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ruby59

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Messages
3,553
But it's your responsibility to pay for those subsidies ruby because you must be a member of the 1% we all hear about if you don't receive them. :roll:

I work for my money. It certainly does not work for me.

$1,200 so far since Mittens got sick.
Yes, we all know there are problems with the ACA. My point was that the fear mongering hyperbole that Obamacare is in a "death spiral" does nothing to help the people of this country or begin to solve the complicated problems that exist. Not to mention the fact that the Trump is, once again, not sticking to the facts. For someone who constantly complains and whines and FAKE NEWS I just find this so reprehensible. I just hate the idea of controlling and ruling by fear.

Did you see Arizona? Premiums to go up 116%. Insurance companies are dropping out fast.

Humana is dropping out at the end of 2017 and Aetna will probably soon follow,

My son and his wife were hoping that $500 a month could be used as a down payment for a house so they can have another child. Now they are paying $6,000 more a year for crappy coverage.

My husband will be taking a big pay decrease, (thousands of dollars) because of it. It will only delay his retirement and our finally being able to do some of the things we missed all these years.

Trump calls it a death spiral? What would you call it.

And if he said nothing, will that somehow soften the blow for all those people who do not get a subsidy from receiving mail and email that their crappy coverage will soon cost a lot more?
 

siamese3

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
1,028
I work for my money. It certainly does not work for me.

$1,200 so far since Mittens got sick.


Did you see Arizona? Premiums to go up 116%. Insurance companies are dropping out fast.

Humana is dropping out at the end of 2017 and Aetna will probably soon follow,

My son and his wife were hoping that $500 a month could be used as a down payment for a house so they can have another child. Now they are paying $6,000 more a year for crappy coverage.

My husband will be taking a big pay decrease, (thousands of dollars) because of it. It will only delay his retirement and our finally being able to do some of the things we missed all these years.

Trump calls it a death spiral? What would you call it.

And if he said nothing, will that somehow soften the blow for all those people who do not get a subsidy from receiving mail and email that their crappy coverage will soon cost a lot more?

2. Obamacare: ‘Death spiral’

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.: Obamacare "is in what the actuaries call a death spiral."

Our rating: False.

This January 2017 fact check got new life during the debate about the GOP replacement bill. A death spiral is a health industry term for a cycle with three components shrinking enrollment, healthy people leaving the system and rising premiums. When we did the fact check, the latest data showed enrollment in Obamacare was increasing slightly; younger (typically healthier) people were signing up at the same rate as last year; and while premiums were increasing, that wasn’t affecting the cost to most consumers due to built-in subsidies.


Rather than misuse an industry term that the general public is not familiar with (and that is used with little evidence to support it) I would just say that there are important cost issues in some states that need to be addressed. I do not see the need to whip up the emotions of folks that are already upset about something that is very personal for those with health issues. Yes, Arizona did have large increases, a talking point of every Republican wanting the repeal of the ACA, as well as Trump, but other states have been much more successful. Those states are never mentioned. Such as NY, Wisconsin, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Arkansas & California. I am not going to list any facts, because I already know how you feel regarding this issue. I am sorry you and your family have been impacted by the shortcomings of the ACA, I just believe the American public can be better served by the President being less hyperbolic.
 

ruby59

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Messages
3,553
Whether Obamacare is successful or not will depend on the person you speak with.

I am sure those who get it for free or at an extremely reduced cost, love it.

And I can tell you for those of us who had great policies which we were told we could keep and are paying higher and higher premiums for even higher deductibles will tell you otherwise.

So for me what an actuary says or does not say regarding this is useless information.

And as far as the President exaggerating this, go on some of the message boards as people start to learn what their new premiums and deductibles will be. Mindblowing would be a good term and disgust would be another.

And I do not agree that Trump should not talk the truth about this. Ignoring it is what Obama did. He was more concerned about protecting his signature healthcare than being in tune with middle class America. I am glad the President is speaking out to exactly what many of us are experiencing - that my son and his wife will be paying $6,000 more next year for the exact same coverage.
 
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siamese3

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
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Messages
1,028
Whether Obamacare is successful or not will depend on the person you speak with.

I am sure those who get it for free or at an extremely reduced cost, love it.

