Defending Obamacare

crusevegas - 2013-05-14 6:37 AM

You are looking at the short term picture and not the long term or the goal of the "Affordable Care Act". It has/had one purpose and one purpose only, to grow the Federal Government. This is designed to eventually give the Federal Government complete control over the health care industry.

Keep up these kind of posts and you'll soon see the IRS at your front door.

DanielG - 2013-05-14 9:49 AM It's a stop gap. It is not supposed to nor ever was it supposed to be a solution. The purpose is to get so complicated and cost so much for the smaller companies that everyone ends up agreeing to a "single payer" (read: tax dollars") solution. No one, not even those in Congress who could talk positively about this horrid POS with a straight face thought any differently about it. Think I'm being cynical?

JoshR - 2013-05-14 10:38 AM I think I am in agreement that it is for making single payer an easier option. But really have you tried dealing with insurance companies before obamacare, it's not that great. When my wife gave birth to our son, it took 6 months before I even knew how much money I was supposed to pay. In the meantime I got 60 different bills/adjustments. I actually have good insurance too. Just this week I got a bill from an urgent care visit from june of 2011. WTF. 

tuwood - 2013-05-14 10:23 AM

This will be a good lesson for the history books of how not to pass a law. 

TriRSquared - 2013-05-14 10:13 AM

Oh I agree the current system is a joke.  I once got a bill 9 months after the treatment.  I had even forgotten what it was for.

However take your experience with the DMV, IRS, TSA etc.. and apply that to your health care.  You really think that'll be better?

 

So far no defense...

tuwood - 2013-05-14 10:23 AM

Obamacare is one of the most unpopular laws ever passed (Overall, just 35 percent have a favorable view of Obamacare - Kaiser Health Tracking Poll).  Not one single republican voted for it in either house.  I read somewhere the other day that prohibition was the only other law at the level of opposition in the history of the republic.  Prohibition passed in 1919 and was repealed in 1933, and Obamacare will most likely follow in its footsteps.  I don't foresee it being shifted into a single payer, I see it being repealed, but whoever repeals it will have to have some type of solution, they can't just go back to the old status quo which was jacked up as well.

On a side note, I know the Dems are all excited about 2014 & 2016 because of last November, but I predict Obamacare will be quite the boat anchor for them once half their supporters are cut to under 30 hours at their jobs and the rest have to pay double or triple for their insurance with no exchanges in place to move onto Obamacare.

This will be a good lesson for the history books of how not to pass a law. 

GomesBolt - 2013-05-14 10:32 AM

Nope, they'll just blame it on the Republican Congress and people will fall for it. 

tuwood - 2013-05-14 9:23 AM

Obamacare is one of the most unpopular laws ever passed (Overall, just 35 percent have a favorable view of Obamacare - Kaiser Health Tracking Poll).  Not one single republican voted for it in either house.  I read somewhere the other day that prohibition was the only other law at the level of opposition in the history of the republic.  Prohibition passed in 1919 and was repealed in 1933, and Obamacare will most likely follow in its footsteps.  I don't foresee it being shifted into a single payer, I see it being repealed, but whoever repeals it will have to have some type of solution, they can't just go back to the old status quo which was jacked up as well.

On a side note, I know the Dems are all excited about 2014 & 2016 because of last November, but I predict Obamacare will be quite the boat anchor for them once half their supporters are cut to under 30 hours at their jobs and the rest have to pay double or triple for their insurance with no exchanges in place to move onto Obamacare.

This will be a good lesson for the history books of how not to pass a law. 

TriToy - 2013-05-14 9:52 AM

1. Patients are no longer threatened with lifetime caps on coverage. Families no longer have to make the hard choices of delaying care or facing bankruptcy.

2. Children with pre-existing conditions are no longer being denied coverage. Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children under the age of 19 because of a pre-existing condition or disability.

3. Young adults are getting covered on their parents’ insurance. Many medical students in Doctors for America are now covered thanks to this provision. Over 6.6 million people age 19-26 have gotten insured so far!

4. We are shifting toward prevention. Preventive services are now free for Medicare and new insurance plans. For the first time, we have a National Prevention Strategy. And the Prevention and Public Health Fund is helping communities launch new programs to improve healthy living.

5. People and communities are focusing efforts on preventing disease. $750 million in 2010 and $500 million in 2011 have already gone to programs in tobacco cessation, obesity prevention, care coordination, behavioral health, and more in all 50 states.

6. Seniors are getting help with prescription drugs. 4 million seniors in every state got rebate checks in 2010. In 2011, they started getting a 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the Medicare prescription coverage gap.

7. Hospitals are gearing up to improve quality and safety. Medicare reimbursement changes in 2012 are getting hospitals around the country to step up efforts to prevent hospital-acquired infections and to keep people from landing back in the hospital within 30 days of going home.

8. Small businesses are getting help covering employees. Up to 4 million small businesses that employ 16 million people are eligible for 35% tax credits on health insurance premiums right now. Note: small businesses will not be required to buy insurance under the law.

