Bottom line: Obamacare really is for the 99%

[ProSense]

Bottom line: Obamacare really is for the 99%

by nyceve

The right wing, led by the moral reprobates at Freedom Works are determined to sabotage enrollment in the Affordable Care Act. They are targeting 18- 34 year olds, the cohort most critical to the success of the ACA.

Fox News, we are being told in an excellent diary by Jon Perr is, as usual, substituting lies and distortion for fact.

As President Obama said yesterday at his news conference, there are 53 days left before the Health Insurance Exchanges open on October 1st. I'm reminding today myself why progressives, that means you and I, must organize to fight any effort to defund, destroy or otherwise tamper with Obamacare. The ACA is light years away from perfection, but it's what we have--today. It will assist many good, hard working Americans who are in desperate need of help

Powerful unions like National Nurses United and other progressive organizations are going to beat the drum--loudly, and remind Americans that those politicians who seek to defund Obamacare are the people who give themselves the best healthcare.

If you listen to these videos which I made during my visits to Free Health Clinics in 2009 during the height of the healthcare fight, it seems to me, you come to only one conclusion, Obamacare is for the 99%.

The people here describe the barbaric depravity of American healthcare that we hope and expect will go away come January 1st. It is sobering to listen to these fine people describe the toxic waste dump of the pre-Obamacare U.S. healthcare system.

Most of all, we hope that more people like Karen Black will not die because they don't have funds for treatment.

Keith needs a leg, with insurance, he will get it.

Keith who needed a prosthesis when I met him in Little Rock in 2009 could not get one because he didn't even qualify for Medicaid. Now, hopefully he will either qualify for Medicaid or receive a subsidy to purchase insurance on the Arkansas exchange.

I'll be praying for Keith on January 1st.

<...>

Frank Wood has been uninsured most of his life.

Frank Wood is uninsured and hadn't seen a doctor in over six years. He needed medication for a skin condition which cost $60 a tube. Now, he too will either qualify for Medicaid or a subsidy.

Let's pray for Frank on January 1st

<...>

Cindy Howell has probably filed for medical bankruptcy by now.

Cindy Howell describes going deeply into debt to continue paying for her BC/BS insurance in Texas. She says her policy doesn't even pay for preventive services. Well now, thanks to Obamacare, insurers will be required to pay for preventive care like mammograms and colonoscopy, well child care with no cost sharing.

<...>

One of the more positive sounding admonitions from health care reform opponents was that the United States had "the best health care in the world," so why would you mess with it? Not if you ask the 50 million uninsured, and the rest of us inadequately insured with high deductibles and co-pays who think long and hard before spending absurd sums for medical care.

I want to leave my uninsured brothers and sisters with something I turned up in the course of doing health care research.

Here's a tip about a company called StatLabs which provides lab testing to people in certain states (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas or Virginia) without the need to first go for an expensive medical visit. I'm sure that the reason this is only available in a few states is because in the other states, the doctor lobby effectively blocked such a sensible solution to obtaining a medical test.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/10/1229011/-Bottom-line-Obamacare-really-is-for-the-99

WebMD Launches An Online Guide To Teach Americans About Obamacare
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023419112








Note:

Kos Media, LLC Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[NYC_SKP]

2. Recommended. (nt)

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Good to see a number of groups starting to ratchet up

the informational campaign.

[Thinkingabout]

4. Thanks for your post. In the last three weeks my friend has experience in the health care in

France and the USA. She had an accident while visiting in France, she went to see an orthopedic, had x-rays, had a cast placed on her foot at a cost equivalent to $36. She arrived back in the USA.with an appointment the next day. Her Medicare should provide her a wheelchair, home health care, PT and referral to specialist. Yesterday a week after her Dr visit here she finally got the referral approved and got an appointment with orthopedic. Still no home health care or therapy. Yes our health care needs improvement. All the lines we were told was going on in Canada, UK and France, wrong, it is occurring right here in the US. I don't delude myself thinking all will be corrected with Obamacare but Obamacare is not the problem.

