ACA OK

The Times has a very nice survey of the results to date of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, aka death panels and the moral equivalent of slavery.

The verdict: It’s going well. A big expansion in coverage, which is affordable for a large majority; the main exceptions seem to be people who went for the minimum coverage allowed, keeping premiums down but leaving large co-payments. None of the predictions of disaster has come even slightly true.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/aca-ok/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body

Last edited Sat Feb 13, 2021, 06:34 PM - Edit history (3)

K and R

It was one of the strange arguments of the ACA. The act clearly was going to save the government money by reducing the rate of increase of costs to the federal government. The savings came predominately in the medicare program, but in related areas associated with the pre-existing health care/insurance support costs. You'da thought the "fiscally responsible" would have been all over this.

It wasn't projected to save the INSURED very much money, and for many (but not all by any stretch) it was going to cost them more, in some cases a lot more. The rate of health CARE costs was projected to continue to rise at over 6% for the foreseeable future. The supporters tended to ignore this part, including the part where many people would be forced to pay for insurance that they still wouldn't be able to afford. Not to mention the folks that STILL would suffer from "medical bankruptcy".

But we're in a new world where black is white, war is peace, and a health insurance law originally designed by the Heritage Foundation and the GOP to oppose universal health CARE is passed by the democrats without any real GOP support as a "progressive victory".

How many of us not eligible for subsidy find - what is it, 8% of our income? - "affordable?" Not to mention we're somehow supposed to know whether we will need "Platinum/Silver/Bronze" tomorrow .... as if people know that they are going to have an accident or get cancer - or not - and so pick appropriately. In reality people will often take the cheapest because they can't afford anything else (hell, they can't afford it either but we have the wonderful mandate) get what they can afford, and if that's the cheap plan, then the pundits excoriate them for choosing high deductibles.

But insurance premiums for individuals have never been higher! So basically the insurers are paying less while charging more! Who could have guessed this would happen?

I looked over my old pay stubs dating back to 1999 (I have a group plan through my employer who pays 50% of my premium). My premiums went up every single year, twice over 40 % in a single year, four years going up by around 30 %. By 2010, my premiums were nearly nine times as high as in 1999.

In 2011, I had a modest increase of three dollars a month (less than 1 %, the lowest increase I had ever seen). 2012, 2013, and 2014 I actually had decreases, although very modest ( I now pay 24 dollars a month LESS than I did in 2011).

Insurance premiums overall may have indeed gone up under Obamacare, but do you really believe they would not have gone up without Obamacare?

My premium went up $300 a month with a huge increase in deductible and my new monthly rate is $1050.00. The only answer is single payer! Our business will not be able to do another year of this.

I am happy that you have seen a decrease.

Bottom line is that the government saved money. Many have been left on the fringe to pay the price.

the question is: What if we didn't have republicans?

Obviously somebody is lying (gee, I wonder who that would be )

It didn't make health CARE costs skyrocket. Short term indications are a slowing of growth rates, although that may be due to the economy as much as anything.

Health INSURANCE rates were impacted, although the magnitude is often exaggerated.

But the government, over the long term, save billions, literally.

There is much that is wrong with the ACA, but none of what the GOP claims.