shawshank · August 2016

Go Beavers said:
Would it be obtuse to say that in the 20 years before ACA people's premiums were skyrocketing, coverage was getting more and more limited, and they were being dropped by insurance companies?

Aside from the first year of the ACA...I actually had better coverage, with a lower premium, with my old plans. My max out of pockets are the same as they were with my old plans, and I actually have a higher copay now...and I pay a higher premium for that privilege.

And when you lose the ability to find coverage because your carrier is dropping out of the exchange...you are essentially being dropped by your provider. So you not only have people being dropped, but you have limited availability and skyrocketing premiums (I've paid at least 15-20% more each year since year one of this bullshit). So not much has changed.

Gern Blansten · August 2016

Go Beavers said:
Would it be obtuse to say that in the 20 years before ACA people's premiums were skyrocketing, coverage was getting more and more limited, and they were being dropped by insurance companies?

nope...

I became self employed in 1998. Every year my premiums would go up 20-25%. This was a high deductible policy to begin with.

About 7 years ago, when talk of health reform was beginning, my premiums would only go up like 10-15%/year. I always assumed that it was because the insurance companies were trying to say "see we can control costs and keep the annual increase down" but that's just a guess.

At least with the ACA you are guaranteed coverage. The days of being denied and lifetime caps are gone. Thanks Obama.

Shawshank · August 2016

Gern Blansten said:

At least with the ACA you are guaranteed coverage. The days of being denied and lifetime caps are gone. Thanks Obama.

Missing the point. IF you can find an insurance provider in your region. As I said before, what difference does it make that you are guaranteed coverage, if you can't find a company that offers insurance in your area? What kind of "savings" do you think you will get when their is only one provider in the exchange for your area?

jeffbr · August 2016

Go Beavers said:
Would it be obtuse to say that in the 20 years before ACA people's premiums were skyrocketing, coverage was getting more and more limited, and they were being dropped by insurance companies?

Yup. While you could say that it is only a distraction because those things are nothing compared to what we're seeing today. I had insurance during that entire period. Reasonable deductibles, reasonable premiums that I look back on longingly. Lots of choices of plans from PPOs to HMOs. Since ACA I have no choices of plans, my premiums are outrageous, my deductible makes it so any expenses I incur are out of pocket. So I don't use my insurance, but I am forced by the feds to have it. And the promise with ACA was that it would cut skyrocketing healthcare costs. Mylan must be a great recent example of how costs are now under control.

And "dropped by insurance companies" really took off after ACA. Remember that canard from BHO "If you like the plan you have, you can keep it. If you like the doctor you have, you can keep your doctor, too. The only change you’ll see are falling costs as our reforms take hold." I guess he got the last laugh.

I'll grant you that the ACA was enacted with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, the best of intentions aren't paying my premiums or controlling my healthcare costs.

Gern Blansten · August 2016

Shawshank said:

Gern Blansten said:

At least with the ACA you are guaranteed coverage. The days of being denied and lifetime caps are gone. Thanks Obama.
Missing the point. IF you can find an insurance provider in your region. As I said before, what difference does it make that you are guaranteed coverage, if you can't find a company that offers insurance in your area? What kind of "savings" do you think you will get when their is only one provider in the exchange for your area?

That depends on your ailment doesn't it? If your premium is $1,000/month and you get cancer then you saved a million bucks by having insurance.

The ACA requires insurers to only allow 20% of premiums to go toward admin costs. 80% must be toward providing medical care to those insured.