[Scurrilous]

5. Thanks ProSense.

K & R

[LWolf]

6. If I add other information to those videos, that is not the conclusion I come to.

I am not the 1%. Therefore, I am part of the 99%.

The ACA is not lowering my insurance premium by a cent. At least, not this October. I got the figures just last week.

I could get a lower rate through the exchanges, it's true, but...

my employer pays for most of my premium. They won't pay through the exchange, so if I did that, I'd have a HIGHER monthly cost than I do now.

Of course, if my employer could get insurance for the same rates as the exchange offers, They could pay 100% of a premium for a better policy, save money, and give me a raise. That's not happening, though.

My current policy as of this coming October has a $1500 deductible, 20% copay on everything, and costs three times what I could get on the exchange. It costs about the same as my youngest son pays for his mortgage, taxes, and insurance on his home.

By this October, when the deductible is again $1500 for the year, I won't be done paying the $1,000 plus I needed in care from the previous year, because I simply don't make enough money to pay it down faster.

My older son, in another state, is uninsured. He's checked the exchange. It's cheaper than it would have been before, but it's still not affordable. It simply doesn't fit his budget unless he quits paying for part of his rent. And his rent is about half of what it would be in his area if he weren't renting from a relative.

My conclusion: Obamacare is not for the 99%. It's for some %: those whose budget allows them to pay for less expensive but still for-profit insurance, and who still have room in the budget after paying the premium to pay for actual care. Whatever that % may be.

And insurance does not guarantee care. After "affording" the premium, there are still deductibles, copays, and emergency room charges. If the premium is affordable, those may not be. Deductibles and copays will still prevent some people who actually HAVE insurance from getting care.

Obamacare might mandate insurance for the 99%, but it's not affordable for the 99%, and it doesn't mean the 99% will receive actual care.

[leftstreet]

12. +1

Your response would make a great informational OP

Most people have no idea yet how it will affect them

Survey: Most U.S. clueless about Affordable Care Act
Published: May 1, 2013 at 2:52 PM

MENLO PARK, Calif., May 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. survey on the Affordable Care Act indicates Americans are clueless about the law in general and how it will affect their family in particular.

The April tracking survey of the Kaiser Family Foundation found 42 percent were unaware the Affordable Care Act was the law of the land:

-- 12 percent said they thought the law was repealed by Congress.

-- 7 percent said they been overturned by the Supreme Court.

-- 23 percent said they don't know enough to say what the status of the law was.

Forty-nine percent said they did not have enough information about the healthcare reform law to understand how it would impact their own family.

Fifty-eight percent of the uninsured and 56 percent of low-income households -- two groups most affected by healthcare reform -- said they didn't have enough information to understand how the Affordable Care Act would affect their family.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/05/01/Survey-Most-US-clueless-about-Affordable-Care-Act/UPI-20841367434370/#ixzz2bc1BRX8e

[quakerboy]

15. A question

As to your employer not doing the exchange, thus saving both themselves and yourself money... isn't that their fault, not the ACA's? Or is there some ACA function that prevents them from taking advantage of it?

Assuming that it is their choice not to do so, They may not do it this year, but if it saves the company money, they will eventually have to switch. A competitor will switch, and either lower prices, raise profit, or offer more competitive pay. Or, in a perfect world all three. And your employer will have to follow suite, or be left behind.

[LWolf]

22. My employer.

Oregon teachers get their insurance through OEBB. It isn't a local school district thing, and school districts as large employers are required by the law to provide insurance. The exchange is for individuals and small businesses. It's not a choice for school districts.

OEBB:

http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/Pages/about_us.aspx

[quakerboy]

27. Well, I guess there wont be a competitor soon, eh

Still, as a fellow Oregon resident, I find it hard to believe that the government won't at some point try to integrate our public employe health options with the exchange, if it has the potential to save them cash. Granted, sometimes they do stupid things that cost stupid money (I-5 crossing, anyone), but they do like to find ways to squeeze public education dollars.

