I must make a confession.
I was wrong.
I admit it. I am guilty.
I’ve written about Obamacare a few times. Selfishly, shortsightedly — like the partisan propagandist that I am — all I’ve done is concentrate on the NEGATIVE stories and the BAD things about Obamacare. Duped, I suppose, by Fox News and the Koch Brothers, I only thought about the millions of people who are facing skyrocketing premiums, canceled insurance plans, and loss of employment as a direct result of Obama’s health care legislation. I even went so far as to give these people a platform to tell their stories (The Definitive Guide to How Obamacare is Destroying American Lives).
Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people emailed to tell me how they are suffering because of Obamacare. But, as many liberals have reminded me, these folks were all lying. Or they’re mistaken. They’re reading letters from their insurance companies that say things like, “we’re canceling your plan because it doesn’t fit ACA regulations” — but they’re mistaken. Just because their insurance company is explicitly informing them that they are losing their coverage because of Obamacare, that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily losing their coverage because of Obamacare. They could be misinterpreting. Or they’re delusional. Something. They must be something. Anything. Anything to explain why it appears that Obama lied. Anything other than pondering the possibility that it looks like he lied because he did, in fact, lie.
Oh! I know. I know what’s going on here: these people are agents under the employ of Sean Hannity, sent to make up stories about how their children are now uninsured due to a law that was sold as a means to make sure no child would go uninsured. They’re usurpers. Spies. Traitors. GUARDS, SEIZE THEM!
I see it now. Thank you for showing me the light, dear left wingers. I apologize. How could I have been pulled in by these fraudsters? Besides, even if their stories ARE true, what about the POSITIVE impact of Obamacare? Many folks have reached out, not with positive stories themselves per se, but insisting that there MUST be positive stories out there somewhere.
They’re right. I mean, sure, millions of Americans are being put in a bind because of this thing, but their misfortune has proven profitable for a small number of citizens and a large number of insurance executives. When will THEY get THEIR day in the Sun? When will SOMEONE talk about the GOOD things Obamacare is doing? It’s like when there’s a hurricane or a tornado or something. All of a sudden everyone is going on and on about the “victims” of the “catastrophe,” yet nobody ever discusses the GOOD aspects of natural disasters. Sure, families are driven out of their homes, but think about the positive side of that. Think about how well it works out for squatters and looters. If the news wanted to be balanced and fair, they’d report on the carnage this way: “Here we have the Smith family. Their home was rendered unlivable by the storm. But over HERE we’ve got a man named Jake. The mandatory evacuation gave him the perfect opportunity to steal the Smith’s TV. While some are kind of bummed in the aftermath of the hurricane, guys like Jake are really pretty pumped about the whole thing.”
See? That’s called “showing both sides of the story.”
So, you got your hours cut, your plan canceled, and the cost of life saving medication for your diabetic son suddenly skyrocketed? And you’re complaining about this? You unbelievable narcissist! Did you ever consider how your pain and suffering could be really helpful to some strangers across town?
I’ve had enough of this biased nonsense. It’s time that SOMEONE (besides the President of the United States, dozens of government agencies, Democrats, ABC, NBC, CBC, CNN, MSNBC, and Hollywood) put a spotlight on the benefits of Obamacare. To atone for my past malfeasance, I’ll get the ball rolling.
Here are The Three Best Things About Obamacare:
1. Obamacare ensures that no single male will ever go without maternity care again.
We’ve all heard this sort of tale a billion times. A young single guy, in college, studying hard, planning for the future, and then, one day — BOOM — everything changes. He starts to feel kind of strange. He wakes up most mornings with severe nausea. He misses his period. Finally, he goes to CVS and picks up a pregnancy test. Oh Lord, it’s positive. He’s having a baby. Young, single, pregnant, a dude — it’s the oldest story in the book. Until Obamacare, this pregnant fella would likely find that his insurance, shockingly, didn’t include maternity coverage.
But things will be different now. Under the Affordable Care Act, EVERY insurance plan for EVERY American must include the “Ten Essential Health Benefits.” One of the items on that list, thankfully, is maternity and newborn care. That means all humans, whether they be dudes, or menopausal women, or the elderly, must pay for a health plan that covers them in case they get pregnant. If their current plan doesn’t include that sort of coverage — because they’re brazenly assuming that the fact that they’re a man, or 90 years old, would somehow preclude them from ever needing it — their health insurance will be canceled. Better to have no insurance than insurance that is specific to your own needs and desires, am I right?
President Obama said at least 23 times on camera, “if you like your plan, you can keep it.” But anyone who isn’t a Tea Partying anarchist understands what he CLEARLY meant when he said that. He meant “you,” as in, the universal “you.” As in, “we.” As in, “the collective.” As in, “the government.” So, if you take the blinders off and open your mind, you’ll read it like this: “if the government likes your plan, you can keep it.” Remember, there are no individuals in Obama’s America. We are all a part of the Uniformed Collective. YOU — you, specifically — can’t necessarily purchase coverage that works for you, specifically, because it might not work for your neighbor. And then where do we end up? Everyone is just running around all over the place, buying goods and services according to their needs and wishes? That’s CHAOS. CHAOS, I tell you.
Let me give you an example of the horrors of free will and liberty. The other day I was strolling the parking lot of my apartment complex, looking for someone who could drive me to the liquor store. This guy walked by with his wife. I went up to him and asked if I could get a ride. Do you know what he said? You’ll never believe this. He said: “No, sorry, our car is only a two passenger vehicle. There’s no room for you.” Outrageous! Naturally, I shot back: “How dare you! How could you selfishly go out and buy a car that specifically fits your lifestyle? Did you consult with ME before making this decision? What about ME? What about what I want you to buy? WHAT ABOUT ME?!” Then he maced me in the face and hurried away.
Jerk. I hope he crashed.
No, I’m kidding.
But really, I hope he crashed.
2. Obamacare brings about economic justice by punishing rich people.
Obamacare isn’t making everyone happy, I admit. Plenty of rich folks are mighty upset. But those wealthy aristocrats deserve to be taken down a peg or two. This is what redistribution is all about, and, make no mistake, Obamacare is nothing but a redistributive entitlement program. This is another thing we must keep in mind when we hear the prattling from the peanut gallery about how the ACA has “hurt” them. They are the one-percenters. Here, I’ll show you.
These are a few more real stories from people who emailed to complain about Obamacare. Listen to these rich elitists whine:
From Steve:
“We are dairy famers–for us, that means our food is whole and we get one heck of a lot of exercise working 14-18 hour days, 365 days a year. Unpredictable farm prices have made us, by choice, live very frugally in order to make and save money to remain working in a business we love. We never had cell phones, cable television, or high speed internet service. I’ve had the same sofa in my living room for 20 years. We’ve never owned a new vehicle. Most of our farm equipment is used. We milk in a tie-stall barn and feed using wheelbarrows. We chose not to buy health insurance because it would have cost our family of 5 nearly $1000/mo with $5,000 per person deductible and $20% copay after that, which we would never meet
because we rarely got sick. What we chose to do was to shunt away that money instead. We squirreled away the $12,000 we would have spent in premiums over the year, plus another $5,000 we would have had to have
spent to meet one person’s deductible, to use for medical expenses. At the end of the year, we took what was left of that money and invested it for use in our children’s educations and our retirement, and
started again for the next year… Now our choice to live this way is gone. We now pay $800/mo with a $6,000 per person deductible for insurance we don’t have time to use…”
Dairy farming oligarchs, thinkin’ they can get away with not buying insurance. Sorry, ain’t happenin’. Now buy this thing you don’t want, or pay a fine. Don’t like it? Too bad, Thurston Howell.