mace1229 · August 2016

Early in the thread cash visits were mentioned. With the exception of life-threatening illnesses that require months of treatment, it seems like that could easily be the best.
In so many ways insurance is such a scam. We had a baby just a couple months ago and the headache of all the insurance was worse than the labor my wife went through (she'll probably disagree with that).
Every visit we get a bill that states what the hospital wanted, then the "negotiated" fee which is a fraction of the original bill, then the portion my insurance covered.
On more than one occasion we got a bill for over $2,000 because it was for lab work our insurance did not cover, and when we called the lab company they said they just send out a bill for $2,000 and see if insurance will pay it, and since it was out of network they didn't cover it so the lab reduced the fee to a mere $50. How can you go from $2000 to $50?
Even with having a baby, and both mom and baby stayed in the hospital for 3 days, we barely saved any money using insurance for that month if you compare it to the "negotiated" fee when you consider between myself and employer we pay $1500/ month. Or "negotiated' fees only totaled about $2500 for that month, and we paid $1500 of that in premiums, and another $700 in copays. Our insurance was only out about $300 for that month, and we had a freaking baby! The other 11 months of this year there was almost no expense to our insurance.
Cut out the middleman (insurance) and have reasonable fees that people can afford (the "negotiated" rate).
On top of that, most doctor offices have to have at least 1 full time person to just deal with insurance, which raise costs too.

Shawshank · August 2016

Gern Blansten said:

That depends on your ailment doesn't it? If your premium is $1,000/month and you get cancer then you saved a million bucks by having insurance.

The ACA requires insurers to only allow 20% of premiums to go toward admin costs. 80% must be toward providing medical care to those insured.

I really don't know why this is so hard for some of you to understand. You do realize that insurance providers are dropping out of the exchange like crazy right? That there are fewer and fewer plans being offered. That there are fewer doctors incorporated into those plans. You do realize that don't you?? That is the whole point behind the resurrection of this thread. If you can't find an insurance provider that will allow you see a doctor within an hour of where you live, because that is pretty much where we will be next year, then what difference does it make if you have insurance?? So now you either have the added expense of seeing someone out of network...which may not even be permitted in some plans...or you have to drive 50 or 60 miles to see a doctor that is in their network, which may be impossible for some that don't have adequate transportation.

mace1229 · August 2016

Shawshank said:

Gern Blansten said:

That depends on your ailment doesn't it? If your premium is $1,000/month and you get cancer then you saved a million bucks by having insurance.

The ACA requires insurers to only allow 20% of premiums to go toward admin costs. 80% must be toward providing medical care to those insured.
I really don't know why this is so hard for some of you to understand. You do realize that insurance providers are dropping out of the exchange like crazy right? That there are fewer and fewer plans being offered. That there are fewer doctors incorporated into those plans. You do realize that don't you?? That is the whole point behind the resurrection of this thread. If you can't find an insurance provider that will allow you see a doctor within an hour of where you live, because that is pretty much where we will be next year, then what difference does it make if you have insurance?? So now you either have the added expense of seeing someone out of network...which may not even be permitted in some plans...or you have to drive 50 or 60 miles to see a doctor that is in their network, which may be impossible for some that don't have adequate transportation.

The only time myself or anyone else with my same health plan would actually benefit from health insurance would be something catastrophic like cancer that requires hundreds of thousands of dollars of treatment.
It's ridiculous that we contribute over $1500/month for insurance and still have copays and deductibles as high as they are.
Think of car insurance, if you get into an accident or your car gets stolen you think "I'm glad I have this insurance, it saved me thousands this month."
But even after having a baby, after the copays and premiums I essentially broke even last month (meaning my out of pocket expenses would have been the same with or without insurance for last month), and that's just for the month. You would think maybe some years I don't get much of a return on it, but when I have a baby you'd think to yourself "I'm glad we had insurance or we couldn't afford these bills." But nope, between my premiums and copays I would have paid about thee same amount last month, and saved most of the $1500 a month prior to that (with some dr visits totally a couple hundred bucks). All the other months I spend $1500 and get virtually nothing back. I've been forced to pay $1500 a month for insurance and don't even have a choice in the plan because since it is through my employer. I don't have the option to search for other health plans and don't qualify for state or government sponsored plans, or anything else offered through ACA.

I've even learned to ask for the cash price when filling a prescription because I've found that my plan, that I have no choice in, often has a higher co-pay for prescription than the cash out-of-pocket price. A copay might be $30 to fill a prescription, but the cash price is only $12, how does that make any sense?

(UPDATED) Trying to stay out of the Obamacare debate...

Comments

Categories