Obamacare is all about money

[Bomboozle]

I was so bothered by the media reports about Obamacare, I read the bill. I am stunned by how much misinformation is out there! Pushing aside how Obamacare will change healthcare services, the most troubling part to this bill is how Obamacare links individual income to premium costs for those of you that don't have healthcare insurance through your employer. And even for those of you who do have healthcare through your employer, it remains to be seen how employers will respond to the added cost they will incur starting next year. Some employers have already said they will either discontinue coverage altogether or pass on the added cost to the employer. For many people, this could end up costing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more each year just for healthcare premiums.

Obamacare is about money, not affordable healthcare.

If you want to read more, search "Bomboozle" and "healthcare" to find more information.

 

[Greenbeard]

Pushing aside how Obamacare will change healthcare services, the most troubling part to this bill is how Obamacare links individual income to premium costs for those of you that don't have healthcare insurance through your employer.

Income-based financial assistance in the new marketplaces is one of the pillars of the coverage expansion in the law--it's never been a particularly obscure part of the law (for instance, see "Reach of Subsidies Is Critical Issue for Health Plan" in the NY Times way back in July 2009, just after the reform bills came out).

 

[Truthmatters]

what was happening to the price of healthcare before Obamacare?


What would the republicans have done to fix the obviously unsustainable rise in the cost of care and the LACK of care so many Americans were stuck in?


NOTHING but make it more expensive and fewer people with healthcare.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

I was so bothered by the media reports about Obamacare, I read the bill. I am stunned by how much misinformation is out there! Pushing aside how Obamacare will change healthcare services, the most troubling part to this bill is how Obamacare links individual income to premium costs for those of you that don't have healthcare insurance through your employer. And even for those of you who do have healthcare through your employer, it remains to be seen how employers will respond to the added cost they will incur starting next year. Some employers have already said they will either discontinue coverage altogether or pass on the added cost to the employer. For many people, this could end up costing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more each year just for healthcare premiums.

Obamacare is about money, not affordable healthcare.

If you want to read more, search "Bomboozle" and "healthcare" to find more information.

Wrong. Obamacare is about affordable health care, but free market and corporate capitalists are trying to squeeze every single nickle out of it. Welcome to American Capitalism

 

[Bomboozle]

The premium assistance tax credit and cost sharing subsidy will drive a wedge right down the middle class based on income. Ask anyone making $50,000 annually who lives in an urban area like San Francisco or New York how much extra they have left over each month after expenses. Yet that same person will not qualify for any financial help because their income is beyond the 400% federal poverty level range and they will end up paying hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more in healthcare premiums. And you certainly can't call that person "rich" by anyone's definition.

There is non-political objective research out there about how these credits and subsidies will end up creating disincentives for people not to earn more than is allowed to qualify for the credits. Whether you agree with the free market and American Capitalism or not, any program that penalizes people for making more than 400% of the federal poverty level is not in the best interest of the middle class and will not result in affordable healthcare.

 

[Sunshine]

I...............
Obamacare is about money, not affordable healthcare.

You just now figure that out?

 

[Dugdale_Jukes]

Obamacare is about money, not affordable healthcare.

No question corporate greed brought us Obamacare. Corporate greed almost brought us HillaryCare twenty years ago.

The most hilarious aspect for me is a filthy god damned nutball cast the vote that gave corporations their most unconstitutional triumph over flesh and blood citizens to date - and the scummy cocksucker sits on the court. That is the state of jurisprudence in America today.

Even better most of the marginally literate white trash claiming corporations are good because they provide jobs are too stupid to feel the hand in their wallets.

NOTE: nothing above should be construed by even the stupidest human cattle to be support for fake-liberal fascist bullshit. Neither major party represents me in any way that comes to mind.

 

[Bomboozle]

Sunshine, no, I didn't just figure all this out now. But I'm concerned enough, after spending hours reading the bill, the Federal Register, IRS bulletins as well as tracking guidelines the HHS has issued about the implementation of Obamacare, to talk and write about it. I am stunned at how bad the media reporting is on this and how much misinformation is out there. I might be just one person, but I also might be one of the very few who's actually read the legislation.

To Dugdale_Jukes, putting aside your colorful language, you bring up the point I'm trying to make -- the politicians from both parties don't seem to be representing the middle class here. The Democrats pushed the bill through without any bipartisan support and the Republicans can't seem to get out of their own way to offer a fix to the problem. We need to hold the politicians accountable for this, even though most of them are bought and paid for by corporations. It's what we have to work with.

I've read the Supreme Court ruling -- in my opinion, Roberts had to really stretch beyond the issue at hand to come up with that ruling.