And I can tell you for those of us who had great policies which we were told we could keep and are paying higher and higher premiums for even higher deductibles will tell you otherwise.

So for me what an actuary says or does not say regarding this is useless information.

And as far as the President exaggerating this, go on some of the message boards as people start to learn what their new premiums and deductibles will be. Mindblowing would be a good term and disgust would be another.

And I do not agree that Trump should not talk the truth about this. Ignoring it is what Obama did. He was more concerned about protecting his signature healthcare than being in tune with middle class America. I am glad the President is speaking out to exactly what many of us are experiencing - that my son and his wife will be paying $6,000 more next year for the exact same coverage.

Okay, so I just think you are missing my point. He is not talking truth. He is only talking about one side. And using hyperbole. Maybe you should also listen to all the people tell moving stories about how their lives or the lives of their loved ones were saved because of the ACA. Or maybe those people just don't count. They are somebodies family, too.
 

ruby59

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Messages
3,553
Okay, so I just think you are missing my point. He is not talking truth. He is only talking about one side. And using hyperbole. Maybe you should also listen to all the people tell moving stories about how their lives or the lives of their loved ones were saved because of the ACA. Or maybe those people just don't count. They are somebodies family, too.

Who said they do not count?

I am telling you people like me cannot support their healthcare at the expense of ourselves.

I am paying so much out of pocket right now that I am skipping treatments I need.
 

MollyMalone

Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Jun 2, 2013
Messages
3,413
* * * Did you see Arizona? Premiums to go up 116%. Insurance companies are dropping out fast.
Humana is dropping out at the end of 2017 and Aetna will probably soon follow,
My son and his wife were hoping that $500 a month could be used as a down payment for a house so they can have another child. Now they are paying $6,000 more a year for crappy coverage.

My husband will be taking a big pay decrease, (thousands of dollars) because of it. It will only delay his retirement and our finally being able to do some of the things we missed all these years. * * *
What happened in AZ and some other states is that the insurance companies low-balled themselves at the outset of "Obamacare", i.e., under-priced the policies they were offering through the exchanges/marketplaces: the policies available to individuals and their families which aren't employer-sponsored policies.

But here's why I'm posting. I found some RI information that maybe your son can use -- although he would have to wait until the beginning of November when the 2018 enrollment period begins. If the year's premium for individual medical insurance offered by his employer costs 9.66% or more of the household income, he can opt for HealthSoure, Rhode Island's own "marketplace". And the good news about that is HealthSource premiums for RI residents have not zoomed up. From p. 16 of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's January 2017 report, "What Explains the 21 Percent Increase in 2017 Marketplace Premiums, and Why Do Increases Vary Across the Country? "
Rhode Island has seen very low increases in its lowest-cost silver premiums since the ACA was implemented. The state has a single rating region, and in 2017, its lowest-cost silver premium decreased by 4.6 percent, following a 6.0 percent increase in 2016. Rhode Island has only two insurers participating in its Marketplace this year, but there seems to be intense price competition between them. Neighborhood Health Plan, a regional Medicaid plan, now has the lowest premiums in the state, but Blue Cross Blue Shield premiums remain relatively low as well. In addition, premiums may be lower because of its "affordability standards" which include limits on hospital rate increases.
http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2017/rwjf433993

HealthSource premiums are age-indexed, meaning your son would pay appreciably less than someone my age for the same coverage.
 

Dee*Jay

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 26, 2006
Messages
15,104
Damn early morning technology... first the pic doesn't show up at all (in this post) and now it's there (in the next post) twice. Computer apparently needs coffee!
 
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Dee*Jay

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Messages
15,104
.

IMG_1321.JPG

IMG_1321.JPG
 
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Dee*Jay

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Messages
15,104
Republicans exempt their own insurance from their latest health care proposal

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...h-care-proposal/ar-BBAnqI1?li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

Republican legislators want to keep popular Obamacare provisions for themselves and their staff.

House Republicans appear to have included a provision that exempts Members of Congress and their staff from their latest health care plan.

The new Republican amendment, introduced Tuesday night, would allow states to waive out of Obamacare’s ban on pre-existing conditions. This means that insurers could once again, under certain circumstances, charge sick people higher premiums than healthy people.

