Obamacare cost...

[Uncle Ted]

The Hidden Marriage Penalty in Obamacare
[...]
Any married couple that earns more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level—that is $62,040—for a family of two earns too much for subsidies under Obamacare. "If you're over 400 percent of poverty, you're never eligible for premium" support, explains Gary Claxton, director of the Health Care Marketplace Project at the Kaiser Family Foundation.


But if that same couple lived together unmarried, they could earn up to $45,960 each—$91,920 total—and still be eligible for subsidies through the exchanges in New York state, where insurance is comparatively expensive and the state exchange was set up in such a way as to not provide lower rates for younger people. (Subsidy eligibility is calculated using a complicated formula involving income in relation to the poverty line, family size, and the price of plans offered through a state's marketplace.)
[...]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/...macare/280890/

[YOhio]

I'm not sure if this is real or not. Saw it on twitter.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I'm not sure if this is real or not. Saw it on twitter.

Yes, forking over $400 a month in health insurance premiums entitles you to $10 in birth control pills.

[Uncle Ted]

Yes, forking over $400 a month in health insurance premiums entitles you to $10 in birth control pills.

No, I am guessing they are not married but living together so they qualify for a government subsidy.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

More political pornography, this time from the official GOP mouthpiece, CBS News:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_16...ealthcare.gov/

Apparently, the chief IT officer at CMS refused to sign off on the security of the healthcare.gov website. That news broke last week. Given the fact that he's not at CMS anymore, some people put 2 and 2 together and figure he was forced out. Now, this story reveals that not only did the IT officer not sign the form, but he wrote a memo to the company warning of "limitless" security risks. No wonder he didn't sign off on it. On top of that, he didn't think the security holes could be fixed until mid 2014.

So basically, if you sign up on healthcare.gov right now, count on dozens of Eastern Europeans opening up credit cards and car loans in your name as part of the Obamacare deal.

[Uncle Ted]

More political pornography, this time from the official GOP mouthpiece, CBS News:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_16...ealthcare.gov/

Apparently, the chief IT officer at CMS refused to sign off on the security of the healthcare.gov website. That news broke last week. Given the fact that he's not at CMS anymore, some people put 2 and 2 together and figure he was forced out. Now, this story reveals that not only did the IT officer not sign the form, but he wrote a memo to the company warning of "limitless" security risks. No wonder he didn't sign off on it. On top of that, he didn't think the security holes could be fixed until mid 2014.

So basically, if you sign up on healthcare.gov right now, count on dozens of Eastern Europeans opening up credit cards and car loans in your name as part of the Obamacare deal.

I thought that obamacare web site was all fixed and working now: http://www.thehealthsherpa.com

Thanks to a few days of hacking by some 20 year olds...

While the Obamacare website still remains broken, three 20-year-old programmers have shown the government how it should be done.
Ning Liang, George Kalogeropoulos and Michael Wasser developed a site in matter of days - and it does things the expensive and faltering healthcare.gov can't do.


From a San Francisco office the men have built HealthSherpa.com, which presents the Affordable Health Care Act data in a much simpler way to the government website.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2kSVAGPGj

I wonder how much of that $400m+ these boys got.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-dana...amacare-fixes/

This report is from another mouthpiece of the GOP -- cnn. Apparently, a lot of Congressional Democrats are going to get on board with the GOP's "keep your plan" bills.

There's a pretty big problem with these "keep your plan" bills, actually two. First, these bills will probably hasten the inevitable death spiral of the individual insurance market. Second, the President will just love to pin all the wreckage caused by his law on the Republicans. The Republicans really have to think this through before they get behind a bill like this.

The individual insurance market's egg has already been scrambled and these "keep your plan" laws aren't going to unscramble it. On top of that, what's going to happen to the individual market is going to happen to a large segment of the employer market. In all likelihood Obama unilaterally pushed off the employer mandate because he had an inkling of what was about to happen. Just imagine if all of that hit the fan at the same time as what's happening now -- Obama would be looking the Congress and Senate overriding his vetoes.

