Obamacare cost...

[Omaha 680]

I'm confused. Obama does or does not want everyone to have insurance?

He wants fairness.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[All-American]

Healthcare.gov meets its Nov. 30 deadlines.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...y.html?hpid=z1

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-Ye...e_Soviet_Union

[SCcoug]

Healthcare.gov meets its Nov. 30 deadlines.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...y.html?hpid=z1

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-Ye...e_Soviet_Union

Seems like an incredibly low bar to hurdle.

“The bottom line, HealthCare.gov on Dec. 1 is night and day from where it was on Oct. 1,” when the site was launched, he told reporters.

[All-American]

Seems like an incredibly low bar to hurdle.

Indeed:

Now the system is consistently up over 90 percent of the time, Zients said. In comparison, he said, from October to the week ending Nov. 2, the online system was up and functioning only about 43 percent of the time.

[Uncle Ted]

What? Even President Obama still hasn't taken advantage of the ACA and saved $2,500/yr in healthcare costs?!?...

Maybe he, like the rest of us, is waiting for those minor website "glitches" to get fixed. I wonder if he tried calling the easy-to-remember 1-800-F1UCKYO number instead? Or maybe he wanted to keep his current healthcare plan and doctor as he promised that we (all?) could do?*


*If our plan doesn't change anything.

[Uncle Ted]

Doesn't Harry Reid know that he and his staff will be saving money and get better healthcare with the ACA?

Some Reid staffers exempt from Obamacare exchanges

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, one of Obamacare's architects and staunchest supporters, is also the only top congressional leader to exempt some of his staff from having to buy insurance through the law's new exchanges.


Reid is the exception among the other top congressional leaders. GOP House Speaker John Boehner, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have all directed their staffs to join the exchange, their aides said.

In the charged atmosphere surrounding Obamacare, Reid's decision only gives Republicans more ammo to attack Democrats already suffering politically from the law's botched rollout.


In September, Reid told reporters, "Let's stop these really juvenile political games -- the one dealing with health care for senators and House members and our staff. We are going to be part of exchanges, that's what the law says and we'll be part of that."

That's true. Reid and his personal staff will buy insurance through the exchange.


But it's also true that the law lets lawmakers decide if their committee and leadership staffers hold on to their federal employee insurance plans, an option Reid has exercised.


Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson emphasized, "We are just following the law."
[...]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/politi...aff/index.html

Time to get over it and embrace the "legacy of Barack Obama", Harry...

[Goatnapper'96]

What is the impact going to be of the fact that the payment portion of the great web exchange is fubar? My instinct is that the President and Dems are hopeful that the website is functioning enough that people who go to it will have a good enough experience and think they are signed up, this will hopefully make the masses less angry at them. Then when the financial aspect blows up in the new year as way too many are not really enrolled and the adverse selection kicks in they will do all they can to demonize the insurance companies and attempt to blame them.

For those of you that understand this, how does it play out? Will the insurance companies take advantage of that legal protection the law affords them to still make money even if this thing blows up and just pay the health care bills for anyone who makes a claim that they thought they were enrolled?

I just think this thing is going to be a constant drip of bad news and I am struggling to see the Democrats turn that perception around. The majority of people have disliked it from its inception and I just think at this point in time both the perceptions and the reality of its inept execution are cemented pretty firmly. In '12 it was unpopular but now there are enough specific painful experiences that I just struggle seeing how that perception is going to change. I think the President is "pivoting" to the economy with his bold and innovative call to increase minimum wage. His administration seems to struggle with execution of real things when they are focussed on it, my instinct is the back end payment piece of the exchanges is going to be neglected as the Admin focusses upon their pivot to minimum wage and it will likely never be really fixed. But insurance companies are in it to only make money so if that cover clause (name of it presently forgotten) covers them, I doubt they squawk much.

[Katy Lied]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/us...high.html?_r=0


NYTimes: Obamacare pushes down premiums at the cost of ever-larger deductibles.

Average Deductible: Employee sponsored insurance: $1.135
Average Deductible on the Exchanges: $6,350 Individual, $12,700 families.

So Obamacare is cheaper (sorta) unless you actually have to use it.

[thesaint258]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/us...high.html?_r=0


NYTimes: Obamacare pushes down premiums at the cost of ever-larger deductibles.

Average Deductible: Employee sponsored insurance: $1.135
Average Deductible on the Exchanges: $6,350 Individual, $12,700 families.

So Obamacare is cheaper (sorta) unless you actually have to use it.

Well, I'm not complaining about my deductible anymore.

[All-American]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/us...high.html?_r=0


NYTimes: Obamacare pushes down premiums at the cost of ever-larger deductibles.

Average Deductible: Employee sponsored insurance: $1.135
Average Deductible on the Exchanges: $6,350 Individual, $12,700 families.

So Obamacare is cheaper (sorta) unless you actually have to use it.

In theory, I've got nothing against lower-premium, higher-deductible plans, since that's closer to what insurance is supposed to be, anyway. But you'd expect some decent correlation between deductible and premium. Must a couple pay over $6,000 annually in premiums for the right to not have to pay more than $10,000 more in medical expenses?

It would be interesting, I think, to see a chart that plotted premiums on one axis and deductibles on another, and compare available plans on that chart. Anybody smart and bored enough to try it?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/us...high.html?_r=0


NYTimes: Obamacare pushes down premiums at the cost of ever-larger deductibles.

Average Deductible: Employee sponsored insurance: $1.135
Average Deductible on the Exchanges: $6,350 Individual, $12,700 families.

So Obamacare is cheaper (sorta) unless you actually have to use it.

I don't actually consider this to be much of a negative about Obamacare. People paying more cash out of pocket for their healthcare is a good thing.

The reason I can't unconditionally say this is a positive about Obamacare is because it's not uniformly applied; namely, they expanded medicaid where those people don't pay a dime. Everybody should be paying at least part of their own healthcare. Additionally, Obama didn't sell it like this.

[byu71]

Today I am again reminded of how messed up this health care thing is going to get with the government regulators being more and more involved.

Being in a heavily regulated (government involvement) industry I am constantly reminded that about 70% of the time the regulators are clueless when it comes to advisor/client relationships. I can only imagine the harm they will eventually do to Dr./patient relationships.

[Uncle Ted]

Today I am again reminded of how messed up this health care thing is going to get with the government regulators being more and more involved.

Being in a heavily regulated (government involvement) industry I am constantly reminded that about 70% of the time the regulators are clueless when it comes to advisor/client relationships. I can only imagine the harm they will eventually do to Dr./patient relationships.

But those big pharma and healthcare insurance/provider stocks should be a good bet, right? Should I move my entire IRA into these stocks? Where is Harry Reid putting all his money?

[byu71]

But those big pharma and healthcare insurance/provider stocks should be a good bet, right? Should I move my entire IRA into these stocks? Where is Harry Reid putting all his money?

That would be all I need. Give some advice out over the internet. Did I mention how regulated we are? Besides you are probably a better stock picker than I.

I did hear that Obama has issued a waiver or delay or something where the insurance companies are to insure people who have signed up even if they haven't paid. I guess the government has money waiting to take care of any losses the Insurance companies may suffer.

I think Obama has a love hate relationship with the Insurance Industry.

As far as Harry goes, buy land where he does sounds like something that MIGHT be a good idea (note I am in no way suggesting someone does this). A government project won't be far behind.

[Uncle Ted]

Less than a quarter—24%—of uninsured Americans think the health care law is a good idea, and half think it’s a bad idea, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Wednesday.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/1...w-is-bad-idea/

I thought the ACA was all about getting the uninsured insurance. Only 24% think it is a good idea?