Here’s another one from someone who wished to remain anonymous:
“This year I graduated from college, got a great job as a nurse at a wonderful hospital, bought a house, got a dog, and for the first time in 2 years got awesome affordable health insurance for me and my wife. Our premium is low, co-pays are very affordable and prescription medications that my wife needs are practical and a lot more reasonably priced.But all of that is going away. The plan I am currently on is being dissolved and replaced with a much more cut down version. Not only that but the price will go up from $112 per paycheck to $187 PLUS a $50 per paycheck premium for my wife staying on the insurance as well. Well over double what we’ve been paying. We are barely out of being considered in the “poverty level” (I’m talking by a few hundred dollars) so were considered middle class. I have 50k in student loans, a mortgage and a very small car loan. Even with all our debt and bills we can still save $600 a month. With those new health care that would cut our savings in half.”
These fat cats and their “jobs” and their “income” and their “homes” and their “dogs.” Time to pay the piper, Gordon Gekko.
Here’s one from a woman named Angie:
“My husband and I have 4 children. He is a special education teacher and a coach. I am a stay at home mom/student. We are also foster parents, licensed in the state of Washington. Our adjusted gross income last year was $58k… We are on a very, very tight budget. My husband’s insurance through his work covers himself and our 4 kids for not too bad of a rate – so far (approx $350-mo). I haven’t heard yet what the new rates for next year will be but I am bracing myself for the increase.
Unfortunately, to add me to his plan would literally cost an additional $600-$700 per month – money that we just don’t have. So, I have had insurance through Washington State’s Basic Health Plan. It provided affordable basic health (as the name implies) insurance. And because we are foster parents, we get it at an especially reduced rate. I literally pay only $17 per month. This is great for me. I am healthy, and never go to the doctor anyway other than for check ups.
Well, now, thanks to Obamacare, Basic Health is going bye-bye at the end of the year. I am now FORCED to pay $268 per month for crap, crap, CRAPPY insurance with a ginormous deductible. OR (drumroll please) pay a $95 fine for the first year. Guess which I will be choosing?
So now, not only have I lost the good, affordable insurance that I DID have, but I now get to pay a fine to NOT have insurance.”
It’s always the same group at every cocktail party: stock brokers, lawyers, corporate executives, special education teachers. And now one of THEM wants us to feel SORRY because they’re forced to go without insurance, and then pay a fine because of it? Too bad, Scrooge McDuck.
Obamacare: helping the poor and the middle class.
3. Obamacare gives people choices.
As a newly minted liberal, I love choice. We are huge fans of choice. But there’s something about choice that you need to understand: choice requires control. Choice and control go hand-in-hand, like peanut butter and jelly, or eugenics and Planned Parenthood. What happens if people are given an uncontrolled choice? Well, nothing. Nothing except CHAOSANARCHYCANNIBALISMZOMBIESDEATHDESTRUCTIONLARGESODAS. We liberals enjoy the sort of choices that you find in places like, say, prisons. I hear the super max down the street gives inmates the CHOICE of chicken or beef for dinner, and the CHOICE of getting shenked in the yard or shenked in the cell, and the choice of complying with the officer’s demands or getting tear gassed and beaten bloody. The liberal vision is to take this strategy and bring it to the masses.
So Obamacare gives you CHOICES. It gives you a choice between getting insurance you can’t afford and don’t want, or being fined; a choice between purchasing insurance that includes the Ten Essential Health Benefits, or insurance that includes the Five Essential Health Benefits plus another Five Essential Health benefits; and a choice between keeping your existing plan, or not keeping your existing plan because it was abolished by bureaucrats in DC. Choices. So many choices. Choices with a little dash of governmental control. You mix those two ingredients in a pot and you get one heck of a delicious meal.
Amen?
Amen.
See? Don’t let anyone ever tell you that there’s nothing good about Obamacare.
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What about alternatives like medishare and other non insurances that meet the requirements.
http://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/
I know they don’t cover pre-existing conditions which is why my family doesn’t use it. But I know many who have found this to be an affordable option.
Not arguing with anything stated. Just wondering what about that as an option.
I’ve been doing lots of research on Medi-Share, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. People have lots of stories about collection agencies knocking on their doors because Medi-Share would find any and all reasons why they shouldn’t have to pay a bill.
We used Medishare for a time and had some great benefits, such as the ability to talk to a doctor about something before going to my doctor or instead of needing to go. I also liked their focus on wellness, diet, etc. We didn’t have any claims. But when my husband had a problem and went in for some testing, they said if the cost ended up being over $5000 we would have to apply for financial assistance! Our income was so low, we ended up qualifying for 100% coverage through the hospital assistance plan. So we dropped Medishare. Not sure what would happen with something like that now.
We used Medi-Share for 16 years, only because as self-employed people, any other option was too expensive, and because we thought since it was a Christian organization it would be high quality. We were very disappointed in it, because of the extremely slow payment of claims that had medical providers constantly on our back, and because of the many, many hoops we had to jump through to make claims (I hear that’s a bit better now). Thankfully, my husband’s new full-time job provides regular insurance, which is such a relief.
Don’t know for sure but I don’t think Medishare is going to be allowed. Insurance now needs to cover birthcontrol and drug/alcohol rehabilitation.
That will be the first loophole closed once this red herron of the website not working is over, just saying….you really think Obama is going to allow for religious exception???
red herring….lol typo
Medishare is so bad it has been outlawed in KY.
My advice to you and everybody else: DON’T GET SICK.
Sad but true.
Unfortunately, it’s not about “getting sick” at all. That’s why people who have never had insurance (see farmer story above) because they have never needed it are in a huge dilemma now-paying for something they don’t need or want.
It’s about Obama changing our nation into a bunch of dependent zombies who have to pay or pay (not a typo) and get whatever he and his handlers feel like doling out.
(Please Google “dole” to see how well that works out.)
My husband is a teacher and I work part time to fill in the gaps. Our insurance is going up $4000 per year. My co-worker who works for minimum wage, gets food stamps, free lunch and a medical card for her kid, and claims her able bodied boy friend as a dependant will now get free healthcare. I told her “you’re welcome”.
Wow! What the hell would you have said I she didn’t have a JOB??!! She’s working, just like you!! So get off your freaking high horse snob!!
So her, by herself, should get just as much for her work (while her lazy boyfriend sits on his ass) as the original commenter and her husband get when they both work? At least one of which being a professional career. This entire “well they are working…” argument can only go so far. You receive what you work for. You can not expect to not put in as much work but receive the same as someone putting in more work.
Yes, SHE is working, but her “able bodied boy friend” is not. Claiming his as a dependent…?
I resent being called a snob for bitching about keeping “deadbeats. Yes…many of my former staff “work/ have a job”…..IE: sit on their butts playing with their cell phones cause “we can’t take them away cause we would be taking away their rights”…..LOL…but are unmarried and depend on the freebies of this biased government. You try living on my retirement of $850 with $200 taken out for taxes, Federal and State plus Medicare Part A and B. You just TRY living on $650 a month and have a mortgage and monthly bills. I still have to work part time and God forbid I should get sick….LOL.You are a jerk.!!!!!!!!!!
Turn her in. Also shame her. When did our society let go of shame? People who don’t work, who kill babies, who wage war for no reason SHOULD be shamed. The way to raise our standards is to raise our expectations.
Stop blaming Obamacare for the greedy practices of insurance companies… if your insurance company drops you because it’s not meeting ACA standards, well guess who’s fault that is.. the insurance company. It’s like these companies blaming it for having to lay off people. What a load of shit. It’s here to stay, and it’s purpose was to change how the insurance industry exploits health care. You insurance company drops your plan? Find another one that offers a good plan under the ACA, you’ll probably be happier.
and yes, whose, its, and your.. in before the grammar nazi’s..
