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How has "Obamacare" impacted your life?

How has "Obamacare" impacted your life?

  • Total voters
    80
X Factor said:
My premiums went up but only very slightly and I have a new tax document to prove that I am compliant with the law. That's it. No big deal. Now, like most people, I'm insured through my work so when I say premiums, I mean that portion taken out of my checks. I don't have any dependents (and they frown on me listing my dogs, the speciesist bastards), but I know that premiums of some of my coworkers went up considerably. Speaking for myself, though, Obamacare has not been a nightmare, in fact, it seems to have barely impacted me at all. Put aside stories heard from others, from your own perspective, has Obamacare had a positive, negative or basically no real impact on your life?

poll on the way
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a big reason for premium increase is they can no longer deny coverage to the sick, or deny payment for treatment for say appendicitis because you forgot to list that you had a scratch on your knee when you signed up - those horror stories documented in "sicko". Fewer uninsured and people with insurance who get screwed over is the biggest impetus for obamacare, so it's important to not lose track of that

Another reason is that many of the young healthy have been able to avoid the mandate
 
I'm loving this argument that those who claim it's had a negative impact are lying or wrong. Kinda wish I had the same confidence in my party.
 
David_N said:
NOOOO, GOOOD, NOOOOOO.
Seriously, everytime someone cites the labor force participation rate, I laugh.
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The "media" outlets that push that rate are relying on the fact that their audience never actually learned what the "unemployment rate" is supposed to represent, thus, how it is calculated. That ignorance lets the "media" outlets paint the calculation of UE as some kind of nefarious conspiracy...when in fact...it's been calculated the same under Obama as any other President since we started tracking it.
 
I was on parent's coverage, now on Medicaid due to low income (college). If not for this change, I probably wouldn't have any insurance
 
X Factor said:
I'm loving this argument that those who claim it's had a negative impact are lying or wrong. Kinda wish I had the same confidence in my party.
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oh it can be negative in certain circumstance, such as the great mass of people in temp jobs struggling to figure out will they be eligible for coverage thru employer, do they have to just take the fine (which is now very costly), what if they get a raise, what if they move to another state? It's all horribly complicated. And the idea of being forced into paying for a for-profit product, how is that legal?

Difference being that to me it's just another argument for single payer
 
chromium said:
oh it can be negative in certain circumstance, such as the great mass of people in temp jobs struggling to figure out will they be eligible for coverage thru employer, do they have to just take the fine (which is now very costly), what if they get a raise, what if they move to another state? It's all horribly complicated. And the idea of being forced into paying for a for-profit product, how is that legal?

Difference being that to me it's just another argument for single payer
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I thought the individual mandate part of the law was absolutely unconstitutional, but I've been assured that it isn't by the Supreme Court and most Democrats so, with that question resolved, I actually like the idea of the individual mandate. Legally obligating folks to make sure their own needs are taken care of without resorting to expecting others to pay. Yeah, I'm on board.
 
What the ACA is pretty much about trying to get less people show up at the hospital needing treatment, but they can pay their bill. So the hospital and doctors either lower the bill for the uninsured, or eat the bill altogether. Which means they'll just pad the bill of the next INSURED patient to make up for the uninsured not paying. Which causes HI premiums to go higher. Yes they went higher LONG before ACA.

Will it work? I have no idea. It's flawed. The Republicans are doing everything they can to kill it, politics 1st, the uninsured be damned. 4-5 years will know 1 way or the other if it will work at all.
 
chromium said:
oh it can be negative in certain circumstance, such as the great mass of people in temp jobs struggling to figure out will they be eligible for coverage thru employer, do they have to just take the fine (which is now very costly), what if they get a raise, what if they move to another state? It's all horribly complicated. And the idea of being forced into paying for a for-profit product, how is that legal?

Difference being that to me it's just another argument for single payer
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People exercising their "freedom" not to buy health insurance would get hurt and be unable to pay all of their hospital bill. The hospital would then negotiate higher rates with insurers. Insurers would then raise my premiums to compensate.

The mandate forced them to pay for themselves when instead, they would force me to pay for them.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
What the ACA is pretty much about trying to get less people show up at the hospital needing treatment, but they can pay their bill. So the hospital and doctors either lower the bill for the uninsured, or eat the bill altogether. Which means they'll just pad the bill of the next INSURED patient to make up for the uninsured not paying. Which causes HI premiums to go higher. Yes they went higher LONG before ACA.

Will it work? I have no idea. It's flawed. The Republicans are doing everything they can to kill it, politics 1st, the uninsured be damned. 4-5 years will know 1 way or the other if it will work at all.
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That was suppose to be 'but they can't pay their bill'.. But Mr. Person explained it better than I did.
 
I don't have time to read this thread at the moment, but I'm looking forward to it.

I voted "significant positive impact" because I'm thrilled that eighteen million more Americans now have health insurance as a result of the ACA. And it's helping to control healthcare costs. And it's improving healthcare outcomes. I'm also happy that we have Social Security and Medicare and many other things the American people, through their elected representatives, do to help provide for the general welfare by helping people avoid suffering from ill health, extreme poverty, and other miseries.
 
pphhrogg said:
No impact for me since I'm on Medicare. Have to say, too, that I don't believe anyone who is saying that it has had a "negative" effect on them.
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You can believe whatever you want. Truth is there are plenty of stories out there that are the same as mine. You have to understand that our insurance before was affordable, sufficient for our needs. When that all ended it became very expensive and the coverage was the same. I don't see how that can be seen as anything less than negative for my family. Not all of what happened was directly related to ACA but the initial cause can be attributed to it. The cost now is directly related to ACA.

