How to Protect Yourself From Obamacare

[heironymouspasparagus]

I'm sorry, what exactly does Jon Stewart riffing on Hank Greenberg have to do with the ruling on the ACA?  Other than NOTHING at all?

You got it....nothing at all....we just need an occasional interlude just once in a while to provide a little lightness and relief from the intensity.


Here is today's - The End by the Door....perhaps more in keeping with the feel of this thread....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRwwUZLV-IE&index=2&list=PL0054CAD1367AFC37

[heironymouspasparagus]

Ugly truth for Affordable Care Act....at least the the RWRE.....


http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2014/10/31/key-study-on-obamacare-2015-premium-rates-is-out-and-you-wont-believe-whats-going-to-happen/

[Conan71]

Ugly truth for Affordable Care Act....at least the the RWRE.....


http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2014/10/31/key-study-on-obamacare-2015-premium-rates-is-out-and-you-wont-believe-whats-going-to-happen/

How are higher premiums and people selecting lower levels of coverage good news?  I fail to see any glee in this study.

[Hoss]

How are higher premiums and people selecting lower levels of coverage good news?  I fail to see any glee in this study.

And the premiums didn't increase pre-AACA?  At least now people aren't being disallowed insurance for pre-existing conditions.

My biggest insurance increase was in the 2008-2009 transition.  I had an increase last year.  Of exactly 1 dollar and 8 cents per pay period.

[heironymouspasparagus]

How are higher premiums and people selecting lower levels of coverage good news?  I fail to see any glee in this study.

Did you bother to read any of it?  More carriers getting on board.  Increases are averaging about 5%....as they ask, when did you ever see an increase as low as 5% year to year??

[Conan71]

Did you bother to read any of it?  More carriers getting on board.  Increases are averaging about 5%....as they ask, when did you ever see an increase as low as 5% year to year??

Absolutely I read it.  I also read some people may see increases as much as 35%, some might see decreases of 35%.  Many will choose less coverage with higher deductibles.  If I keep wrapping silk around a turd it will eventually quit looking like a turd, but it stinks just as bad.

[Conan71]

And the premiums didn't increase pre-AACA?  At least now people aren't being disallowed insurance for pre-existing conditions.

My biggest insurance increase was in the 2008-2009 transition.  I had an increase last year.  Of exactly 1 dollar and 8 cents per pay period.

There's been plenty of evidence people who were happy with their program prior to ACA lost their coverage and/or their PCP/treatment network in the midst of all this.  As well, many with pre-existing conditions don't qualify for subsidy, can't afford insurance, and therefore will now pay a penalty for not having insurance.  How is that just?

My entire insurance tab is comped by my company.  I only pay for a portion of MC's coverage.  It's a great deal, work for the company five years and they will cover 100% of the employee's cost of health insurance.  I'm not sure how much longer that will be their policy for newer hires though. 

Far as I know, our costs have been fairly well-contained the last couple of year.  Unfortunately, that's not the case for everyone.  Imagine if you were one of the people who had their coverage increase by 35% or had to lower your coverage and take a higher deductible to afford your insurance.  It's wonderful if you are on the winning end, it sucks if you got the short end of the stick.  It's unfortunate not everyone came out a winner.

[guido911]

It's wonderful if you are on the winning end, it sucks if you got the short end of the stick.  It's unfortunate not everyone came out a winner.

Obamacare was about those without insurance only. Those having insurance? Sucks to be you. That'll learn ya to be successful or work for a solid company.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Absolutely I read it.  I also read some people may see increases as much as 35%, some might see decreases of 35%.  Many will choose less coverage with higher deductibles.  If I keep wrapping silk around a turd it will eventually quit looking like a turd, but it stinks just as bad.

Well, this turd may end up being a good thing for people who depend on AT&T for insurance - they have been screwing with it for years and it just gets worse every year - 50%....100%....bigger...increases.  But that's kind of a corporate America thing, isn't it, so it's ok...the whole corporate welfare thing? 

[guido911]

A bit late, but the Supreme Court is taking up the "Horton Hears a Who" argument opposing Obamacare.

[Conan71]

The Administration is admitting enrollment is lagging as much as 4 million off the CBO estimates.  I'm starting to wonder if the CBO uses the same wonky calculator our Chamber uses to calculate economic impacts which are seldom realistic.

The Obama administration on Monday released new estimates for how many people will sign up through the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces in 2015 — and it's much lower than the 13 million projected by the Congressional Budget Office. The Obama administration now predicts anywhere between 9 million and 9.9 million people will be enrolled in marketplace coverage this coming year, down from the 13 million the CBO previously expected.

HHS also gave a  new measure of marketplace enrollment to date. The administration actually beat expectations in the first enrollment period that ended in March, with 8 million people signing up instead of the projected 6 million. But that's since declined to 7.1 million, as people have lost their insurance due to non-payment or other issues.


The CBO's latest projections come from April 2014. As you can see, the nonpartisan scorekeeper essentially expects full ramp-up in marketplace enrollment to occur 2016 — three years into the ACA coverage expansion. The CBO expects marketplace enrollment will hit 24 million in 2016, and then tick up to 25 million in 2017 and stay there.

But under the administration's new analysis, that processes could take another year or two.

One of reasons the projection is shifting downward comes from uncertainty over the number of people expected to leave employer coverage or individual health plans purchased outside the marketplaces, or exchanges. The CBO, for example, projects 7 million fewer people will have employer-based health insurance by 2016, creating a new pool of people potentially eligible for marketplace coverage. The administration says it's still not clear how dramatic the shift in employer coverage will be.

"Thus, there is considerable uncertainty that a large shift will occur in the next two years," according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services. "This contributes to an analysis that the ramp up to 25 million will take more than three years."

The administration argues the trajectory of marketplace enrollment will probably look much closer to take-up in recent government coverage expansions. It cited as a model the rise in enrollment in the Children's Health Insurance Program after its enactment in 1997.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/10/why-expectations-for-obamacare-are-falling-in-charts/

[guido911]

The Administration is admitting enrollment is lagging as much as 4 million off the CBO estimates.  I'm starting to wonder if the CBO uses the same wonky calculator our Chamber uses to calculate economic impacts which are seldom realistic.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/10/why-expectations-for-obamacare-are-falling-in-charts/

That cannot be Conan. I was told that Obamacare was working, was successful, and was meeting its enrollment quotas. People in here were gloating over it.

[guido911]

No wonder Pelosi said we needed to pass the ACA so we could see what was in it. It was intentionally written to hide information from us dumb@ssed voters and those rubes at the CBO says, one of the ACA;s architects? 

This cannot be true.

[Conan71]

That cannot be Conan. I was told that Obamacare was working, was successful, and was meeting its enrollment quotas. People in here were gloating over it.

You're right.  The Obama admin has never gotten anything wrong.  I apologize.

[guido911]

You're right.  The Obama admin has never gotten anything wrong.  I apologize.

Bush lied about Iraq though (channeling my inner dem). So Obama being wrong about Obamacare is allowable.