[LWolf]

29. The law, though,

doesn't provide the exchange to large employers: those with more than 50 employees. Even very small districts are going to have more than 50 employees.

The exchanges are there for individuals and small businesses. It's still up to large employers to buy the insurance, whether public institution or private business.

OEBB is supposed to find us the most affordable options by creating a statewide insurance pool. It's been in effect since 2007, when SB 426 passed.

My premiums have risen steadily every year, and I'm stuck on the bottom rung of the choices, which still adds up to about $900 a month.

[Ms. Toad]

16. You are aware that there are subsidies not ony for premiume -

but also that out of pocket expenses are capped for people making less than 250% of poverty, right?

[LWolf]

21. I am aware that

I'm aware that my premium will not be subsidized, that I have a $1500 deductable, that I have a 20% copay, and that that cap you speak of is $5,000.

I'm aware of the fact that, since my contract has been cut because of budget cuts, I struggle to make the mortgage every month, any savings I once had is long gone, and I hang by a thread, paycheck to paycheck. I'm aware of the fact that there is not an extra $5,000 a year in my budget; that would be an extra $417 a month in addition to the $900 a month the premium costs. I'm aware that I am not an outlier; that there are many people in my position. As a matter of fact, those with families have higher premiums, higher deductibles, and higher caps.

I am crystal clear on that, thanks.

[Ms. Toad]

25. You also mentioned your son's situation -

and you seemed to suggest that he would be paying the full co-pay and out of pocket max. It is his situation I was addressing more than your unsubsidized situation, which should have been clear from the context.

As for your personal situation - you also indicated that you had not reached your deductible this year - so I strongly suspect that you will not have to pay most of that additional $5000 in most years.

It isn't that I don't have sympathy for the higher costs some people will have to pay - but it is countered by relief that the millions like my daughter will finally be guaranteed access to health care.

The additional $417 a month you will have to pay is a hardship (primarily in the few years you actually require enough health care to burn through the cap) - and it will be a hardship for many in the middle who make too much for subsidies but not enough for the lack of subsidies not to hurt.

But without the ACA, access to health care for my daughter is completely out of reach. With insurance, her cost would be approximately $2000 every month (just for herself). Without - in a good year - $5000 a month; in a bad year $42,000 a month. (Her health care costs run from $60,000/year to $500,000/year; the only insurance available has a $5000 out of pocket cap and costs at least $1,500/month (that was the approximate cost at age 18 - it has probably gone up since the last time I checked before the student ACA provisions took effect).)

[LWolf]

28. My son...

He's 35 years old, intelligent, aware, has some health issues that need attention, and has already fully explored his options in his state, including what subsidies are available. He still will not be able to budget it and pay rent.

As for me, I don't expect to have to pay that $5,000, because I don't expect to use my insurance for anything but an emergency, which is what happened this last year. It's actually been the status quo for me since the economy crashed.

That means that I will not be seeing a doctor for 4 different health issues that affect my quality of life and probably the length of my life, as well. Because I'm still paying for the emergency, and there simply isn't any money in the budget for deductibles and copays. Barring a situation that interferes with my ability to show up at work, I won't be seeing a doctor.

As I noted already, the ACA will provide insurance that some can afford, and some of those may be able to afford to use that insurance for actual care. I'm glad it will help your daughter. Some, though, is not 99%, which is what the OP claims. There are plenty of us who still won't find insurance OR care "affordable."

And I'll suggest to you that $2000 a month, after the cost of insurance, while less than it would be otherwise, is NOT affordable.

[Ms. Toad]

31. $2000 a month, after the cost of the insurance

is not one of the options under the ACA. The (unsubsidized) silver and bronze plans are capped at $533/month ($6400/year) for an individual or double that for a family. That makes the monthly cost, after the cost of insurance, 1/4 to 1/2 of what you are apparently expecting - in years when you have extremely large health care needs (by normal standards -not the standards by which our family lives).

