Posted on 05/25/2016 7:51:08 AM PDT by xzins
The Department of Health and Human Services insists that the Affordable Care Act not only expanded health insurance to many more Americans, but it also "made everyone's insurance better."
But some Republicans are asking, what good is the health insurance if sky-high deductibles mean you never get to use it?
The Democrats' Affordable Care Act is a mandate -- "not to get care, but to get coverage," Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on Tuesday.
"And many people are finding the coverage is not at all of value to them because they can't get care. Either...their doctors don't take Obamacare or the deductibles are so high that they're never able to get to the insurance," Barrasso told a news conference.
"The president may call this a victory for the American people. I think this is something the president should not be proud of at all."
Barrasso noted that on Wednesday, Healthcare.gov will start reporting the 2017 premium increases for Obamacare policies sold on the exchanges.
"The news is not good for the American public," Barrasso said.
"We're seeing numbers in New Hampshire above 40 percent increases; in New York, above 40 percent increases; in New Mexico, where Blue Cross-Blue Shield of New Mexico pulled out a year ago, they're talking about coming back in, but only if they can get a rate increase of over 80 percent.
"So, the people that can still get their insurance, they may be the lucky ones in the sense that so many people are no longer even able to get the insurance they've had.
"Obamacare is a sinking ship. When you take a look at the companies around the country selling insurance, about 25 percent were able to make money last year. And the only way they did it is because they set the deductible so high that for people who had that insurance, the deductibles were so high that they never actually got to the point where they used the insurance. They were just paying out of pocket all the way through.
Barrasso noted that in Idaho, the most commonly sold "silver" plan is considering deductibles of $6,850. "If you have insurance with a deductible of $6,850, is there any chance you're actually going to get to use that insurance?" he asked.
"President Obama went on the attack years ago before the health care law was passed talking about junk insurance. But what most people are finding on the Obamacare exchanges is exactly what President Obama is making them buy."
That is the very worst I’ve ever read about, Red. Hang in there. It goes without saying....stay healthy!
Passing Obamacare was just Phase 1.
Phase 2 is blame everyone else when it doesn’t work. Why is your deductible so high? Well the rats will point towards ‘evil’ insurance companies and ‘greedy’ doctors. And another aspect of this is Medicaid expansion, which to date has been resisted by several states - so those ‘heartless’ GOP governors are to blame.
The democrats don’t really care about outcomes, or how badly they screw stuff up - because they always know the media will lead the sheeple to blame others. And once a group is vilified enough (ie the companies that perform near miracles in developing life saving drugs are ‘big pharma’), the rats can strike again with some other destructive law, or executive order.
My take was the middle class was subject to the deductible increases and the savings in costs from these deductibles were to be used to provide coverage to the low/no income class. Effectively, another way to penalize those who work and subsidize those who don’t.
As an ADDENDUM to the story:
I filled out my taxes and sent them a check for the $12,000 plus some added taxes, and at the very end of the form, I discovered the clause that says if you have to pay more than $1000 in ‘taxes’ owed, you have to fill out this other form that would determine if you have to PAY A FINE ON TOP OF THE ‘TAXES’ YOU ARE PAYING, and submit a letter that explains why you didn’t PAY ENOUGH DURING THE YEAR, and ask for the FINE to be ‘FORGIVEN’ (pleading for mercy before the KING).
I’m still waiting for a letter from the IRS to tell me if I am to SEND THEM MORE MONEY!!!!!!..................................
They don’t care. The point was to get everyone in the system. Once in, they have control over you. They can set coverage, premiums and deductibles. They can put insurance companies out of business. They can take your money. They can give it to people who aren’t working for it.
It is a wealth transfer program. People paying a premium and deductible are subsidizing those paying little for Insurance. Without the people paying the premiums the plans would collapse.
Yes, I think that what you said is correct. And I suppose for those who get it “free” with minimal out-of-pocket, they are driving up the claims with their ER visits for a skinned knee, etc.
But they are free.
That is revolution level abuse.
“If I buy Obamacare, I die.
Which is exactly what Obama and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel had in mind when they incorporated the “Complete Lives System” into Obamanotcare.
Emanuel’s words:
http://archive.larouchepac.com/node/11188 -
www.chministries.org
https://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/
https://thehealthcoop.com/
and for comparison of two of them and to get an idea of costs-> http://www.cchfreedom.org/pdf/Health_Care_Sharing_Ministry_Comparison.pdf
“’If you have insurance with a deductible of $6,850, is there any chance you’re actually going to get to use that insurance?’
I thought that was the point?”
In many cases, it’s actually worse than that. We know people on our high-deductible PPO insurance plan through work who race through the family deductible as quickly as they can, with all sorts of covered (but non-serious) visits and procedures, so they can get to the 10% co-payment. The combination of low premiums (compared to the low-deductible indemnity plan) and dramatically lower marginal cost per visit/procedure/drug after the deductible is met has led to over-use of our local health-care system. We have confirmed this anecdotal evidence with several friends who are physicians.
Well my “office visit” was 50$ ten years ago.
Now its 300$.
Yes 4500 deductible that has to be re-met yearly.
Guess I’ll just not go to the doctor until Im on my deathbed.
Thanks Obama!
These are people who don’t really get economics. They see a box checked: “insured”. Must be good, right? As I said in another thread, with deductibles that high, you are basically paying a premium for the privilege of being effectively uninsured. Berniebot mentality.
Oh, and that’s thru a work plan.
The HDHP is the best scam (aside from Obamakare) ever!
Yeah but this is a huge issue and the OUTRAGE should have been LOUD and CONSTANT
This is one of the first pieces I’ve seen of this issue
It was an expirement and I should have cancelled months ago and just take the so called tax.
But you’re forgetting that under ObamaCrapCare premiums have gotten to the point they’re almost paying the equivalent amount of a doctor’s monthly salary an they get nothing. Their yearly premiums added up tcoukd pay a doctor to live in their home delivering care for a solid month bet they get nothing. When you pay a lot and get nothing back is is nothing but a TAX!
As a nurse, I see what Obamacare has done. It was a tax on the wealthy and middle class to give to the “poor”- Obamas peeps. However, when you see the daily dose of the “poor” coming to the ER and getting admitted, they all have a problem list a mile long. They all have drug addictions, bad ( self induced) social situations, all are on some psychiatric med, they dont listen to medical advice, smoke cigs and drink alcohol. Their bad decisions make them unemployable and create medical problems. Obamacare extended coverage to these losers by managed plans run by private insurance companies. In order to recoup their losses by taking care of a bunch of losers, insurance companies are increasing the cost of coverage to the people who actually work. The losers dont pay a dime.
Insurance companies are not making a profit on these people.
I am waiting for retirement, because I deal with these people all day long, and it burns you out.
Or calibrate your withholding and/or quarterly payments so that there is no refund or a required very small end of the year additional payment. The “fine” can only come out of the Refund ans is not otherwise collectible. That is what my daughter does. She had a $2.00 payment to send in in April.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.