Do you like Obamacare?
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Do you like Obamacare?
Just wondering what people in different parts of the country are experiencing. If your plan got cancelled, did you check to see if you can get a better and/or less expensive plan with Obamacare?
MC diagnosed 2007
I pay for my own individual policy, since my husband went on Social Security/Disability and Medicare, and have seen it go up from $390 in 2007 to $618 now, so I have been hoping that the Affordable Care Act would help me. Although the website is a total bust (I never was able to log on), and my Blue Care Network policy is being cancelled (no prescription coverage), I was able to speak to a BCN rep who is helping me sign up through the marketplace for a similar policy. It will cost less than half as much per month, after my subsidy! Although my deductible is higher and my co-pays will be a bit higher, making my total out-of-pocket costs more than the old policy, it evens out after the monthly premium savings, and I'll FINALLY have prescription coverage! And if I don't go to the hospital, I'll be saving money each year. So, yes, I like "Obamacare"! I was actually hoping for Medicare for all, or universal coverage, but I'll take what I can get.
Pat
Pat
Pat C.
"Don't sweat the small stuff.
P.S. (It's all small stuff!)"
"Don't sweat the small stuff.
P.S. (It's all small stuff!)"
Leslie, I know, I should spread the word! I'm waiting until I get the final word on price and verification I've been "approved" through the marketplace.
mcnomore, my old policy was good up to a point, because it had no caps and my out-of-pocket hospital expenses were limited to $1000 per visit. But the price was getting way too high and hard to afford. My new policy will cover 70%, up to a maximum out-of-pocket cost of about $6000. (That's why I said my premium savings would balance it out…I currently spend over $7200 a year just for the premiums.)
mcnomore, my old policy was good up to a point, because it had no caps and my out-of-pocket hospital expenses were limited to $1000 per visit. But the price was getting way too high and hard to afford. My new policy will cover 70%, up to a maximum out-of-pocket cost of about $6000. (That's why I said my premium savings would balance it out…I currently spend over $7200 a year just for the premiums.)
Pat C.
"Don't sweat the small stuff.
P.S. (It's all small stuff!)"
"Don't sweat the small stuff.
P.S. (It's all small stuff!)"
Re:the ACA rollout: this change is huge Nothing big gets done perfectly from the get-go. I would have preferred us to get the US insurance companies out of the equation and go to single payer. But in the absence of that, let's all have patience. Way too many blowhards shooting off their mouths in the US media.
Suze
Agreed Suze. Completely. My wonderful cleaning lady, who works her butt off, as do her family, had no health insurance and worried continually. She comes from Ecuador, where, in spite of all the problems, she gets excellent health care for WAY less than here. When she goes home to visit her family she gets all her dentistry, eye checks, glasses, etc., etc.
Now they are covered. And she says something in her has relaxed.
Now they are covered. And she says something in her has relaxed.
Our family also pays for care ourselves because we are self employed. It costs a fortune ( a lot more then our mortgage every month). We haven't tried to get on to the web site yet and are waiting until the dust settles, but I know that it will be less for us when we finally do it. I also was for the single payer plan, but this is a step in the right direction.
Leah
Leah
Our premiums went up, as well as co-pays, ambulance and and especially hospitals.
I hear so many pushing for a system like Canada, but I have family in Canada and she has told me how long she has to wait for appointments, and the ridiculously long time it takes to be able to schedule surgery and experiences of her older friends who struggle with not getting to decide what doctor they can have. Plus the appointment times are very short and not enough time is spent to discuss problems. Actually, it can be like that here, come think of it! I wish there were an easy answer to health care, but insurance doesn't ensure Heath care . We'll have to see...
Sunny
I hear so many pushing for a system like Canada, but I have family in Canada and she has told me how long she has to wait for appointments, and the ridiculously long time it takes to be able to schedule surgery and experiences of her older friends who struggle with not getting to decide what doctor they can have. Plus the appointment times are very short and not enough time is spent to discuss problems. Actually, it can be like that here, come think of it! I wish there were an easy answer to health care, but insurance doesn't ensure Heath care . We'll have to see...
Sunny
"It is very difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. "
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
Forgot to add that I am not knocking Canada's health care! I was born in Canada. I was just saying that sometimes the grass only seems greener on the other side of the fence. I tell her about the problems and roadblocks I have run into when she says she wishes she had what we have in healthy care.
