Ready For the Real Obamacare to be Implemented?

[theeedude]

Another doomsday prediction about Obamacare? Continue...

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Another doomsday prediction about Obamacare? Continue...

I never said anything about doomsday or Obamacare is going to fail.

I said it's hurting the middle class the most.

You know, how you guys like to say the rich don't pay enough taxes and the middle class is getting squeezed? Guess what? This is a punch to middle class balls.

 

[Jhhnn]

I never said anything about doomsday or Obamacare is going to fail.

I said it's hurting the middle class the most.

You know, how you guys like to say the rich don't pay enough taxes and the middle class is getting squeezed? Guess what? This is a punch to middle class balls.

Oh, Puh-leeze!

Meghan54 put up a link from Kaiser showing that this will affect a very small number of people, most of whom are very much upper-upper middle class executive types.

It's like the bullshit whine about people not being able to keep their old plans when 99% got to keep them.

 

[Pneumothorax]

I think a lot of it is due to the ol' "We trust the doctor, do as he says". A doctor can tell you to go get an MRI - and he doesn't have to say how much it's going to cost you. Yet the moment you agree you are on the hook for something that costs a shitload.

"Doc, my arm hurts"
"Better get an MRI on it"

I'm not saying doctors are screwed up, but they are VERY quick to tell you to get an expensive procedure when the chances of it showing anything are VERY slim.

From the a Doctor's point of view: More often than not, it's the patient DEMANDING the pointless MRI to be done. A unfortunately large number of MRI's that I've ordered were done to placate the patient. Things like chronic low back pain (I want to find out what's causing my back pain, but I don't want surgery - which is really the only reason to order a back MRI the majority of the time) and headaches ("I swear I have a brain tumor!" - with a normal neurological exam most likely not.

I've done medicine outside the USA and let me tell you, the foreigners are nowhere near as demanding or as a--holes like American patients are! Not to mention foreigner's much higher tolerance to pain.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Nothing is "explained" in that post. It's a bunch of generalizations, with a wildly inflated number (4 BILLION Americans?) thrown in.

I think you may have read that wrong.

 

[trenchfoot]

From the a Doctor's point of view: More often than not, it's the patient DEMANDING the pointless MRI to be done. A unfortunately large number of MRI's that I've ordered were done to placate the patient. Things like chronic low back pain (I want to find out what's causing my back pain, but I don't want surgery - which is really the only reason to order a back MRI the majority of the time) and headaches ("I swear I have a brain tumor!" - with a normal neurological exam most likely not.

I've done medicine outside the USA and let me tell you, the foreigners are nowhere near as demanding or as a--holes like American patients are! Not to mention foreigner's much higher tolerance to pain.

Thanks for contributing. Your input as a professional directly involved in health care is much appreciated. :thumbsup:

 

[Cozarkian]

Oh, Puh-leeze!

Meghan54 put up a link from Kaiser showing that this will affect a very small number of people, most of whom are very much upper-upper middle class executive types.

It's like the bullshit whine about people not being able to keep their old plans when 99% got to keep them.

It's not a bull shit whine when we were promised 100% of people that wanted to could keep them. Also, they passed some rule to delay the loss of additional plans. My company, for example was going to lose its policy last year but then was told there was a special rule allowing us to keep it another year. In December of this year, however, the company has to choose between a plan with higher premiums or one with lower premiums and much higher out of pocket costs.

Maybe that will only be another 1% of total policies, but don't be a lying asshat and promise that won't happen. How about showing some integrity and arguing the number of plans that will be eliminated will be very small and aren't a significant concern?

 

[nickqt]

Obamacare will ruin America by 2012!

Keep on keepin' on, dunces.

 

[Jhhnn]

It's not a bull shit whine when we were promised 100% of people that wanted to could keep them. Also, they passed some rule to delay the loss of additional plans. My company, for example was going to lose its policy last year but then was told there was a special rule allowing us to keep it another year. In December of this year, however, the company has to choose between a plan with higher premiums or one with lower premiums and much higher out of pocket costs.

Maybe that will only be another 1% of total policies, but don't be a lying asshat and promise that won't happen. How about showing some integrity and arguing the number of plans that will be eliminated will be very small and aren't a significant concern?

Welcome to the 1%.

And, uhh, get over yourself. Few political promises deliver at the level of 98-99%.

 

[WackyDan]

Oh, Puh-leeze!

Meghan54 put up a link from Kaiser showing that this will affect a very small number of people, most of whom are very much upper-upper middle class executive types.

