Since there was no way to eliminate the Insurance Companies under the circumstances we are in.....your complaint is falling on my deaf ears.

Its the best we could do for the moment....to say otherwise is naive.

facepalm

That is, if they could think past the koch bullshit. People are way to apathetic and self-centered to stage a general strike. Half of the population would be going behind the strikers backs asking for their jobs.

Most People just dont give a shit about ANYTHING but themselves. You see it with people blocking traffic to talk, standing in the way in a store, talking loudly on a cell phone in the middle of a crowd, etc etc etc.

mislead and prevent people from voting or getting to the polls, anyone who doesn't vote deserve the consequences of that action.

I think it is nonsense this GOTV. Either you care enough about the issues and the people or you don't, and if you don't, then maybe they shouldn't be voting, and let others decide their fate.

This is the Democratic Party's health care plan. Randy is right. It would take a general strike, but we are nowhere near being able to do that.

Since repubs control everything, there is no chance that things will get better. I don't know why it is that people have to assume that the ACA can't be improved, that it has to always work this way. But until they get it through their heads that only Democrats can improve it, nothing will change.

By not voting, or voting for the repubs, we just head faster down the river of crap.

Obamacare passed in March, 2010.

Here is what House the looked like:



Here's the Senate:



And we still got a Republican-style healthcare plan, similar to Romneycare in Massachusetts.

If you remember, they had to pass a flawed version because Scott Brown was elected to Ted Kennedy's seat. They could not fix it because they had to pass the house version in reconciliation, otherwise they only had 59 votes. This is the reason why there is a court case in the Supreme court over a typo.

We all know that single payer was never allowed to happen. And it still won't happen if the ACA goes down in flames. It sure as hell won't happen with repubs controlling everything.

One can dislike what they passed and still hope to improve it. Medicare and Social security have been changed over the years to fix problems (perceived or real).

To sit around and complain that we didn't pass a perfect euro-style health care plan, and to say we can't improve what we have, is not helping things. To hope that things get bad enough for people to revolt is to wish for death and suffering to get far worse. That is not liberal or progressive.

Please do not put words in my mouth or sentiments in my mind that I do not hold.

I accept your apology!

And how long did that last?

I accept your apology....

Let's be honest here, corporatists have spent billions of dollars over decades to buy elections and disenfranchise citizens. The effect is compounded by judges at every level in the pockets of the 1%. Now, I have never missed an election since 1968 and I always vote Democratic - but it's hard to ignore the fact that the differences between the two major parties are becoming less dramatic with each election cycle.

Do folks have a responsibility to vote? Absolutely! Do many feel voting isn't worth their time? You better believe it. Maybe they are lazy and stupid or maybe they see a political system hell bent on stealing from the poor and middle class and giving the spoils to the wealthy. Sadly they believe there is nothing they can do about it.

they don't or else they won't vote in accordance. We just cannot help that....we got what we could. Which is better than what we had....Is it the best solution...NO....but it IS Progress.

Stop making the good the enemy of the perfect!

When haven't health insurance rates gone up?

rates went up. They conveniently leave out the part of going up at a rate beyond inflation. The increases were about 15% a year prior to the ACA, unsustainable in any economy.

This headline works too:

Cost of Coverage Under Affordable Care Act to DECREASE in 2015.

As much as 28% in some areas.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/14/us/Where-Federal-Health-Exchange-Rates-Will-Rise.html

It gives the impression that rates will increase for ACA plans across the board. The map clearly shows that is not the case, yet the main article mentions not one word about the many places where rates are expected to decrease.

But I'm sure the NY Times would never intentionally mislead its readers. Or would it?

This was completely predictable.

If their rates go up, people can switch to other plans, BUT those might have worse coverage or higher copayments or not have the doctors they want.

We needed the public option, if only to provide pressure on insurance companies to keep their rates reasonable.

People are screwed.

getting. Like you say, it would keep private insurers honest.

Indeed, ALL gold & platinum plans carry similar increases... so it will be bronze or silver - with their ungodly deductibles - for us this year... we can't afford anything else.

They're people, too!

That includes an increase for growing older. Having bought private and business insurance in the past, this isn't too bad. There were consistently 20-30% increases on most annual renewal periods when I bought private insurance or a group plan for a small business.

The ACA, better than nothing but still insurance driven.

So we need a Public Option so everyone is covered

is unethical. Period. Any system that promotes market-based thinking for an essential human need like health care is dishonest and unethical. Period.

Thank you bread and roses.

Way too much of a mish mash created by the insurance companies.

"It's better than nothing" is about the best thing I can say about the structure of the ACA.

It's in Book III, where Plato has Socrates say that each citizen has a certain sort of metal mixed in with his soul. In the souls of those most fit to rule there is gold, in those suited to be auxiliaries there is silver, and in those suited to be producers there is either bronze or iron. The city must never be ruled by someone whose soul is mixed with the wrong metal; according to an oracle, the city will be ruined if that ever happen.

the fucking health insurance companies that have been placed in charge of medical care in this country.

America's insistence that nothing can be done without some assholes making a buck off it will be the death of this nation. Privatize everything until every dollar we spend gets squeezed into the pockets of the filthy rich.

That and nothing else.

I have a suggestion. Add a checkbox that says "Notify me when switching plans can save an appreciable amount". Make the amount adjustable. "Any", "1% and greater", "etc.".

This way people get an e-mail when their plan is up and they know they have an option other than just letting their policy renew.

And I wonder if that was the agenda all along...

OBAMA!!!!!!11111