ObamaCare

[Alceste]

The insurance companies will be more gov't regulated and therefore if you require anything major done it will have to be approved.

My doctor told me that once this all goes into effect then doctors that choose not to be part of the gov't plan and keep their own practice open will only be reimbursed the 21% for their services. Since 21% wouldn't cover the costs of surgery he will no longer be able to practice unless he is to sign up to be a gov't employee doctor. Since my doc is older he will just retire at that point rather than do that.

This is why I am asking. I would like to know what other information is out there in regards to this.

It sounds like your doctor is misinformed, and not just a little bit. Everything he said to you was not just wrong, but mind-bogglingly, staggeringly and incomprehensibly wrong. In fact, he's so wrong I would consider reporting him to his professional association for spreading false and unnecessarily frightening information about the health reform bill to his patients. The government has nothing to do with your health care decisions now and they won't have anything to do with it when the provisions go into effect.

I think also you misunderstand the meaning of the word "regulation". The new rules for insurers are that they must spend a certain proportion of their profit on actually providing health care, they must not cut people off for "pre-existing conditions", they must include the children of people with insurance up to the age of 26, and a few other rules that are intended to rein in some of their most murderous, profit-chasing policies. However, there's not much enforcement of these provisions written into the regulation, so it's highly unlikely insurers will comply. Instead, they'll use the bill as an excuse to hike rates and increase their profit margin even more. This bill was written by and for the health insurance industry and big pharma. It is NOT a universal health care bill. More's the pity.

http://www.doughroller.net/news-analysis/health-care-reform-bill-facts-figures/
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/25/health.care.law.basics/index.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000846-503544.html

Just a bit of light reading!

 

[Revoltingest]

.....you're a Fox Newsite.

There you go again.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I'm looking forward to it. Actually I'm applying for a state-ran health care plan, so I'll already be on this so called evil socialist government ran health care. Actually alot of people are on this, it's called the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), and it seems to be working great.

The health care bill is more of a health insurance reform bill than anything. It rids us of the pre-existing condition clause, will give coverage to those that don't, and the trend in nations that have it is a health care system that cost less. And not too mention alot of nations with it have a higher ranking health care system than America. Canada even ranks at 30th globally, with America trailing at 35th.

And the government will in no way be involved in your health care. And in all honesty, bureaucrats have been involved with health care for a very long time. One of my friends couldn't get her tubes tied after her last birth because it was at a Catholic hospital. It's not really going to be that much different.

 

[stillsearching]

Health Care Reform Bill–26 Facts and Figures
5 key things to remember about health care reform - CNN.com
Health Care Reform Bill Summary: A Look At What's in the Bill - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Just a bit of light reading!

Some good reading there. Ok, now I don't think it will be as bad as I had originally thought. I am a little concerned still with the cost. It looks as though the cost is going to increase quite a bit for me and my family. And that is including if we get the subsidy! OUCH. So why is this plan better? :sarcastic

 

[Magic Man]

There you go again.

And there you go again.

 

[Magic Man]

Some good reading there. Ok, now I don't think it will be as bad as I had originally thought. I am a little concerned still with the cost. It looks as though the cost is going to increase quite a bit for me and my family. And that is including if we get the subsidy! OUCH. So why is this plan better? :sarcastic

What makes you think it's going to cost you more?

 

[stillsearching]

What makes you think it's going to cost you more?

I did a calculator thing off one of those websites and it said for a family like mine it would cost about 10,000. With the subsidy it would end up costing me about 4500. I only pay 1600 a year with my company right now.

This was the link to the calculator: http://healthreform.kff.org/SubsidyCalculator.aspx

 

[Mercy Not Sacrifice]

Honestly, I thought that "ObamaCare" was just the slang term for it. I didn't realize it was only for the use of those that oppose the idea. Sheesh.

I am not trying to spread fear-mongering. What I stated was just what I had heard from a couple of people that I had believed to be reliable. If they are not, please tell me.

The thing is, still, I sense your intents here are good, if a bit misguided. The problem is that those of us who aren't taking too well to your ideas are well aware of the documented, verifiable fear-mongering that infested the Right during the health care debate.

I would suggest looking up some further claims on politifact.com. If you need a backup source, go with factcheck.org. Both are nonpartisan and about as neutral as political websites get these days. Liberal lies, libertarian lies, and conservative lies, they debunk all of them there.

