Obummercare ruled unconstitutional

Diamond55 wrote:

It is about time! I am self-employed and I can tell you that everything Obama said about Obamacare when he was trying to sell it to the American people was a blatant lie. I lost all of the doctors starting in 2017 when the hospital where I used to see doctors stopped taking Blue Cross for individuals. So I saw new doctors starting in 2017. And now starting in 2019 I will again lose the doctors I saw in 2017 and 2018 as the new doctors I had seen no longer belong to medical groups which accept Blue Cross for individuals.

Nice anecdote. I got to keep my doctor and my premium went down so sounds like Obamacare is net even now.

If the government wants to be effective then give real incentives to people who run or walk say 3 miles a day 5 days week. Build bicycles that connect everywhere. This will reduce overall health care costs, not to mention environmental costs. It's time we start focusing on prevention. This way everyone can live a long, healthy happy life. Right now the main danger to the US is the obesity epidemic. I'll check in later after I go for my glorious 5 mile run. Today while I run I'll be listening to some Ozzy Osbourne 1980 album with audiophile quality headphones! Now that's healthy!

fgfrg wrote:

I know it seems hard to believe but there are people who in fact have their own money to buy all the healthcare they need. You can not get ahead with insurance - it's a heck of a lot worse than Vegas odds. Most people put in far more than they will ever get out. It's also one of the reasons health care is so expensive in the US. Free markets and freedom of choice will bring costs way down and quality way up.

its a bet against your own health, but what if you get gravely sick at 22, at the start of your career vs when youre 40 and you have millions squirrelled away like the average letsrunner

Kvothe wrote:

its a bet against your own health, but what if you get gravely sick at 22, at the start of your career vs when youre 40 and you have millions squirrelled away like the average letsrunner

The way it’s supposed to work is that at 22 you’re supposed to have a job and have medical coverage through your employer. Then if you get gravely sick, then you’re covered.

If you’re still in school (undergrad) at 22, then you ought to be covered under your parent’s health coverage

1) As was observed by Congressional Republicans at the time, the ACA ceased to be Obamacare when the individual mandate--the heart of Obama's bill--was repealed. Since then the ACA has been Trumpcare.

2) I never voted for BHO either--for good reasons--but it's time for grownups to stop with the "cute" misspellings of Obama's name. They make you look childish, not clever.

I feel the same way about misspellings of Trump's name, obviously.

By the time this gets sorted out a Democrat will be President and the Democrats will have control of both chambers of Congress. They'll repeal the ACA and enact a single payer system. Republicans will blame Democrats for this but in fact it is the Republicans fault. They have been a complete disaster since Trump took office and the country will vote the other way.

Yes and that's terrible odds! For the unlucky person with catastrophic costs I propose that as society they are treated free of charge. The rest pay for their own healthcare, like you would for anything else. many people will be brainwashed to think they need and insurance and that's fine. It's their choice to buy it. Not mine or yours!

Well, I'm back from my run. I see the mindset has not changed much. that's ok. The revolution is underway and sooner than later everyone can do whatever they want as long as it doesn't violate the rights of anyone else. This includes buying health insurance.

Great comments above and I’ll add:

Ask yourself why do providers dislike government health insurance programs like Medicare and Tricare? Lower reimbursement. Medicare for all will never work because too many bottom lines are negatively affected.

The mandate was always a bad idea,...but it’s really the big thing that made the ACA “Obamacare”. Without it there’s really no financial future for it as prices will increase more as you decrease the insured pool.

As far as this case goes....it will be repealed up to SCOTUS where a 5-4 vote will sustain the status quo. If you think anything else will happen you simply aren’t paying attention.

Here’s a larger question for debate....

Republicans tend to be all about states rights and limited central government.....so again I ask why the huge support for certain large ticket military items like TRICARE, which runs around 50-60B a year yet. Why the huge support for government legislated morality when it comes to gay marriage or women’s rights?

I say give Obamacare to the states. If your state doesn’t want to play then don’t play.

I think we need to make Congress compromise. Get rid of CRs. You either pass a budget or you don’t. Remove the political chess. Make all actions require 60% vote. This way again we have compromise instead of one party with barely 51% making all the decisions with the other obstructing.

Alan

Can’t do it wrote:

Runningart2004 wrote:

So about this TX case....what’s next? ACA is still law of the land.

Alan

Good question. Technically it’s the law of the land, but without the individual mandate it’s not. I’m on COBRA for the next little while, but will be too young to qualify for Medicare before COBRA eligibility runs out. When that happens, I do not plan on picking up an ACA plan. I will probably go with one of those short term catastrophic plans for as long as I can. Either that or go uninsured. Or go back to work so I can get group benefits. I priced out the ACA plans and simply don’t want to spend that much money

I suspect many will behave like me

COBRA is horribly expensive. Better off just buying drugs off the street and doing procedures in Mexico.

