I'm sure these people would readily disagree with you: https://www.google.com/webhp?source...&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=child+saved+by+obamacare&* Perhaps if it was you or a loved one of yours on the throes of death, you might find the subject a lot less funny.
In a nation of 320,000,000 its easy to find a case that supports an argument, not matter how erroneous the argument. But I read some of the articles in your link - and you FAIL. The first case I read about was: "Stacey Lihn’s daughter Zoe was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital heart defect that required her to have her first open-heart surgery at just 15 hours old. Before the age of 5, Zoe underwent two more open-heart surgeries, and Lihn started coming to terms with a scary realization. “When we received Zoe’s diagnosis, I had coverage under my employer’s’ plan, but we had a lifetime cap on our policy,” Lihn said. “It’s very expensive. Obviously having three open heart surgeries before the age of 5, she was going to hit that lifetime cap and likely at a very young age.”" Did you catch it? Zoe received the care she needed. Her mother was worried about a lifetime cap on her current medical insurance, a problem easily solved. And in the pre-obamacare world, almost all insurance policies would cover a person with a pre-existing condition but would not cover that condition for 1 year. You should read your links next time, just being lazy and posting a quick google search is a great big FAIL.
Republicans have achieved something with Trumpcare: making Obamacare more popular than ever http://www.dailykos.com/stories/201...re-they-made-Obamacare-more-popular-than-ever There's nothing like a little buyer's remorse to make people appreciate what they already have. The total disaster that has been Trumpcare so far—the eviscerating of Medicaid, the 24 million people that will be kicked off their insurance, the massive tax breaks to the rich—has apparently made people take a second look at the law we already have, and suddenly fall in love with it. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Fifty-five percent of Americans now support the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a major turnaround from five months ago when 42% approved and 53% disapproved. This is the first time a majority of Americans have approved of the healthcare law, also known as Obamacare, since Gallup first asked about it in this format in November 2012. […] Republicans, Democrats and independents are all more likely to approve of the ACA now than in November, a few days after Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election left Republicans in control of the legislative and executive branches. Independents have led the way in this shift toward approval, increasing by 17 percentage points compared with 10-point changes for both Republicans and Democrats. When including "leaners" (independents who lean toward either the Republican or Democratic Party) in the totals for both major party groups, Democratic approval has increased by 16 points, compared with eight points for Republicans. Here's what that looks like: That makes Obamacare 20 points more popular than popular vote loser Donald Trump. And don't think moderate Republicans aren't paying attention to that while Zombie Trumpcare lives. Thank you Republicans for popularizing ACA!
She already had coverage, her baby was covered and fully treated under her existing private plan. She was not complaining about not being covered, or the bills she had to pay, or the quality of care - all of that was fine, she had no concerns with any of those items. The private healthcare system worked perfectly for her. Her concern was a made-up issue which had no impact on her. And she was a speaker at eh Democrat 2012 convention so she has a political agenda. You should learn to read.
More tears for Battle as Republicans are seeking to quietly retreat even further from their anti-ACA stance: House Republicans likely to start two-week recess without passing health-care bill House Republicans indicated Wednesday that they would leave Washington this week without passing their stalled health-care bill, spurning a spirited White House effort to revive the legislation amid a fresh round of intraparty finger-pointing. Three top GOP leaders each dialed back expectations for action before a two-week recess begins Thursday, after a late-night meeting of holdout factions led by Vice President Pence on Tuesday failed to produce a breakthrough. “We can keep working this for weeks now,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday morning, emphasizing that there was “no artificial deadline” for action. “Getting this done by tomorrow? I think that’s tough,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), a view that was echoed by Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who said it was “very unlikely” the health-care bill would be voted on this week. [Republicans try to revive health-care effort as leaders seek to temper expectations] A continuation of a meeting that began Tuesday night was not expected Wednesday as originally planned, foreclosing any chance that the GOP’s American Health Care Act might be resurrected before the Easter recess begins. However, late Wednesday, Ryan was asked to meet with Pence at the White House, with health care the primary topic, according to House GOP and White House aides. Ryan also met briefly with Trump, a Ryan aide said. “It’s alive, and we’re making progress,” Ryan said Wednesday night in an interview on NPR. But, he added, “it’s going to take a little bit of time.” The impasse reflects the ongoing inability of the GOP’s moderate and hard-right wings to reach a compromise on just how much of the Affordable Care Act, signed into law eight years ago by President Barack Obama, ought to be undone. The conflict has persisted despite the sky-high political stakes for congressional Republicans who have long promised to repeal the law, as well as President Trump’s desire to notch a victory with only a handful of legislative workdays remaining in his first 100 days in office. Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.), the chief deputy whip, said the recess could be a “cooling-off period” during which holdouts could “listen to their constituents and justify their position on this bill.” “You need people to stop, take a deep breath and think through the way to yes,” McHenry said. “Right now, the offerings have diminished votes, not increased them.” more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powe...824bbb5d748_story.html?utm_term=.204f406ba359 says one commentator: "What is wrong with these people?????? They all had 8 years to make a plan to get this done, if that was their real objective. So what the hell have they all been doing for the last 8 years?????? This should have been already drafted, years ago, both parties working together to finally do something for the people instead of their party and instead, these dummies are still up there trying to iron out a plan that nobody wants. What gives with this????????? The nasty truth about these incompetent people is that they never had a plan to do anything but scrap this whole thing and call it over. But......something happened to Ryan while he wasn't concentrating on the change. It has been 8 years! People have the plan now and they all love it. With the exception of the brain scrambled STEPFORDS who really believe that this plan was a death nail, the rest of the 20 million want this and they want it affordable. That is all they want Paul Ryan to do now but he is so hard headed and stupid, he can't catch up with what has happened since these Republicans were out there swearing they would repeal and replace or in some cases, just repeal. The awful and ugly truth about Ryan and his little band of STEPFORD Republicans in the congress is that what they really wanted was to let Obama care just fall on its face and they could cheer at the funeral. That isn't happening and now the burden is on them to give Americans a good, affordable, workable health care plan. If they don't, they will pay for it at the polls in 2018. Paul Ryan is finding out that people don't want him to replace anything about this but the cost of it. If they keep screwing around with what they have to cut out and what they have to take away, people are going to be furious. Now, Ryan is between a rock and hard place. He has to give the public what they want, not what he wants. We will see if he can actually do that." Republican anger and lack of reasoned debate causes them to lose in this matter. Meanwhile, Americans continue to thrive thanks to ACA. Thank you Mr Obama!
