Obamacare ACA (Affordable Care Act)

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Comments

  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,667
    edited December 2018
    That is awful. Especially for those who don't have any money to spare. Those are the ones who won't go to the doctor because they don't have $121 or $30 because they need it for food or gas or whatever. And then they'll get REALLY sick because they never saw a doctor soon enough, and then they suffer and eventually die. Just because they don't have money to spare. Hence the human rights violation.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • Gern Blansten
    Gern Blansten Mar-A-Lago Posts: 22,177
    PJ_Soul said:
    That is awful. Especially for those who don't have any money to spare. Those are the ones who won't go to the doctor because they don't have $121 or $30 because they need it for food or gas or whatever. And then they'll get REALLY sick because they never saw a doctor soon enough, and then they suffer and eventually die. Just because they don't have money to spare. Hence the human rights violation.
    Yep....and the tRump admin is doing everything it can to keep people from signing up.  They don't advertise much at all anymore.
    Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)
    The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)

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    2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
    2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
    2020: Oakland, Oakland:  2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
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  • HesCalledDyer
    HesCalledDyer Maryland Posts: 16,491
    I've decided that any post-service billings I receive from now on are going in the fucking trash.  I don't care if every single bill goes to collections from now on, other than co-pays & prescriptions I am not paying a single fucking penny beyond what comes out of my paycheck.  Fuck your deductible, fuck your claim denials, and fuck you.  When the United States can get its head out of it's ass and shows it actually cares about the well-being of ALL its citizens, I'll cooperate.  Every other developed nation on this god damn planet has this shit figured out except us.  Greed. Greed. Greed.
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,667
    I've decided that any post-service billings I receive from now on are going in the fucking trash.  I don't care if every single bill goes to collections from now on, other than co-pays & prescriptions I am not paying a single fucking penny beyond what comes out of my paycheck.  Fuck your deductible, fuck your claim denials, and fuck you.  When the United States can get its head out of it's ass and shows it actually cares about the well-being of ALL its citizens, I'll cooperate.  Every other developed nation on this god damn planet has this shit figured out except us.  Greed. Greed. Greed.
    What will happen to you if you do this? What are the legal or financial consequences?
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • HesCalledDyer
    HesCalledDyer Maryland Posts: 16,491
    PJ_Soul said:
    I've decided that any post-service billings I receive from now on are going in the fucking trash.  I don't care if every single bill goes to collections from now on, other than co-pays & prescriptions I am not paying a single fucking penny beyond what comes out of my paycheck.  Fuck your deductible, fuck your claim denials, and fuck you.  When the United States can get its head out of it's ass and shows it actually cares about the well-being of ALL its citizens, I'll cooperate.  Every other developed nation on this god damn planet has this shit figured out except us.  Greed. Greed. Greed.
    What will happen to you if you do this? What are the legal or financial consequences?
    My credit score will drop.  Also a big fucking scam.
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,667
    edited December 2018
    PJ_Soul said:
    I've decided that any post-service billings I receive from now on are going in the fucking trash.  I don't care if every single bill goes to collections from now on, other than co-pays & prescriptions I am not paying a single fucking penny beyond what comes out of my paycheck.  Fuck your deductible, fuck your claim denials, and fuck you.  When the United States can get its head out of it's ass and shows it actually cares about the well-being of ALL its citizens, I'll cooperate.  Every other developed nation on this god damn planet has this shit figured out except us.  Greed. Greed. Greed.
    What will happen to you if you do this? What are the legal or financial consequences?
    My credit score will drop.  Also a big fucking scam.