It's like the bullshit whine about people not being able to keep their old plans when 99% got to keep them.

My FSA was reduced from $5200 to $2500. That kicked us in the balls given our daughter who has high medical needs.

Thanks ACA. Fucktards passed shit without understanding they were fucking the middle class.

 

[1prophet]

Welcome to the 1%.

And, uhh, get over yourself. Few political promises deliver at the level of 98-99%.

You including pro democrat unions in that 1%?

But then again you phony liberals have been throwing unions and the middle class under the bus the last 30 years after you secured their vote.

http://www.newsmax.com/US/Obamacare-Cadillac-tax-businesses-unions/2015/04/06/id/636753/

Unions are known for offering employee-friendly benefits but they're already feeling the pinch, reports Politico.

"Employers are coming to the table asking for cuts in benefits based on their preliminary projections around the tax," Shaun O’Brien, the AFL-CIO assistant policy director for health and retirement, told Politico.

The AFL-CIO and the National Education Association (NEA), another strong union, have called for the tax to be removed from the Obamacare law.

"We continue to support the Affordable Care Act," Kim Anderson of the NEA said in the Politico report, adding, "the excise tax on high-cost plans can randomly and unfairly cause hardship to American workers and their families.

"Congress must repeal the excise tax."

The tax applies to more than actual healthcare plans, however. It encompasses flexible spending accounts and other health savings accounts, along with supplemental health plans. Politico also reports that on-site clinics companies set up for employees could also fall under the umbrella of the tax.

Dems and unions attack Obamacare 'Cadillac' tax

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/dems-and-unions-attack-obamacare-cadillac-tax/article/2570044

Democrats and unions have been steadfast in their defense of Obamacare, except for one provision: the controversial "Cadillac" tax. But will the bipartisan desire to repeal the tax be enough to get approved by President Obama?


The "Cadillac" tax got its name because it goes after very expensive healthcare plans. The tax, intended to generate revenue for Obamacare, starts in 2018, and will tax 40 percent of the value of health plans that exceed $10,200 for an individual and $27,500 for a family.

Health Care Tax Faces United Opposition From Labor and Employers

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/b...-in-opposition-to-a-health-care-tax.html?_r=0

At the paper mill in Longview, Wash., Kurt Gallow and his wife, Brenda, are worrying about his company’s proposed new health care plan, which would require workers to pay as much as $6,000 toward their families’ medical bills.


Mrs. Gallow’s diabetic condition almost certainly will mean thousands of dollars more a year for her care alone, if the new plan is put in place, which may happen as early as next year.


“Some of the people with health problems will definitely pay more,” said Mr. Gallow, who is president of the local unit of the Association of Western Pulp & Paper Workers.


The union is now in heated negotiations with the mill’s owner, KapStone Paper and Packaging, over benefits, among other issues. The couple and many other employees have been enrolled in a popular Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization, which charged just $25 for a doctor’s visit.


But that may change by January. Pointing to the looming new tax on high cost insurance plans imposed under the federal health care law, KapStone wants to replace its existing policies with plans that could prove far more expensive for workers and their families. By doing so, the company would save almost $3 million in additional taxes in just the first two and a half years.

​

 

[Jhhnn]

My FSA was reduced from $5200 to $2500. That kicked us in the balls given our daughter who has high medical needs.

Thanks ACA. Fucktards passed shit without understanding they were fucking the middle class.

Really? Let's do some math. You have to pay taxes on $2700/yr that you didn't previously. If you income is anywhere in the bottom 90%, <~$120K, you probably don't pay 12% in federal taxes. At 12%, that's $324/year.

That's supposed to be a ball breaker?

 

[Nebor]

From the a Doctor's point of view: More often than not, it's the patient DEMANDING the pointless MRI to be done. A unfortunately large number of MRI's that I've ordered were done to placate the patient. Things like chronic low back pain (I want to find out what's causing my back pain, but I don't want surgery - which is really the only reason to order a back MRI the majority of the time) and headaches ("I swear I have a brain tumor!" - with a normal neurological exam most likely not.

I've done medicine outside the USA and let me tell you, the foreigners are nowhere near as demanding or as a--holes like American patients are! Not to mention foreigner's much higher tolerance to pain.

"I have chronic lower back pain!"
"You need to lose weight. Lower back pain is a common issue in overweight patients."
"You're fat-shaming me!!!!"

