How Obamacare affects you in 2014 and Beyond

[buckethead]

I have shouted this from the rooftops since the initial debate, and I stand by it: Obamacare is a catastrophe in the making. I don't pretend to think Obama wrote it, and I never claimed that there aren't benefits to the plan. The harm done outweighs the benefits exponentially. We are mere months away from corporate and small business downsizing, skyrocketing premiums, and revolting subjects.

This, from the start, was a corporate takeover. They have a captive 'customer' base. More aptly they have subjugated the populace using the coercive force of government. Sound familiar?

We also know the insurers (health and otherwise) are intertwined with Wall Street financial firms. A wholesome enough lot, but do you really trust those same firms who delivered FWMD to Main St to be managing your health for profit?

Not to worry... "We eliminated pre-existing condition clauses!"

Corporations are masters of bureaucracy. They bloat, just like governments. Now that the Feds have one hand on the steering wheel, profits will be mandated. Efficiency will not. I take solace in the fact that they don't need to be efficient in order to make a profit.

Would any of my progressive friends here like to see Medicare privatized? (It has already been done in part. Medicare Advantage plans are exqctly that)

Well, In the words of Plato: "Hang on Baby Jesus.... It's about to get bumpy."

And as many should remember, this libertarian/conservative /anarchist/supply side/trickle down/Austrian School/ Freidmanite/lasse faire/flat worlder has maintained that single payer was a superior option to ACA.

[JeffreyS]

I will give you credit you have warned of this from the start. Now I hope it blows up private insurance and we actually have to enter the civilized world of healthcare. Likely it won't be as good as the proponents claim or as bad as the opponents claim.

[NotNow]

I have to point out....

the Federal Government has no Constitutional authority to establish a madatory medical program.  If such a program is wanted, it should be initiated and governed by the states, such as the Mass. system.

[JeffreyS]

NN The question of its legality was put before Over 400 congressional representatives, 100 senators, several state court judges, several federal court judges, 12 Supreme Court Justices and one president and decided as the group that it was in fact legal. Now you can certainly disagree with them but you can hardly state that It is a fact that it's not legal.

[civil42806]

I think the key issue is that no one understands how this is going to work, nor how much it is going to cost in the end.  Its such a massive program to swallow at one time, and the bureaucrats in DC are still writing the regulations.  Its going to be interesting when it hits the streets.

[If_I_Loved_you]

I have to point out....

the Federal Government has no Constitutional authority to establish a madatory medical program.  If such a program is wanted, it should be initiated and governed by the states, such as the Mass. system.

[JeffreyS]

I agree Stephen if we can't be smart enough to become a single payer country we should at least have a public option or a non-profit insurance industry. 

[civil42806]

The people responsible for passing it (The Republicans, mostly) were more interested in screaming at people in wheelchairs and calling anyone who wanted to talk about costs 'socialists')

What?  Actually there were no Republican votes for it at all in the senate, and damned few in the house

[JeffreyS]

Civil I would be interested to hear how you feel about Stephen's contention that if you maximize the system to make profit then it won't be cheap to fund.  We can't cry the market controls that because we moved away from true market competition in healthcare long ago.

[NotNow]

NN The question of its legality was put before Over 400 congressional representatives, 100 senators, several state court judges, several federal court judges, 12 Supreme Court Justices and one president and decided as the group that it was in fact legal. Now you can certainly disagree with them but you can hardly state that It is a fact that it's not legal.

Agreed...my opinion only.  I do believe that we would be better off with state versions of such medical systems, which would certainly encourage innovation.

[NotNow]

OK, let me get this straight....The Affordable Care Act is now a creation of Republicans and the Tea Party?   Is that really going to be the Democratic talking point as this thing caves?

[JeffreyS]

OK, let me get this straight....The Affordable Care Act is now a creation of Republicans and the Tea Party?   Is that really going to be the Democratic talking point as this thing caves?

I agree that won't fly. Democrats and Americans for that matter need to find away to make this thing work for the good of all involved.  If Vermont uses it to become single payer I predict the States will start competing over the best way to use the Federal funds. Florida will have to suck eggs for a while because we won't have those federal funds.

Now there are plenty of originally Republican ideas in the bill

Mandates, Fraud reduction, Insurance exchanges and I am not sure if out of state policies actually made it into the bill.

[NotNow]

It would be a good time to "examine our options".   There may still be time to get a usable system out of this.  Obviously, I would prefer that states design their own systems.   Thank God there appears to at least be a growing agreement that the ACA is an abomination.

[ChriswUfGator]

It's an abomination because congress stripped out the part that would've made the whole thing work by forcing the providers to be competitive, namely the government option. Now the same people want to gripe that there is no natural cap on costs. Well no $h!t sherlocks, you took it out.

[NotNow]

The thing was shoved through a democratically controlled house and senate by the Presidents own power brokers Pelosi and Reid.  As I recall, no one had even read the thing.  EVERY promise and prediction about the act has proven to be wrong.  So now the snarky comments and the blame game begins.  The "same people" are the ones who told you it was a monstrous abomination and now the effort is to shift the blame to them.  That is obvious BS.  The President, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Reid, and all of the others who rammed the act through by sheer bullying must now take responsibility for it.  It has become quite obvious that the democrats (and their shills) will not admit any mistakes by trying to fix at least some of the problems for the American people.  Just as they have twisted their own sequester to inflict maximum pain on the public, they will continue to play politics on Obamacare no matter the cost to the country.

It should now be even more obvious why most folks don't want "Gubmint" hands on any part of their lives.