There are things about ACA i thought was a good idea. Unfortunately those in charge could not work together to come up with a common sense plan. Instead we just got this rammed down our throats.
 
X Factor said:
I thought the individual mandate part of the law was absolutely unconstitutional, but I've been assured that it isn't by the Supreme Court and most Democrats so, with that question resolved, I actually like the idea of the individual mandate. Legally obligating folks to make sure their own needs are taken care of without resorting to expecting others to pay. Yeah, I'm on board.
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If there were single payer their taxes would pay for it, and it would be cheaper by about $1000 for everyone. Low income people aren't subject to the mandate to begin with. You need to make like 200% of the poverty level, then subsidies kick in

The dems only support it for the very same reason the repubs oppose it - Obama, who only supports it because after all that political expense he had to get *something* passed

The mandate is totally anathema to liberalism, but as I keep saying, the dems are just as bought off by corporate interests (in this case insurance companies) as repubs. Hence why I don't vote for them
 
I had to pick "other" because my literal answer is not the same as my position.

I have had a slightly negative personal experience because our deductibles went up significantly.

But I also support Obamacare and I have helped someone sign up for it.
I have seen it benefit people.
If Obamacare slightly hinders my life but greatly improves the lives of some others... I will support Obamcare.
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
Very little of an impact to our health plan. Its a group plan through our employer. I checked off slight positive impact because we adopted twice special needs and the ban on preexisting conditions as part of the ACA makes it possible for them to obtain health coverage once they reach adulthood through the private sector in the individual market if they are ever not covered under a group plan. The ability to keep your kids on your health coverage while they are in college is a nice perk as well.

I would suspect that the vast majority of people would see no difference from the ACA positive or negative. Most of those that claim to have a negative experience because of it are blaming the same increases in premiums and deductibles that have been going on for decades now on the ACA.

The main problem with our healthcare system in the United States is not the ACA, its the fact we have the only system on earth that doesn't seem to recognize that traditional economic notions of supply and demand do not apply to necessary healthcare and as a result we have the most expensive healthcare system on earth without getting better outcomes.
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Just thought I would give this excellent observation a bit more play.

Thanks for it, SD.
 
I'd have to say a slight negative impact thus far - I haven't purchased insurance because the amount it costs per month is more than I can afford at the moment.

And as a result I must pay the required fine/tax/fee at the end of the year when I file my taxes - which so far is much cheaper than the insurance would be, at least.
 
The ACA has not affected me at all...
 
X Factor said:
I'm loving this argument that those who claim it's had a negative impact are lying or wrong. Kinda wish I had the same confidence in my party.
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I understand why you think it's interesting. However every "doom and gloom" story about the horrors of the ACA that was in the media turned out to be lies. Every goddamn one. That isn't to say that there weren't bad outcomes, THEY have to exist. But the media really blew it's wad on bogus stories and now I give 0 ****s when someone complains about the ACA.
 
Yeah, where I live when ACA started I got asked to be on a Death Panel. I turned it down though. ;)
 
Frank Apisa said:
Just thought I would give this excellent observation a bit more play.

Thanks for it, SD.
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On the one hand, it has extended the age to 26 where my kids can be covered under my policy - so that's actually been one benefit to me. On the other hand, "I lost my doctor" because he decided he did not want to deal with new bureaucracy. I had a huge problem with the way is was enacted into law and the roll out was an embarrassment. That said, who's going to pay for my breast implants?
 
I went with "slight positive." The provider network attached to my health plan is an accountable care organization recognized and paid under the ACA; the doctors and hospitals get paid more to slow cost growth and deliver better care. As a result they've demonstrably saved money and improved on quality measures over the past few years. That helps me out personally by keeping my premium growth in check and improving the care I'll get if I need to access services.

Maybe I should've gone with "significant positive." The spread of that model is a big deal and it has big implications for costs and quality long-term.
 
soot said:
It hasn't really effected me personally.

I'm insured through my employer and though my share of the premiums increased YOY my share of the premiums always increased YOY; it's impossible to say how much, if any, of that increase is due to the ACA.

It has had seriously negative effects on several of my friends who are small business owners or self employed who have historically provided for their own health insurance. Canceled plans, having to shift from a PPO to an HMO and finding that the family doctor doesn't participate in the HMO so can't be used as the primary, increased premiums, sometimes to the tune of $1000+.

I haven't heard from anyone who was REALLY helped by the ACA.
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A freind of mine opened a tax prep business (sort of like H&R Block) and I've been helping him out. I've seen scores of poor people who had Medicaid thanks to the Medicaid expansion in NY
 
Well, I just got done filling out my second appeal to not have to pay the penalty for no insurance after getting bad information last year on the date my first payment was due. Talked with several people from Blue Cross and Health Insurance Marketplace to get it straightened out to no avail. Different answers from different people which is about what I expected from our government.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
No effect. I am too poor for a PPACA subsidy and lack qualification for Medicaid (no dependents, under 65 and not disabled). If anything, it might actually be helping me indirectly by preserving my 25% discount for paying cash at the time of service at my local clinic. Insurance paperwork adds overhead and delays payment to the care provider - getting cash at the time of service eliminates payment delay and the added cost of preparing/mailing a bill.
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except you now also have to pay the non insurance penalty of about $700, even though you don't have access to any of the benefits of the new law, and you get a serious injury, risk medical bankruptcy

you can thank obama but also the texas republican government for refusing the medicaid expansion
 
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