High-cost Alaska sits in the eye of health care reform storm by JoNel Aleccia, Kaiser Health News @CNNMoneyApril 6, 2017: 6:11 AM ET Provider's exit will leave thousands without insurance When Andy Hawk needed hernia surgery last year, his biggest worry wasn't the operation's cost but whether he'd heal in time to lead a spring bear-hunting expedition on Kodiak Island. For the first time, the self-employed gunsmith in the state with the nation's highest medical costs and most volatile insurance market had some protection. He had coverage for all but $10,000 of the $45,000 tab. "Before that, I was just damn lucky," said Hawk, 52, who joined the Affordable Care Act marketplace in 2013. Hawk was relieved last month when Republican leaders in Washington hastily withdrew a House bill to replace parts of the ACA. The legislation's failure left the health care law intact while the GOP regroups on how to address rising insurance costs. The issue is particularly acute in Alaska, the fourth most expensive state in the U.S., where a standard knee replacement may cost five times what it does in Seattle and pricey air ambulance rides are common in emergencies. Individual health insurance premiums here climbed almost 40% annually after the ACA went into effect, and high health care costs drove all but one provider, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield, out of the market in 2017. Related: In California's conservative Central Valley, millions rely on Medicaid Hawk and his girlfriend, a self-employed acupuncturist named Jennifer Jolliffe, are watching closely as state leaders grapple with preventing the law's marketplace from collapsing in Alaska. Officials are seeking a $51.6 million federal waiver to shore it up. "I just want everyone to have health insurance," said Jolliffe, who suffered a life-threatening bacterial infection in 2009 that underscored the need for coverage. Most of Alaska's more than 738,000 residents receive health coverage through employers or government programs. About 30,000 obtained it through the Medicaid expansion allowed by the ACA, and a smaller number of residents are in its insurance exchange. For the latter, rates have soared because insurers in the vast but sparsely populated state couldn't sign up enough healthy people to offset costs for those with expensive conditions such as end-stage renal disease and cancer. Premera reported that last year it paid about $67 million in claims for individual members on the Alaska exchange -- with more than $16 million going for just 20 patients. "Alaska has been quite a story over the last few years," company spokeswoman Melanie Coon said. "It's not like other states." With the market approaching collapse, Alaska tackled the problem in a novel way. Lawmakers voted last year to levy a 2.7% tax on all insurers to create a $55 million reinsurance fund that covers bills for high cost patients, stabilizing the individual market for all other customers. "The reinsurance program could be a model for others across the U.S.," said Eric Earling, a senior vice president with State of Reform, a nonpartisan health policy communication group. Related: Popular coverage for children under 26 may be health law's Achilles' heel For now, it's working. The insurer just reported that it made $20 million in Alaska's individual market last year, and instead of the expected premium increase of more than 40% for 2017, its rates rose only 7.3%. Still, premiums remain the nation's highest, $904 a month for a 40-year-old nonsmoker in Anchorage on Premera's second-lowest silver plan, which sets the benchmark for subsidy levels. Enrollment on the individual exchange took a hit, falling from about 23,000 people in 2016 to about 19,145 this year, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Some of them just could not afford it," said Lori Wing-Heier, director of the state Division of Insurance. The reinsurance fund -- approved by a Republican-dominated legislature and signed by an independent governor -- was a one-year deal designed to prevent the state's insurance market from imploding. For a longer-term solution, state officials in December submitted a waiver proposal to CMS asking that the federal government funnel $51.6 million that would have been paid for 2018 premium subsidies into the reinsurance program. It would be authorized for five years, with a renewal option. Such waivers have been encouraged by Tom Price, the new Health and Human Services Secretary, and Wing-Heier said she expects Alaska's to be approved "quite quickly" after state lawmakers tweak final language during the current legislative session. Alaska's all-Republican congressional contingent -- including Rep. Don Young and senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan -- have remained steadfastly opposed to the ACA but did not support the GOP House bill. Murkowski called it "a reckless repeal process" and vowed that she wouldn't support plans to cap federal funds for Medicaid that could endanger the newly insured. Related: Obamacare's impact on this Alaska town with only one doctor's office That was welcome news to people like Cindy Stark, 61, who runs a small sewing and embroidery business outside Anchorage and gained health insurance through Medicaid expansion. She was badly injured in horse-riding accidents in 2003 and 2008 and had struggled to pay