Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

[pioneer98]

In Louisiana, the rush to sign up for Obamacare highlights a 'long overdue' demand for health insurance

Patients burst into tears at this city’s glistening new charity hospital when they learned they could get Medicaid health insurance.

In Baton Rouge, state officials had to bring in extra workers to process the flood of applications for coverage.

And at the call center for one of Louisiana’s private Medicaid plans, operators recorded their busiest day on record.

The outpouring began in June, when Louisiana became the 31st state to offer expanded Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act, effectively guaranteeing health insurance to its residents for the first time.

In Pennsylvania, for example, nearly 10% of the more than 650,000 people who have enrolled in Medicaid since the state expanded last year have gone into treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, with three-quarters getting services in the first two months they were enrolled.

“When people get that treatment, they can keep working, stay out of the hospital, remain a part of their families’ lives,” said Pennsylvania Human Services Secretary Ted Dallas, who has overseen the Medicaid expansion. “Folks have to weigh the costs for everyone if these people didn’t have coverage.”

Dr. Sarah Candler, who worked as a primary care physician at another safety-net clinic in the city, said she cried with one of her patients who recently learned she would get the new Medicaid coverage.

“It was like I got to tell her I cured cancer,” said Candler, who said the woman had routinely postponed recommended screenings and put off filling her prescriptions because she couldn’t afford them. “It was so powerful to be able to say that I could fix at least one of the things that was making her sick.”

For Cherry Jackson, a 55-year-old New Orleans native who had been living in a homeless shelter, the Medicaid coverage has helped her get medicines she needs to control her high blood pressure and diabetes.

“Every time my doctor would give me a prescription, I couldn’t pay for it,” Jackson said. “I thank God for this program.”

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Just a bunch of takers. Losers who expect handouts and aren't willing to fight for their good health. Make Murica great again.

[Numbers]

Just a bunch of takers. Losers who expect handouts and aren't willing to fight for their good health. Make Murica great again.

Hyperbole doesn't help anything. Of course there are people saying that but it doesn't hide that there are very real problems with the ACA.

Now, I am decidedly very low income. ACA came to me at a very affordable price with a sizeable portion paid for by the government. It was a help to me. One year passed and that policy was cancelled. A similar but notably worse policy was made available for roughly double what we were paying. Still doable but stretching us very thin. The word is already out that that policy is not going to survive this year either. We will not be able to pay more. Also it is the last policy that allows us to keep our doctor. Both years they have switched my doctor to another one 40 minutes away. I've been able to wade through and get it changed back. But next year, the option to keep my doctor will most likely not exist. I like my doctor, I will not be able to keep my doctor.

At the same, my brothers who are on the lower end of Middle Class and were previously able to afford insurance have had their burden go up extremely pushing it to questionable if they will be able to continue. It bothers me that it helps me at the expense of worsening them. And even at that, it will not be helping me much longer at the current pace. Of course this is all a calculated game by politicians to shepherd us into a single payer system.

I'm just saying, lets not gloss over the fact that what we have stinks.

[IMADreamer]

Just a bunch of takers. Losers who expect handouts and aren't willing to fight for their good health. Make Murica great again.

Hyperbole doesn't help anything. Of course there are people saying that but it doesn't hide that there are very real problems with the ACA.

Now, I am decidedly very low income. ACA came to me at a very affordable price with a sizeable portion paid for by the government. It was a help to me. One year passed and that policy was cancelled. A similar but notably worse policy was made available for roughly double what we were paying. Still doable but stretching us very thin. The word is already out that that policy is not going to survive this year either. We will not be able to pay more. Also it is the last policy that allows us to keep our doctor. Both years they have switched my doctor to another one 40 minutes away. I've been able to wade through and get it changed back. But next year, the option to keep my doctor will most likely not exist. I like my doctor, I will not be able to keep my doctor.

At the same, my brothers who are on the lower end of Middle Class and were previously able to afford insurance have had their burden go up extremely pushing it to questionable if they will be able to continue. It bothers me that it helps me at the expense of worsening them. Of course this is all a calculated game by politicians to shepherd us into a single payer system.