He had a lot of foresight when he picked his name….Scott I am with you all the way!
*Nazis. Just sayin’.
It’s not the grammar, it’s the message. weak analytic skills.
The insurance company exploits people?? Insurance companies are dropping people because their policy for you does not meet ACA standards?? Well gosh darn! Who in God’s good name appointed Barrack Hussein Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid the “All Knowing Do-Gooders” who know what’s best for us all?? I happen to LOVE my medical insurance. It fits my needs, it doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg, and it covers me when I need it. Now thanks to You fucking piece of shit marxist liberals, I’m losing that, and will be faced with a $6000 annual deductable, insanely high monthly premiums (more than my frigging car, motorcycle and insurance payments COMBINED… ALL OF THIS, because you fucking assholes think you know what’s best for everyone and want to impose your will upon everyone else.. Well fuck you.. I hope when the revolution that is coming erupts, that you’re among the first to get steam rolled by the countless millions if pissed off and angry Americans that are taking their nation back!
Damn Scott this is the best post ever. I’m with you on the coming revolution. True Americans are becoming totally fed up with un-American policies. And especially with assholes such as the idiot guy.
“idiots” What a great name for him!
I’m with you!
Scott, I’d buy you a beer if I could! Well said.
AMEN! I am so standing with you as we steam roll “Idiots”!
Psst, Scott, Idiot is one of those people Obama’s ” personal PAC” hires to post things that make absolutely no sense so that thinking people end up having a stroke. He knows that Obama is telling the insurance companies what they can and can’t do. Hell, he probably knows that Obama knew it was a lie when he said “If you like your insurance, you can keep it”, he’s just making a few bucks out of keeping smarter people all riled up.
Ignore him. It’s not worth the stress. And with insurance like this, you sure don’t want to get sick.
Go man GO!!!
VOTE FOR LESS GOVERNMENT HANDS IN THE ECONOMY!!!
Scott, you hit the nail on the head. Obama can’t run the country well, what makes him think he knows anything about healthcare. He is bound and determined to destroy our country. If this was the “greatest” insurance, why did he exempt himself, Congress, and Muslims, and large corporations from it?
The voters. I know this is hard to believe but in the United States of America there are these things call elections. And people (known as Americans), who have jumped through all the hoops put in their way to get registered with the local government can then either go down to a polling place or fill out a ballot and send it in through the mail and vote!
So in 2008, a majority of people filled out their ballots and voted in President Obama. And a majority of people voted into office Democratic Senators and Representatives. Who then had a second election to determine who would be in charge of each House of Congress.
Those people then had lots of hearings, lots of discussion and a bill was written. This bill had a few barnacles on it (like the 200+ amendments proposed by other people who had won their respective elections) but eventually, after a year of screaming, yelling and hissy fit throwing by those very people who proposed all of the amendments that were attached, it was passed into law. Then the president signed it.
So that is who in God’s good name appointed President Barack Hussein Obama, Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid and current Minority Leader and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was the majority of Americans who voted for them in their respective races. They won the election. They get to decide what legislation to pass and to sign into law.
For someone who wants to have “freedom” you certainly seem to hate the actual practice of it.
The voters. I know this is hard to believe but in the United States of America there are these things call elections. And people (known as Americans), who have jumped through all the hoops put in their way to get registered with the local government can then either go down to a polling place or fill out a ballot and send it in through the mail and vote!
So in 2008, a majority of people filled out their ballots and voted in President Obama. And a majority of people voted into office Democratic Senators and Representatives. Who then had a second election to determine who would be in charge of each House of Congress.
Those people then had lots of hearings, lots of discussion and a bill was written. This bill had a few barnacles on it (like the 200+ amendments proposed by other people who had won their respective elections) but eventually, after a year of screaming, yelling and hissy fit throwing by those very people who proposed all of the amendments that were attached, it was passed into law. Then the president signed it.
So that is who in God’s good name appointed President Barack Hussein Obama, Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid and current Minority Leader and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was the majority of Americans who voted for them in their respective races. They won the election. They get to decide what legislation to pass and to sign into law.
For someone who wants to have “freedom” you certainly seem to hate the actual practice of it.
@PrincessBonBon
You make the assumption that we all believe Obam won the election legally. Him winning the second time was quite fishy, particularly in swing counties in swing states. Also, I don’t personally believe that those receiving government welfare should be allowed to vote, because they’re gonna vote based on the gimmie gimmies. You work – or have worked (retirees, stay at home parents who’s spouse works) – you vote. You mooch, you no vote. So no, I don’t believe for a second that the hard working backbone of this country elected such a god forsaken moron. .
Princess Bonbon, our founding citizens had a special designation for your definition of “freedom”.
They called it “tyranny of the majority”.
Unalienable rights – life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness – are supposed to be beyond the reach of even a majority vote. This Administration and Congress is trampling upon them like never before, because they convinced a bare majority that a self-selected elite few can solve the problems of 300 million American INDIVIDUALS – FOR them.
You are selling out your birthright for a free Band-Aid(TM). Compared to you, the biblical Esau was a shrewd negotiator.
You have a petty good name. Just slash off the s. Greedy practices of insurance companies?? You don’t find the government greedy? Especially under the Mighty O? Oh, that’s right, he found out about all this the same day we did! The insurance companies have to raise their rates because so much stuff is being crammed into these government mandated policies. If your policy isn’t exactly like the one issued by the government it is changed. Most smaller companies cannot afford to pay the premiums on these overloaded policies. They’ll pay the fines instead because it’s cheaper by far and the employees are on their own for insurance. I suppose those like you will howl about that, too. Well, they could always re-locate overseas. would you like that?
You don’t seem to understand that there are many different policies issued by insurance companies and written to fit the policyholder’s needs. With there being only a one-size-fits all universal policy this will eliminate the need for underwriters. AAMOF, a couple hundred underwriters were laid off from a Wisconsin insurance company recently.
You can rail all you want at the “greedy insurance companies” but this mess is all in the Democrats’ and Obama’s lap. Not one Republican voted for the stinkin’ crap and the insurance companies will go out of business because the government (taxpayers) will end up being the single payer insurer.
“the insurance companies will go out of business because the government (taxpayers) will end up being the single payer insurer.”
That was the intention all along. BO made it clear during his campaign in 08.
Single payer is what the Gov wants! With the debt that the Gov is in, a new income stream is needed to fend off the coming bankruptcy of this country. Social security has already been raided dry over the years. Yes I know they say the money is there, but borrowing to make it appear solvent, is not going to work for much longer.
Single payer with a heafty deduction from whatever paycheck you might get, (like your SS deductions), will appear to cover it. In reality, the Gov needs this money to continue funding themselves for the years to come. They will say it is for healthcare, but we know they will raid (borrow against it) the same as Social Security. Single payer efforts will start when the Gov convinces the masses that the insurance companies are the real culprits to higher prices and lost plans….. The Gov will then save us with single payer and take the money directly. And that was the plan all along.
And not one stinking republican even tried to offer any alternatives! What does that say about your saviors??
Yeah. @DEGregory – That’s what all the leftists are saying now… “If we could have had a single-payer system like we wanted…” But the country DIDN’T want it. That’s why it DIDN’T pass. But now, we find ourselves in the middle of a political stunt to MAKE it pass. So instead of having something that by and large people didn’t want in the first place, we have to live with the pain and difficulty this idiocy causes (astronomical premiums, unemployment, cut hours, and reduced incomes). Then all of the fallout of this will be used to leverage the social “single-payer” plan that the people didn’t want in the first place, but anything is better than the crap that we have to live with now.