I have always had to work because of my condition so that I could have health benefits through a large corporation. I fall into the category of "un-insurable". But this bill didn't make me happy because it appears that it will make my costs go up and my service less. I am willing to work for the benefits that I have.

Sorry to hear about your condition. BTW, are you aware that the bill made it illegal to drop your coverage or to cap your lifetime benefits?

I wouldn't take their feigned outrage to seriously. "Obamacare" seems a good nickname, since it's a cause he personally championed &
campaigned upon. Besides, this carping is coming from the same crowd that uses the "Tea Bagger" nickname for Tea Partiers.

Actually, RG, I'm pretty sure that the Tea-Baggers gave themselves that name. And BTW I'm hoping you don't actually think that the health care bill was no better, no worse than the Tea Party...

 

[Alceste]

Some good reading there. Ok, now I don't think it will be as bad as I had originally thought. I am a little concerned still with the cost. It looks as though the cost is going to increase quite a bit for me and my family. And that is including if we get the subsidy! OUCH. So why is this plan better? :sarcastic

It isn't. The US needs a universal health care plan.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Some good reading there. Ok, now I don't think it will be as bad as I had originally thought. I am a little concerned still with the cost. It looks as though the cost is going to increase quite a bit for me and my family. And that is including if we get the subsidy! OUCH. So why is this plan better? :sarcastic

As for cost, as of now Americans pay on average twice as much for health care than what people do in nations with universal health care. This is not the patients out of pocket expense, but the overall cost. The life expectancy is also longer, but you really can't attribute that to the lack of health care alone since Americans generally have terrible diets and don't get enough exercise. However thousands of Americans do die each year because they didn't have health insurance and couldn't afford medical attention.

 

[Alceste]

I did a calculator thing off one of those websites and it said for a family like mine it would cost about 10,000. With the subsidy it would end up costing me about 4500. I only pay 1600 a year with my company right now.

This was the link to the calculator: Health Reform Subsidy Calculator

It says right on that thing it doesn't apply to packages purchased through your employer, since the employer picks up a substantial portion of the cost of your plan. So this doesn't apply to you unless you're planning to quit your job and purchase health insurance as an individual. Also, this is the estimated cost of plans which will be carried by the health insurance exchange (a gov't funded public service where you can compare different plans from different providers). Participation in the exchange is not mandatory. Your current plan won't change.

 

[stillsearching]

It says right on that thing it doesn't apply to packages purchased through your employer, since the employer picks up a substantial portion of the cost of your plan. So this doesn't apply to you unless you're planning to quit your job and purchase health insurance as an individual. Also, this is the estimated cost of plans which will be carried by the health insurance exchange (a gov't funded public service where you can compare different plans from different providers). Participation in the exchange is not mandatory. Your current plan won't change.

But why would the employer pay for this if the cost of the penalty is much cheaper?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

But why would the employer pay for this if the cost of the penalty is much cheaper?

It will be mandatory for companies that employ so many people. I don't remember what the exact number was (or maybe it was in yearly wages paid out), but it was large enough that smaller companies that could not afford it won't have to participate. As for existing plans, they shouldn't be effected that much.

 

[Alceste]

But why would the employer pay for this if the cost of the penalty is much cheaper?

You already said you get your health plan through your employer. If that's the case, that won't change.

 

[stillsearching]

You already said you get your health plan through your employer. If that's the case, that won't change.

Ok. I thought that they would be given the option to drop health insurance but they would be given a penalty if they did. My company is very money driven and if it is cheaper for them to pay the penalty they would drop insurance like a hot coal. Even if it hurts the employee.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Ok. I thought that they would be given the option to drop health insurance but they would be given a penalty if they did. My company is very money driven and if it is cheaper for them to pay the penalty they would drop insurance like a hot coal. Even if it hurts the employee.

If they drop the insurance they offer, then they will have to buy a plan from the government to offer to employees.

 

[end of time]

The poor will always be with us. We have to find a better way.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The poor will always be with us. We have to find a better way.

We will always have the poor, but we can do so much to reduce that rate. The poor suffer in this country, and the number of poor is on the rise.

 

[T-Dawg]

The poor will always be with us. We have to find a better way.

So your argument is... the poor will always be among us, so therefore we shouldn't try to help them because there's an unspecified "better way" to help them? :sarcastic