General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCan we finally agree that Obamacare is working?
At the end of a war, some people will remain holed up in the trees, thinking they can still turn the tide of a lost cause. Increasingly, that's the best description of the anti-Obamacare dead-enders, including Congressional Republicans, who continue to depict the Affordable Care Act as a failure despite facts like these:
--Nearly 60% of enrollees in ACA-compliant exchange health plans this year were previously uninsured--most of them for two years or more.
--Obamacare cut costs for buyers eligible for subsidies by an average 76% compared to non-subsidized premiums. More than 80% of buyers are eligible for government subsidies, and for them the average premium is $82 a month. (Source: Dept. of Health and Human Services.)
--Most people can save money by choosing plans offering narrower provider networks, and there's "no meaningful" difference in health outcomes between plans with narrow hospital networks and those offering broader networks. (Source: McKinsey & Co.)
--Projected rate increases for 2015 are coming in well below expectations. Anthem Blue Cross rates will rise by less than 10% next year, about in line with health plan rate increases in the individual market in the pre-ACA era. (Source: Anthem Blue Cross.)
Here's the Republican approach to these trends. On Thursday, Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, issued a report attacking the Administration for its botched rollout of Healthcare.gov. That happened eight months ago, and in the end didn't seem to affect overall enrollments. Is that's all they got?
It's proper to note that the statistics cited above demolish some of the most cherished claims of the anti-Obamacare right. Their estimates of the percentage of enrollees who were previously uninsured dipped as low as 27%; obviously their calculations were deeply flawed. All the emerging statistics indicate that the Affordable Care Act has materially reduced the number of Americans without insurance, which after all was its goal.
more...
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-obamacare-is-working-20140620-column.html
Rod Beauvex
(564 posts)...and are going in debt because of it.
I'll concede things are better than before, but we have a way to go.
quakerboy
(13,915 posts)If your "dead broke", barring presence in a republican run state that is denying ACA, you should have it if you want it.
Welcome to glorious Tennessee. :p
quakerboy
(13,915 posts)that is failing you, its your republican lawmakers?
It would appear that ACA is more or less working where it has been enacted. Flawed though it may be.
There is still the mandate. That is, and is only, the ACA.
pnwmom
(108,953 posts)it's a problem with SCOTUS and state governors and legislatures.
savalez
(3,517 posts)State don't have to expand it if they don't want to. Hopefully the silver lining is Repuke Gov's will start to lose elections down the road.
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)Even if it was an extremely hopeful estimate, you would not have been penalized.
Don't know. Didn't mention any of that in the signup process.
I ended up with a humana plan which I cannot pay for, and still am getting billed for.
uponit7771
(90,301 posts)...will say
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)care for all ages will be accepted the same as Medicare. I am glad the US is now getting on level with other countries.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)The US is not by any stretch of the imagination getting on a level with other countries.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)the nation. When the GOP shell breaks down there will be a better ACA, just as the GOP platform is total opposite of the DNC, there will be more people who will realize health care is more important than the petty issues. We have to work to get Democrats elected, it is a challenge but not any larger than the 100 year to have health insurance.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)rest of the world in healthcare. This claim is preposterous, and the fact that one democratic state has 95% coverage doesn't change that. We have the highest cost and worst results, and just made the insurance companies 20% overheard part of the system by law. This progression has gone just as I feared and the 1% hoped. First - it's the best we can do now. Then - it's a great first step toward single payer. Now - it's great! Obama is the most significant, most liberal president ever!!11!!!1
The 1% played the fan club like a fiddle. Disgusting.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)It would be great to be close to France.
quakerboy
(13,915 posts)by all indications.
I suppose working is a pretty wide category. A 40 year old Yugo that barely sputters to life, dies at stoplights, and cant exceed 25mph is technically working. As is a 2009 Pontiac grand am that just got in an accident, but still drives. As is a brand new Tesla Roadster.
progressoid
(49,929 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)I assume the op meant to include that in his checklist. I wonder who's paying for those 350% profit increases?
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)But alas, Americans figure it takes months. Obamacare is working.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)nice to see we're picking up steam. Yay us!