Wouldn’t it have been so much easier and better in every way to just mandate that employers no longer provide healthcare and everyone just go buy their own insurance? The economy would be better because businesses would have more money to produce or invest, and the individual healthcare market would be more competitive. Oh, and everyone could pick the plan that actually meets their needs.
“idiots says:”
Yep. That about sums it up.
If Obamacare is so great, then why doesn’t OBAMA subscribe to it???
…because he’s the king of his own castle. Why would he want that crap?
It wasn’t the greedy practices of the insurance company that canceled my policy. Because we are into alternative health, eat healthy and exercise, we rarely see a doctor other than a chiropractor. We have always had at least a $1000 deductible, then about 10 years ago we changed to $5000 deductible and 2 years ago opened an HSA account and raised our deductible to $11,900. Now, it isn’t a plan that meets ACA standards, but it met my standards, a high deductible and a low premium. Now, I have a lower deductible, but a premium which is going to be at least $300 more a month. We have been pocketing the difference between a high deductible policy and the low deductible policy because we don’t go to the doctor for every little thing and now we will have to pay what we have been saving towards a policy which we likely won’t use either. It isn’t the greedy insurance companies, it is the greedy government and the greedy people who want me to subsidize their insurance.
Speaking of HSAs – the opening salvo for the ACA lowered the cap for those to $2500 and it also eliminated the eligibility for most OTC medication, thus punishing people like you and me who are responsible and save in advance for our needs, ACA apologists always forget that part – all that’s going on now is just the latest screw.
Ignoring the pre-recognized grammatical faux pas as they have already been noted – and the blatant lack of recognition of the current administrations power grabbing and manipulation of the free market (which granted, is already in tatters thanks to the Fed) – your response still fails to note that fact that the Fed has no legal authority to enforce the purchase of any material from the citizens and from the fact that having health insurance is a choice, not a mandate.
I don’t give a rat’s behind who the heck signed it or approved it in whatever court of law it was run through – the entire things is bogus and has no place in a free society. Now if we’re trying to mimic China or some socialized nation, then this is exactly the shot in the arm we need to move in that direction.
Be careful who point the finger of idiocy towards – it bites like a serpent when it comes back at you for being uniformed and attempting illegitimate validations for the atrocities of the system (and note, I didn’t specify the current administration there – while it is a severe problem and has caused a lot of direct issues itself, it’s not alone nor is it entirely responsible for that misdirection).
Exactly!
Dear idiot: In your world, people who live on mountain tops must buy flood insurance for the people living in the valley, though they have no potential risk. In your world, people who don’t own an auto must have coverage even when they don’t drive. That is one effed up kind of world. Call me the next time you get pregnant, assuming you are an idiotsmale, won’t you? Smart people who understand economics AND personal responsibility are the people getting shafted by this “load of shit”. 93 million Americans, that’s one third for you, idiot- are going to get cancellation notices and many will actually lose their jobs. But for you on the left end of the spectrum…you don’t give a shit as long as you get yours. The difference between left and right. We don’t pretend and that is ALL the left does. They don’t give a shit if the ship goes down and you’re on it. Wake the hell up.
when there is a national disaster, like fires on the west coast or hurricanes on the east coast, should people in the midwest have to pay for that?
Mr./ Ms. Idiots,
Let me explain something, when the ACA went into effect people had their insurance plans cancelled. That’s it. People had their insurance cancelled because of the ACA, the President lied when he told people they could keep their plan if they wanted to. So you can’t blame people for assigning the blame to the President. Quit thinking this President gives two-shits about giving affordable healthcare to people. He isn’t some grand humanitarian who loves peace, happiness and free-love, if you want proof simply look at his foreign policy.
You may be right about insurance companies exploiting healthcare but the way to fix that would have been for my state to allow more choices – free market & all…. ACA did nothing to help that. I don’t have any more choices and my buying power has been stipped b/c what I am left with SUCKS!!!!! I liked my old plan. I can’t have it b/c ACA changed the playing field – insurance companies HAD TO respond and it’s not for the better!
Guess what, I dont need maternity leave, I cant have babies, all my female organs have been removed, so why should I be forced to get it? Thats his rules, not my insurance rule. He forced this on us, not my insurance company. I still have my insurance, but it went up 18% through my husbands company;.And our insurance company had to increase the prices of their policies to cover all the free loader and lazies ass that wont work and live off all the people that do.. And I have to keep my insurance cuz without it just one of my pills I take a month is 1000.00 dollars, can you pull that out of your ass, I know I sure and hell cant. Lets face Obama is the worst President we have every had and always will be, and some people are to stupid to see it
I am in no way defending insurance companies. Greedy as the day is long. But, you do realize that the ACA is a deal between Mr. Barack Obama, insurance companies, and the hospital industry, right? Look it up.
Here are a couple to start with, written in 2007 by FireDogLake (a liberal publication, by the way) —
http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/12/23/senate-bill-still-leaves-health-insurance-companies-unchecked/
http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/12/24/a-big-win-for-phrma-health-insurance-companies-obama-reid-nelson-lincoln-lieberman-a-big-loss-for-the-american-people-and-the-progressive-movement/
* 2009, that is.
Insurance companies do not exploit healthcare.. Government,Healthcare facilities, individuals, providers and non-payers are the ones exploiting it. Guess how many dollars are taken from Medicare and Medicaid by providers who are submitting fraudulent claims? Guess what the reimbursement rate for Medicare/Medicaid is compared to private insurance? Do you really have any idea where most healthcare dollars are spent? Try brushing up on your facts before unloading your inaccurate shit on others.
I can only assume that you are a federal,employee,or are covered by a exempted group, that does not see the actually bi for your health care,or are just a fricken troll paid to act ]ike all of us real producers in the country dont know what we are talking about…because this law is nothing more then an extremely large tax increase on those that actually produce for a living. PERIOD..I dont care what you say,,,,I see what it is doing to my pocket book,and my future…so F you I will not get over it,,,,.
She is prob. one of those getting free health care that we are paying for and don’t have to worry about shit coming out of her pocket and has been on the Obama banwagon from day one cuz she thinks she deserves everything handed to her and don’t want to work for shit! And dont care who it hurts or effects as long as she gets hers for free. People like her is what gives the U.S.A a bad name and why the world is the way it is.
Stop blaming Obamadrive for the greedy practices of car companies… if your car company won’t sell you a $15K Fiesta because it’s not meeting BMW standards, well guess whose fault that is. The car company. It’s like these companies’ blaming the requirement to buy $50K BMWs for their having to lay off people. What a load. This requirement is here to stay, and its purpose was to change how the car industry exploits drivers with their cheap cars. Your car company won’t sell you a $15K Fiesta? Find another one that offers a $50K BMW under Obamadrive, you’ll probably be happier. (Or, in the words of an earlier monarch: Let ’em eat cake!)
The problem with this argument is that there isn’t an affordable option. People are being dropped not because they are greedy but because ACA standards are ridiculous. Forcing people to carry coverage they do not need or want. It is just another way this administration is trying to control the “unwashed masses” (insert sarcasm here)…bringing us that much closer to a socialist form of government.
I truly believe this plan was meant to fail from the beginning to move to a single payer option sooner. Why else would the legislators tell us the bill must be passed so we can find out what is in it rather than reading it first! Wake up America this is not the way our founding fathers and mothers envisioned this nation.
Tina I agree totally. After WW2, the Chinese people were starving. They gladly accepted communism just so they could eat. The grand plan is socialized medicine, one payer system. We will be so frantic with our healthcare system, with the high costs imposed on the middle class that government will offer a solution, and we will grab it. That’s the grand plan.