We currently have a $6000/family deductible at work. Our family is the only one out of 17 which even comes close to hitting it - even though it is 100% out of pocket until the cap (not the 20-30% under the bronze & silver plans). We hit it in January or February.

[onethatcares]

7. and here in sunny Florida

land of stand your ground, our legislature decided not to participate in the exchanges causing premiums to go up for everyone that has insurance already. They also turned away Medicaid expansion. There is an article about it on the front page of the Friday, 8/9/123 edition of the Tampa Bay Times.

It must have been due to the fact they pay $8.00 a month for a single legislator and $32.00 a month for a family plan.

The commercials are already starting about how bad the AHCA is going to be for us.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

9. Ya, I was looking up info...

I made a whopping $8,000 last year (professional musicians don't make much money). Putting that info into the calculator, it stated that I would pay roughly $5800/yr for insurance under the AHCA. Since I'm below the poverty level, I can't get in on the exchanges. And since FL isn't expanding Medicaid, I'm in the same boat I was in: uninsured.

FUCK YOU RICK SCOTT!

[onethatcares]

20. it's not so much

FUCK YOU RICK SCOTT as it is THE ENTIRE LEGISLATURE IN FLORIDA HAS ALLOWED ITSELF TO BE BRIBED, by the insurers (see Citizens), by the utility companies(see Duke Energy), by the phosphate industry(see Mosaic Industries).

and the list goes on and on and on.

I'm sorry about your predicament. Please feel free to use the emergency as your physician of choice.

[Rstrstx]

33. Where did you come up with $5800?

The tables I've seen suggest you shouldn't have to pay more than a couple hundred per year for the silver plan, but maybe I'm reading it wrong

[Dr Hobbitstein]

37. I was going off the top of my head when I posted this...

I was at work, and didn't have time to recheck my figures. I just rechecked:

For the Silver it's $5,532. That's for me and my 7 year old daughter. I'm using the Kaiser Foundation's Subsidy Calculator. I get no subsidies thanks to the fuckheads running my beautiful state into the ground.

[Rstrstx]

38. Crazy results with that calculator

I don't know how old you are or whether you smoke or not but plugging in your income for a 45 year old nonsmoker with one nonsmoking child did indeed come up with a very high number. But if you plug in $16,000 for your annual income your premium would be $320 per year!! Bizarre.

This is the trouble I'm having with Obamacare, there is such little information out there for low income people on how they're going to get insurance, especially those living in states that don't expand Medicaid. Perhaps that's where the Federal Exchange comes in, I don't know because of the lack of easy-to-understand information out there. They really could do a better job explaining all of this, and I'm sure (??) there has to be some provision in there that would apply to you, surely the government doesn't expect you to spend over two-thirds of your income on a health policy

[Dr Hobbitstein]

40. Ya, it's due to the poverty levels it seems...

I entered 33, nonsmoker with nonsmoking child. Seeing as I make below the poverty level, I don't get subsidized. The ACA was one of my reasons for pursuing music full time. Between what my fiance makes, and we take in from our room mate, we get by just fine. The little bit I make just helps pad here and there, or buy extras... I was looking forward to the subsidized health care.

At my level, I should fall under the expanded Medicaid, but asshole Florida said no to that. So basically, I would end up with a waiver, which I believe was still written into the ACA, but I could be mistaken. Maybe I'll go back to advertising... But it's just not as fun...

[Cha]

8. Poor gops.. they're getting inundated with Americans Loving Obamacare.

http://theobamadiary.com/

Obamacare Accounts Available Ahead Of Oct. 1 Launch

WASHINGTON (AP) — You can now open your own personal “Obamacare” account — but you’ll have to wait awhile before you can actually use it to pick a health insurance plan.

