How to Protect Yourself From Obamacare

[Conan71]

Well, no, I doubt the administration would know.  We must be talking about two different things.

The Obama Administration needs to visit the clue shop at Sears, as they appear clueless on most issues these days.

[AquaMan]

The Obama Administration needs to visit the clue shop at Sears, as they appear clueless on most issues these days.

No one visits Sears anymore, judging by the sad Christmas shopping trip I made there.

What are you talking about Townsend?

[Townsend]

What are you talking about Townsend?

Only Gaspar, Guido and Conan had commented on the thread since then.

[Hoss]

Only Gaspar, Guido and Conan had commented on the thread since then.

What's the term Gweed uses when that happens?...oh wait, that only happens when liberals do it.

[Gaspar]

So, still nothing really to add from Tweedledum and Tweedledee except snark.  Anywhoo. . .


BCBS has started itemizing the new taxes that will hit next year on people's not-so-affordable plans.

The new taxes on one customer's bill added up to $23.14 a month, or $277.68 annually, according to Kaiser Health News. It boosted the monthly premium from $322.26 to $345.40 for that individual.

The new taxes and fees include a 2 percent levy on every health plan, which is expected to net about $8 billion for the government in 2014 and increase to $14.3 billion in 2018.

There's also a $2 fee per policy that goes into a new medical-research trust fund called the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Insurers pay a 3.5 percent user fee to sell medical plans on the HealthCare.gov Web site.

ObamaCare supporters argue that federal subsidies for many low-income Americans will not only cover the taxes, but pay a big chunk of the premiums.
But ObamaCare taxes don't stop with health-plan premiums.

Americans also will pay hidden taxes, such as the 2.3 percent medical-device tax that will inflate the cost of items such as pacemakers, stents and prosthetic limbs.

Under ObamaCare, individual tax filers earning more than $200,000 and families earning more than $250,000 will pay an added 0.9 percent Medicare surtax on top of the existing 1.45 percent Medicare payroll tax. They'll also pay an extra 3.8 percent Medicare tax on unearned income, such as investment dividends, rental income and capital gains.

and meanwhile because of President Obama's landmark legislation. . .CNN is reporting that polling shows Republicans have gained a 13 point swing over Democrats in the Midterm elections.  A reversal from a strong 50% to 42% Democrat lead to a moderate 49% to 47% Republican lead and this is mostly due to female voters.  There is also quite an enthusiasm gap against Democrat voters in the midterms with only 22% saying they are enthusiastic about voting vs 36% of Republicans. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/26/cnn-poll-gop-has-edge-in-early-midterm-indicator/

Looks like Obamacare (and the other displays of ineptitude) may effectively deliver the Senate and a larger majority in the house to Republicans.  All because of the misconception that government has the power to effectively and efficiently control the price and delivery of health insurance.

Throughout forty centuries of human experience, price controls at their best have always been a miserable failure. At their worst, they have led to famine and bloodshed – to defeat and to disaster. – Irving S. Olds

[Gaspar]

Good NPR article this morning: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/27/257398910/the-number-6-says-it-all-about-the-healthcare-gov-rollout?ft=1&f=1001&utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=twitter

And finally the 4th (or 5th) shoe to drop (but who's counting):
According to Kaiser Health nearly 40% of the Bronze plans sold will require patients to pay the entire $5,000 deductible before contributing a cent to pay for doctor's visits. Most young people don't spend $5,000 a year on healthcare costs (except Sandra Fluke).  So if you do need medical care you may pay up to $5,000 cash AND your $400 - $500 a month premium without receiving a single benefit (except of course peace of mind and Hope & Change).

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/12/26/212833/low-premiums-may-mean-high-out.html

If you buy one of the less expensive insurance plans sold through the new health law's marketplaces, you may be in for a surprise: Some plans won't pay for doctor visits before you meet your annual deductible, which could be thousands of dollars.

"This could be the next shoe to drop, as people don't realize that if they're buying a bronze plan, they may have to pay $5,000 out of pocket before it contributes a penny," said Carl McDonald, senior analyst with Citi Investment Research, speaking at a conference last month in Washington.