As far as the “Givers and Takers” the Bible says (don’t shut me out … Listen. ) Christ said ” help man carry his burden, but every man must carry his own load.” We are to help those who need help (burden) but man is to take responsibility for his survival (load). If you live in a flood plain, buy flood insurance. If you live in California, buy earthquake insurance. That’s “carrying your load”. You get pregnant, buy insurance that covers it. Also, “you don’t work, you don’t eat.” That’s Scripture, too.
I am 60 years old. I am carrying my load. I don’t have the resources to carry another’s load. I went through hard times. But I never expected anyone else to take of me. I struggled, fed my kids on $30 a week. It really chaps my a** that some people won’t take responsibility for their lives.
LOL…you certainly are deluded. You just wait till you try to get medical care AND retirement…LOL. Good luck sucker.
You Are AN IDIOT AND TOTALLY DELUDED.
I literally laughed out loud when I got to Number 1 on you list. This is another GREAT post! Thank you, keep it up!
I would really be pleased by the removal of this post. I feel it is vague enough to be taken as a triple-entendre.
bwahahahaha!
Evidently my joke was too unsubtle…
Hope the 51%ers enjoy their Free Stuff that they voted for. Rubes…
Matt–you have PERFECTED the art of SARCASM! Man, I swear, this post is EPIC. Bravo. 🙂
Love it Matt. Please don’t ever really go over to the dark side. I think I would have to throw my computer against the wall, and I really can’t afford a new computer.
This is awesome. Much remains to be said regarding this fiasco, unfortunately. Keep up the good work!
This was so much fun to read, and sort of scary too….BOO! It is 10/31, you know.
Love it! Sad part is, it’s so true. So many people getting their letters, premiums going up….
Had enough of that Hope and Change yet?
Yeah I have Medi-share and it’s great! Plus there is some exemption clause in ACA that says I don’t have to get insurance or pay the fine because of my membership. 🙂 I definitely recommend it as an option!
My wife and I are freelance illustrators. After I lost my full time job with insurance and started doing freelance full time, we were planning on buying insurance through an illustration guild that we are members of. But thanks to the dear leader, that will no longer be an option. Get on the over priced government plan or pay a fine.
My husband finally qualified for an early retirement this year at his company (33 years working there plus his age, 56). We crunched the numbers and were pretty excited that we might be able to swing it. But then we found out his company is dropping all insurance for retirees in a year because of our wonderful Prez, and if we had to pay for ACA insurance on his retirement benefits (which would have been semi-decent), we’d only have about $150 a month left to live on after the payments. We have no debt, our house is almost paid off, cars are paid off, etc., so it’s not like we’d be spending money elsewhere. So retirement is a no-go, especially with three teens still living at home. His company is also talking about dropping insurance for current employees in 2015 because of the ACA, so even if he’s still working, we’re screwed.
It would be interesting to see the actual numbers here. What do you call “semi-decent”? You can get a decent insurance plan for max 600 a month if you are making 100K, which in no way leaves you with only 150 dollars a month if your home is almost paid off, etc. If you are making less, you are probably eligible for subsidies (especially with 3 teens at home). For instance, even with an income of $75K in Washington State, you are eligible for almost a complete subsidy. There is an insurance calculator on HealthCare.gov which tells you all this.
WOW … Where do you work? I know very FEW people, or couples for that matter, that make $100K a year!!
I guess you aren’t aware that calculator isn’t giving the right numbers. A lot of people think they are getting a deal on insurance only to find out it wasn’t what they thought it was. Also, if you currently have employer based insurance, there is little chance you can get insurance cheaper on healthcare.gov. If your employer has a policy which is considered affordable and has meets minimum value, you can’t get insurane through marketplace. https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-i-have-job-based-health-insurance/
Woohoo! Well said, Matt!
Let’s see. Pay for overpriced crappy insurance or pay the fine. Or don’t pay the fine, go to jail and have FREE healthcare, free housing, free clothes, free food and free cable. This administration is turning the outside world here into such a hell hole, prison is starting to look like a vacation–especially with the roadside cavity searches in front of everyone driving down the highway, arresting 14 year old children at the beach with their mom for “looking at you in a demeaning manner”, cops teaching our children to be afraid in schools by planting drugs on a fifth grader and then blaming the kid when their drug dog bites the child. This place has become China. Screw it.
Here’s a few facts of life that enrages liberals to know exists:
1. While not all insurance companies are entirely fair or cheap, the reason is often not because the company is evil and greedy, like most liberals want to think. The reason is because an insurance company is a BUSINESS. And, to quote the fact that liberals hate more than anything else in the whole, wide world and would eliminate if they could, a business is out to make money/turn a profit. Now, I know how much liberals would love it if people opened contracting businesses to build houses for fun or drilled oil wells just to give everyone complimentary tanks of gasoline or opened bars just to give everyone free drinks…but the fact of the matter is (listen carefully) if you want to keep your business open and pay the salaries of your employees, at some point you will have to MAKE MONEY, as disgusting, barbaric, heartless, evil, and depraved as you may think that is. And, in fact, that is how businesses improve in how they treat people over time. “We did A this year, and the customers weren’t happy and went to our competitors, costing us money. We will have to do B, C, or D this year if we want to make that money back and stay in business.”
2. Have any of you ever seen “The Shawshank Redemption”? How was the Warden able to extort all of that money? Simple. He made the inmates construction laborers. They didn’t cost anything. He didn’t have to pay them a salary. So he could do the same job any of the local contractors could do for a fraction of the price, meaning he could always out-compete any private business. Hence…they had to start bribing him in order to do business in town. Now…I am not necessarily implying that companies will have to start bribing the US Government to do business (at least, not any more than they do already), but I AM asking you to look again at the previous case. This is how a governmental branch views the same problem: “We did A this year, and the citizens weren’t happy and went to our competitors, costing us money. Oh well…we’ll just tax more to make up for the difference.” The government does not have to “turn a profit”. They collect taxes, which are always set. Therefore, this is no drive to make anything more efficient or cheaper or effective from the part of the people who are actually subjected to it. And because it can undercut everyone, private businesses can’t compete and go under, and eventually everyone has to get on Obamacare. And when that happens…it won’t really matter if it’s cheaper or more expensive…you’re stuck with it anyway.
Well, we’ve got until 2014 and then my wife, who is a school teacher, will have to buy her own insurance because she won’t be able to stay on my family plan. That means we will BOTH have to buy insurance plans (I have kids from a previous marriage and so does she) and we’ll BOTH have to pay for our children’s insurance. So that means we will be paying DOUBLE what we were the year before. THANKS OBAMA and THANKS LEFTIES! Families are being totally screwed over in the U.S. and no one gives two craps about it… Boo.
I fell for it! But deep inside
I knew better after only reading a few of your blogs. YOU ARE DA BOMB Matt Walsh.
So far my eye care has been eliminated and everything else is being “negotiated” I’m telling you the slippery slide is going to happen, millions are going to say f%$$ it and go to system, get fake divorces, work under the table etc… what ever it takes to get care for their families because they can no longer afford it. You are no longer free America.
Single payer is what the Gov wants! With the debt that the Gov is in, a new income stream is needed to fend off the coming bankruptcy of this country. Social security has already been raided dry over the years. Yes I know they say the money is there, but borrowing to make it appear solvent, is not going to work for much longer.