I'm just saying, lets not gloss over the fact that what we have stinks.

It will always stink as long as the insurance companies run the show. They need destroyed. They need to not exists any more and ever again. Then it's time to go after the drug companies and finally the giant health care conglomerates. Once all of those greedy hands are out of the pie doctors can get back to being doctors and people can have affordable health care.

It just blows my mind that the system we have is accepted in our country. I really do think it would be one of the issues truly worth fighting for because people are dying because of what insurance companies and drug makers do.

[ghostrunner]

Of course this is all a calculated game by politicians to shepherd us into a single payer system.

I'm just saying, lets not gloss over the fact that what we have stinks.

I won't disagree that it stinks. I do think it's also hyperbole to say it's a calculated game though. The ACA is based on a Nixon era Republican plan. It's also built with the existing insurance industry in mind. I think some in government would like single player, but I think there are plenty who don't want to go that far. Upending the insurance industry (many thousands of jobs) is a big deal and just from a practical standpoint not something that should be done lightly or quickly. That's not even getting into politicians who might be in the pocket of that industry.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Just a bunch of takers. Losers who expect handouts and aren't willing to fight for their good health. Make Murica great again.

I'm just saying, lets not gloss over the fact that what we have stinks.

I actually agree. I am firmly in the single payer camp. ACA was a gift to the industry. And with Hildawg, that isn't going to change. We need the Bernie Bots to organize and get people elected to Congress so that things can really change.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Of course this is all a calculated game by politicians to shepherd us into a single payer system.

I'm just saying, lets not gloss over the fact that what we have stinks.

I won't disagree that it stinks. I do think it's also hyperbole to say it's a calculated game though. The ACA is based on a Nixon era Republican plan. It's also built with the existing insurance industry in mind. I think some in government would like single player, but I think there are plenty who don't want to go that far. Upending the insurance industry (many thousands of jobs) is a big deal and just from a practical standpoint not something that should be done lightly or quickly.

But, to be fair, many of those jobs would just move to the government sector from the private sector. The rest - well, like they tell us old programmers - now is the time to unleash that entrepreneurial spirit and enjoy the adventure of self-employment!

[ghostrunner]

Of course this is all a calculated game by politicians to shepherd us into a single payer system.

I'm just saying, lets not gloss over the fact that what we have stinks.

I won't disagree that it stinks. I do think it's also hyperbole to say it's a calculated game though. The ACA is based on a Nixon era Republican plan. It's also built with the existing insurance industry in mind. I think some in government would like single player, but I think there are plenty who don't want to go that far. Upending the insurance industry (many thousands of jobs) is a big deal and just from a practical standpoint not something that should be done lightly or quickly.

But, to be fair, many of those jobs would just move to the government sector from the private sector. The rest - well, like they tell us old programmers - now is the time to unleash that entrepreneurial spirit and enjoy the adventure of self-employment!

Sure, but that's still not a small thing. Indianapolis has a couple major insurance companies with a big presence here. Are those jobs staying here, moving to DC or some Federal complex in another state? Probably some smaller towns that would hit even harder.

[pioneer98]

I've heard the same thing from people who were on Obamacare as far as prices rising and coverage shrinking after the first year. Fixing the ACA definitely needs to be a priority. "Repeal and replace" isn't that realistic and begs the question: replace with what? These articles I just posted just show what an enormous need we have in this country to fix this.

[Numbers]

Just a bunch of takers. Losers who expect handouts and aren't willing to fight for their good health. Make Murica great again.

I'm just saying, lets not gloss over the fact that what we have stinks.

I actually agree. I am firmly in the single payer camp. ACA was a gift to the industry. And with Hildawg, that isn't going to change. We need the Bernie Bots to organize and get people elected to Congress so that things can really change.

Here is where I am less sure. I agree the insurance companies are awful. I also thing hospital administrations have some blame. How to solve it I don't know. I just know the government always seems to trend towards bloat and waste. I just think we are stuck in a danged if we do, danged if we don't scenario.