Affordable Care Act and your personal health insurance coverage

[MasterCrafter]

I have one question for all. Does ANYONE think that by going on an ideological rant you are going to change any minds. If not, then what is the purpose of your rants? Frankly it looks like narcissism to me.

No ,I dont believe it will change any minds, but this is a forum to present idea's and promote discussion no? We all have things we say to each oher. But I believe it's healthy to let folks rant a little bit and disagree. As long as it doesnt degenerate into name calling and such then nothing gets acomplished.

But you have to admit... spending millions of dollars here and in Mexico promoting this is absolutley ridiculous...after all the talk of sequesters and cutting this and that. Why advertise in Mexico?

[MikeAurelius]

Are you positive that the Mexican advertising was done intentionally? Do you have absolute unshakable proof that it was?

The advertising world is...odd. Even more odd is the way advertising is sold.

[MasterCrafter]

Are you positive that the Mexican advertising was done intentionally? Do you have absolute unshakable proof that it was?

The advertising world is...odd. Even more odd is the way advertising is sold.

Yup, they are also advertising food stamps there with tax payer dollars
and Steve, yes my spelling is bad, you found my weakness, but hey at least my math is good, being in the optical field and all.

[Steve Machol]

Then why does this sub-forum exist? Or, more to the point, why permit political discussions at all?

Why does it exist? Seriously? Is politics the ONLY reason to have a non-optical forum? And frankly why do I have to defend this to you?

Maybe I have hope that people can actually be mature and civilized. I know, what a quaint idea. Regardless I do not have to defend to you or anyone else my hope that people can somehow get along. Granted, you peole keep proving me wrong, which maybe is exactly your goal anyway.

I have had an absolute horrible week with the 10 year anniversary of my daughter's death and during this I have to baby-sit a few alleged;y grown people that simply can't help but try to make things worse for me and everyone else. And I am sick and tired of being accused of bias when all I'm trying to do is make OptiBoard as friendly place for people. Frankly I've just about had it.

[MikeAurelius]

Hey, now...I'm just asking a question, one that you invited by your comment. It was not meant as a slam or anything else. No need to get defensive at all.

You've written many times that you are sick and tired of the baloney these threads stir up. As you just did above, so I asked the natural follow up question, why continue to allow them?

That's it.

[MikeAurelius]

Yup, they are also advertising food stamps there with tax payer dollars
and Steve, yes my spelling is bad, you found my weakness, but hey at least my math is good, being in the optical field and all.

Remember, there are plenty of American citizens who live south of the border. And yes, plenty who need food stamps, including the families of serving armed forces personnel. In fact something like $350 million dollars in food stamp support went to the families of armed forces personnel. This is one of the things that's wrong with the pro-military wing of the political spectrum. They want all the superior firepower they can get their hands on, but don't want to pay the personnel a wage to support their families.

We have, what? 15 aircraft carriers? Why?

They are still making the M1 Abrams tanks, yet there are literally thousands sitting in the desert in New Mexico or Arizona, mothballed. The Army says it doesn't want or need any more, yet the contracts keep going out, the tanks keep on getting built, and they are put in storage, probably never ever to be used.

There are billions of dollars wasted on the military and you want to argue about providing health care to the people of this country????

[Judy Canty]

Well, I'll throw in my 2 cents. Steve does his best to keep this bunch of disparate ideologues from descending into chaos and he pays for the privilege. It's his forum, no matter what either of you think. What I can't understand is why he still allows you two to continue to post anything in any forum, but as I said earlier, it's his forum and his rules. This thread has served no useful purpose and I don't see it getting any better. It needs to be closed and both of the "kids" sent home, permanently.

[fjpod]

So, I was on the phone with our office healthcare plan administrator earlier today...err, yesterday. For my office and my staff, nothing much is going to change...except...my part timers who don't have coverage, may be able to buy a basic plan for maybe $250 per month. I don't see how that is a bad thing.

