Obamacare is coming

[MikeInNV]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Blame should be placed where it belongs: the GOP. They are the ones who are continuing to use every obstructionist tactic possible to undermine the president. They are basically holding the U.S. government hostage; the president cannot cave into the whims of these domestic terrorists.

You're quickly becoming my favorite Ledgie ever.

Signed,
A Furloughed Government Employee

[Silver23]

So guys, what country would be best for moving to in the future, England or Canada?

Seriously, my Liberal self and my Conservative friends compromise/listen to one another all the time, including Affordable Care Act viewpoints.

It's really stupid that 40+ year old men and women are acting like children about this issue. Makes me wonder if these Congressmen and Congresswomen need a few years in the service industry to find out what life is really like for many Americans, especially the millennials.

I would like to commend the people on the ledge for acting polite about this issue though. I was reading through my Facebook and happened upon Cosmo statusing about the issue. Nasty insults were being flung everywhere.

[jwd]

WOW! Thank God I have employer provided health insurance. I pay roughly $600 a year for an 80/20 plan with a $600 HRA contribution from my employer to boot. I've been snooping around on the exchanges and they are not cheap. The cheapest plan on my state's exchange would be $3000 for insurance with a $5000 deductible! Not sure of the subsidy the government would povide but I think if I were a healthy young person I'd opt for the $95 penalty and take my chances.

[Macfanforever]

Originally Posted by jwd

WOW! Thank God I have employer provided health insurance. I pay roughly $600 a year for an 80/20 plan with a $600 HRA contribution from my employer to boot. I've been snooping around on the exchanges and they are not cheap. The cheapest plan on my state's exchange would be $3000 for insurance with a $5000 deductible! Not sure of the subsidy the government would povide but I think if I were a healthy young person I'd opt for the $95 penalty and take my chances.

I wonder if the rates will go down when all the healthy people sign on it or it will balance out with people with health issues will cost the insurers money.

[jwd]

Originally Posted by Macfanforever

I wonder if the rates will go down when all the healthy people sign on it or it will balance out with people with health issues will cost the insurers money.

Why will the healthy people sign on? The penalty is cheaper than the insurance. If you get sick can't you pick up insurance? Or is there a window when you are eligible to sign up?

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by jwd

WOW! Thank God I have employer provided health insurance. I pay roughly $600 a year for an 80/20 plan with a $600 HRA contribution from my employer to boot. I've been snooping around on the exchanges and they are not cheap. The cheapest plan on my state's exchange would be $3000 for insurance with a $5000 deductible! Not sure of the subsidy the government would povide but I think if I were a healthy young person I'd opt for the $95 penalty and take my chances.

EXACTLY. If you're young(under 30-35) and healthy, you might as well take your chances. $95 penalty is a joke.

I've had my own insurance for about 17 years now, and it's consistently gone up(obviously), even that I've never had any sort of major claim.

And again, I looked at "their plans", and they would still be about $1100 more a year, than I am CURRENTLY paying. So WTF does "AFFORDABLE" Health Care mean to me? "Bend over, healthy, responsible citizen, who has done the right thing, for the past 17 years, and worked your ass off, your entire life, and now we're gonna F you? You do "okay" so you're going to pay the most, even though you're healthy". Sorry, but that's Socialism, at it's finest..... The gov't can stay shut down, as far as I care.

[MikeInNV]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

EXACTLY. If you're young(under 30-35) and healthy, you might as well take your chances. $95 penalty is a joke.

I've had my own insurance for about 17 years now, and it's consistently gone up(obviously), even that I've never had any sort of major claim.

And again, I looked at "their plans", and they would still be about $1100 more a year, than I am CURRENTLY paying. So WTF does "AFFORDABLE" Health Care mean to me? "Bend over, healthy, responsible citizen, who has done the right thing, for the past 17 years, and worked your ass off, your entire life, and now we're gonna F you? You do "okay" so you're going to pay the most, even though you're healthy". Sorry, but that's Socialism, at it's finest..... The gov't can stay shut down, as far as I care.

Are you not able to continue with the plan you've always had?

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by MikeInNV

Are you not able to continue with the plan you've always had?

They are willing to let me lock in for one more year, with only about a 10% increase in premium. However, they also told me to expect a 47% increase, after the one year lock.

[Macfanforever]

Originally Posted by jwd

Why will the healthy people sign on? The penalty is cheaper than the insurance. If you get sick can't you pick up insurance? Or is there a window when you are eligible to sign up?

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

EXACTLY. If you're young(under 30-35) and healthy, you might as well take your chances. $95 penalty is a joke.

I've had my own insurance for about 17 years now, and it's consistently gone up(obviously), even that I've never had any sort of major claim.

And again, I looked at "their plans", and they would still be about $1100 more a year, than I am CURRENTLY paying. So WTF does "AFFORDABLE" Health Care mean to me? "Bend over, healthy, responsible citizen, who has done the right thing, for the past 17 years, and worked your ass off, your entire life, and now we're gonna F you? You do "okay" so you're going to pay the most, even though you're healthy". Sorry, but that's Socialism, at it's finest..... The gov't can stay shut down, as far as I care.

They will be dumping money into the insurers and not using it all the time.Like car insurance. No accidents .cheaper plans.

My friend is a smoker.He said he will get hammered do to his smoking habit.

