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."
If for no other reason than ObozoCare, I predict a landslide for Trump this November................
BTW, I told my story to a very liberal friend of mine and he had no idea it was that bad. He was actually aghast at the story. He lives a sheltered life, being fairly wealthy, and thought everything was just peachy keen with ‘FREE’ healthcare..................
For now.
They'll probably do the usual and ding peoples' Social Security - going back YEARS, and adding interest & penalties.
“...they are driving up the claims with their ER visits for a skinned knee, etc.”
Or a Saturday night bullet wound!
Back 30+ years ago, we had something called “Major Medical” insurance. Major Medical covered you for the expensive hospital stuff and when it came to doctors and prescriptions, you paid out of pocket. Because insurance companies didn’t pay the doctors directly and they didn’t cover prescriptions, the costs were low and most people could afford to pay them. Along came insurance companies with who said let me pay the doctors and buy your prescriptions. They didn’t tell you that managing this would be a massive cost. And the doctors and pharmaceutical companies didn’t help. They could charge more because the insurance companies paid.
The vicious advanced 30 years and now costs are astronomical because of this self-feeding greed.
Yup.
Obamacare Silver Plan is for suckers.
My Medicaid plan has zero monthly premiums, low co-payments and no deductibles.
Why the heck would I sign up for a plan that doesn’t actually insure me?
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.
I hear you!
I have some family members that are just as you describe. In addition they are leeches and WILL suck anyone dry that displays an micro-ounce of compassion towards them. Money, (for their habits), food, shelter, etc. They only way to get free of them is to slam the door in their faces, refuse to answer the phone. etc. And in my wife and my own case... move as far away as possible from them.
And no we can’t afford any insurance either, so we pay as we go... cash on the barrel head and the Doctor is happy to see that. He told me that the insurance company has been as long as 120 days on paying for the billing to them.
The politicians ALL are in in passing this malignant “health care” law...and they exempted themselves. What criminals!
The other Obamacare travesty is that Medicare was expanded. Now, I am seeing 30 year old dirtballs on Medicare because of medical issues caused by addictions and just plain bad living.
Then, the government tells the elderly that Medicare is going broke.
The ones who pay nothing and get it free also have zero deductions. They can get all the care in the world at no cost.
I pay $438 a month and have a $6500 out of pocket. Last year I came up with Insertional Achilles Tendonitis and between my premiums and deductible i have to come up with $13,000 instead of maybe $4000 before Obamacare.
Anyone have an extra $6500 a year lying around.
When this monster hiding as Omnicare was made law, my wife was the senior rn in a family practice group.
She attended a meeting discussing the impact of this monster on their patients and their office.
She and her office manager brought up this problem re the high deductible for their patients, their families members as patients, and the impact on office personnel having to explain the new high deductibles and copays to patients.
They were basically shut down by the liberal doctor in charge of the group and his manager.
She tried to explain this change to some of our younger family members, who abused their golden insurance plans with visits to derms/plastic surgeons and other specialists for costly care without any real positive impact on their health. Big $’s for cosmetic vanity care.
A few months later when some of our younger relatives found out that their gold plated insurance had high deductibles and paid nothing for their expensive care, they got wise re what to treat and what to ignore.
A few months into Obama Chaos in a mutual agreement with the group, my wife, her doctor and the other lady in the office closed their practice after 30+ years.
Some of our healthy younger relatives use walkin clinics for their minimal health care, pay cash and write off the expenses when they do their taxes for that year. They often get their immunizations from a pharmacy versus in an office.
Some went to concierge MDs. Some of those concierge guys/gals have double/tripled their monthly/yearly fees. Many do not see their patients on demand and require appts. With many hospitals going to in house MDs, Hospitalists, so their expensive concierge MDs are not allowed to treat their patients in many hospitals.
Yes, Congress's exemption from Obamacare is like the twisting of the knife in the body politic, after that body was stabbed by the passage and judicial confirmation of Obamacare.
This exemption proves that Congress no longer represents the people but rather represents only itself and its financial patrons.
Because after the legislation was passed the Congresscritters INCLUDING Leading Republicans Boehner and McConnell asked the President for a waiver for themselves. Otherwise they would have felt the pain the first year it was implemented.
But NOOOOOOOOOO They are special, don'tcha know... Exempt they are.
In my entire life I have probably only used $40k worth of insurance. My only large incident was emergency surgery that was about $28k.
So... Take your chances and put the money in the bank. Otherwise i’ve never spent more than a couple hundred buck per year on medical needs like regular OTC drugs for a cold or the once every 5 years ear infection or strep throat that requires a subscription.
Obamacare has destroyed the insurance and medical industries.
Yup, key word has always been subsidies.
The copays are insane too.
Covering your self will save you money for now while you figure out how to deal with it otherwise. The best you can do if you want catastrophic for cheaper catastrophes than with o-care coverage at a reasonable rate and get out from Uncle Sam is the various Christian, and a couple of Ethic based, health cost sharing plans. You choose your own doctor and rates tend to be a lot lower if you make a cash deal with him for routine and periodic exam stuff.
I met a man(25-30?) who has no job. Out of work about 2 years.
He had insurance till a year ago. He did not file taxes since 2014.
The government says they fine people who don’t buy insurance.
How do they fine/touch this guy?
He seems not to give a $—t!
If you don't earn enough to file, you don't have to pay the penalty. If he lives in an expanded medicaid state, he would be eligible for medicaid. There are also a dozen or so more hardship waivers available.
As others pointed out, many at FR were saying, “It’s the deductibles...it’s the deductibles!!”
This is such bad policy. No one can afford to use the insurance because of those high deductibles. One consolation: nothing escapes the eyes of God.
The older one gets, the easier it is to get a hardship waiver because premiums cost more than 8% of income. You can then buy the lower cost catastrophic plan without having to pay the penalty. Another option is be upping 401K or IRA contributions to lower income into the subsidy range.
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