Obamacare

Everyone hates it and wants it gone.

I just got reapproved for Medicaid for this next year through Kynect...my states system.

Its how I get my psych meds and treatment for my thyroid....


I am ashamed I have it.

I can't get it.

That makes me feel even worse. Thanks.

You are saying you are ashamed you have Medicaid? Why? You have no reason to be.
You need to take care of yourself and do the best thing for you. That's the most important thing. If you can get Medicaid and get the treatment/meds you need covered, then I think that's excellent.

I applied for emergency services at the end of June. I just got my food stamps last Wednesday night. Friday I got a denial letter from Medicaid? If we can't afford to feed ourselves, how can we afford medical treatment? Thankfully, I start back to work Wensday and will hopefully be able to take care of my needs on my own again. Would have been nice to be back on my meds considering the stress of starting a new job though.My nerves are electric, using all reserves of positivity to ensure success

Worst thing ever

"Everyone hates it" because it's been politicized.

From an economics perspective I like it more than I hate it. It should help to reduce costs over time which are dramatically out of control due to periods of deregulation and lopsided regulating after that.

At one point I had to learn about the technological systems and processes behind our health care in this country for work. They are just about the worst. It's not the government's fault either. It's kind of due to the nature of how the marketplace came to be and the early days of technology.

The tangled mess of systems that providers and insurers created during the deregulated periods was designed to do a few different things on the insurer side - automate claims denial and limit the amount awarded from claims. This led to absurd requirements for provider submissions and no standardization. You have systems and standards that can not talk to each other without intermediaries and manual processes which means more cost due to higher administrative headcount. Additionally, on the provider side it necessitated overbilling for procedure charges since insurers constantly attempt to negotiate them lower.

These things have caused the astronomical administrative costs we see and an overflow of those costs into the care process so that it doesn't look quite so bad. Now, administration personnel are heavily in demand and often highly compensated in senior and executive level positions. The growth of this administrative structure to deal with all of the mess of billing and insuring is parasitic and expensive.

...

This was recognized to some degree. The end result was the HIPAA and HITECH laws, but they're not enough and trying to undo years and years of absolutely horrendous practices by industry and providers.

We have to do something to force insurers and providers to follow some kind of standard process. They just continually diverged into a sort of technological and process chaos when left to their own devices.

If you see here - Affordable Care Act - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Some of the things on the law that they don't talk about in common media presentations are actually regarding process and technology standards.

Anyway, I wrote a lot of nerd crap but it's important and one of the things we should be talking about if we're concerned about health care costs in the US.

I appreciate your reply...but...I don't know if meds have me stupid or what. Lately I have a difficult time comprehending things Im reading if they are technical or in depth. Simplistic articles are no biggie but then I can get totally lost...like I just did. Its like I read it and my mind cant absorb what Im reading.

All I know is the new law has screwed our family. My mom's work offers insurance so because of the tax penalties she had to sign up. She was just barely scraping by before now she's sunk paying for insurance. Every month something is on disconnect because she just can't afford the insurance but doesn't qualify for any help.

My brother was on a state run program that was need based. They discontinued the program when the new law went into effect. As of right now my brother still doesn't have insurance and can't afford one of his inhalers he needs. We are constantly having to take him the the ER so he can get breathing treatments. He's tried several websites all to no avail. He has been in to more appointments and called so many people it's like a full time job for him but still hasn't found anywhere he fits in the new system so he can get help.

I personally know at least 20 people in the same boat as my mom or brother. You are actually the first person I have gotten to talk to that the new law has helped. Please do not feel ashamed. Be proud for once the system actually worked how it is supposed to work

Absolutely one of the biggest nightmares of this new law is being an employer...as the employer, I get the "pleasure" of paying nearly $1000 a month for a high deductible plan (the traditional insurances cost nearly double that)..btw, the deductible is $7000...so in short, that's $19,000 in health care before there's any actual "benefit" of making co-pays. Now as the employer I also get the pleasure of paying an actuary to determine whether or not or business meets the employer mandate...if it does, then we have to provide affordable care not to exceed 9.5% of an employee's gross...well, now I have to figure out how to pay people more in order to provide care for them, or pay the fines. This is going to put many small businesses, including probably mine, out of the running. It's not going help much of anything...it's only causing me headaches and is a nightmare. So much for working to get ahead...the government is taking it all away. The fines will be impossible...and if we don't offer care, then we can't find any employees...we're screwed. I hated this law from the get-go, and now that more of this is being put in to effect, my disdain for it grows by the minute...ugh...

My mom's on medicare---in a nutshell, she is paying out more money to get less services, yet her social security has not been raised once since Obama came into office.

Well great than we'll be stuck with those big ole corporations that just outsource all the jobs and help to exploit the world. Yeah not into policies that hurt small businesses but either help or have no effect on huge corporations that are in the position to be lobbying the government to make laws in their favor. I think that is part of this 'policy' then again I think things where moving in that direction before Obama got into office but he certainly hasn't stopped it or changed it. I also am not happy about policies discouraging actual farming, penalizing people for raising and farming animals/crops on property...it really is getting out of hand.

Medicare costs money?

I think you have to pay for Part D, or maybe a portion of it. I'm not sure about the rest of the program.

part B is over $100 a month and part D is any where from $25 up a month

Some companies chose to end their group health insurance for retirees and settle a fixed amount on them annually, leaving them to find their own insurance with the money. I don't see that as Obama Cares fault. It's an ethical fault with the companies themselves.

I have Obamacare and it costs me $125.00 a month. Most of my meds are cheap but I still have a couple that cost me $55.00 a month out of pocket. Still, it beats having no insurance

I think healthcare should be free for all and, in a 1st world country, a basic human right!

I really don't understand why it is not in the US? considering your taxation isn't that different to the UK and your doctors don't earn that much more, it is beyond me why the government can't provide healthcare to it's people I really feel quite aggrieved on behalf of US about this!

Anyway, rant over

I think Kynect is Obamacare in Kentucky. A lot of people in Kentucky are pretty happy with it. Kentucky GOP senators were wrong that state didn't want Obamacare | MSNBC

Like another poster above, I think it's great that you do have healthcare coverage.

Yes Kynect is obamacare...

and people mostly are happy with it.

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