Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — Page 2

winston89 and junglered, what part of the original poster's opening statement didn't you understand?

"I'm starting this thread in hopes that we might have a civil discussion..."

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"Javero, i believe the law was always that kids of children were eligible under their parents plan till they were 21 or 25 so i would be covered."

Sue, the devil is always in the details. There's are huge difference between 21 and 25 when it comes to livelihood of young adults. Prior to ACA, the cutoff was always determined by insurers who have traditionally been regulated at the state level. At 21, I found myself no longer eligible for coverage under either of my parent's employer-sponsored insurance plans and had to pick up crappy coverage for college students with in-state residency status. Apparently, the coverage was underwritten by a local insurer that didn't want to deal with potentially competing claims from the plans of parents of the out-of-state students. This was nearly 30 yrs ago though and I do remember NC bumping up the cutoff to 25 or 26 many years later.

As as we southerners like to ask before prying, I don't mean to get all in your business but have you taken out any government-insured student loans?

ETA: Thanks for sharing, LizasHeadBand. The part that I'm stuck at is...

"CBO estimates that due to the Court’s decision, there will be less government spending on Medicaid, and even though there will be more government spending on exchange subsidies for people who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid, there will be an overall decrease in spending. It’s important to remember that this decrease in spending is because more people will lack coverage; and these numbers don’t account for the costs of uncompensated care."

To me where the rubber meets the road is offsetting the costs of uncompensated care. I wonder how the White House does outreach to undocumented workers to inform them their children who most likely are citizens are eligible for enrollment on Oct 1 versus letting Medicaid be the default. By most estimates this is not a small number. Hopefully I'm not conflating the two programs.

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Updated On: 9/27/13 at 03:07 PM

I have a question for those who are serious about having a discussion and not just name calling.

In the Act, there is a provision of minimum coverage. If your employer's insurance doesn't meet this minimum, you are required to buy from the government. Doesn't it bother you that the government decides how much insurance you need and could put this requirement up to 100% of your salary? Look at the post office. They continue to raise the price of a stamp because they can't make mail delivery work. Do you want continued health insurance premium hikes?

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I don't understand why employers don't offer good insurance. Do they not want healthy employees? Is it really easier to fire someone for being sick? I don't get it.

Lets not pretend that the problem s with the post office are recent and a result of email. The prroblem is beaurocracy and government workers. A good portion are lazy unmotivated and have no fear of getting fired. They get away with stuff no private company workers could.. all you need to do is go to your local post office to see the government in action. Or to your local subway station and check out the rude otherwise unemployable token booth workers.I do not want these slackers having anything to do with my health.

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Updated On: 9/27/13 at 05:10 PM

"Do you want continued health insurance premium hikes?"

I see what you're getting at but couldn't imagine any qualified ACA plan being a better deal than employer-provided coverage which for many Americans is tax free. That's my take on it now but if scores of currently uninsured young adults don't enroll I anticipate funding shortages on the back-end. Like wars, entitlement programs have to be funded somehow no matter how altruistic the goal.

I also don't mean to single out undocumented workers but that particular class prompts me to put aside my Libertarian leanings and fully embrace ACA, Goth. Many of their children are not eligible for coverage under the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) which is federally funded and state managed and mainly benefits families who's income exceeds the threshold for Medicaid eligibility. So, the default for them most often is Medicaid which is problematic for many states on several levels, especially TX and AZ. Many states lump CHIP and Medicaid in the same basket for service delivery.

I argue that we need all children in the nation vaccinated and properly cared for regardless of their parents' status. It's a public health issue. IMHO it's a bit misguided for some to think that they are unaffected by the plight of the disadvantaged by cloistering themselves in suburbia or gated communities. I get that the TX GOP has taken a principled stand but public safety trumps ideology in my mind.

Check out the article at the jump whenever you can, Goth.


Texas has the highest rate of uninsured people of any state in the country, but top state officials have refused tens of billions of dollars offered by the federal government to expand Medicaid.

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Updated On: 9/27/13 at 05:19 PM

PS "Your premiums will go up and that's Obamacare's fault" is an AWESOME argument! My first health insurance was $34 a month in 1986. It never went up at all (SARCASM ALERT!)

sue,

What does government do right, at the local, state, federal or any other level?

And what service(s) currently provided by a governmental agency could best be delivered by a private entity?

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"Since Congress doesn't participate in this plan, they have no reason to keep it low."

Goth, that's not altogether accurate. Members of Congress and their staff members get a subsidy to allow them to obtain the best coverage available on the exchanges. Your assertion has been fact checked by numerous parties including CNN at the jump. And it was the GOP that outsmarted itself by adding language to the original bill requiring members of Congress to get off the public dole and onto the exchanges for health insurance. After realizing the error of their ways, the saner GOP partisans appealed for a special concession from the POTUS which he granted for a number of reasons.
Fact Check: Congress, staff are exempt from Obamacare

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Javero I would say fedex and the like proves the mail can be delivered better privately

I think the govt does certsin things well like building highways, damns public transportation and space xploration (well except manned space. Thank goodness for our friends in Russia or we would be grounded lol) and other public stuff. And of course the military.

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I think we're going to see a huge decline in medical research. Most of the recent advances in medicine have been from private research. When the government starts trying to take that over you can kiss any further advances in medicine goodbye.

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Why would private medical research drop off? There are going to be more insured and hence more customers for any device or procedure or medicine discovered. Right?

What federal subsidies does the USPS receive?

Updated On: 9/27/13 at 06:28 PM