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from In These Times:
Obamacare Counselor: On the Surface, People Have Choices. But Its a Complete Farce
BY REBECCA BURNS
I talk to people about Obamacare. My job is to help people buy insurance if theyre making above a certain income level. So Im basically an insurance broker, except Im paid by the government instead of an insurance company. And Im making a crappy non-profit wage.
When I initially trained for the job, they couldnt actually show us what the Marketplace was going to look likeit wasnt up and running yetso the training was more like, Heres how you greet a client. It went over how to how to ask them questions about their situation, things like that.
By the time we started signing people up for the actual Marketplace, sometimes I would be discovering along with the patient what the next steps were, sitting and reading it along with them and figuring it out as I went. My job is to help people navigate complex websites. For a lot of people, the process is inherently alienating. The ACA took the healthcare system, which is messed up already, and then it added an application and an online shopping system on top of it, and then more layers of tax law and immigration law on top of that. It didnt actually make the health system itself better.
.....(snip).....
There are some aspects that are worthwhile, like the expansion of Medicaid. But generally, it seems like were moving things away from what a lot of people need. Many who are above the Medicaid limit dont agree with the governments estimate of what affordable means, and they dont think the options on the Marketplace make sense for their budget. There are people who dont like the insurance they have at their job and thought theyd be able to buy something better on the Marketplace. Those people are kind of between a rock and a hard place.
.....(snip).....
Its a complete farce. On the surface, individuals have all these choices, but I cant really predict what will be best, and the patient cant either. Thats one of the problems with the fact that all this is privatized. The people who actually have the useful information arent in the room. ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17470/obamacare_counselor
daleanime
(17,796 posts)JEB
(4,748 posts)Lots of devils in the details.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)for Agents is a Pyramid Scheme. It is bogus bullshit and should be outlawed.
Curmudgeoness
(18,219 posts)I know that there are some here who get upset with any criticism of the ACA, but this is not the health care reform that I wanted. I had so many questions while trying to sign up for it for the first time this year, and DU is the place that I come for answers to just about everything. I did not come here for these answers, and I still have few answers. I do have insurance, but it is so unaffordable to me that I will still not go to a doctor unless it is urgent. No wellness checks for me, because I can't pay for it if I find that there is something wrong. Just like it was before.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)don't you. Once a year on those programs we are asked to make a choice regarding which private insurance company we want to go with. Some of the ones I can remember are Medica, Humana, Blue Cross, etc. And worst of all there is no navigator who is supposed to know which one will be the best for my needs. When this first started happening in the bush era I went to my social worker and asked for help deciding - I was told that they are not allowed to give advise.
For a senior having all these choices is like walking down the cereal aisle in the grocery store and trying to find the healthiest cereal.
What I do agree with you on is the costs. Especially the co-pay that one has to pay before ACA kicks in. It is not really affordable for those who do not qualify for the government programs. There is still this gape between the working poor and those who can easily pay for the insurance.
I also think there are aspects of health care that should have been included: dental for one.
antigop
(12,778 posts)Insurance company executives have spent millions of dollars persuading us and the people we vote for that what we crave is more choice and competition. They even bankrolled a group called the Choice and Competition Coalition, which is little more than a public relations and lobbying outfit designed to protect the profitable status quo for health insurers. They do so by making certain members of Congress dont even think about giving us the choice and competition that would really make difference.
That would be the choice of a government-run public option to compete with private insurance companies. Insurers spent millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions in a successful effort to strip the public option from the bill that became the Affordable Care Act.
In my 20 years in the insurance industry, I never met anyone who said they were looking forward to picking a health plan. Theres a good reason for that. Trying to figure out whats best for yourself and your family can be bewildering. Even with my background in the insurance world, I would rather have a root canal than sit in front of a computer for hours trying to determine which plan offers the best value.
Industry statistics show that once people make a decision, theyll stay with the same plan for years, even if there are other plans available to them that would cost less and provide better coverage. Why? We dont enjoy the process because were not educated consumers of insurance. We dont really know what were doing or what were buying. Polls have shown that large percentages of Americans dont even have a grasp of basic insurance terms and concepts.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Seven years ago I was working for a supplier of surgical scopes, the kind that are used during colonoscopies, endoscopies, etc. My initial job was to be in the quotation department, when our sales staff wanted to pitch equipment to a doctor or hospital, they called in a request for a quotation on the prices of the packages.
It was not simply looking up a price in a catalog, it was determining which "buying groups" the customer was in, and seeing which combination gave the best deal for the salesperson to offer. It got pretty complicated at times. The only things that I can think of that are sold with more complexity are airline seats.
When you go for medical treatment, you make a commitment to buy something that you're not going to know the final price of for weeks or months, after the healthcare provider and the insurer sort out who's going to pay for what, and what the charge should be in this instance. That's one of the reasons I just chuck the whole thing, and went for the high deductible policy at work, and save up money in a Health Savings Account. When I do need something, I just ask for what's the no-bullshit price, pointing out that I'm not going to make them tussle with an insurace company. Then, I buy my maintenance prescription from a Canadian pharmacy with a Mastercard issued by the HSA.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)magical thyme
(14,881 posts)which happens to be the same insurance company that left me to die when I was septic, and refused to run even a single test.
and no insurance.
The only difference ACA has made in my life is now I pay a penalty to go without insurance.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)The policy protects me from medical bankruptcy (I think - there are co-pays, co-insurance, in-network, out of network, etc.), but my annual out of pocket max is now 1/4 of my take-home pay and I have to keep an eye on the bills to see if they are ripping me off. I am middle-aged and have a chronic illness which requires meds and could become acute, so going without is not a viable option.
It's a pretty bad solution for most people.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)are still bitter that an imperfect improvement to the old system passed.
I guess they miss the days of pre-existing condition exclusions.
Oh, and yeah, I know, if Obama had just clapped louder single payer was within reach.
marmar
(76,985 posts)..... And points out its flaws. I love the smell of intellectual dishonesty in the afternoon.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)This is pretty much what John a Boehner says--it's a failure, unworkable, etc.
Left up to people like her, the old system would have been left in place while the temper tantrum left demanded an instantly utopian system.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)The highest priced, lowest quality healthcare in the world, made mandatory, and permanent, and people are cheering. Unbelievable.
TeamPooka
(24,156 posts)The GOP always belittles non-profits and any job that does not pay millions.
They do not see honor in honest work, only wealth.
That's why they hate minimum wage workers too.
It is salary-shaming at it's worst.
This is BS GOP propaganda.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)TeamPooka
(24,156 posts)many places you would not normally find them.
So if you accept something at face value just because "X" said it, then you will sound like people who watch FOX News and listen to Rush. "Well if they said it then it must be true"
Look beyond the carrier into the words for the real message.
In this case it's a little right wingy.
treestar
(82,383 posts)True the website didn't work, but once I called, the people on the phone were great. And referred me to a dental plan, too.