    Haha. I often wonder about credit scores... I mean, it seems to really really matter if you plan on making big purchases. Like for mortgages and car loans. It also matters to some landlords, so renters need to keep it up (that's the main reason it matters to me). Now that you can see credit scores for free, I've been seeing what mine is for the first time in my life... I was pleased to see mine from the high-700s to the mid-800s, depending on which credit rating agency's score it is. So great. I'm comfortably in the very good to excellent range. But then I saw how it changes. All I did was fucking switch cell phone providers, and since they did a mandatory credit check to ensure that I could be billed monthly, my credit score went down by like 40 points, just like that, lol. Someone does a mandatory check to make sure your score is high enough to be a regular customer, and the score plummets because they do it. It's fucking ludicrous. I don't even understand how that's legal.
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • ConorKavanagh
    ConorKavanagh Ireland Posts: 1,148
    Not every country on the planet has got it figured out, at all. In Ireland we have a serious shortage of hospital beds. People get discharged early.
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  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,667
    edited December 2018
    Not every country on the planet has got it figured out, at all. In Ireland we have a serious shortage of hospital beds. People get discharged early.
    No country on Earth has a perfect healthcare system. Nobody is claiming that. But the American one is particularly problematic and morally heinous because of the money thing. And I'd say that getting discharged early is still a hell of a lot better than never going to the hospital at all when you need to because you can't afford it.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • HesCalledDyer
    HesCalledDyer Maryland Posts: 16,491
    PJ_Soul said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    I've decided that any post-service billings I receive from now on are going in the fucking trash.  I don't care if every single bill goes to collections from now on, other than co-pays & prescriptions I am not paying a single fucking penny beyond what comes out of my paycheck.  Fuck your deductible, fuck your claim denials, and fuck you.  When the United States can get its head out of it's ass and shows it actually cares about the well-being of ALL its citizens, I'll cooperate.  Every other developed nation on this god damn planet has this shit figured out except us.  Greed. Greed. Greed.
    What will happen to you if you do this? What are the legal or financial consequences?
    My credit score will drop.  Also a big fucking scam.
    Haha. I often wonder about credit scores... I mean, it seems to really really matter if you plan on making big purchases. Like for mortgages and car loans. It also matters to some landlords, so renters need to keep it up (that's the main reason it matters to me). Now that you can see credit scores for free, I've been seeing what mine is for the first time in my life... I was pleased to see mine from the high-700s to the mid-800s, depending on which credit rating agency's score it is. So great. I'm comfortably in the very good to excellent range. But then I saw how it changes. All I did was fucking switch cell phone providers, and since they did a mandatory credit check to ensure that I could be billed monthly, my credit score went down by like 40 points, just like that, lol. Someone does a mandatory check to make sure your score is high enough to be a regular customer, and the score plummets because they do it. It's fucking ludicrous. I don't even understand how that's legal.
    Yep, and I think mine reached the mid 700's once but it usually hovers around the high 600's which I never understood.  I've met people who are way more careless than I am with money and paying bills and their score is higher than mine.  How?  One guy I know actually had a score 50 pts higher than me but had $40k in credit card debt.  At the time I had no debt and carried a flawless record for several years. I don't understand it at all.
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,667
    edited December 2018
    PJ_Soul said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    I've decided that any post-service billings I receive from now on are going in the fucking trash.  I don't care if every single bill goes to collections from now on, other than co-pays & prescriptions I am not paying a single fucking penny beyond what comes out of my paycheck.  Fuck your deductible, fuck your claim denials, and fuck you.  When the United States can get its head out of it's ass and shows it actually cares about the well-being of ALL its citizens, I'll cooperate.  Every other developed nation on this god damn planet has this shit figured out except us.  Greed. Greed. Greed.
    What will happen to you if you do this? What are the legal or financial consequences?
    My credit score will drop.  Also a big fucking scam.
    Haha. I often wonder about credit scores... I mean, it seems to really really matter if you plan on making big purchases. Like for mortgages and car loans. It also matters to some landlords, so renters need to keep it up (that's the main reason it matters to me). Now that you can see credit scores for free, I've been seeing what mine is for the first time in my life... I was pleased to see mine from the high-700s to the mid-800s, depending on which credit rating agency's score it is. So great. I'm comfortably in the very good to excellent range. But then I saw how it changes. All I did was fucking switch cell phone providers, and since they did a mandatory credit check to ensure that I could be billed monthly, my credit score went down by like 40 points, just like that, lol. Someone does a mandatory check to make sure your score is high enough to be a regular customer, and the score plummets because they do it. It's fucking ludicrous. I don't even understand how that's legal.