her previous policy's $950 monthly premium and $5,000 deductible. "I have asthma and the chronic pain," she explained recently. "My medicine now keeps me on track." Back at the Anchorage gunsmith shop, where custom rifles and rebuilt shotguns line the walls beneath moose antlers and a wolverine pelt, Hawk has a similar take. The ACA isn't perfect, he said, but its insurance coverage means that he and Jolliffe can lead active Alaskan lives — hunting, fishing, skiing — without worrying about costs of a medical catastrophe. Hawk worries about President Trump's vow to let the ACA "explode" and fears that, even with a full repeal, the administration will go out of its way to undermine the law. "We don't smoke, don't drink, we're doing our part," said Hawk, who added: "I don't understand why they couldn't just fix it." These people deserve health care coverage. Thankfully, ACA has saved the day for them.
Fortune 500 beneficiaries of taxpayer financed health care (corporate welfare) love it when taxpayers pay for their free insurance.
Yes, employer-sponsored coverage already enjoyed federal consumer protections under HIPAA. It was community rated and guaranteed issue by law, and in practice generally already met the ACA's benefit and actuarial value minimums. Thus the ACA's impact on employer-based coverage was minimal. The point of the ACA was to extend those protections to the individual market, which it did. But to your point, it is absurd when people pretend the ACA was some massive upheaval to the existing insurance system--it intentionally was not.
The Republicans moving too fast on aca. I am glad .republicans like Rand Paul opposed the Bill. It is now up to Medical providers including facilities, suppliers, drug companies and physicians and surgeons; to start giving feedback and provide input on how to best fix the system. Oh yes, and Insurance Companies. The Democrats did not properly a address the problems of health insurance premiums, as promised. Why, because they failed to fully understand the real problems that were causing premiums to rise. They passed an extremely flawed law. Let's hope Republicans don't make the mistakes Democrats did only to pass law quickly.
Some states, such as Florida, had years before Obama was even President required health insurance to cover pre-existing conditions and required insurance to cover dependents past age 18 (the age was 30 for Florida). The ACA was and is a disaster. Where I work, we just got our new rates - the average company rate went up 13.7%. Since 2009, the rate has gone up 152% from $453 a month to $1145 a month. And its the exact same plan, selected by the employee benefits committee, 100% paid by the company. The company is now considering dropping healthcare completely.
What does your story have to do with the ACA? You've been arguing for a few posts now that the ACA didn't have an impact on employer-based coverage because that already exceeded the minimums the ACA put in place and ESI already offered the protections the ACA created for those who don't have employer-based coverage. That's true!
Since your insurance is provided by a non government insurance company the rate increases. have nothing to do with the ACA. The only real complaint you should have is that the ACA still allows insurance companies to charge whatever they can get away with.
The ACA drove the cost so high that people who already had good coverage are now losing it. The ACA was a huge step backwards.
Wrong. The price did not start to really increase until obamacare was passed, and the cost went through the roof over the past 4 years. And no insurance company can charge whatever they can get away with - their profit is limited. Health insurance must set premiums so that at least 80% of the premium goes to health care, no more than 20% goes to overhead and running the program. And there is your clue that obamacare has driven health care costs - not insurance but health care - through the roof. obamacare is a huge failure.
What are you saying it changed about your coverage? The benefits are richer? People enrolled in it have more protections?
Amd this will give you actual data on heath insurance cost increases. http://kff.org/report-section/health-care-costs-a-primer-2012-report/ While this doesn't include the latest numbers it certainly disproves you contention that premiums didn't increase until the ACA
The American healthcare system was broken before the ACA. Even the Republicans actually knew it. You can look at cost increases prior to the ACA, the number of uninsured, the results, or the percentage of GDP spending on healthcare. The ACA didn't fix the problem, the Republicans have no plan. Time will eventually dictate single payer as the only solution that will reverse the cost trend that have been in place for years.
That's the point - the coverage has not changed in about 15 years, and it is considered a "Cadillac plan" by the obamacare rules. Despite the great coverage, the plan is not accepted by the obamacare rules because of some bureaucratic changes in 2010 (such as the open enrollment date was moved from Jan to June), but it has been grandfathered in every year (and illegally grandfathered in by obama, and he does not have the legal authority to do that). But the point is that the plan has been constant yet prices skyrocketed since obamacare kicked in.