Republican legislators liked this policy well enough to offer it in a new amendment. They do not, however, seem to like it enough to have it apply to themselves and their staff. A spokesperson for Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) who authored this amendment confirmed this was the case: members of Congress and their staff would get the guarantee of keeping this Obamacare regulations. Health law expert Tim Jost flagged me to this particular issue.

A bit of background is helpful here. Obamacare requires all members of Congress and their staff to purchase coverage on the individual market, just like Obamacare enrollees. The politics of that plank were simple enough, meant to demonstrate that if the coverage in this law were good enough for Americans than it should be good enough for their representations in Washington.

That’s been happening for the past four years now. Fast-forward to this new amendment, which would allow states to waive out of key Obamacare protections like the ban on pre-existing conditions or the requirement to cover things like maternity care and mental health services.

If Congressional aides lived in a state that decided to waive these protections, the aides who were sick could be vulnerable to higher premiums than the aides that are healthy. Their benefits package could get skimpier as Obamacare’s essential health benefits requirement may no longer apply either.

This apparently does not sound appealing because the Republican amendment includes the members of Congress and their staff as a protected group who cannot be affected by this amendment.

You can see it on the sixth page of the amendment, although it is admittedly hard to spot. The Obamacare section that requires legislators to buy on the individual market is section 1312(d)(3)(D). And if you look at the Republican amendment, and the list of who cannot be included in this waiver? It includes Section 1312(d)(3)(D).

Read more about the Republicans’ new amendment here.
 

E B

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
9,490
^^Oh, but of course. They're nothing if not predictably awful. I actually think that deserves its own thread.
 
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siamese3

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
1,028
Republicans exempt their own insurance from their latest health care proposal

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...h-care-proposal/ar-BBAnqI1?li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

Republican legislators want to keep popular Obamacare provisions for themselves and their staff.

House Republicans appear to have included a provision that exempts Members of Congress and their staff from their latest health care plan.

The new Republican amendment, introduced Tuesday night, would allow states to waive out of Obamacare’s ban on pre-existing conditions. This means that insurers could once again, under certain circumstances, charge sick people higher premiums than healthy people.

Republican legislators liked this policy well enough to offer it in a new amendment. They do not, however, seem to like it enough to have it apply to themselves and their staff. A spokesperson for Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) who authored this amendment confirmed this was the case: members of Congress and their staff would get the guarantee of keeping this Obamacare regulations. Health law expert Tim Jost flagged me to this particular issue.

A bit of background is helpful here. Obamacare requires all members of Congress and their staff to purchase coverage on the individual market, just like Obamacare enrollees. The politics of that plank were simple enough, meant to demonstrate that if the coverage in this law were good enough for Americans than it should be good enough for their representations in Washington.

That’s been happening for the past four years now. Fast-forward to this new amendment, which would allow states to waive out of key Obamacare protections like the ban on pre-existing conditions or the requirement to cover things like maternity care and mental health services.

If Congressional aides lived in a state that decided to waive these protections, the aides who were sick could be vulnerable to higher premiums than the aides that are healthy. Their benefits package could get skimpier as Obamacare’s essential health benefits requirement may no longer apply either.

This apparently does not sound appealing because the Republican amendment includes the members of Congress and their staff as a protected group who cannot be affected by this amendment.

You can see it on the sixth page of the amendment, although it is admittedly hard to spot. The Obamacare section that requires legislators to buy on the individual market is section 1312(d)(3)(D). And if you look at the Republican amendment, and the list of who cannot be included in this waiver? It includes Section 1312(d)(3)(D).

Read more about the Republicans’ new amendment here.
Thanks for posting this DeeJay. I saw it this morning as well, and it so troubling.
 

OreoRosies86

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 25, 2012
Messages
3,463
DeeJay, that is definitely troubling and deserving of its own SAD thread.
 

katharath

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Messages
2,850
Republicans exempt their own insurance from their latest health care proposal

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...h-care-proposal/ar-BBAnqI1?li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

Republican legislators want to keep popular Obamacare provisions for themselves and their staff.

House Republicans appear to have included a provision that exempts Members of Congress and their staff from their latest health care plan.

