Spanish american war (another conservative war fought on the basis of lies, women suffrage, social security, FDR's policy's in general, medicare, civil rights, Vietnam, Bush, 9/11 being Bush's fault, gay marriage, Obamcare. I'm sure I'm missing some but this is a just a short list that I could think up on the spot.

they obscure, they obstruct, they hail the worst abuses of unfettered capitalism run amok, they promote a belligerent nationalism, they promote unbridled MIC spending, and they promote unconscionable cuts in social spending: now someone please assure me they are not the constitutional enemies within our gates, as foreseen by our founders, and I will pipe down.

..... are full of failed "experts" and I simply don't understand why they don't book more current members of the MAJORITY party instead of McCain to tell us about what the President (a job we didn't want him for) is doing.... Or John Boehner to tell us how government should be run.... or Dick Cheney on anything at all. I mean, too bad they can't interview Hitler on the direction Europe should take. (How's that for a Nazi reference?)

Am I wrong that many of us still have premiums that are NOT affordable?

Am I wrong in saying that insurance does not equal care?

Am I wrong in saying that people still have to pay for care, in the form of deductibles and co-pays, after paying the premiums?

Am I wrong in saying that adding deductibles and co-pays to the cost of premiums keeps health CARE from being affordable for many?

Am I wrong to point out that many, including myself, are still, and will still, be going without care because of those costs?

These are the things that I warned against. JUST WHAT WAS I FUCKING WRONG ABOUT?

when I say that all the things you listed have always been a problem with health care? Premiums were often not affordable, and were rising so far beyond the rate of inflations that more people were left out of the hope to afford it every year. Deductibles and co-pays have been standard for years, and growing higher all the time.

This may not be the answer to all of our hopes for universal health care, but it will make health insurance more affordable to more people. And it is a step in the right direction, which we have been trying to get for as long as I have been around. I agree that it is not the best remedy, and I was disappointed that we did not get single payer Medicare For All.....but to rip into it as much as you are doing is not the answer.

I do not know your circumstances, but I would venture to say that insurance is more affordable to you now than it would have been under the system prior to the ACA. I don't know if you really cannot afford it even with the changes and subsidies, or if you choose not the afford it. It may be true that it is out of reach for you. Or it may be that you are not ready to make it more of a priority to have health insurance. Only you know the answer to that. I know many people who are saying the same thing that you are saying, but they are making good money and are just not ready to give up things that are not necessities for what I consider a necessity that I have sacrificed to have my whole life, no matter what my situation has been.

Yes, we need to work to get a better plan, but this is what we have for now and it is better than the way it was before. And it will get better if we stop the naysaying.

that all those things have always been a problem.

You are wrong when you equate insurance with care. They are not the same thing. Making insurance "more affordable," which I interpret to mean offering some people, not all people, lower premiums, does not make care more affordable. As a matter of fact, in some cases care costs MORE.

The cost of care is the same, but the higher deductibles and copays with those lower premiums mean that some people will be paying more for the actual care.

Insurance is not a penny more affordable for me than it was before. As I have mentioned ad nauseum, nothing changes for those of us whose employers pay for part of our premium...because if we reject what our employer offers and take something from the exchange for a smaller premium, our employer doesn't pay for any of it, leaving us paying the same or more as we were before. In my case, that would mean paying more for the premium AND a deductible more than double and a copay that is double compared to what I'm supposed to be paying for care now. I know the answer. You know the answer.

So you think that I make good money and just ought to "give up things that are not necessities." Ignorance is bliss.

I make what should be good money. That doesn't mean I'm wasting any of it. It doesn't mean there's anything left, or that I'm not already living paycheck to paycheck. There are circumstances that limit people making "good money," too.