    Yep, and I think mine reached the mid 700's once but it usually hovers around the high 600's which I never understood.  I've met people who are way more careless than I am with money and paying bills and their score is higher than mine.  How?  One guy I know actually had a score 50 pts higher than me but had $40k in credit card debt.  At the time I had no debt and carried a flawless record for several years. I don't understand it at all.
    How deep you're in debt has nothing to do with it, and yeah, that's idiotic. It's just about being clever with your payments. Obviously the banks WANT you to be in massive credit card debt. That's how they make money. Really, you don't even exist as far as the financial system is concerned if you haven't been in debt at some point. That's why not having any credit card is harmful to people - the banks make sure we NEED one now (I tried to fight this and not have one for years... that plan fucked me in the end). They also just want to make sure you don't get your credit cards cancelled and the balance sent to collections by not paying at all. The credit score is a way to make sure you keep up your debt AND keep paying them all that interest. To tie that strategy to shit like being able to find a place to live is reprehensible.
    Obviously, though, the best method is to have a credit card, to use your credit card often, but to always pay it off (on time obviously), or at least to never have a balance bigger than, say, one pay cheque on it. Ever. That will keep your credit score really high and keep you from getting into debt trouble. Oh, and of course to pay the full amount of all your utility and mortgage bills. Utility bills aren't always connected to your credit score, but they are often enough.
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • tbergs
    tbergs Posts: 10,401
    PJ_Soul said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    I've decided that any post-service billings I receive from now on are going in the fucking trash.  I don't care if every single bill goes to collections from now on, other than co-pays & prescriptions I am not paying a single fucking penny beyond what comes out of my paycheck.  Fuck your deductible, fuck your claim denials, and fuck you.  When the United States can get its head out of it's ass and shows it actually cares about the well-being of ALL its citizens, I'll cooperate.  Every other developed nation on this god damn planet has this shit figured out except us.  Greed. Greed. Greed.
    What will happen to you if you do this? What are the legal or financial consequences?
    My credit score will drop.  Also a big fucking scam.
    Haha. I often wonder about credit scores... I mean, it seems to really really matter if you plan on making big purchases. Like for mortgages and car loans. It also matters to some landlords, so renters need to keep it up (that's the main reason it matters to me). Now that you can see credit scores for free, I've been seeing what mine is for the first time in my life... I was pleased to see mine from the high-700s to the mid-800s, depending on which credit rating agency's score it is. So great. I'm comfortably in the very good to excellent range. But then I saw how it changes. All I did was fucking switch cell phone providers, and since they did a mandatory credit check to ensure that I could be billed monthly, my credit score went down by like 40 points, just like that, lol. Someone does a mandatory check to make sure your score is high enough to be a regular customer, and the score plummets because they do it. It's fucking ludicrous. I don't even understand how that's legal.
    It's all fucking stupid and is really only meant to keep poor people poor. We paid for our last vehicle in cash so we avoided the credit score scam-athon. The only time I every really need to use it is when buying a home. I can't Dave Ramsey that shit yet. It really is a joke though, just because we don't use credit cards and incur debt my credit score isn't as high as it could be even though I never miss a payment on my mortgage since everything is auto-pay these days. And if I really ever did decide to say fuck it, my credit score would be the least of my worries.

    As for Dyer's comment, I get it. I don't know how many times I've been threatened by the clinic or hospital with "collections" all because my stupid insurance didn't process something right or my main clinic didn't do their damn job and get our referral over so it was listed as an "out of network" cost. We literally had an appt. back in August that the hospital is still trying to bill on. My wife has called our provider multiple times to send the referral and after the 3rd time now, they sent another confirmation that it has been taken care of. All over a stupid $263 bill. I will say that my coverage is great, but dealing with insurance is just horrible.
