In Which Obamacare makes me livid

[aishuu]

The more I see of Obamacare, the more I hate it. There's going to be some winners and some losers, and I am most decidedly a loser. I just tried NY's health exchange and it is EVIL and I am praying my employers decide that maintaining my current coverage is to their benefit - I think they will, but I am not sure

Comments

[sache]

Meanwhile, I am a huge fan of Obamacare because, thanks to a ton of pre-existing health conditions, I would not be eligible for most health insurance, and the ones I would be eligible for, I would be completely priced out of.

So, you know, there is that.

Frankly, if your employer doesn't continue to provide coverage for you, then your employer is a dick. Just throwing that out there. (I am saying the same thing about every other company that is ditching their health care plans over this. DICKS. THE WHOLE LOT OF THEM.)

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that we should just go full on UK-style Universal Health Care, but there are way too many people out there that would just rather watch poor people die of cancer or some shit, apparently.

[aishuu]

Glad to hear someone won the Obamacare roulette. There ARE some winners, but I'm a loser so I'm bitter.

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that we should just go full on UK-style Universal Health Care, but there are way too many people out there that would just rather watch poor people die of cancer or some shit, apparently.

Um, yes. But it will never happen because the private markets have too much invested in it. The status quo works for people trying to make money off us poor peons.

Honestly? There's a couple of simple fixes that would work, but the lobbyists will never late it happen. Do away with the "state territories" for private insurance would be a great starting point. Also? Medicaid for all, with the option of buying a pricier insurance.

[sache]

Yeah, the "state territories" are ridiculous. I was playing around with the Subsidy Calculator, and my zip code is in two counties. If I choose the county that I don't live in, I pay $200 less annually. Which I don't understand at ALL.

Honestly, I just can't wait for the day when our government learns how to function again. (Never happen. To paraphrase an internet celebrity, If Congress caught on fire, Congress wouldn't be able to pass a "Let's Throw Water on Congress" Bill. Which is pathethic.)

[aishuu]

The state territories are about monopoly. WHY is this "fair" and "competitive?"

The Obamacare is based on the risk pool you're in. Obviously your residential county has a higher rate of disability/aged/infirmed... ;)

paraphrase an internet celebrity, If Congress caught on fire, Congress wouldn't be able to pass a "Let's Throw Water on Congress" Bill.

I doubt that, because at this point the majority of Americans will be tossing matches and gasoline... The one thing congress CAN do is exercise cronyism.

[akerushin]

That sucks. :/

Everytime they waste time on trying to repeal the entire bill is time that can be spent on making it work better because obviously the original bill was a bloated monstrosity... Which insurance companies themselves were involved in hashing out the details. In all honesty I think there should have been universal coverage as a starting point that would cover basic health care (including dental and mental health) then people could get supplemental.. Of course that's too socialistic for many people I suppose.

The problem with everyone saying my state's healthcare law worked is that we already had 90% of people with health insurance thanks to the fact they forbid insurance companies from dropping (or not accepting) people with preexisting conditions. They've also begun trying to reduce the cost of healthcare but that isn't going as well as the universal mandate.

[aishuu]

there should have been universal coverage as a starting point that would cover basic health care (including dental and mental health) then people could get supplemental.. Of course that's too socialistic for many people I suppose.

Obvious solution is obvious and flies in the face of capitalism. If the insurance companies lose money, I think it'll whiplash back.

The problem with everyone saying my state's healthcare law worked is that we already had 90% of people with health insurance thanks to the fact they forbid insurance companies from dropping (or not accepting) people with preexisting conditions.

This is part of the Obamacare package... did Mass have this before the rollout?

They've also begun trying to reduce the cost of healthcare but that isn't going as well as the universal mandate.

The costs of health care will never go down, because people will keep paying for it.

[akerushin]

Yeah, pre-existing conditions could not be denied in Massachusetts. I think they might have capped benefits received, but something is better than nothing, I suppose? I think this requirement existed possibly even before the Mass health care law. Massachusetts is kind of weird. We had a law requiring car insurance companies to cover certain things (what I don't know haha) so we had only 3 car insurance companies in Massachusetts until maybe 5-10 years ago.

[keisfd]

The whole Obamacare thing is a farce, almost amusing to watch if it is not so destructive. Several friends of mine have lost their insurance (which they really like) and is forced to pay extra several hundred dollars more if they want to get something similar to what they used to have. Way to go.

[edenfalling]

Yeah, but people have ALWAYS lost their health insurance and had to pay too much for replacement plans. Insurance companies discontinue and/or restructure insurance plans all the time. You can blame Obamacare for not addressing that issue, but it's not a new problem. For example, my old (shitty) health plan got randomly discontinued a few years back and I had to pick among three equally shitty replacement options at higher prices -- and this was well before Obamacare had even been submitted to Congress, let alone passed and signed into law.

Actually, I should go look at the exchange one of these days and see if any of the plans on offer are less awful than my current one...

[aishuu]

Ohhhh, fellow NYer!!! Just WAIT AND SEE. I had three 404 errors trying to log on...

Though if you're currently paying privately, you might be better off. The NY site isn't too badly done... but it is CREEPY because it interfaces with the federal database and you will be SHOCKED at the security questions they come up with.

[edenfalling]

I get my health insurance via my employer, actually... and guess what, it costs me about $350 per month! *headdesk* The ONLY good thing about the finances is they take the premium out of my paycheck PRE-tax, so as far as the IRS is concerned, I don't actually earn that money and they don't tax me for it... but it's still over $4,000 a year I never see. And the premium increases -- which roll around every January, like clockwork -- have eaten my last three raises, so effectively I am making the same hourly wage I made back in, oh, 2008 I think. Minus $4,000. Which sucks.

You see why I think I might be better off buying privately through the exchange site?

[februaryfour]

If your employer decides not to provide free healthcare for you any more, then they're dicks. But to point out something that may have been lost in the signal/noise, a lot of places have subsidized healthcare that tops $300 a month. If I had taken healthcare from my job at the Bad Bank, it would have cost me over $300 a month in my employee-premiums. That your employer is deciding to go the "go get it from Obamacare" route is just a timing issue. If they had done that two years ago, you would have had to pay a lot more. IF you can get coverage.

[aishuu]

My employers don't tend to be dicks, and I would wager they'll keep coverage since most of my coworkers are Highly Desirable and they'd leave without it. I think I will see the new year in without change, but I can't be sure. I do know SOME people will get royally screwed, and it's the middle class that will hurt most.

[scribble_myname]

I'm in the awful position of being helped by alternative medicine and never finding relief when I use allopathic for something besides a broken limb, etc. I have an extremely generous employer but was required to take only half of the self-funded plan that I actually needed so I could pay for the HMO that won't cover literally ANYTHING I do need so I wouldn't get dinged with a huge tax hole at the end of the year. I'm still ticked about it

[aishuu]

Obamacare has become a story of individuals, because it's impacted everyone's life. I think health care is way too complicated to be "one size fits all" and that's really coming through with the rollout. Sorry you're joining me in the "I got screwed" camp