For example: I bought this place at the peak of the housing bubble in order to provide a home for family members in crisis. I had to move out of state to care for them, and I had to find a place that would fit, not just me, but them as well. For the two years of rehabilitation, their limited income helped pay my mortgage. When they no longer needed my help and moved out, the plan was to sell the place and get something smaller for my single budget. Except that by then I was upside down because the housing market had crashed, and I couldn't unload the place. I've been paying more than 50% of my income on that mortgage in the years since. That doesn't leave a dime left for the many repairs the place needs; nobody would buy it like this. It needs a new roof, a new subfloor, new floors, new wiring, and new plumbing. The sinks are chipped, one bathtub needs replacing and can't be used, and the heating system has expired and needs replacing. The decks are rotten, and just getting to the front door takes careful stepping. I haven't done any of those repairs, because there is nothing left after paying the mortgage. Please don't tell me that I'm "not willing to give up things that are not necessities." I'm not engaged in frivolous spending.

It was worth it. Saving the life of a family member WAS a necessity, and I'd do it again. But don't think to lecture me about my spending or budgeting habits. A wise person won't judge or patronize those whose path they haven't walked. Ironically, all of my material assets went to provide care to my family.

This is what we have. Better than before? I hope it's better for some. It's not what we need, and it's not designed to get better if we stop naysaying. It's not designed to provide universal health care. It's designed to provide everyone with insurance. The foundation of the ACA is for-profit insurance, and that's not the foundation we can build a truly universal, affordable health CARE system on. I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

There's a solution to all those things that have always been a problem. This country? Not enough of her citizens have what it takes to accomplish that solution.

A universal, national non-profit health care system providing equal, easily accessible, high quality care, free at point of service, 100% funded by taxes, is not only the solution to all of those things that have always been a problem. It also is a huge start in addressing the chronic plague of poverty in what is supposedly one of the wealthiest nations on the planet.

Instead, half the country will be gushing about how great it is to have "affordable insurance," whether or not they can afford actual care, whether or not they get any more care than they were getting before. The other half will be screaming about socialized medicine while they pay their for-profit insurance providers and make sure that we never actually get socialized medicine.

I never said that you could or should be able to afford health insurance. Or health care, and yes, I do see the difference. I have been in the position of having insurance but not being able to pay the deductibles (my employer's insurance has a $5000 deductible). I did say that there are people who are saying that they cannot afford the insurance, even though they really can. And I did specify that I did not know your circumstances. I said that you may well be unable to afford it. I am sorry that you thought that I was aiming any abuses at you. I was not.

I agree with you 100% about universal, government funded health care. I have been for "socialized medicine" for much of my life, before it became the issue du jour. I was extremely disappointed in the ACA. But I also realize that there was no way in hell that we were going to get what we really wanted. It was this or nothing, at least in the next 20 years or more. I know that it will not help everyone, but it will help more people than doing nothing. I am not giving up the fight for a Medicare For All, but I am also not going to feed the GOP hopes of doing away with this one step.

Again, my apology for the way that I phrased my post. I understand your situation. I was in the same position with a house that I purchased in 1982 in Houston, right at the height of the market when the economy collapsed and I lost half the value. And a huge mortgage payment. I know about having nothing left and just being thankful that there is a paycheck at all.

I'm not changing my insurance. While my total premium is very high, especially considering the deductible and copay, I don't pay the whole thing myself.

I don't qualify for a subsidy, and what the exchange offers at a lower premium carries a higher deductible and copay for that lower premium, and my employer wouldn't be paying any of it, so I'd still be paying more for the premium.

Of course I've been to the exchange. WTF...why would I be posting about it, otherwise?

I never said I was "poor." I said I couldn't afford health care. There's a difference.

I can't afford health care. Not because I'm poor; because care isn't affordable, regardless of the official label of the ACA.

for 1 person I was told I don't qualify for the exchange. I don't know how you don't qualify for the exchange and yet they are still offering you coverage. It is not supposed to be for wealthy people.

In case you just don't "get" this, there is a huge range between what is officially recognized as "poor" and being financially comfortable, let alone "wealthy." I am neither.

What can't you understand about this fact?

...big K & R.

stations.

the idiots and liars who repeat the BS have team limbaugh blowing in their sails, distorting, lying, exaggerating, rationalizing, excusing, and deflecting. when republican media ops and politicians repeat the lies they know/feel they've already been pounded into the earholes of 50 mil a week- it's acceptable. that's been going on for 20+ years and the left has to finally challenge talk radio or keep getting teabagged.

That's good. Recommended.