Premiums are expected to be about the same or a little lower. The premium increases we have been experiencing for decades MIGHT slow a bit because now there will be competition to provide attractive pricing...(see, I am a capitalist at heart).

Again, I see offering an office health plan as a key way of holding onto important staff.

One thing we don't talk about much is what I feel is rampant overutilization and waste.This is where we need some real reform. This is often perpetrated by patient and doctor/hospital alike. And I might blame lawyers a bit for essentially forcing healthcare providers to overdo testing to simply avoid a lawsuit. People getting MRIs in the emergency room because they have a belly ache from overeating or drinking, Wheelchair bound 95 year olds getting cataract surgery in the second eye. Then there is the case of my mother in law who was told she absolutely needed kidney dialysis or she would die in 10 days, which she took for about three years, and when she lost the will to continue, she stopped cold turkey and lived another three years. We need to reign in rampant waste and cheating, then there would be enough healthcare for all. (oops...now I am a socialist...see, it really isn't that hard to slip back and forth using common sense when analyzing an issue instead of using right/left ideology.)

Someone mentioned how we build tanks and planes and just let them sit in the desert. Well, we have built up such a huge healthcare infrastructure of doctors and hospitals just bustin to provide care, that they run up bills just to justify their existence, and keep themselves in the black. Now that some managed care has begun to take foothold, some hospitals are being forced to close, and doctors are throwing in the towel because they actually have to think about the relevance of what they are doing before just diving into pie. Healthcare dollars are supposed to be a means to keep people healthy and comfortable until their death...not for paying off the vacation home.

While, I am on a rant...one thing that really bothers me is all healthcare dollars wasted on radio and TV advertising (that is going on in the NYC area, anyway) about this hospital, that heart center, blah, blah. As if doctors don't know where to direct their very sick patients. Again, it is usually some hospital trying to drum up business and stimulate consumer demand for their facilities. I get it...the consumer should have choice, but the commercials are incessant and drive me crazy. They have to be costing millions. They cause the public to self refer for high level specialty care when they should be checking in with their PCP first. Take those advertising dollars and actually spend them on sick people. What a novel idea. ...but I digress.

[MikeAurelius]

fjpod -- I totally agree. I had the unfortunate experience to have an emergency overnight stay at my local hospital a week ago. They still haven't pinned down exactly what's wrong, but 6 hours in the ER plus an overnight in the cardiac observation wing, and the bill for the hospital alone, just room and board (facilities charges), was over $7K, and this is supposedly a non-profit hospital.

A good friend had a mental breakdown last year and spend a 3 day period in the lock-down ward, his bill for those 3 days was over $24K, and then 5 days of therapy in their partial hospitalization program was another $30K. $54K+...

IMO the problem isn't the demonization of ACA, it is in the system that provides our health care. I've got plenty of suggestions on how to fix the problem, but I will be tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail as a raving socialist lunatic if I wrote them here.

[Jason H]

Why did they do it like they did? Mabye a strange question, but it's the one I thought of first. In retrospect, wouldn't the whole country have been best served with something simpler? Why do these exchanges have to come with mandates and penalties? My first thought was to offer businesses a dollar for dollar tax credit for every dollar they pay into employee's health care. That would have gotten a lot of people insured and a lot of people employed. Makes me suspicious that the ACA is politically motivated rather than compassionate government. That the solutions always seem mutually exclusive of logic is distressing.

[scriptfiller]

Back to the ACA. Personally I have not received any notification of an increase yet, although, my family plan rate did increase $40/mo. in August. I buy my insurance directly, not through my employer. The HR manager did say that company offered plans would increase 20%.

Seeing how the ACA is "law" and there has been more than a "few" problems in the implementation, delaying the thing a year is a good idea, if it is good enough to do for employers/businesses it's good enough to do for Joe citizen.