Single payer with a heafty deduction from whatever paycheck you might get, (like your SS deductions), will appear to cover it. In reality, the Gov needs this money to continue funding themselves for the years to come. They will say it is for healthcare, but we know they will raid (borrow against it) the same as Social Security. Single payer efforts will start when the Gov convinces the masses that the insurance companies are the real culprits to higher prices and lost plans….. The Gov will then save us with single payer and take the money directly. And that was the plan all along
Thank you for this, Matt! Finally! Now I know who it is that my family and I are helping, now that I have lost my job along with our insurance that I was pretty happy with, and yes, the hospital that let me go (and 30 other people) was very clear that this was all due to increased cost due to Obamacare. My husband works a full time job and part time for himself, both of which do not provide insurance. I find it interesting that the one benefit of Obamacare that I could understand was that people with preexisting conditions were now able to get insurance. Well……I am now one of those people with a “preexisting condition”, as if pregnancy was a disease. We have 4 children and I am 6 months pregnant, looking at losing our current insurance when I am 8 months pregnant. I looked at our options under the Affordable Care Act, which all were around $1,000 month premium with a $12,000 deductible. Laughably unaffordable. After putting our information into this website, I started receiving a lot of phone calls from insurance companies, so I started talking with them about their options. The first one told me “I have to be honest with you, it would be better if you could find an alternate option for you until through the pregnancy, and sign up your husband and 4 children. Then after the baby is born, you can add you and the baby on the family plan. You will have a much more reasonable rate.”. The “alternate option” is that without my income, I now qualify for the Medicaid for pregnant women. No, we are not rich people. Another insurance agent came right out and said, after being told that I was pregnant, “Ahhhh, well we can’t cover you, then.”. It really grates to have to think about accepting Medicaid, especially when we had good insurance that I was WORKING for, but not sure what any other option would be right now. In my opinion, the whole Affordable Health Care Act has been a disaster.
I get my news from a lot of alternative sources. And there is a general consensus among certain folks that people who are signing on to their
“affordable”/subsidized care do not know what they bought. Many of these plans have limited networks for hospitals and doctors. And, like all these types of plans, If you go out of network, you are responsible for the bill. I believe that “we ain’t seen nothing yet” — that’s going to happen when all these happy folks go for treatment after the new year,
You nailed it, Sandy. I just have to laugh when liberals come on here and say “Just go to the exchange and get a better plan at a lower price!” Except that they don’t look at the deductible (outrageous) and they have NO clue what “out of network” really means. Here in Georgia, I’ve read reports that the exchange plans will not be accepted by the major hospital groups (Emory, Piedmont, and Wellstar). I have no idea where these folks will actually USE those plans, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it will be at the low cost, “affordable” clinics that they used to be directed to under Medicaid anyway. And… I’ve read that the hospitals that have had a “charity fund” set up to cover the uninsured will be penalized for that; so now, if you opt to pay the fine and then have to go to the E.R., who knows what will happen? Gah. Two of our favorite doctors retired Sept. 30, unwilling to deal with this mess, so even getting IN to see a doctor is going to be a challenge. Thank you, Barack Hussein Obama.
Interesting what 20 years can change. What’s that you ask? Oh, 20 years ago, the GOP offered the idea of insurance exchanges for people to buy their insurance from- you know, like the Aca does now! This was in response to the proposed hillarycare- see, they even had a derogatory name for it back then too! Difference is, that this time, they wouldn’t even offer up any alternatives, just let Obama run with the same idea they had 20 years ago. And y’all are just ripping on the democraps? I didn’t like this idea 20 years ago, and I don’t like it today either, but dammit, somebody come up with something different! And before you go off on your “my insurance didn’t need any changing before this, it was fine” tangent, realize that not everyone was in the same boat. I could not get anyone to insure just my wife and I due to a pre-existing condition, so she HAD to keep a job that provided insurance(I’m self employed), and they were always trying to cut costs by reducing hours and availability of insurance LONG before the Aca was proposed!
Well said!
I think you missed one Matt. The reality is that the DEMS never intended O-Care to actually work. It was, in fact, simply a test platform to see just how many lies they could tell and get away with. I would judge the test to be a rousing success, the Democrats now have full license to lie lie lie and still stay in office. Hats off to them, brilliant.
So what happens when you folks with little or no insurance get very sick…heaven forbid…say with cancer. How would you expect to pay for that with the $15,000 you have in your HSA? So maybe you don’t end up paying or you go bankrupt and the heath care provider never gets paid. What do you think happens then? The provider jacks his rates to compensate…so in essence the rest of us end up paying for your negligence. To me responsible people get screwed either way. This issue is very complicated and I’m not sure anyone knows what the best answer is. I can only speak to my specific scenario, but my insurance rates and medical expenses have increased drastically in the last 6-8 years so it doesn’t appear that the status quo is the answer.
Ha, didn’t see your post before I wrote something very similar. The fact so many people are blind to a self-selection problem is kind of amazing. I don’t necessarily love the solution we have being implemented right now, but there is a very real problem that needs to be solved. It appears people view insurance as almost a huge subsidy, but they only want it when they need it. It would be awesome if I could pay a very low amount every month to get a far greater benefit, but, sadly, the private insurance companies aren’t charities.
Health Savings Accounts are routinely paired with High Deductible Health Plans.
With HDHPs, once you meet the deductible, they pay for everything (that is, all qualified expenses), which makes the purpose of the HSA to pay for routine expenses and minor illnesses and injuries, and to meet the deductible, should you ever have a catastrophic illness or injury.
HDHPs are, in fact, the only thing in this whole …snafu… that actually meet the definition of insurance. Any other plan is just a cost-sharing mechanism.
My employer provided an insurance brochure that listed various scenarios that the costs incurred, premium-and-expense-wise, of having an HDHP vs a PPO (the kind of health plan that pays for routine expenses with copays and coinsurance and such). In every single scenario, the HDHP cost less while making the same medical care available.
The difference was dramatic enough, that one of the other employees asked “Why would anyone choose the PPO instead of the HDHP?” The answer? If one of the people covered on the plan were taking expensive.maintenance medications, such that they met the yearly out-of-pocket cap within the first half of the year.
What do you mean by little insurance? I have a policy which has a deductible of $11,900, but after that, it pays 100% for most of the care. I have been paying premiums for 20 years and never had a claim, so my premiums have always been going to pay for others care. Now, I can’t keep my policy which is exactly what I wanted.
The ACA makes this problem worse. By allowing anyone to sign up for insurance, having never been previously been insured, someone can pay the $95 fine to forgo insurance this year, get diagnosed with cancer next year and then sign up for insurance no questions asked about their pre-existing condition. It’s like buying car insurance after you drive your car into the ditch.
Heads up! Liberals and Progressives alike. Does not this Obamacare fiasco (or miracle….depending upon your outlook) gently remind you of something we suffered nigh those five long years ago. I think it was called a Housing Crisis. Anyway…as I remember the details….Banks were FORCED by the government to make loans to people who did not qualify. Those people became homeowners and were happy. The Banks sold those loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That made the Banks happy. Then Fannie and Freddie sold the loans to investment companies. That made Fannie and Freddie (and a lot of government folks) happy. Then Fannie and Freddie sold those loans to investment companies. That made Fannie and Freddie happy. Then some of those happy homeowners could not make their payments and lost their homes and became unhappy. But those danged investment companies were tied into the big banks….so when the chickens came home to roost (sorry Reverend) the big banks got slammed. Now lets fast forward to insurance. The companies are being forced to provide policies that they otherwise would not sell, to customers who cannot afford to pay for them. So when the customers choose to pay the fine instead of the premium….because CHOICE is really big with liberals, WHO is going to pay for all of those nifty 26 year olds, those newly minted 100 or so Obamacare enrollees, and those millions of people with pre-existing conditions? These are HUGE companies, they are private companies with shareholders and investors. If the profits of these companies start to go south…and they will….what are we going to call it? The “Worst Recession since the Worst Recession since the Great Depression”.(WRWRGD or WRII). You can Choose to like Obamacare if you choose to do so….however, the piper must be paid. So lets all get in line……But wait…..didn’t Obama tell us he was going to fund the law WITHOUT any taxes?