I agree on the penalty.Thats one thing they are fighting about down there.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Macfanforever

They will be dumping money into the insurers and not using it all the time.Like car insurance. No accidents .cheaper plans.

My friend is a smoker.He said he will get hammered do to his smoking habit.

I agree on the penalty.Thats one thing they are fighting about down there.

Again, on the smoking, I think that's fair. I feel the same about obesity(barring a medical condition CAUSING the obesity). If you smoke, you should pay more. If you choose to weigh 400 lbs, you should pay more. And conversely, if you're healthy, with no high risk issues, you should pay less.

Okay, so the healthy guy, who makes a good living, pays the most, and the 400 lb guy, who smokes and has made poor health choices their entire life, and is constantly taxing the system, gets it for free??? Am I the only one viewing it from this standpoint? Because for me, that IS the situation, and it pisses me off.

[becca]

They're starting to deny treatment in Canada to certain people it's fashionable to blame for their decisions. I expect the U.S. will follow. I don't know, people living in poor areas often have little access to affordable quality food. I was very anti-smoking growing up, but I had all but one family member (a grandmother) smoking, including my only (older) brother... by high school all my friends but me smoked. Eventually I found if i smoked I got a lot less sick from the second-hand smoke. Have been quit for over a decade now but should the time I did smoke count against me, or the second-hand smoke I often cannot avoid?

Obamacare/affordable care... it seems the thing most object to is having something being mandatory. It's mandatory in Canada but you have only one source for it (though there are extended plans that are private). Over time though procedures once covered have been 'de-listed' from the program everyone has to be in, although a few things have also been added. You are now more like we were in the '50s-'60s where you had to have it but could buy from a number of companies. It's the same with auto insurance here now; one government run company... but you are not getting that so I think it's a bit extreme to say it is government run health-care. Medicare and Medicaid are government run health care, and whatever the VA offers. Affordable care is just making it mandatory or you pay a penalty, and with more people in the pool costs come down for many. If you had no insurance and didn't want it (trusted in luck to stay healthy) then you can complain I suppose. A step toward socialism (never mind communism) though, I think is not the case.

It's also baffling, especially to outsiders perhaps, how Romney could be for the same thing as a republican in Massachusetts, and be extremely against it nationally.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Again, on the smoking, I think that's fair. I feel the same about obesity(barring a medical condition CAUSING the obesity). If you smoke, you should pay more. If you choose to weigh 400 lbs, you should pay more. And conversely, if you're healthy, with no high risk issues, you should pay less.

Okay, so the healthy guy, who makes a good living, pays the most, and the 400 lb guy, who smokes and has made poor health choices their entire life, and is constantly taxing the system, gets it for free??? Am I the only one viewing it from this standpoint? Because for me, that IS the situation, and it pisses me off.

Well, what people who are single with no kids? Why should we pay for other people's kids?

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Well, what people who are single with no kids? Why should we pay for other people's kids?

Agreed! No more school tax for childless people, too!

[Macfanforever]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Again, on the smoking, I think that's fair. I feel the same about obesity(barring a medical condition CAUSING the obesity). If you smoke, you should pay more. If you choose to weigh 400 lbs, you should pay more. And conversely, if you're healthy, with no high risk issues, you should pay less.

Okay, so the healthy guy, who makes a good living, pays the most, and the 400 lb guy, who smokes and has made poor health choices their entire life, and is constantly taxing the system, gets it for free??? Am I the only one viewing it from this standpoint? Because for me, that IS the situation, and it pisses me off.

Yes I agree.Smokers should pay more.I will fall into the obesity dept if I quit walking and keep snacking on junk food in front of this computer.I got to keep walking and eat some carrots or some cucumbers instead of a bag potato chip.

Originally Posted by becca

They're starting to deny treatment in Canada to certain people it's fashionable to blame for their decisions. I expect the U.S. will follow. I don't know, people living in poor areas often have little access to affordable quality food. I was very anti-smoking growing up, but I had all but one family member (a grandmother) smoking, including my only (older) brother... by high school all my friends but me smoked. Eventually I found if i smoked I got a lot less sick from the second-hand smoke. Have been quit for over a decade now but should the time I did smoke count against me, or the second-hand smoke I often cannot avoid?

Obamacare/affordable care... it seems the thing most object to is having something being mandatory. It's mandatory in Canada but you have only one source for it (though there are extended plans that are private). Over time though procedures once covered have been 'de-listed' from the program everyone has to be in, although a few things have also been added. You are now more like we were in the '50s-'60s where you had to have it but could buy from a number of companies. It's the same with auto insurance here now; one government run company... but you are not getting that so I think it's a bit extreme to say it is government run health-care. Medicare and Medicaid are government run health care, and whatever the VA offers. Affordable care is just making it mandatory or you pay a penalty, and with more people in the pool costs come down for many. If you had no insurance and didn't want it (trusted in luck to stay healthy) then you can complain I suppose. A step toward socialism (never mind communism) though, I think is not the case.

It's also baffling, especially to outsiders perhaps, how Romney could be for the same thing as a republican in Massachusetts, and be extremely against it nationally.

Yes I agree on the costs if more are in the pool.

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Well, what people who are single with no kids? Why should we pay for other people's kids?

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Agreed! No more school tax for childless people, too!

I agree with both of you.Thats been said for a long time.
But they will come back and say .Who's been paying for the schooling for us when we were going.