[fjpod]

Why did they do it like they did? Mabye a strange question, but it's the one I thought of first. In retrospect, wouldn't the whole country have been best served with something simpler? Why do these exchanges have to come with mandates and penalties? My first thought was to offer businesses a dollar for dollar tax credit for every dollar they pay into employee's health care. That would have gotten a lot of people insured and a lot of people employed. Makes me suspicious that the ACA is politically motivated rather than compassionate government. That the solutions always seem mutually exclusive of logic is distressing.

Well, the other way to do it would have been to offer a government run single payer system...an idea that has merits, but the huen cries from Republicans about socialism, and rationing of care, yada, yada, prevented the administration from implementing a simpler plan. The current ACA keeps everything in the marketplace...for capitalists to duke it out and make the most money. It's the American way.

So if it's not socialism, what the heck is Social Security? or Medicare and Medicaid? or even a Federal Income tax, or Veteran's Administration hospitals? They're all a form of socialism that is supposed to benefit various segments of our population. Without these things we would have anarchy. Why not a level playing field for all Americans to buy insurance if they can afford it, or possibly get a government subsidy to buy it? I'd rather have people buy it, then go bankrupt and go on medicaid.

We cannot rely on business interests to be fair in doling out wealth and benefits. We should be able to rely on Uncle Sam to keep people honest...of course, even people in the government are not honest, so we are virtually doomed to a vicious cycle.

[MasterCrafter]

Well, I'll throw in my 2 cents. Steve does his best to keep this bunch of disparate ideologues from descending into chaos and he pays for the privilege. It's his forum, no matter what either of you think. What I can't understand is why he still allows you two to continue to post anything in any forum, but as I said earlier, it's his forum and his rules. This thread has served no useful purpose and I don't see it getting any better. It needs to be closed and both of the "kids" sent home, permanently.

So tell me Judy, Why would you ban me?

I dont call people names like Mike does. I'm not mean spirited, I just have a different point of view than you.

So tell me what your reason would be for banning me Judy?

[Uncle Fester]

So tell me Judy, Why would you ban me?

I dont call people names like Mike does. I'm not mean spirited, I just have a different point of view than you.

So tell me what your reason would be for banning me Judy?

Rogers and Hammerstein might say occasionally some of us are tone deaf.

Some more often than others.

[Now I See]

I find it quite remarkable that there has been no discussionhere on OptoBoard concerning personal health insurance coverage under the impending new ACA legislation. Out here in the real world I find that most of my acquaintences have had major changes in their health insurance coverage. Any changes in your life or is if business as usual?

Without making this political...I'll try to stick to the facts as the OP asked....here's how it is affecting my family: if we stay with our current (bronze) plan; our monthly premium is doubling (going up to $1,100.00/month,) we have no more "well" visits or "sick" visits with a copay...we'll pay out of pocket for any doctor visits until we meet our $2500 per person deductible. After we meet the deductible, we will pay 50% of the visit.

I'm not going to even try to comment on my "feelings"....the letter from my insurance company as posted above, says it all.....my husband and I have some serious decisions to make.

[Judy Canty]

So tell me Judy, Why would you ban me?

I dont call people names like Mike does. I'm not mean spirited, I just have a different point of view than you.

So tell me what your reason would be for banning me Judy?

If it were my forum, if I paid to keep it operating as Steve does, I have a list of people who have nothing to add to any discussion other than to pontificate, aggravate and incite. You are on that list. I don't care if you like it or not. It's my list.

[Uncle Fester]

Without making this political...I'll try to stick to the facts as the OP asked....here's how it is affecting my family: if we stay with our current (bronze) plan; our monthly premium is doubling, we have no more "well" visits or "sick" visits with a copay...we'll pay out of pocket for any doctor visits until we meet our $2500 per person deductible. After we meet the deductible, we will pay 50% of the visit.

I'm not going to even try to comment on my "feelings"....the letter from my insurance company as posted above, says it all.....my husband and I have some serious decisions to make.

I'm hearing overload issues are keeping many from comparing plans today. Is this from today?

How much is your monthly payment doubling too?
Is that true with all the Bronze plans or just your current provider?

