What health plan are you covered under?

British Columbia MSP.

Retired military age 71, I have Medicare A (free) and B ($125 per month), plus Tricare (free for military retirees) that covers B supplemental and part D. Thanks to agent orange exposure (100% disabled, most of that is for Parkinson's) I also have the VA Hospital in Salt Lake City (90 miles) which has been great. VA in Salt Lake City works with University of Utah Med school, otherwise I would have had to wait months to see a Neuro-Opthmologist to help me deal with the Double Vision that started last year. Due to the disability rating I also get free Dental and Eye Glasses. Also get hearing aids every 5 years. Wife is on her own Medicare based on her 30 years working and Tricare because she is married to me.

i'm covered by an employer provided plan.

Greenbeard said:

Benefit mandates have always existed in the individual and small group markets.

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The mandate to buy insurance and the essential health benefits have driven prices through the roof, except for those who get subsidies. The solution to the problem isn't to just add more money onto our 20 trillion dollar debt by constantly increasing subsidies to the poorer while the middle class get royally screwed. And the solution is also not to increase subsidies to the middle class.

Cardinal said:

In my experience here, it sometimes feels as though people on individual plans are mythical creatures that only exist in some sort of hypothetical universe. People in support of the ACA (thank you) will tend to speak of individual plans in the abstract (although knowledgeably, so again...thank you), and people who are ideologically opposed to it are either on an employment, retirement, veteran's assistance or some other variety of health plan that is not individual.

I'm on an individual plan myself. Or at least I will be until the end of the year, which is when my provider will cancel my plan due to the extreme instability that Trump and the Republican-controlled congress have caused this year. I may be fine, I may not be, I may find something else with no interruption or change in my premiums...who knows, I may even end up paying less. Point is, I don't know.

I'm just curious which people are on which plans, and therefore who's affected by the ongoing debate.

My poll options are vague and incomplete because I'm not knowledgeable on the complete spectrum of plans offered to different groups of people.



Anthem?s Retreat Leaves Californians With Fewer Choices, More Worries | Kaiser Health News

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Employee systems are not really a type of insurance I would want, unless it is transferable policy. The premium comes out of your pocket in any event and losing it with a job is just poor planning.

I'm on an employer plan. Probably will be until retirement.

I am a victim of universal care. Since I was one day old.

Moderate Right said:

The mandate to buy insurance and the essential health benefits have driven prices through the roof, except for those who get subsidies. The solution to the problem isn't to just add more money onto our 20 trillion dollar debt by constantly increasing subsidies to the poorer while the middle class get royally screwed. And the solution is also not to increase subsidies to the middle class.

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How do you explain healthcare prices going through the roof prior to the ACA? Don't cherry-pick individual years, look at the general trajectory. Prices have been steadily climbing roughly the same before and since.

radcen said:

How do you explain healthcare prices going through the roof prior to the ACA? Don't cherry-pick individual years, look at the general trajectory. Prices have been steadily climbing roughly the same before and since.

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In other words, Obamacare has done absolutely nothing to stop or even slow down rising healthcare costs, as it was advertised to do.

Moderate Right said:

In other words, Obamacare has done absolutely nothing to stop or even slow down rising healthcare costs, as it was advertised to do.

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Is this your concession that price increases have not increased simply because of the ACA, as you said in your previous post?

Just want to clarify.

And in regards to this post, no, it has not slowed down increases... but neither has it increased them. Even Obama himself admitted as much in an interview last year that the 'affordable' part hasn't worked out.

radcen said:

Is this your concession that price increases have not increased simply because of the ACA, as you said in your previous post?

Just want to clarify.

And in regards to this post, no, it has not slowed down increases... but neither has it increased them. Even Obama himself admitted as much in an interview last year that the 'affordable' part hasn't worked out.

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I'm not really willing to go that far. Seems like we have had at least two years now, maybe three, where we have seen 40% or higher increases in many areas. Before Obamacare we weren't seeing 40% and higher increases just about every year. Some of those increases have been much more than 40% and we have many areas that are down to just one insurer with some areas seeing the possibility of zero insurers. Obamacare, even with subsidies, isn't worth a plug nickel if there are zero insurers in 2018. None of that was happening before Obamacare. The figures you talk about I don't believe take even 2017 into account, let alone 2018. Maybe not even 2016.

Moderate Right said:

In other words, Obamacare has done absolutely nothing to stop or even slow down rising healthcare costs, as it was advertised to do.

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On the contrary.

I do not have health insurance.

Actually both Medicare and a supplemental backup which I guess is an individual plan.

Greenbeard said:

On the contrary.

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Those are extremely poor graphs. They don't mean a damn thing. Typical lefty cherry picked stats. First of all, it compares 1990-2010. That's 20 years. The next one compares 7 years. Anything could alter the results in the middle of the time frame. We need a year by year comparison. Secondly, what in the hell are economy wide prices? You're comparing one aspect (healthcare) to a bunch of other aspects, all of which move both up and down individually, such as the energy sector. These last few years energy and inflation has been on a downward trend, which skews the results.

Moderate Right said:

Those are extremely poor graphs. They don't mean a damn thing. Typical lefty cherry picked stats. First of all, it compares 1990-2010. That's 20 years. The next one compares 7 years. Anything could alter the results in the middle of the time frame. We need a year by year comparison.