Experts are worrying that some new enrollees will be discouraged from seeing doctors if they have to pay the full charge, rather than simply a copayment. In Miami, for example, 40 percent of bronze plans require consumers to pay the full deductible before coverage kicks in, according to an analysis by online broker eHealthinsurance.com, a private online marketplace, for Kaiser Health News. The average deductible among the examined bronze plans in Miami is $5,735.

Patients in those plans who haven't yet met their annual deductibles would have to pay the full cost of the visits, unless they were for preventive services mandated by the law. A typical office visit can run $65 to $85, while more complex visits may cost more.

[guido911]

This is just plain sad. I hope the small percentage of people that were supposedly the target of this entire mess are happy. That's what is important after all.

[Gaspar]

It has begun.
Hospital staff in Northern Virginia are turning away sick people on a frigid Thursday morning because they can't determine whether their Obamacare insurance plans are in effect.
Patients in a close-in DC suburb who think they've signed up for new insurance plans are struggling to show their December enrollments are in force, and health care administrators aren't taking their word for it.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2532869/They-no-idea-insurance-active-not-At-Virginia-hospitals-Obamacare-confusion-reigns-frustrated-patients-walk-out.html#ixzz2pLAkJ5pA
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[patric]

It has begun.
Hospital staff in Northern Virginia are turning away sick people on a frigid Thursday morning because they can't determine whether their Obamacare insurance plans are in effect.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2532869/They-no-idea-insurance-active-not-At-Virginia-hospitals-Obamacare-confusion-reigns-frustrated-patients-walk-out.html#ixzz2pLAkJ5pA

But once you read the article, they arent actually "turning away sick people" so the paper seems to be playing a shell game with the facts.

[Gaspar]

The Birth of A New Child Not Anticipated?
It seems that even the most basic of life changes was not anticipated by HealthCare.gov.  Consumers currently have no way to add a new child to their plan. Don't you think these folks would have at least sat down in a room and talked through all of the simple basic things before engaging in development?
Good thing this is only affecting the 2 million folks who have been successful in signing up.

"It's just another example of 'We'll fix that later,'" said Bob Laszewski, an industry consultant who said he's gotten complaints from several insurer clients. "This needed to be done well before January. It's sort of a fly-by-night approach."

http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-adding-baby-plan-not-easy-082827023--politics.html

[Gaspar]

But once you read the article, they arent actually "turning away sick people" so the paper seems to be playing a shell game with the facts.

They can't by law turn them away, but they can certainly bill them for the cost, and patients that think they might get a bill will likely seek care elsewhere or at least hold off until they can figure out if they have coverage.  Either way you slice it, it represents an incompetent and incomplete implementation.

[guido911]

Bwahaha.

http://nypost.com/2014/01/03/adding-a-baby-to-obamacare-plan-not-easy/

And the inevitable tweet complaining (grain of salt worthy, but still funny)..

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/01/106073-new-year-new-obamacare-headaches-angry-americans-tweet-aca-complaints/

[guido911]

[Hoss]

http://uppitywis.org/blogarticle/doh-doctor-ron-johnson-fighting-supports-obamacare

[Conan71]

http://uppitywis.org/blogarticle/doh-doctor-ron-johnson-fighting-supports-obamacare

One anecdote hardly supports the POS that Obamacare is.

My son-in-law would have been a great doctor.  He had his choice of medical schools and had a real passion for medicine.  His father, a cardiologist, is also an innovator in the cardiac field, much like Dr. Foker.  Their take is the opposite of Dr. Foker, and that's why my SIL chose a career in something construction-related.  That, after the donkey-pain of suffering and studying for the MCAT and registering a very high MCAT score.  I don't know I'd be so bold to walk away from that opportunity after that much work in pre-med and then working for a high MCAT.  To me it's telling.

He's hardly alone.  

But as I said, one anecdote isn't absolute proof whether it's a turd or a winner.  The preponderance of evidence so far, though, suggests, it's something brown, squishy, and has a slightly sulfuric odor.