If you know you're using it for routine visits have you compared it too the silver plan and how much would that be?

[Steve Machol]

Without making this political...I'll try to stick to the facts as the OP asked....here's how it is affecting my family: if we stay with our current (bronze) plan; our monthly premium is doubling (going up to $1,100.00/month,) we have no more "well" visits or "sick" visits with a copay...we'll pay out of pocket for any doctor visits until we meet our $2500 per person deductible. After we meet the deductible, we will pay 50% of the visit.

Actually that is not a Bronze Plan under the ACA. The ACA Bronze Plan doesn't even go into affect until Jan. 1, 2014 and it will cover 60% of costs, not 50%. It sounds like what you have are changes to your employer based coverage. Here's more info on the Bronze Palns: http://www.healthpocket.com/individu...s#.UkrxVmR4ZiY

[SeaU2020]

My employer made it a real simple decision for me...I had a heart attack 3 weeks ago. Went back to work on the 23rd. Got laid off on the 23rd. No insurance after tomorrow.

Back in the "good old days" employees worked until they retired and received a pension, now we're treated like hot potatoes. It's a shame. One of my favorite sayings is that when we die, no one ever puts on our tombstones what a great worker we were. Best of luck on your health and hopefully this closed door will open a window of opportunity that will bless you tenfold.

[MakeOptics]

If it were my forum, if I paid to keep it operating as Steve does, I have a list of people who have nothing to add to any discussion other than to pontificate, aggravate and incite. You are on that list. I don't care if you like it or not. It's my list.

Is that Ok to openly say you have a personal vendetta against a list of posters? Can a moderator chime in on this please, this seems to borderline bullying.

[Steve Machol]

Is that Ok to openly say you have a personal vendetta against a list of posters? Can a moderator chime in on this please, this seems to borderline bullying.

Why should I or anyone else care if someone does not like someone else?

As for bullying - seriously?!? You must gave a very thin skin to consider that 'bullying'.

Note: Please get back on topic. Any further off-topic posts may be removed.

[fjpod]

Without making this political...I'll try to stick to the facts as the OP asked....here's how it is affecting my family: if we stay with our current (bronze) plan; our monthly premium is doubling (going up to $1,100.00/month,) we have no more "well" visits or "sick" visits with a copay...we'll pay out of pocket for any doctor visits until we meet our $2500 per person deductible. After we meet the deductible, we will pay 50% of the visit.

I'm not going to even try to comment on my "feelings"....the letter from my insurance company as posted above, says it all.....my husband and I have some serious decisions to make.

May I ask...was your old plan subsidized by your employer? Is your new plan not? If both of these plans are from the exchange, which I doubt, how could a lesser plan be more money?...subsidies aside? There has to be more to the story.

[MakeOptics]

Why should I or anyone else care if someone does not like someone else?

As for bullying - seriously?!? You must gave a very thin skin to consider that 'bullying'.

Note: Please get back on topic. Any further off-topic posts may be removed.

Just asking before it got outta hand.

[MakeOptics]

Premiums going up and employer (husband's) no longer able to afford to keep the same plan. They are spending more getting ready for the changes they have to make for the ACA. (Health Care Related Field)

We had a 40% increase over the last year as well in preparation for this non-event. I am sure that for some it's gonna be candy and gum drops but it isn't for me or my employer.

[Joe Zewe]

I tend to be moderate and leaning conservative. Generally, I think the federal government is too large. However, I also believe everyone should have basic access to healthcare.

Regarding ACA, I sincerely hope this creates more access to healthcare coverage, controls spiraling health care costs and does not contribute to the deficit. I believe the law has been poorly explained by the President and the federal government. Those spreading misinformation are winning the spin game.

I also believe that ACA achieved one important goal in that we have a law that enables existing insurance companies to continue to be the providers of coverage. I am not a fan of a single payer system. I do not trust the government to run our health care system.

My business has seen a significant reduction in health insurance rates due to the age and health of our employees. However, I have been told by our broker to expect a significant increase next year.