#Just eight weeks before the Oct. 1 launch of open enrollment under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law, administration officials announced Monday that the Affordable Care Act is a step closer to reality for millions of uninsured Americans.

#Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said consumers can now go online to healthcare.gov and create personal accounts by establishing a username and password.

#However, serious shopping will have to wait until sometime in September, when details on insurance plans and premiums offered in local areas will become available through the new online marketplace.

#While Monday’s announcement may sound like partial progress only, Sebelius quickly moved to put the law’s doubters on notice. “Let me be clear,” she said. “We are on target and ready to flip the switch on Oct. 1.”

there's more..
http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2013/aug/06/obamacare-accounts-available-ahead-oct-1-launch/

thanks PS

[JaneyVee]

10. K + R !

[Rex]

11. 40 failed attempts at repealing the ACA

and over 50 years of failed policy by the GOP and is it any wonder why we need to revisit and fix horrible failed policies under the Bush years? Trickle down, Voodoo free trade, right to work bullshit. Fuck Nixon and his massive insurance parasite. Shame on the GOP for wasting so many years and trillions of dollars fighting against The People.

[quakerboy]

13. Theres too much disinformation out there, with an overly complex system in the works

I'm looking forward to finding out whether it really works, on the user side, soon. As informed as I try to be, Im still not sure.

I am sure it wont be perfect, but I am starting to be hopeful that I may, for the first time in my adult life, be able to afford health insurance. The question then will the coverage I can get be worth the cost. I haven't seen anything yet that will answer that question for me. Especially since I have no idea what my income levels will look like at the point it kicks in, or in the first few years after that.

[Maedhros]

19. Affordability is key.

It's not very helpful to expand coverage if getting sick or injured still leads to bankruptcy.

[millennialmax]

14. K&R

[Rosa Luxemburg]

17. Democrats need to present the facts clearly and LOUDLY

People read some confusing article in their local paper and watch how TV media distort the facts.

If you ask people they don't know all the facts so townhall meetings would be useful. Republicans will be out in force but they will shot down in flames.

[Doctor_J]

26. No they won't

Republicans will be shot down in flames.

By whom?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

32. It up to us

If we want this system as a road to single payer we had better support it. If we don't then the republicans will privatize all healthcare (no medicare/caid).

[ProSense]

34. Yes, and they likely will

Democrats ready to embrace Obamacare for 2014
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/04/1213676/-Democrats-ready-to-embrace-Obamacare-for-nbsp-2014

How Democrats can run on Obamacare and win
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/07/1229610/-How-Democrats-can-run-on-Obamacare-and-win

[Rosa Luxemburg]

35. Good

[Warren DeMontague]

18. It's definitely an improvement to the system.

Particularly the part about guaranteed issue.

[no_gop]

23. Most people will love Obamacare in a few years.

It should be a good election tool for the Democrats. And one more silver spike through the heart of the GOP.

[arely staircase]

24. known it all along

I would love a single payer system. but we got a great reform w/Obamacare. It will be his legacy. And it is an awesome one.

[bravenak]

30. I had to tell my brother in law he was stupid recently.

He called complaining that Obama made him buy health insurance. Apparently it was costing too much. $117 a month full coverage. I laughed at him and told him to grow up. I used to pay 900 a month in 08 for me and my daughter. Once he realized he was getting a bargain he said he was going to the doctor and using his insurance since he was paying for it.
He now loves obamacare. He's bragging about how cheap his insurance is.

[Skip Intro]

36. Well, we won't have to guess how it will go much longer.

I have hope that it will go well. If it doesn't, we lose the House and Senate next year, imho.

We'll see soon enough.

[Scurrilous]

39. Kick

[mstinamotorcity2]

41. As Health care rates come down.

We see the evidence that the law is having some effect. The problem they just don't want full implementation of the law. This was a bi-partisan bill that was republican endorsed that couldn't pass the legislative body until the Black President and his liberal base rammed it through Congress.