I don't think these "keep your plan" laws can force the insurance companies to maintain these policies anyway. If anything and as I mentioned above it could make the death spiral happen more quickly.

The Republicans have other options -- 1). They allow Obamacare to play out more and make the Democrats and Obama look like bigger idiots and force the Democrats to offer legislation; 2) They wait like option 1 and see if the death spiral starts, then they propose two things -- a) a full repeal of Obamacare and b) legislation that somehow fixes through subsidies or something the damage that Obamacare caused to those people that lost their insurance. Option 1 is a lot more likely and the Republicans will look heartless initially when they don't jump on board, but at least the President won't be able to scapegoat them. But again, at this point I think the death spiral is inevitable and the only possibility for any kind full repeal and scaling back of this law is when the Democrats are left with no other option and that's not going to happen if they can pin this on the GOP.

[Uncle Ted]

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-dana...amacare-fixes/

This report is from another mouthpiece of the GOP -- cnn. Apparently, a lot of Congressional Democrats are going to get on board with the GOP's "keep your plan" bills.

There's a pretty big problem with these "keep your plan" bills, actually two. First, these bills will probably hasten the inevitable death spiral of the individual insurance market. Second, the President will just love to pin all the wreckage caused by his law on the Republicans. The Republicans really have to think this through before they get behind a bill like this.

The individual insurance market's egg has already been scrambled and these "keep your plan" laws aren't going to unscramble it. On top of that, what's going to happen to the individual market is going to happen to a large segment of the employer market. In all likelihood Obama unilaterally pushed off the employer mandate because he had an inkling of what was about to happen. Just imagine if all of that hit the fan at the same time as what's happening now -- Obama would be looking the Congress and Senate overriding his vetoes.

I don't think these "keep your plan" laws can force the insurance companies to maintain these policies anyway. If anything and as I mentioned above it could make the death spiral happen more quickly.

The Republicans have other options -- 1). They allow Obamacare to play out more and make the Democrats and Obama look like bigger idiots and force the Democrats to offer legislation; 2) They wait like option 1 and see if the death spiral starts, then they propose two things -- a) a full repeal of Obamacare and b) legislation that somehow fixes through subsidies or something the damage that Obamacare caused to those people that lost their insurance. Option 1 is a lot more likely and the Republicans will look heartless initially when they don't jump on board, but at least the President won't be able to scapegoat them. But again, at this point I think the death spiral is inevitable and the only possibility for any kind full repeal and scaling back of this law is when the Democrats are left with no other option and that's not going to happen if they can pin this on the GOP.

Bill is on board with "keep your plan"...

[PaloAltoCougar]

Bill is on board with "keep your plan"...

Politically shrewd move by the Clintons, putting some distance between her and Obama for '16.

[Uncle Ted]

Politically shrewd move by the Clintons, putting some distance between her and Obama for '16.

Like rats from a sinking ship...

poll.jpg

http://www.people-press.org/2013/11/...ide-continues/

[il Padrino Ute]

Politically shrewd move by the Clintons, putting some distance between her and Obama for '16.

I think it's a great idea. When it involves Mrs. Clinton, the focus should be on Benghazi and her lies about a youtube video.

[byu71]

I have seen on political shows people brought on to explain the ACA and how it should work and will work. A couple of these people have been described part of the group that"designed the plan". Makes sense it wasn't designed by the politicians, they didn't know how it worked per Pelosi.

All the people that have been on described as "architects" have been college professors. Anyone know the makeup of the group that put this together? Their backgrounds or professions?

[dabrockster]

Obamacare: Fighting obesity with penalties..

http://news.yahoo.com/company-watchi...6--sector.html

[YOhio]

Obamacare: Fighting obesity with penalties..

http://news.yahoo.com/company-watchi...6--sector.html

That doesn't bother me. Makes sense that those with higher health risk should pay more.

[Uncle Ted]

That doesn't bother me. Makes sense that those with higher health risk should pay more.

The part about charging smokers more doesn't bother me either. Smoke all you want but just pay the price. I am bother, however, that the president and congress (and unions) don't have to eat the same dog food as everyone else.

Obamabong.jpg