9. Insurance companies have a new limit on profits. Insurance companies have to spend at least 80% of premium dollars on health care. In the large-group market (big employers), they must spend at least 85% on health care -- so more of our premium dollars go to health instead of administration and executive salaries. In the summer of 2012, 12.8 million individuals will be receiving rebates from insurance companies who have failed to meet these minimum spending requirements. (so the increases you are quoting will end up being refunded)

10. We are training thousands more health care providers to take care of people. Over $320 million in grants is already boosting primary care residency programs, training physician assistants, and helping states create innovative plans for their unique health care workforce needs.

TriToy - 2013-05-14 11:52 AM

8. Small businesses are getting help covering employees. Up to 4 million small businesses that employ 16 million people are eligible for 35% tax credits on health insurance premiums right now. Note: small businesses will not be required to buy insurance under the law.

TriToy - 2013-05-14 11:52 AM

9. Insurance companies have a new limit on profits. Insurance companies have to spend at least 80% of premium dollars on health care. In the large-group market (big employers), they must spend at least 85% on health care -- so more of our premium dollars go to health instead of administration and executive salaries. In the summer of 2012, 12.8 million individuals will be receiving rebates from insurance companies who have failed to meet these minimum spending requirements. (so the increases you are quoting will end up being refunded)

The Obama administration’s loose guidelines pertaining to prescription drugs and essential health benefits mandate that they require only one drug per class – in other words one statin (to treat high cholesterol), one proton pump inhibitors (to treat GERD), one inhaled steroid (to treat asthma), and so on, must be covered.

For many this will not be a problem. If there is only one prescription you plan on taking, you should be able to find a plan that covers it. If, however, you are taking multiple medications, things could get a bit hairy. Just because two drugs are in the same class doesn’t mean they work with the same efficacy for a given person. For example, atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) may work better for cholesterol treatment than simvastatin (generic Zocor) for one person, and vice versa for another. Imagine how difficult it would be to find an insurance plan that covers all your drugs if you are on three or four medications!

TriToy - 2013-05-14 10:52 AM

1. Patients are no longer threatened with lifetime caps on coverage. Families no longer have to make the hard choices of delaying care or facing bankruptcy.

2. Children with pre-existing conditions are no longer being denied coverage. Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children under the age of 19 because of a pre-existing condition or disability.

3. Young adults are getting covered on their parents’ insurance. Many medical students in Doctors for America are now covered thanks to this provision. Over 6.6 million people age 19-26 have gotten insured so far!

4. We are shifting toward prevention. Preventive services are now free for Medicare and new insurance plans. For the first time, we have a National Prevention Strategy. And the Prevention and Public Health Fund is helping communities launch new programs to improve healthy living.

5. People and communities are focusing efforts on preventing disease. $750 million in 2010 and $500 million in 2011 have already gone to programs in tobacco cessation, obesity prevention, care coordination, behavioral health, and more in all 50 states.

6. Seniors are getting help with prescription drugs. 4 million seniors in every state got rebate checks in 2010. In 2011, they started getting a 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the Medicare prescription coverage gap.

7. Hospitals are gearing up to improve quality and safety. Medicare reimbursement changes in 2012 are getting hospitals around the country to step up efforts to prevent hospital-acquired infections and to keep people from landing back in the hospital within 30 days of going home.

8. Small businesses are getting help covering employees. Up to 4 million small businesses that employ 16 million people are eligible for 35% tax credits on health insurance premiums right now. Note: small businesses will not be required to buy insurance under the law.

9. Insurance companies have a new limit on profits. Insurance companies have to spend at least 80% of premium dollars on health care. In the large-group market (big employers), they must spend at least 85% on health care -- so more of our premium dollars go to health instead of administration and executive salaries. In the summer of 2012, 12.8 million individuals will be receiving rebates from insurance companies who have failed to meet these minimum spending requirements. (so the increases you are quoting will end up being refunded)

10. We are training thousands more health care providers to take care of people. Over $320 million in grants is already boosting primary care residency programs, training physician assistants, and helping states create innovative plans for their unique health care workforce needs.

DanielG - 2013-05-14 12:00 PM YAY! Insurance companies will no longer have any incentive to expand their business. They have zero reason to look for ways to cut costs and drop premiums either. What a bargain!

rkreuser - 2013-05-14 12:22 PM

Not commenting on Obamacare, per se, but if you wonder why the discourse around controversial topics has turned most threads into a right-wing, conservative boys club, look no further: 

• We have a post asking anyone to defend Obamacare. 
• Then we have 15+ posts that essentially ridicule Obamacare and other non-conservative policies, same people, same discourse.
• Then one person (a doctor, nonetheless) steps in and gives it a shot, with essentially some valid points.
• And in response, sarcasm and criticism, not dialogue.

It's creating a conservative mob mentality in many COJ threads, where fewer and fewer people will want to have a dialogue as when they try, they get overwhelmed, and over time, tired. Then they stop, as it's like trying to have a discussion with the tide or the sunrise.  It's not against forum rules, per se, it's just not very respectful or conducive to what the OP hoped, which was for someone to bring forward another point of view.   

My opinions only, not as a mod, but as someone that used to enjoy COJ. Carry on.