So here's what I'm trying to say -- Obamacare will hurt, not help, the middle class economically. This is about people's money. The difference between qualifying for the tax credit and cost sharing subsidy, will easily be hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

 

[lynn63]

There is another entity that is learning to make a profit off your premiums and that is your self funded employer that only uses the health insurance company for administration. The business has enough money to pay your health claims.

If you work for a company that pays for most of your healthcare and you pay a percentage in premiums plus a high deductible, chances are if you do happen to need healthcare services- what actually gets paid by your insurance/employer are for physician fees and any testing, lab work etc will apply to your deductible.

This usually adds up to less then what was taken out of your paycheck for premiums for the total year.
Your employer is now making a profit off of your portion of premiums paid while they paid nothing out of their pocket.

Most employees will fall under this case scenario year after year. The very few that do end up in the hospital with something major are usually older workers. Employers usually have found a way to lay you off or fire you before you reach that age group when medical costs could rise.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

This FACTUAL documentary/book is not suitable for right wing Obama haters. If you want to stay stupid, do not click on these links.

You have been warned.

Money-Driven Medicine

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Money-Driven-Medicine-Reason-Health-Costs/dp/B000MGAHZU]Amazon.com: Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much: Maggie Mahar: Books[/ame]

 

[Bomboozle]

Luddly Neddite, the book and documentary you refer to underscore my point -- much of the healthcare system is broken, underregulated and needs to be fixed. Cronyism has to go, and if Obamacare had tackled that issue more people (including myself) would have supported it. But here's the problem: I'm concerned about people who will be forced to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in additional healthcare premium cost because the bill has linked healthcare with income. People that don't have employer subsidized healthcare or don't qualify for the premium assistance tax credit and cost sharing subsidy will be hit hardest, whether or not the healthcare system has been fixed. So no matter what you think about the healthcare system, this bill has put the middle class taxpayer in the position of paying hundreds of dollars more for their healthcare. Anchoring premiums with a person's income is outrageous. And single parents with children will potentially be the hardest hit: a single parent with two children earning $50,000 will qualify for the tax credit but only if that person is eligible to purchase their healthcare through an Exchange. If the single parent works for an employer, the employer only needs to offer "affordable" (9.5% of annual income) healthcare to the employee, but not the dependents, thanks to a Final Rule issued by the HHS. Instead of the single parent paying a fixed percentage of their income towards the cost of healthcare premiums for themselves and their two kids (as they would purchasing insurance through an Exchange), the single parent would now be forced to pay the premium the employer charges for the kids even if it exceeds 9.5%. And if the decide not to cover the kids, they will be hit with the "individual mandate" penalty. This example shows how Obamacare doesn't treat everyone the same because it links income with healthcare insurance.

 

[Truthmatters]

how could he tackle it with the sociopathic party trying to cut his legs out from undeneath him at every turn?


Remember these are people who just voted down something that 90% of the people wanted

 

[dblack]

how could he tackle it with the sociopathic party trying to cut his legs out from undeneath him at every turn?


Remember these are people who just voted down something that 90% of the people wanted

Well, none of the 'sociopathic party' voted for the bill anyway. So he didn't need to listen to them at all. Which makes this a pretty worthless excuse.

Wanna try another?

 

[LoudMcCloud]

Its about Death Panels too!

 

[Bomboozle]

how could he tackle it with the sociopathic party trying to cut his legs out from undeneath him at every turn?


Remember these are people who just voted down something that 90% of the people wanted

Obama's own party voted for this bill, not the Republicans. I am assuming you are referring to the recent gun vote, and I can sympathize with your outrage, but it really has no the connection to the healthcare debate. Again, my point is that Obamacare is going to directly hit many middle class people right in their pocketbook -- no matter which party you belong to, everyone will be faced with the same issue -- your income will determine how much you pay if you don't have employer subsidized healthcare, and even then, it's possible that employers will pass their cost of this bill to the employee. Either way, costs will go up, up, up and for many, come right out of their pocketbook.

 

[jasonnfree]

This FACTUAL documentary/book is not suitable for right wing Obama haters. If you want to stay stupid, do not click on these links.

You have been warned.

Money-Driven Medicine

Amazon.com: Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much: Maggie Mahar: Books

This doesn't stop Obamacare from being a piece of crap. I know people that couldn't afford health care premiums in the past that will now be stuck with the mandate penalty and they will now have less for necessities because of this.

 

[jasonnfree]

how could he tackle it with the sociopathic party trying to cut his legs out from undeneath him at every turn?


Remember these are people who just voted down something that 90% of the people wanted

90% of the people didn't want obamacare. Single payer, yes. Obama never allowed single payer or even a strong public option to be mentioned.

 

[lynn63]

Obama could not get the mandate in law without the backing of the pharm and the health insurance companies. These two are the biggest campaign fund contributors and lobbyist in government right now. The American people don't stand a chance of winning against these two evil entities.