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The Doctor Won’t See You Now
City Journal ^ | 14 April 2014 | Joel Zinberg

Posted on 04/15/2014 7:54:34 AM PDT by Hoodat

Millions may get “insured” through Obamacare, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to see a physician.

Proponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insist that the law will extend health insurance to millions, expand access to health care, and improve Americans’ overall health. But, as the New York Times recently reported, at least 20 percent of the new enrollees have not paid their premiums. They therefore do not really have insurance. But even for those enrollees paying premiums, having health insurance is not the same thing as getting good health care, or any health care. In fact, it doesn’t matter how many Americans obtain insurance under the ACA. Most will have difficulty finding a physician.

Many Americans could lose their employer-provided insurance if firms decide that paying the ACA penalty—and maybe giving small raises to their employees—is cheaper than offering health insurance as a benefit of employment or reduce workers’ hours (the ACA does not mandate coverage for part-time employees). These newly uninsured workers will either have to enroll in Medicaid, if their income is low enough, or purchase a plan on one of the state and federal insurance exchanges. Those eligible for exchange subsidies may end up better off economically as their premiums will be so low, but both the exchange and Medicaid options are fraught with problems.

States are already struggling under huge budget deficits from their existing Medicaid programs. Since states lose federal funding if they adjust their Medicaid eligibility guidelines, their only option for reducing deficits is to cut already-low Medicaid reimbursement rates. Physicians are already reluctant to treat Medicaid patients under current rates that are a fraction of private and Medicare rates. Cutting reimbursements will exacerbate the physician-access problem and could lead to closures of so-called “safety-net” .

(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: fraud; obamacare
~snip~

. . . Worst of all, insurance coverage under the ACA is unlikely to improve health outcomes. The much-noted Oregon Medicaid-expansion study found that new Medicaid enrollees showed no improvement in health outcomes compared with the uninsured. . .
1 posted on 04/15/2014 7:54:34 AM PDT by Hoodat
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To: Hoodat

Damn! You mean socialized medicine doesn’t work? WHO KNEW???


2 posted on 04/15/2014 7:55:46 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (Tokyo Rove is more than a name, it's a GREAT WEBSITE)
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To: Hoodat

Because aspirin is so cheap.


3 posted on 04/15/2014 7:55:52 AM PDT by fwdude ( You cannot compromise with that which you must defeat.)
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To: Hoodat

All by Socialist design.


4 posted on 04/15/2014 8:06:55 AM PDT by originalbuckeye (Moderation in temper is always a virtue; moderation in principle is always a vice. Paine)
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To: Hoodat

The government’s not in the business of giving ‘health care’ they’re in the business of collecting revenue - which is why the IRS is in charge rather than the AMA.

Democrats tend to be about ‘control’ - - this program will be a hammer and a theft - as all their programs eventually become...


5 posted on 04/15/2014 8:07:15 AM PDT by GOPJ (MSNBC reporters couldn't spot a criminal if he was at the company Christmas party.)
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To: Hoodat
OBAMACARE

ZEROCARE.

6 posted on 04/15/2014 8:08:30 AM PDT by UCANSEE2 (Lost my tagline on Flight MH370. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
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To: C. Edmund Wright
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

Arbeit Macht Frei

7 posted on 04/15/2014 8:08:34 AM PDT by Hoodat (Democrats - Opposing Equal Protection since 1828)
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To: Hoodat

The current amount of “health insurance” under the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010” is approximately equal to the amount of “life annuity” you get with the purchase of a lottery ticket.

Poor people give rich people money. And that’s not all, they fight furiously for the privilege to continue doing so.

Hey, they are “beating the system” and taking a crap all over “the Man”.

All the while, “the system” is grinding them up like grist in a hammer mill, and “the Man” is laughing all the way to the bank.

And probably 75% of the people reading this will have no idea what either grist or a hammer mill are.


8 posted on 04/15/2014 8:10:49 AM PDT by alloysteel (Selective and willful ignorance spells doom, to both victim and perpetrator - mostly the perp.)
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To: Hoodat

No-so-fast,
Obama promised us that we could still see our doctor covered by Obamacare.

Implying that he lied on this is racist. Criticism of Obamacare is racist.

Holder said that no (white) POTUS has EVER been accused of lying, ever, ever,!!!!


9 posted on 04/15/2014 8:14:18 AM PDT by sickoflibs (Obama : 'You can keep your doctor if you want. I never tell a lie ')
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To: Hoodat

True, and sadly, those who do not ignore history, but are outvoted by those who do, are also doomed to repeat it…...


10 posted on 04/15/2014 8:16:30 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (Tokyo Rove is more than a name, it's a GREAT WEBSITE)
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To: Hoodat
Obamacare makes a huge bet that mass population screening for the early detection of disease will be effective.

The problem is that with a few notable exceptions (eg. colon cancer screening) there is little or no evidence that mass population screening for the presence of disease that is already established increases longevity. (There is an abundance of evidence that preventive behavior to avoid disease in the first place is likely to increase longevity.)

11 posted on 04/15/2014 9:00:16 AM PDT by Sooth2222 ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)
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To: Hoodat
the New York Times recently reported, at least 20 percent of the new enrollees have not paid their premiums.

Wait until the new enrollees that actually did pay their premiums, go to the doctor a few times, get an X-ray or MRI, and have to take medications. When they realize that they have a $5,000 deductible and have to pay the first $5,000 of "care" before a single dime is paid for by the insurance company, the monthly payment of premiums will cease. (let alone insurance inexperienced people that get services out of network, or go to the specialist without a referral, resulting in denied reimbursements)

12 posted on 04/15/2014 10:19:27 AM PDT by Go Gordon (Barack McGreevey Obama)
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To: Sooth2222

Your missing the point of the early screening..

They want to catch the issues early so they can “adjust” the expenditures on them.

Your test results are in. You have cancer. Here is your bottle of pain pills. Now, go over there and die. NEXT!


13 posted on 04/15/2014 10:22:21 AM PDT by cableguymn (It's time for a second political party.)
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