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Which they also produce.

Secondly, what in the hell are economy wide prices? You're comparing one aspect (healthcare) to a bunch of other aspects, all of which move both up and down individually, such as the energy sector. These last few years energy and inflation has been on a downward trend, which skews the results.

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The GDP deflator.

And yes, obviously we're comparing health care's recent historically low price growth to price growth in the rest of the economy. They've been growing at the same rate for the better part of a decade, which is a big deal. And contrary to the point you made above that the post-ACA landscape hasn't been different.

UHC/Singlepayer per the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).

One of the perks of being a dual citizen resident in Ontario.

Greenbeard said:

Which they also produce.

The GDP deflator.

And yes, obviously we're comparing health care's recent historically low price growth to price growth in the rest of the economy. They've been growing at the same rate for the better part of a decade, which is a big deal. And contrary to the point you made above that the post-ACA landscape hasn't been different.

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But energy has been plummeting, making the GDP deflator erroneous. If energy hadn't been plummeting, those figures would have been much higher. And, you can't compare one aspect of the economy to the entire economy.

For decades my partner and I had insurance through our employers. I complained about the premiums and deductibles then. We had PPO plans with no copays. There was no Drug coverage but medicines were not at the insanely high cost they are now. We could at least afford to go to the doctor when we needed to. Being healthy and young we rarely needed to.

I took over my parents family business in the 90s and became a small business owner. By that time insurance plans were getting expensive and I couldn't afford any. I was a private pay patient for my healthcare needs. My doctor worked with private pay patients with lower costs and payment plans. My partner still had health insurance through his employer but I was not eligible for coverage on his plan because this was before the breakthroughs in Gay Marriage.

In the 2008 Recession my business failed and I lost everything. At the same time I suffered serious health issues. They took their toll to the point I could no longer work but thankfully I was near enough to retirement age anyway. My partner supported the both of us through that time. I became eligible for Medicare and due to my health issues and fixed income I qualified for assistance with my premiums and drug coverage. I am very much at risk of losing that safety net whether the ACA is put to rest or dies on it's own. I'm worried.

On an even bleaker note my partner's employer healthcare insurance went from $60/month with $500 annual deductible and a $20 copay to $600/month with $6000 deductible and $100 copays. He cannot go to a doctor with this plan. He had surgery for a hernia repair and we could be paying that off for the rest of our lives. Before the ACA he worked hard and could afford to seek medical help. After the ACA he works hard, pays enormous premiums for insurance he can never use. Meanwhile many people enjoy free healthcare through ACA even if they've never paid a penny into any healthcare system. The ACA helped drive healthcare costs through the stratosphere and the wealth distribution plan is taking a toll on the working class.

I'm afraid of losing my healthcare but I'm also afraid of what could happen to my partner because of the high insurance premiums, deductibles, copays and drug costs.

That is why I was rooting for Bernie last year. I was hoping he could drive the idea of UHC into reality. We Americans deserve a safety net of free healthcare for all. I still don't understand why we don't have it. I think we should have a system where student debt for medical school or other healthcare education could be worked off by working at local health clinics for a decent wage for a few years with the debt being paid off in the savings from healthcare costs over a few years.

I don't know why this can't be discussed. Why do lawmakers allow the healthcare industry dictate terms for the welfare of the American people? That is the business of the government. To care for the well being security of it's people.

I want to not worry about my healthcare or that of the ones I love.

My husband is 100% service-connected disabled, so his primary is Medicare and his secondary is TriCare Prime. Myself and my two daughters are both covered under TriCare Prime, as a result of his military service.

I would tell you how little we pay for full coverage for a family of 4 with a $12 copay, but you would just want me to adopt you and that's not going to happen.

Hawkeye10 said:

Retired Tri-care Prime.

Almost free.

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You or your spouse paid for it on the front end........it isn't almost free.

Cardinal said:

In my experience here, it sometimes feels as though people on individual plans are mythical creatures that only exist in some sort of hypothetical universe. People in support of the ACA (thank you) will tend to speak of individual plans in the abstract (although knowledgeably, so again...thank you), and people who are ideologically opposed to it are either on an employment, retirement, veteran's assistance or some other variety of health plan that is not individual.

I'm on an individual plan myself. Or at least I will be until the end of the year, which is when my provider will cancel my plan due to the extreme instability that Trump and the Republican-controlled congress have caused this year. I may be fine, I may not be, I may find something else with no interruption or change in my premiums...who knows, I may even end up paying less. Point is, I don't know.

I'm just curious which people are on which plans, and therefore who's affected by the ongoing debate.

My poll options are vague and incomplete because I'm not knowledgeable on the complete spectrum of plans offered to different groups of people.



Anthem?s Retreat Leaves Californians With Fewer Choices, More Worries | Kaiser Health News

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When libs say stupid **** like this, do they really expect to be taken seriously?

I assume you have evidence to back up this claim?

countryboy said:

When libs say stupid **** like this, do they really expect to be taken seriously?

I assume you have evidence to back up this claim?

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First, dial it down. Your behavior is completely out of line and uncalled for.

Cardinal said:

First, dial it down. Your behavior is completely out of line and uncalled for.

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Sir yes sir. Now, evidence?

countryboy said:

Sir yes sir. Now, evidence?

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Doesn't exist, that's why he's trying to deflect.