    It's a hopeless situation...
  • Gern Blansten
    Gern Blansten Mar-A-Lago Posts: 22,177
    tbergs said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    I've decided that any post-service billings I receive from now on are going in the fucking trash.  I don't care if every single bill goes to collections from now on, other than co-pays & prescriptions I am not paying a single fucking penny beyond what comes out of my paycheck.  Fuck your deductible, fuck your claim denials, and fuck you.  When the United States can get its head out of it's ass and shows it actually cares about the well-being of ALL its citizens, I'll cooperate.  Every other developed nation on this god damn planet has this shit figured out except us.  Greed. Greed. Greed.
    What will happen to you if you do this? What are the legal or financial consequences?
    My credit score will drop.  Also a big fucking scam.
    Haha. I often wonder about credit scores... I mean, it seems to really really matter if you plan on making big purchases. Like for mortgages and car loans. It also matters to some landlords, so renters need to keep it up (that's the main reason it matters to me). Now that you can see credit scores for free, I've been seeing what mine is for the first time in my life... I was pleased to see mine from the high-700s to the mid-800s, depending on which credit rating agency's score it is. So great. I'm comfortably in the very good to excellent range. But then I saw how it changes. All I did was fucking switch cell phone providers, and since they did a mandatory credit check to ensure that I could be billed monthly, my credit score went down by like 40 points, just like that, lol. Someone does a mandatory check to make sure your score is high enough to be a regular customer, and the score plummets because they do it. It's fucking ludicrous. I don't even understand how that's legal.
    It's all fucking stupid and is really only meant to keep poor people poor. We paid for our last vehicle in cash so we avoided the credit score scam-athon. The only time I every really need to use it is when buying a home. I can't Dave Ramsey that shit yet. It really is a joke though, just because we don't use credit cards and incur debt my credit score isn't as high as it could be even though I never miss a payment on my mortgage since everything is auto-pay these days. And if I really ever did decide to say fuck it, my credit score would be the least of my worries.

    As for Dyer's comment, I get it. I don't know how many times I've been threatened by the clinic or hospital with "collections" all because my stupid insurance didn't process something right or my main clinic didn't do their damn job and get our referral over so it was listed as an "out of network" cost. We literally had an appt. back in August that the hospital is still trying to bill on. My wife has called our provider multiple times to send the referral and after the 3rd time now, they sent another confirmation that it has been taken care of. All over a stupid $263 bill. I will say that my coverage is great, but dealing with insurance is just horrible.
    I can't tell you how many times I've been sent to collections, paid it, then got a refund because I paid it twice.  I'm a fucking CPA and can't keep track of this shit.  

    Our local hospital group assigns a different account number to our family every time my wife or one of my daughters go to the doctor.  So If I use online billpay through my bank to pay them I have to go in and edit the fucking account number every time I make a payment.  Otherwise I get sent to collections for not pay the bill under the NEW account number and get a refund on my OLD account number because I didn't owe them anything under that fucking account.  
    Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)
    The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)

    1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
    2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
    2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
    2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
    2020: Oakland, Oakland:  2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
    2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
    2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,667
    edited December 2018
    So they never come after people who never pay except via bad bad credit and collections notices??? Like, no criminal charges eventually? No garnished wages? Nothing? I find that surprising...
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • mace1229
    mace1229 Posts: 9,828
    edited December 2018
    PJ_Soul said:
    So they never come after people who never pay except via bad bad credit and collections notices??? Like, no criminal charges eventually? No garnished wages? Nothing? I find that surprising...
    They can. But sometimes it is hard. You can get garnished wages or tax refunds withheld. I've never heard of criminal charges, but I'm sure it has happened under certain circumstances.