Sunny
Sunny
"It is very difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. "
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
All systems have problems because they are chronically short of money. Elective surgeries are the ones you wait for, but anything urgent is done immediately. It sucks to wait for a hip replacement, but you do get it and it is free.
I had patients who needed hip surgery at 60, but waited till 65 so that the could get it under Medicare. Not a great idea, and ended in permanent damage, but they couldn't afford it otherwise. You don't wait 5 years in Canada.
I had patients who needed hip surgery at 60, but waited till 65 so that the could get it under Medicare. Not a great idea, and ended in permanent damage, but they couldn't afford it otherwise. You don't wait 5 years in Canada.
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wmonique2
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 1048
- Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:06 am
- Location: Georgia, U.S
- Contact:
do you like obamacare?
Do you like being without insurance? Do you like having a pre-existing condition and being uninsurable?Do you like contemplating the loss of your house, going bankrupt, ending up on welfare, being in a shelter?
Because that's what the current system promises us. I have been very ill for the last 3 years (no job, no insurance) and without insurance and I can't wait for Obamacare. Those in Congress who oppose it should have their insurance taken away from them. See how they like that. They should have to pay $700 for a blood test, $3,000 a month for prescriptions that cost $100 in Canada, $50,000 for a week in a hospital and $250,000 for a bypass (because as old as they all are, they surely have had at least one bypass).
And from my point of view, it suits me fine if we do to them what the Italians did to Mussolini. Because we already live in a plutocracy which is no different than fascism.
Obama should be canonized for fighting those corrupt congressmen and for doing something. I wish he had managed to put the whole country on Medicare and saved us all from the claws of insurance companies. I would have been happy to move to Canada except that it is so bloody cold over there. It is a country that has a conscience.
So what if the system has glitches? It is a huge system connecting to other huge systems. We have zero patience in this country when it comes to things that matter. I spent hours this week trying to figure my new "Smart TV". Well, it is just as dumb as the other TVs or perhaps even dumber because it is complicated. And I haven't gotten it down pat yet. And I expect to spend even more hours on it.
Monique
Because that's what the current system promises us. I have been very ill for the last 3 years (no job, no insurance) and without insurance and I can't wait for Obamacare. Those in Congress who oppose it should have their insurance taken away from them. See how they like that. They should have to pay $700 for a blood test, $3,000 a month for prescriptions that cost $100 in Canada, $50,000 for a week in a hospital and $250,000 for a bypass (because as old as they all are, they surely have had at least one bypass).
And from my point of view, it suits me fine if we do to them what the Italians did to Mussolini. Because we already live in a plutocracy which is no different than fascism.
Obama should be canonized for fighting those corrupt congressmen and for doing something. I wish he had managed to put the whole country on Medicare and saved us all from the claws of insurance companies. I would have been happy to move to Canada except that it is so bloody cold over there. It is a country that has a conscience.
So what if the system has glitches? It is a huge system connecting to other huge systems. We have zero patience in this country when it comes to things that matter. I spent hours this week trying to figure my new "Smart TV". Well, it is just as dumb as the other TVs or perhaps even dumber because it is complicated. And I haven't gotten it down pat yet. And I expect to spend even more hours on it.
Monique
Diagnosed 2011 with LC. Currently on Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
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MaggieRedwings
- King Penguin
- Posts: 3865
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 3:16 am
- Location: SE Pennsylvania
I hesitate to not comment at all on this issue. Happy with Medicare and my supplemental Humana. People should have choices and no plan should ever be rolled out before it is fully tested. No wonder people are upset. Also, if we have to have the plan then EVERYONE should have to have it - the supreme ruler, all DC politicians, unions, etc.
Maggie
Maggie
Maggie Scarpone
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Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
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Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
There are many plans to choose from, and you pay according to the coverage you select. It is a myth that federal employees do not have the same plans. My children work for the Feds, and they pay a substantial contribution every pay period for their plan. They have a common Blue Cross Blue Shield plan. My husband's union plan is better coverage, and our contribution is less.
The media is not giving you the whole truth, and talk radio is blatantly lying. Don't fall for it.
Lori
The media is not giving you the whole truth, and talk radio is blatantly lying. Don't fall for it.
Lori