Alan

Over 1 million enrolled in “Obamacare” in TX.....

https://www.healthinsurance.org/texas-state-health-insurance-exchange/

Alan

Runningart2004 wrote:

Can’t do it wrote:

Good question. Technically it’s the law of the land, but without the individual mandate it’s not. I’m on COBRA for the next little while, but will be too young to qualify for Medicare before COBRA eligibility runs out. When that happens, I do not plan on picking up an ACA plan. I will probably go with one of those short term catastrophic plans for as long as I can. Either that or go uninsured. Or go back to work so I can get group benefits. I priced out the ACA plans and simply don’t want to spend that much money

I suspect many will behave like me

COBRA is horribly expensive. Better off just buying drugs off the street and doing procedures in Mexico.

Alan

I agree COBRA is horribly expensive. The perversion is that comparable ACA compliant plans are even more expensive

I see a lot of year end advertising from dental and medical clinics reminding people to go in for their “free” annual checkups. One example of the waste baked into the cake of the ACA. 60% to 70% of the population at large have no reason to go in for an annual checkup but ACA bakes in that cost. When otherwise healthy people are shepherded into clinics because it is “free”, unscrupulous providers begin to diagnose all sorts of stuff to pad medical bills and line their pockets

Runningart2004 wrote:

Over 1 million enrolled in “Obamacare” in TX.....

Alan

How many of them are subsidized? (I.e. freeloading off of the US taxpayer).

Can’t do it wrote:

I see a lot of year end advertising from dental and medical clinics reminding people to go in for their “free” annual checkups. One example of the waste baked into the cake of the ACA. 60% to 70% of the population at large have no reason to go in for an annual checkup but ACA bakes in that cost. When otherwise healthy people are shepherded into clinics because it is “free”, unscrupulous providers begin to diagnose all sorts of stuff to pad medical bills and line their pockets

The free checkup provided in insurance policies is not an ACA issue as it existed long before Mitt Romney first suggested the outline of what became the ACA.

The theory of wellcare makes sense as it is being "preventative" of potentially disasters which could cost insurers or the insured much more if not caught early but there's no reason insurance policies should cover the cost of an annual checkup.

Can’t do it wrote:

Runningart2004 wrote:

Over 1 million enrolled in “Obamacare” in TX.....

Alan

How many of them are subsidized? (I.e. freeloading off of the US taxpayer).

How many of them would be uninsured otherwise which means the cost of their care is passed on to US taxpayers anyway?

This aspect of the argument is more of when do you want your pocket hit? Do you want it in your insurance premium to insure those who receive a subsidy or do you want it in your insurance premium because the insurance carrier raises your premium to pay the cost of care for you which has gone up because too many have no insurance?

Free checkup became an issue when ACA made it a requirement.

I’m not a fan of the “preventative” argument, at least from a cost standpoint. The macro cost of checkup for 100% of the population exceeds the cost of treating scattered “disasters” that might have been prevented. Besides, many times preventative ends up only becoming delay of the inevitable while only bumping up the cost.

I have a bit of a fatalist attitude towards it all. Everyone dies at some point

Can do it wrote:

Can’t do it wrote:

How many of them are subsidized? (I.e. freeloading off of the US taxpayer).

How many of them would be uninsured otherwise which means the cost of their care is passed on to US taxpayers anyway?

This aspect of the argument is more of when do you want your pocket hit? Do you want it in your insurance premium to insure those who receive a subsidy or do you want it in your insurance premium because the insurance carrier raises your premium to pay the cost of care for you which has gone up because too many have no insurance?

I agree some of the cost will eventually be passed on, but that cost will be less than the cost of all of the coverage and benefits conveyed by ACA. No question that without ACA many of he uninsured will forego care, and many will get less than top-shelf care. But hey, healthcare is a commodity. I can be persuaded that some level of care is a birthright, but certainly not top shelf all the frills care

Most health insurance policies provided free checkups prior to the ACA. Premiums for the ACA were not majorly affected by the free checkup being included in policies as those same policies did not cover any further diagnostic care and treatment needed. If that's a hat your hanging on the rack as a negative against the ACA it is misplaced.

What I think should be done as a general outline is what we're seeing in part as a substitute for insurance for primary care. That is paying to specific doctors or groups of doctors a monthly fee covering primary care. I've seen these types of plans offered at $50 per month although I'm not sure the scope of coverage.

Major medical is covered by a catastrophic policy. Problem is that even the cost of a catastrophic policy such as Short term (12mos or less) plans available in many states are out of the reach of some if not many. Maybe that is where the government steps in with coverage.