Obamacare cost...

[ERCougar]

Washington State exploring the possibility of pushing part-time stake workers into ACA exchange. If they do it, every other state and local muni will follow suit.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20130424/DA5RP7302.html

My favorite line of the article:



LOL. Counter to the intent? What is the intent? That everyone wouldn't try to save as much money as possible? Who didn't predict workers getting hours cut? My state is at the front of that. 29 hour work weeks, but you get Obamacare. Congrats.

Lol indeed.
My niece is getting a lesson in this. She's been working at McDonald's through the school year and would like to up to full time hours, but is now finding it difficult to even get half time hours. No one is getting the hours they want because McD's responded to ACA by hiring a whole bunch of workers and making sure no one is ever close to full time. I wonder how much of the reported drop in unemployment merely reflects a whole bunch of part time workers (maybe they don't count--I don't know). But yeah--everyone knew that was exactly what businesses would do.

[Eddie]

Lol indeed.
My niece is getting a lesson in this. She's been working at McDonald's through the school year and would like to up to full time hours, but is now finding it difficult to even get half time hours. No one is getting the hours they want because McD's responded to ACA by hiring a whole bunch of workers and making sure no one is ever close to full time. I wonder how much of the reported drop in unemployment merely reflects a whole bunch of part time workers (maybe they don't count--I don't know). But yeah--everyone knew that was exactly what businesses would do.

My son is a lifeguard at a local rec center. He came home from work last night talking about frustrations coming from the head guards. A lot of them are college students who are working to pay their way through college. All were expecting to pick up extra hours through the summer. All have been told that no one will work more than 25 hours a week going forward. So a bunch of the college students are now looking for second jobs, and not finding any that will allow them to work enough hours to earn what they need to bank for next school year.

[Eddie]

Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said...

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/0...#ixzz2RVsRQUcK

[The_Douger]

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/0...#ixzz2RVsRQUcK

See, that hypocritical stuff drives me nuts.

"Do as I say, not as I do."

[Eddie]

See, that hypocritical stuff drives me nuts.

"Do as I say, not as I do."

I think it's hilarious that they think it might be a financial burden for staff members. What - it won't be a financial burden for anyone else? Just legislative staff? Really?

They're concerned about staffers quitting and going elsewhere. They shouldn't worry. I think staffers will take the financial cost of Obamacare over reducing their hours to p/t and getting less pay elsewhere.

[The_Douger]

I think it's hilarious that they think it might be a financial burden for staff members. What - it won't be a financial burden for anyone else? Just legislative staff? Really?

They're concerned about staffers quitting and going elsewhere. They shouldn't worry. I think staffers will take the financial cost of Obamacare over reducing their hours to p/t and getting less pay elsewhere.

My sister is having some of the problems you guys have been seeing as well. She's 20, needs money for school, and can't get enough hours. Now she's working two part time jobs at around 50 hours per week.

I'm sure this is how dear leader intended people to live with their new insurance.

[Uncle Ted]

Don't worry... The lawmakers have a fix for Obamacare (for themselves):

Lawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption

Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.

The talks — which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers — are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said.

[...]

The problem stems from whether members and aides set to enter the exchanges would have their health insurance premiums subsidized by their employer — in this case, the federal government. If not, aides and lawmakers in both parties fear that staffers — especially low-paid junior aides — could be hit with thousands of dollars in new health care costs, prompting them to seek jobs elsewhere. Older, more senior staffers could also retire or jump to the private sector rather than face a big financial penalty.

Plus, lawmakers — especially those with long careers in public service and smaller bank accounts — are also concerned about the hit to their own wallets.


[...]

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said if OPM decides that the federal government doesn’t pick up “the 75 percent that they have been, then put yourself in the position of a lot of entry-level staff people who make $25,000 a year, and all of a sudden, they have a $7,000 a year health care tab? That would be devastating.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/0...des-90610.html

Well, if they can't give themselves an exemption then they could always just make congress and their aides part-time employees.

Edit: Oops... Just saw that eddie had posted this link.

[ERCougar]

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/0...#ixzz2RVsRQUcK

Wow. Seriously....wow. Does it get any more brazen?

[CardiacCoug]

The ACA is a great example -- the more the government meddles in the economy the more it screws it up. The invisible hand of Adam Smith is a helluva lot smarter and more efficient than the most well thought out law (not that the ACA was well thought out.)

[calicoug]

Last year when it was signed, it was penned at $900 Billion.

Today...CBO says the actual cost will be $1.8 Trillion.

This is my beef with the whole program. Not that I don't want people to have healthcare, because my own mother is somewhat uninsurable.

But the price has doubled in 1 year, and they haven't even done anything with it yet.

This is where I have a problem with the program.

It hasn't actually doubled. Here is a good article describing this very issue:

http://www.newrepublic.com/blog/jona...uble-price-fox

[calicoug]

Don't worry... The lawmakers have a fix for Obamacare (for themselves):


http://www.politico.com/story/2013/0...des-90610.html

Well, if they can't give themselves an exemption then they could always just make congress and their aides part-time employees.

Edit: Oops... Just saw that eddie had posted this link.

This isn't legit either. The amount of misinformation on this law is amazing.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wo...rom-obamacare/

[Uncle Ted]

This isn't legit either. The amount of misinformation on this law is amazing.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wo...rom-obamacare/

I thought congress exempting themselves from the federal law sounded fishy. They would never do that.

[Mormon Red Death]

This isn't legit either. The amount of misinformation on this law is amazing.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wo...rom-obamacare/

I love how they are saying its the Republicans fault when they didn't even deliberate on the bill in the first place. They had to pass the bill so they could see what was in it

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[Katy Lied]

It hasn't actually doubled. Here is a good article describing this very issue:

http://www.newrepublic.com/blog/jona...uble-price-fox

David Hogberg, of Investor’s Business Daily, noted via Twitter that one reason CBO predicts greater deficit reduction is that more employers and individuals will pay penalties. That’s true and I’ve added a sentence to that effect, although, again, the overall effect here is pretty small.

So let me get this straight: The CBO predicts that more employers and individuals will pay penalties for not having insurance, bringing in more revenue to the government. But there's no accounting for the additional individuals who will go to emergency rooms without insurance? A million people paying the $97 penalty equals 97 million in additional revenues, with no calculation for the costs that those 1 million people will generate when they hit the hospitals without any coverage?

[Uncle Ted]

Insurance premiums projected to only go up 25% next year (in Maryland)...

In the latest preview of prices for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, Maryland’s dominant insurer says proposed premiums for new policies for individuals will rise by 25 percent on average next year.


That’s lower than what some had predicted. Just three weeks ago, the insurer, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, had been looking at a proposed 50 percent increase. But the company revised that initial estimate, citing worries about affordability for consumers.
[...]

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stor...lue-cross.aspx


Only a 25% increase instead of 50%. Obama fulfills his promise of saving us money on our premiums!

Edit: Remember the good ole days when insurance premiums only grew 3%-6% a year? Like way back in 2008?

premium-growth.jpg