 

[dmcowen674]

Want to explain why MRI's are substantially more expensive here than almost anywhere else on the Planet or does America have the only MRI machines & operators?

debi and I both had to get an MRI after Motorcycle crash.

It was $23,000 for each MRI and not covered by Insurance since the ambulance brought us to Hospital not in network.

Total bill was $63,500 and all not covered by Insurance.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

debi and I both had to get an MRI after Motorcycle crash.

It was $23,000 for each MRI and not covered by Insurance since the ambulance brought us to Hospital not in network.

Total bill was $63,500 and all not covered by Insurance.

Glad you are well.
According to Glenn you should be happy the bill was that high because it funds medical research and keeps you from spending it on valueless consumables.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Ready For the Real Obamacare to be Implemented?

Oooooh! Are we finally getting Death Panels!?!

 

[glenn1]

Glad you are well.
According to Glenn you should be happy the bill was that high because it funds medical research and keeps you from spending it on valueless consumables.

Only a dumbass would prefer the days when people spent less on medical care because they spent almost all their money on basic necessities. Increased spending on discretionary goods like non-emergency medical care, travel, leisure activities are all positive things because it means technology has reduced the relative cost of staple goods. Not long ago a refrigerator cost $X,000 in constant dollars and you couldn't get an MRI for any price, now the same fridge is a fraction of $x and the savings gets plowed into an MRI which extends our lifespan dramatically. How could you possibly see the former situation as preferable?
Then again you'd probably want to "fix" the problem by artificially inflating the cost of non-medical goods again so our medical spending to income ratio goes down.

 

[dmcowen674]

Only a dumbass would prefer the days when people spent less on medical care because they spent almost all their money on basic necessities. Increased spending on discretionary goods like non-emergency medical care, travel, leisure activities are all positive things because it means technology has reduced the relative cost of staple goods. Not long ago a refrigerator cost $X,000 in constant dollars and you couldn't get an MRI for any price, now the same fridge is a fraction of $x and the savings gets plowed into an MRI which extends our lifespan dramatically. How could you possibly see the former situation as preferable?
Then again you'd probably want to "fix" the problem by artificially inflating the cost of non-medical goods again so our medical spending to income ratio goes down.

You honestly believe $23,000 is an acceptable price for an MRI scan?

 

[shortylickens]

After about 10 scans that machine is paid for.

They usually do 20 scans a day.

For years.

Its a big ass scam.

 

[woolfe9998]

How many of these 'I know it's working now but wait until the REAL OBAMACARE HITS' threads are there? I remember them before the initial taxes/regs went into effect, I remember them before the marketplaces went into effect, I remember them before the second year happened, I think some people said 'WAIT UNTIL 2016' recently, etc.

At this point it's just getting sad. It never ceases to baffle me how some people don't want to accept success because it came from the wrong political sports team.

Well, predicting the apocalypse is a tricky business. It's just like with libertarians and hyper-inflation or evangelicals with Revelations. Soon we'll have a healthcare apocalypse. So what if they're wrong over and over again? The predictions can always be renewed.

Trust them. They only have to get it right once, right? :biggrin:

 

[Nebor]

After about 10 scans that machine is paid for.

They usually do 20 scans a day.

For years.

Its a big ass scam.

Not really, since no one is really paying $23,000 for an MRI. Insurance companies are paying less than 10% of that I'd guess.

But yeah, they're making good money off the machines, paying "technicians" to operate them 24 hours a day in a lot of places.

Still, 25 years ago an MRI would be science fiction magic. Most people complaining about the cost of an MRI have absolutely no idea how it works, or what it really does. To me, it's like complaining about how expensive it is to put a satellite in orbit or how expensive overnight shipping at FedEx costs.

 

[Slew Foot]

You honestly believe $23,000 is an acceptable price for an MRI scan?

FWIW, Medicare's reimbursement for an MRI this year is $500. For the most part, it covers your costs of running the machine with a small amount of profit built in.

 

[dmcowen674]

Not really, since no one is really paying $23,000 for an MRI.

Insurance companies are paying less than 10% of that I'd guess.

Did you not read the part that my wife and I are paying $46,000 for 2 MRI's because not in Insurance network?

 

[JEDIYoda]

You honestly believe $23,000 is an acceptable price for an MRI scan?

I honestly believe this had nothing to do with Obamacare and more to do with you having been taken to the cleaners....

 

[JEDIYoda]

Did you not read the part that my wife and I are paying $46,000 for 2 MRI's because not in Insurance network?

<-- nothing to do with Obamacare!!