    But people who live off the government may not have any consequence. My parent's house was broken into and vandalized several years ago. They caught the people, and it was a group of teens who were going from home to home and living there for a few days just trashing the place. They even tried to burn it down but were unsuccessful. Since just about all of them were with single parents on welfare, there was a judgment against the for costs, but no real way to enforce it.   Wages were too low to garnish, and wages too low to pay taxes so nothing to hold. Criminal charges were pressed for the breaking and vandalizing, but nothing extra for not compensating my parents. A middle-class family couldn't get away with that though.
    But something like medical expenses, thats why people go bankrupt. Probably not going to be successful going after 100k of medical bills when the person only makes 60k a year. Thats why medical bills are the #1 cause for bankruptcy, or so I hear all the time.
    Post edited by mace1229 on
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,667
    mace1229 said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    So they never come after people who never pay except via bad bad credit and collections notices??? Like, no criminal charges eventually? No garnished wages? Nothing? I find that surprising...
    They can. But sometimes it is hard. You can get garnished wages or tax refunds withheld. I've never heard of criminal charges, but I'm sure it has happened under certain circumstances.
    But people who live off the government may not have any consequence. My parent's house was broken into and vandalized several years ago. They caught the people, and it was a group of teens who were going from home to home and living there for a few days just trashing the place. They even tried to burn it down but were unsuccessful. Since just about all of them were with single parents on welfare, there was a judgment against the for costs, but no real way to enforce it.   Wages were too low to garnish, and wages too low to pay taxes so nothing to hold. Criminal charges were pressed for the breaking and vandalizing, but nothing extra for not compensating my parents. A middle-class family couldn't get away with that though.
    Hmmm.
    Dyer, if I were you I'd think twice about not paying these bills!
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • mace1229
    mace1229 Posts: 9,828
    And yes, how deep in debt you are has little to nothing to do with your score. But a higher debt will make definitely it less likely to get approved for a loan if you're looking to buy a house and car. And if you're concerned about your credit you probably plan on making one of those big purchases in the future. 
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    I just wish in Canada they would add pharma care and dental.  Many people, including seniors, struggle to afford these service.  However, seniors do get pharma covered.
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,667
    I just wish in Canada they would add pharma care and dental.  Many people, including seniors, struggle to afford these service.  However, seniors do get pharma covered.
    Yeah, pharmacare is a thing in BC. Not in Ontario?? But yes, dental is a terrible problem for seniors. Most adults have at least some dental coverage through work (mine is 80% basic and 50% ortho and major), but it's a TERRIBLE burden for seniors. The cost of dental insurance for seniors is too high for most to pay, and obviously just paying for dental out of pocket is impossible for many seniors too... So many of them just have to sit there and deal with their teeth rotting out of their heads. It's terrible. I think dental should be at least partially covered under the MSP.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    PJ_Soul said:
    I just wish in Canada they would add pharma care and dental.  Many people, including seniors, struggle to afford these service.  However, seniors do get pharma covered.
    Yeah, pharmacare is a thing in BC. Not in Ontario?? But yes, dental is a terrible problem for seniors. Most adults have at least some dental coverage through work (mine is 80% basic and 50% ortho and major), but it's a TERRIBLE burden for seniors. The cost of dental insurance for seniors is too high for most to pay, and obviously just paying for dental out of pocket is impossible for many seniors too... So many of them just have to sit there and deal with their teeth rotting out of their heads. It's terrible. I think dental should be at least partially covered under the MSP.
    We have no pharma care, only if you have insurance.  Yes, most work does offer this, however, some employers played dirty after minimum wage went to 14/hour and slashed benefits, most notably Tim Hortons, I do believe corporate made the franchisees reinstate full benefits, then they just cut hours...It's sad, the lowest income people can't win sometimes.  However, a McDonald's employee told me that their benefits and hours were untouched...so that was good.  
    Give Peas A Chance…