Cha
(296,763 posts)Young Adults Got Healthier And More Financially Stable After Obamacare Was Implemented
snip//
Obamacares efforts to expand access to health insurance for young Americans may be helping them maintain better health and financial security, according to a large new study analyzing the impact of health care reform over the past four years. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Wednesday, found that young Americans are now reporting better physical and mental health and their out-of-pocket medical expenses have declined.
The health insurance that people are gaining seems to be doing what it is supposed to do, Dr. Kao-Ping Chua, a pediatrician at Bostons Childrens Hospital and the lead author of the study, told the Los Angeles Times."
thinkprogress
:hatip: TOD
NM_Birder
(1,591 posts)or do you know if the premium has to be paid up front, before coverage is awarded ?
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)But I would say YES. I'm now seeing a very good doctor who seems to care for his patients. He has prescribed a cholesterol inhibitor/reducer and muscle relaxant, both are affordable. Previous ACA I saw doctors in emergency rooms only after an auto accident that left 3 compressed vertebrae, concussion, etc. and a robbery-assault that left me with 3 broken ribs.
I do think it could be better. Years ago, while in Alberta, Canada my family got sick with something like typhoid fever from a well at a camp sight. All the hospital needed was the address of the KOA so everything was taken care of by the Canadian healthcare system and they sent us on our way.
My only wish is that ACA had a dental part to it as I lost a filling recently and the tooth is hurting me big time.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Congrats on getting sick in a civilized country.
Takket
(21,526 posts)I can tell because the media has completely dropped all coverage of it.
Exposethefrauds
(531 posts)and unaffordable and unavailable for many.
IMHO without price controls Obamacare is crap.
stopbush
(24,392 posts)Stop your navel gazing.
Exposethefrauds
(531 posts)IMHO it was crap when it was called the Heritage Foundation Plan and it is still crap when it is called Obamacare, aka the ACA.
I guess all those who are doing without will be glad to know that you think it is great and the rest of us who want better for all, Single Payer, can now shut the fuck up about the inadequacies of Obamacare.
Response to Exposethefrauds (Reply #32)
Post removed
Exposethefrauds
(531 posts)Sorry the truth hurts so much.
stopbush
(24,392 posts)As it is, you're simply self absorbed.
Exposethefrauds
(531 posts)Spin it anyway you like but the simple fact is the ACA is not all that great, it leaves many people behind and is a give away to the insurance industry, hence it is shit.
socialist_n_TN
(11,481 posts)I think that we all pretty much knew that it would work. The question was ALWAYS is the ACA the best we can do to provide healthcare at an affordable cost to people and to society.
1000words
(7,051 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)From its passage through now. What do you think might change to stop big insurance profits from growing? They keep adding loopholes that favor the profiteers.
NM_Birder
(1,591 posts)verifying that the premiums/penalties are paid,..... is as corrupt, mismanaged, ignorant and deceptive as any other government agency.
who needs "loopholes" when they take the cookie jar behind closed doors, and use the IRS to enforce their desires.
etherealtruth
(22,165 posts)Prior to the ACA ... "we" as a nation could not even decide if there was a problem. The ACA is a start
maced666
(771 posts)So, how can it be working - or not - when 'it' has yet to arrive?
Silly.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/white-house-delays-health-insurance-mandate-for-medium-sized-employers-until-2016/2014/02/10/ade6b344-9279-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html
The bulk of Americans have yet to feel it, negative or positive. Selling it now is premature at best, disingenuous at worst.
But what really gets me are the 'horror stories' which outnumber those like this LA Times piece 100-1. How the hell do we have FAIL FAIL FAIL hit pieces daily for something that for all practical means - is not even there?!
alp227
(32,003 posts)since ObamaCare doesn't cause as much derp among the talk radio/crank blogosphere audience.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)WAAAYYYY too many people falling through the cracks in premiums they can't afford to pay for insurance they can't afford to use because of outrageously high deductibles.
I know it's not what the BOG wants to hear but it's the reality.
pampango
(24,692 posts)Zorra
(27,670 posts)complex, confusing, and deceitful policies and practices designed to rip off unsuspecting ACA enrollees.
Please read my sig line.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)The only way to "make it work" is to completely undo it.