Obamacare

I agree, and when I first heard talk of what is now called 'obamacare' I thought it was going to be more of an attempt at universal healthcare but its anything but that. Yeah I have medicaid which does not cost me anything, but I know a lot of others are not faring so well, and medicaid has limited places it covers.

Except for those who still cannot afford a policy and don't qualify for medicaid, from my understanding there is a rather large group that fits there. Or who are like me and are disappointed with it not being Universal Healthcare, so everyone has coverage regardless.

It seems to me that a lot of people in power have done as much as they can to demonise Obama's health plan in the eyes of the public and make it as difficult as possible for him to achieve?? I thought it was 'dubbed' obamacare and not it's actual name? Obamacare, as a name, is too purely affiliated with the president/political party imo and makes it seem more like it has a expiry date to it, more than a nationwide healthcare programme with longevity, to me anyway.

Most states seem to have some kind of healthcare programme for people who don't have insurance? Is this state funded and if so, why not have just written up national legislation, move the income bar to include a larger sector of people eligible for it, and plough resources and medical staff etc into those? Make it law that surgeons/specialist (considerations for income etc.. exemptions) see a percentage of patients who are in this programme and monitor that to make sure the level of care is maintained? If the threshold is high enough and the services good on ground level, then wouldn't a large enough amount of people naturally switch to this programme in favour of private insurance? with that in place, the specialist would become more likely to want to take on that percentage to expand their client base and to grow their business. Not that I really have a clue what I am talking about or even what obamacare actually entails I can't organise my sock draw lol

Does medicare cover you for ALL medical assistance? I have a sort of sweeping opinion that there is hardly any social welfare in america, that you get little back for the tax you pay and that the lower working classes really have quite a low standard of living and no real safety nets?? As seems to have been a running theme with my 'opinions' lol I am maybe just being ignorant though??

I now have free health insurance under Obamacare. It's helped me out a lot.

I'm sorry to hear Regretful that you're having headaches with the system. Hopefully, all will be easier as time goes on. I too was a small business. I provided health insurance for my 10 employees because I feel insurance is important. It was no big deal for me and I was happy the business could afford to do it.

I'm now retired from healthcare and on Obamacare. I love it. It's affordable insurance, it covers well and prior to this I had been in a Cobra junk policy that covered nothing and had a $20,000 deductible.... for the low, low cost of $750/month. My Marketplace insurance covers mental health very well. It's a Godsend.

Hang in there everybody. Good things are coming. I can't post a link here yet but I found a great article on the effects of the Affordable Care Act on mental health and it's heartwarming. Google this:

ACA Opens Doors For Bold New Ideas In Mental Health Treatment

Peace

Hundreds of years ago-- when I was 25 years old, my husband was hit by a tractor trailer. (He was 25 also.) I'm glad he had insurance, we would have been in debt for the rest of his life. He was able to get care, recover..... and now he works and pays taxes. It's a beautiful thing.

Crap happens folks. We should all have health insurance coverage. I'm sorry to those of us who complain of being fined for being uninsured but it's for our own good.

The problem is there are still people who cannot afford it and don't qualify for medicaid or medicare. Seems like the new system is working fine for a lot of people but it still allows people to fall through the cracks, not sure a fine is the best way to handle it.

sometimes I wonder if this benefits health insurance companies more than it does people.

One plus side is that forces people to find resources they did not know they had. Some vets my parents for instance were unaware that they could basically get free Healthcare through the VA.

I agree Hellion. It's too bad that some states (such as mine here in FL) have refused the Medicaid expansion because then people would be covered either thru the Marketplace or thru Medicaid. That's not the fault of the ACA, it's the fault of the Supreme Court and partisan politics.

Remember to vote everyone!

The headaches continue. Despite the innovations, I have that junk policy that covers nothing - over $1000 a month and a $7500 deductible per individual - so despite wanting to hang in there, I'm stuggling massively to fund a way to hang on. Can't afford to cover 25 employees...for me, it's a mess. Be grateful that you are in the "was small business" rather than in small business.

When health insurance became a thing, right after WWII, Congress struggled with the question of whether or not, or how to regulate them. They eventually decided not to regulate them. This means that insurance companies were allowed to increase premiums without justification. So therefore premiums went up much faster than inflation.

Fast forward to now and my state Florida has passed legislation to force our state Insurance Commissioner to approve ALL health insurance rate increases. (The job of an insurance commissioner is to challenger rate hikes from insurers and make them justify their increases.) My (unfortunately) red state wants to make Obamacare look bad by allowing insurance companies to raise their rates as much as they want, and of course-- rates are going up 15% this year alone. This is so that Republicans can say that Obamacare has raised insurance rates. My understanding is that other red states have, you should check yours.

Anyway, that's when the junk policies appeared. Insurers not only raised rates, but they also severely cut back coverage. I didn't know they had done this to me-- until I needed it.

Follow the money. It's no wonder that Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Florida-- called Florida Blue-- gave $5M to Republican Rick Scott's campaign for governor. Now the insurers have been rewarded.

If you find yourself in a junk policy, my advice would be to drop it and pray you don't get too sick. That's what I did, because my local insurance companies offered me no other solution. I was otherwise uninsurable and was told specifically that I could have no other plan. I can't blame our president for what the insurance companies have done.

Hate to say this, but social security has had a small raise the last 2 years.....we went quite a few years before that with no raises (can't remember exactly how many years without a raise).....but these last 2 have definitely been smaller than previously because they are based on the cost of living calculated raise.

I haven't seen much change in the actual cost of services & what I'm paying on medicare. I have basic medicare & the only medication I'm on I get covered by the patient assistance because I couldn't afford the medication even with the part D because I was in the donut hold by the 2nd month of the year & couldn't afford $8000+ a year for medication....medication Im on was costing over $2000/month.....& I refused to take any other meds because I couldn't afford them without insurance......in a really stuck place.....but the patient assistance really has helped me continue to have my quality of life.

Wish I could drop the junk policy; but due to the individual mandate, I have to have something. So, I'm trapped in a mess. This whole nonsense of insurance is harmful to most consumers and only benefits big insurance and big pharma. I wish that there was some other option...

No, you could pay the penalty, nothing if you make less than approximately $10,000, $95/year for between $10,000 and $20,000 and 1% of your income if more than that. If you don't like the junk policy and think you'd pay less on your own or want to gamble with whether you'll get sick or not, do that.

Only the first year. Penalties go up the following year, & I think again the year after that.

Still, it's a drop in the bucket. A one time charge verses $1000/month for nothing. It's a no-brainier.

Not giving an opinion. Just providing information so others will have it.

I kinda of don't want this thread open any more.

Can you ask to have it closed since you started it?

idk.......