At first I thought you were being sarcastic. Banks were forced by the government to make loans to people who didn’t qualify? Please elaborate (good luck by the way).
See the Community Reinvestment Act…late 1970’s under President Carter. See ACORN and the CRA. See the Housing and Urban Development Agency, late 1990’s under President Clinton and Andrew Cuomo. See the book “Architects of Ruin”. This is not a Democrat/Republican issue. This is a taxpayer issue.
I don’t have time to go through all of them, but the CRA doesn’t “force” banks to make high risk loans. It seeks to ensure that borrowers aren’t discriminated against. The housing bubble was largely fueled by greedy banks thinking they could fuel profits by leveraging up, providing loans they shouldn’t otherwise provide and then selling them (ok, HUGE oversimplification).The banks got greedy, and they did some pretty stupid / shady things. A better argument would be student loans—-now there is a situation where the government is enabling people who have absolutely zero business taking on such massive debt for the sake of going to college. I am all for people getting an education, but not everyone has the ability to take on 100k in loans, earn a philosophy degree and then realistically ever pay it back. It’s sad that people borrow so blindly and then are saddled with that debt for the rest of their lives (it’s next to impossible to get rid of student aid, even via bankruptcy, etc.) Thanks for the sources though—managed to learn a little something in the process. I appreciate a good back and forth.
The only problem is the republicans won’t mass together and vote this crap out ! Additionally last time, they ran a “we hope if we get elected that the CEO’s will provide jobs ( maybe ???)”, which was seen as an empty promise by most middle class republicans. The demon-crates at least take care of their own when they buy votes. The repubs……not so much.
If a person wants to sign up for Obamacare they can. But the government should not require a person to get health insurance or have someone lose their existing coverage because it does not comply to stupid regulations. Insurance companies try to make money just like everyone else does. They are not all evil.
Matt, I’m a selfish marxist shithead bigoted worthless wealth-stealing liberal. Thus far, I haven’t agreed with you on everything you’re written about, but I’ve really appreciated the respect with which you’ve written. You’ve lost that today, and you’ve lost me as a follower. Many of us selfish marxist shithead bigoted worthless wealth-stealing liberals are genuinely trying to help create the best society we can, the best America possible. If you are also genuinely trying to make a positive change, please recognize that. This kind of post will get you nowhere.
If you are trying to help, I would switch sides. You are buying into big govt. my friend and that helps no one gain freedoms and choice. Wake up.
I think the blogger has figured out that the more outlandish and sensational his blogs are, the more views he gets. I liked this blog better before it warranted a “thank you” for the millions of views and the bigger things to come. Well constructed arguments have given way to long, crazy rants. For every one of those letters talking about how they don’t want insurance, we aren’t seeing what happens when those “healthy” people get sick. Guess who pays for those massive bills? I’ll give you a hint—it isn’t typically the uninsured person. I love the concept of the self-insured dairy farmer—-but when that farmer gets cancer, do you think their $17k savings is going to foot the bill? Where is the other few hundred thousand coming from? We have an extremely inefficient/fat healthcare industry–payors and providers–and a grossly underinsured population who thinks because they haven’t gotten sick before they won’t get sick in the future. Obamacare may suck. It sure looks pretty terrible at the outset, but serious change is needed. I would be fine with people opting out of paying for mandated health insurance if they would sign a waiver indicating they accept they will not be given medical care if they cannot pay for it. Let’s see how many people want to put themselves and their family in jeopardy of being denied health care without the safety net. And then let’s hold them to it.
If you’d bothered to read the dairy farmer scenario carefully, you would find that that $17,000 is the “budget for medical expenses” per year, with anything unused invested for the future.
If necessary, those investments could be cashed out to pay catastrophic medical expenses. Given the rate of return on that much money invested yearly, there is no danger of the dairy farmer leaving his medical bills unpaid.
The point is that this “healthcare” bill penalizes those who save and invest and plan wisely, making it impossible for them to do what is best for their own families, all the while subsidizing the fecklessness of the rest of the population.
No, I read it. Then, at the end of the year, they take whatever they didn’t spend and put it towards their kid’s education or retirement. Essentially, they then start over the next year for medical expenses. You are kidding yourself if you think that that fund alone will allow them to cover a battle with cancer, no matter what the rate of return is. It’s a big fun game as long as they don’t get sick, where they look really smart. I would be absolutely fine if they wanted to do this provided they would sign a waiver that said they would not take any medical care they couldn’t pay for. It’s a reckless way to “insure” and only works if a major illness doesn’t occur. Oh, and then if it DOES occur, under the previous system they would likely no longer be able to actually get medical insurance because it would be a pre-existing condition.
My insurance, the plan I love has gone up$98 a month and the copays are an additional $15& $20 and my deductible had TRIPLED. Oh yes and I have no choice but to have my husband dropped because he is now employed. Forget that his insurance plan is double the cost. Thank you Obama care for allowing me to keep the plan I love.
Beautifully said. 🙂 Thanks for a laugh!
Lovely. Thanks for yet another informative post.
I know one person whose payments are going down. She actually doesn’t really like Obamacare as a general policy, but she is happy about the smaller payments. So there are people who do benefit. For the vast majority, though, payments are going up.
Yes, I have been reading about those who are happy because their insurance is going to cost less. Who cares about those who are going to have to pay higher premiums? Who cares if some people are losing their insurance plan which they have been happy with for years? Who cares if companies are firing people to get below the cap? Who cares if people’s hours are getting cut so they can’t be considered full time employees? Who cares if the only doctor under your network is 100 miles away? Who cares if the hospital in your network is 60 miles away? But I am so happy because my premium is lower. Yippee.
Kay .. I love it.. and yes WHO CARES? wish we could just wipe out the total bunch of political hypocrites and start with a Government for the PEOPLE.. now it is all the mighty dollar and the vote.. weather or not if the votes are legit or not Who cares indeed.. maybe we should all break the law and end up in prison so we get the best of the best and let the rest pay for it.. only thing is .. who will be left? but WHO cares?
Remember when Nancy Pelosi said,” We have to pass it, to find out what’s in it.”
Isn’t that the definition of a stool sample? Maybe that would have been a more appropriate name for the bill.
Exactly!
Remember that TV show called “Scare Tactics”? Yep that is exactly what the author is attempting to accomplish here. It is so easy to criticize and belittle policy without ever offering a viable alternative or solution.
For the amount of money expended, the taxes collected and the fines which will be assessed, the premiums could have been paid for a Cadillac policy for all those who didn’t have it. Problem with a viable alternative is that a certain part of Congress wouldn’t have even considered it. They had their agenda and nothing was going to stop them, even voting for something which they themselves admitted they hadn’t read.
I’m not talking about Congress, I am referring to the author of this piece. What is his plan to help the 30 million who are uninsured? What are his suggestions for healthcare reform? He is like a fan at a sporting event who criticizes the officiating but would never ever put the stripes on himself.
roberob69, with all the politeness a typewritten reply can convey, your argument doesn’t make sense. It’s not this author’s job to come up with a plan. He’s stating what’s happening, and we can research the facts to see if he’s correct or not. If it were his job, he’d be employed by the government, working on passing bills into law. That’s as illogical as people who think all the pro-life people should adopt if they want the pro-choice people to not have abortions. It’s a common logic fallacy you’re trying to use which has nothing to do with the crisis we’re in.
datmama4 my response makes perfect sense. Supplying misinformation to scare people is a dangerous tactic. Sitting on the sidelines and criticizing helps no one but his ego. There are more than 600k uninsured in his home state alone yet he continues to disparage a law with insults and name calling.
Reading all your comments and realizing what a HEADACHE it must be to research affordable insurance in the US… and how unbelievably expensive it is, makes me so very thankful to live in Canada. I often hear how Americans hate ‘socialized’ medicine.. but never understood why. Any explanations??
Because BILLIONS of dollars are spent per year via false advertising and blatant propaganda mislabeled as “news” to keep people in the dark. Also, people here are so goddamn stupid it makes you want to cry.
No … because MILLIONS of us think that outsourcing our personal responsibility and personal initiative to an elite few in Washington DC, when it comes to highly-personal issues like health care, is not a smart thing to do.
If you want to bow down to the Cult of the Credentialed and Connected Omniscient, knock yourself out … for that is EXACTLY what you are advocating here. But don’t expect us to drink the Kool-Aid with you, let alone adopt Caesarcare as The One and Only True Way.
BTW … Progressive governance is UNSUSTAINABLE, for sooner or later, not only do you run out of other peoples’ money, you run out of people that will knock themselves out for someone else’s definition of the “greater good”.
That’s another reason to not outsource control of your healthcare to your government … one of many …
https://www.facebook.com/notes/ritchie-the-riveter/outsourcing-is-the-problem-but-not-the-way-you-might-think/416571378389947
*They’re reading letters from their insurance companies that say things like, “we’re canceling your plan because it doesn’t fit ACA regulations” *
In other words, your $50-a-month plan with the $100 copay and the $10,000 deductible is illegal now because it’s JUNK INSURANCE that never should have been allowed to have been sold in the first place.
More like, “We understand that you have no ovaries, but under the new ACA requirements, it is now illegal for us to offer you a plan that excludes maternity and prenatal care. Your program would have been grandfathered, but due to a $5 increase in your copay 2 years ago, we are forced to void your existing policy to comply with the law.”
One has to be a new degree of daft to equate customization with “junk”… gimmie a friggin break.
Who made you … or Mr. Obama … omniscient?
This is all by design. Barry wants to make health insurance hurt so bad that replacing it with a single payer system looks good. I hate to say it but I don’t think the middle class will ever have it as good as we once did. They want us all equally poor….
What is wrong with a single payer system?
Waiting lines, for one thing. I read an article (sorry, can’t remember the source), but an Eastern European family’s baby girl had a massive earache….waiting time to see a doctor was three weeks. They ended up sneaking her in after hours and paying the doctor under the table to see their baby.
@Dianne… No system is perfect… and perhaps the story of the Eastern European family is true, but is most likely the exception which is hyped-up. The Canadian system has its inconveniences, to be sure. However, I have never had to worry about not being covered for something in the ‘fine print’ of a healthplan, nor of being dropped. I have never had to worry about losing my job and then losing my insurance. I have never worried about not being able to find an insurer because of a pre-exisiting condition. Co-pays and deductibles… what are they??? They don’t exist here! Navigating the hundreds of private companies and their complicated plans… never had to do that either. Finally, having to pay monthly premiums that would truly make me and my family POOR… never! I have needed to consult a doctor or specialist NUMEROUS times in the last 10 years (and I’m in good health)… each time, I received good treatment in a reasonable time period. Never receiving a bill in the mail, never having to hand over a penny… I think our system is darn near perfect!! This is why I don’t understand why Americans are against a one-payer system.
We love Samaritan’s Ministries! We are EXEMPT from Obama- “care”.
My family cant afford $400 a month for insurance offered through work, and dont qualify for assistance because it is offered through work and apparently 30k a year for a family of 3 with a 3 year old is too much to get any help. Our options are to pay it or go without it until obamacare came, we’ve been without it for a long time, and happy to finally have AFFORDABLE options, or any option for that matter.
Some of the posts on this forum make me sick, im sorry but your fkin extremist republicans need to take a reality check and realize where your living and what the people REALLY want, not what you political party wants. Lower income people need to stop getting SCREWED by insurance companies, there must be regulation if this country wants to show they care about anyone except the rich.
I can sum it up. I’m a student currently. When the economy dropped out I lost my job, I took a good look around and realized I needed to go back to school for a better paying job, in this case a RNA. A job that I never would have considered in my wildest dreams back in the day. But they say it is a secure job. Currently my family has 2 children, my wife works fast food, and I’m a student and a Mr. Mom… I also have diabetes. What do you think my chances at seeing a doctor if I got sick? Or my kids? You guys biatch and moan that your insurance is getting messed up, how about the rest of us who have none? It’s not because we are lazy or stupid, some of us are working to get to were we are supposed to be. The rights philosophy is screw you guys you must be lazy, and wanting to suk the government nipple…Well it’s easy to say that when your worried about mortgage payments and not about your next meal, or if your kids have medicine. I hope you arse holes rot in hell, where you deserve to be.
I really feel for you… My husband works full-time, myself part-time, we don’t have children, and if we had to pay for health-insurance, we wouldn’t have A DIME left at the end of the month for ANYTHING!!! I honestly don’t know what I would do if I lived in the States….I’m in very good health, but have had to see the doctor and specialists countless times in the last 10 years.
I love paying several hundred dollars a month so I can have access to a system of medicine that sucks and does not work. The Medical system can’t even cure the cold or heart burn. They kill more people every year than anything else. They are the #1 cause of death. Their therapies (poison chemically synthesized drugs) don’t cure anything they cause more problems than they solve. If people would wake up and stop listening to the doctors pushing drugs and use food and nutrition to stay healthy we would be alot better off.
The marxists would have us believe that when they promise us candy bars we, are obligated to consume them, even though the bars, because of the greedy candy company’s attempt to comply with Federal mandates, are comprised entirely of feces. Mmmmm, Feces. Feces is the “law of the land.” Environmentally friendly AND delicious.
You…yes YOU have the ability to right this wrong. I believe Matt’s blog reaches a lot of younger people who swooned over Obama from the beginning, believing all of the empty promises and socialist lies. Now that the sheepskin is off the wolf, YOU have an real opportunity. Get involved now in every US congressional and senatorial seat up for vote next year. Support the candidates that will demand action to dramatically modify and even repeal that abortion of a bill that will destroy America as we know it. Remember, a few more conservative/libertarian votes in the house and a bunch more in the Senate will take the power out of dictators hands. And enough pressure on moderate democrats will seal the deal. The house or senate can pass bills, which if brought to both floors can be debated and passed, and if the little ZERO vetoes them, he can be overridden. Stop fretting about the past. Nothing we can do. Put your energy into righting a great wrong. When the young people of America see what this ACA will do to them and their future, they will dessert Obama in droves. And it is the educated, informed and determined young people with the absolute most to lose who will take to the streets and stick this bill so far up Obamas ass even Nancy Pelosi’s nose won’t be able to get it out. You know you can do it. Just DO IT!
What is sad is in Utah we got rid of a senator who lied to us every election and continually voted for bills which took our freedoms away, We elected a senator who promised to uphold the Constitution and the press is crucifying him and saying he isn’t voting how the people wanted him to vote. He is voting how we want him to, but not how the press and progressive want him to vote.
I understand your frustration Kay, but its a lot easier to rally a recall vote on a city, county or state level than it is an impeachment on a national level. Never forget that we have a great governing structure in place by our founding fathers. Can you imagine how much trouble we would be in today if the Tea Party hadn’t raised holy hell in 2012 and got the house turned over to conservatives? Obama could have done a lot more damage than he has to date without any resistance. If freedom loving Americans show their strength in numbers next year and put conservatives back in charge of the Senate as well as the house, Obama will be a lame duck for the final two years of his royal reign. its our only salvation. If we don’t keep at least one of the houses, America will look completely different (like socialist Europe) by 2016.
Well said Scott. Let the Revolution begin