The new Republican amendment, introduced Tuesday night, would allow states to waive out of Obamacare’s ban on pre-existing conditions. This means that insurers could once again, under certain circumstances, charge sick people higher premiums than healthy people.

Republican legislators liked this policy well enough to offer it in a new amendment. They do not, however, seem to like it enough to have it apply to themselves and their staff. A spokesperson for Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) who authored this amendment confirmed this was the case: members of Congress and their staff would get the guarantee of keeping this Obamacare regulations. Health law expert Tim Jost flagged me to this particular issue.

A bit of background is helpful here. Obamacare requires all members of Congress and their staff to purchase coverage on the individual market, just like Obamacare enrollees. The politics of that plank were simple enough, meant to demonstrate that if the coverage in this law were good enough for Americans than it should be good enough for their representations in Washington.

That’s been happening for the past four years now. Fast-forward to this new amendment, which would allow states to waive out of key Obamacare protections like the ban on pre-existing conditions or the requirement to cover things like maternity care and mental health services.

If Congressional aides lived in a state that decided to waive these protections, the aides who were sick could be vulnerable to higher premiums than the aides that are healthy. Their benefits package could get skimpier as Obamacare’s essential health benefits requirement may no longer apply either.

This apparently does not sound appealing because the Republican amendment includes the members of Congress and their staff as a protected group who cannot be affected by this amendment.

You can see it on the sixth page of the amendment, although it is admittedly hard to spot. The Obamacare section that requires legislators to buy on the individual market is section 1312(d)(3)(D). And if you look at the Republican amendment, and the list of who cannot be included in this waiver? It includes Section 1312(d)(3)(D).

Read more about the Republicans’ new amendment here.

How f*cking sickening. These people are sleazy bastards. Of course, many of us already knew that, but I'm sure their voters will have some demented, twisted "logic" for why this is all okay.
 

siamese3

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
1,028
I'm sure their voters will have some demented, twisted "logic" for why this is all okay
Or more possibly, they won't know about it. I'm sure that aspect won't be hightlighted on Foxnews. Nor will that be one of the talking points.
 

Matata

Ideal_Rock
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Messages
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Screen Shot 2017-04-26 at 8.29.17 AM.png
stupid challenge copy.png
 

redwood66

Ideal_Rock
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Messages
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Since we have to have this blasted thing they all should have to use it, no exemptions.
 

Matata

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
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Messages
8,995
Screen Shot 2017-04-26 at 8.57.12 AM.png
 

siamese3

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
1,028
Okay, that made me almost spit my high flalutin' green tea out! Thanks for the laugh! I love Spicey... he gets good ratings. The BEST rating. Who cares if the WH spokesman is credible, geez.. let's not get focus on that. Here's your real story. Respectfully, this is all just entertainment now, right???
 

ruby59

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Messages
3,553
What happened in AZ and some other states is that the insurance companies low-balled themselves at the outset of "Obamacare", i.e., under-priced the policies they were offering through the exchanges/marketplaces: the policies available to individuals and their families which aren't employer-sponsored policies.

But here's why I'm posting. I found some RI information that maybe your son can use -- although he would have to wait until the beginning of November when the 2018 enrollment period begins. If the year's premium for individual medical insurance offered by his employer costs 9.66% or more of the household income, he can opt for HealthSoure, Rhode Island's own "marketplace". And the good news about that is HealthSource premiums for RI residents have not zoomed up. From p. 16 of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's January 2017 report, "What Explains the 21 Percent Increase in 2017 Marketplace Premiums, and Why Do Increases Vary Across the Country? "
Rhode Island has seen very low increases in its lowest-cost silver premiums since the ACA was implemented. The state has a single rating region, and in 2017, its lowest-cost silver premium decreased by 4.6 percent, following a 6.0 percent increase in 2016. Rhode Island has only two insurers participating in its Marketplace this year, but there seems to be intense price competition between them. Neighborhood Health Plan, a regional Medicaid plan, now has the lowest premiums in the state, but Blue Cross Blue Shield premiums remain relatively low as well. In addition, premiums may be lower because of its "affordability standards" which include limits on hospital rate increases.
http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2017/rwjf433993

HealthSource premiums are age-indexed, meaning your son would pay appreciably less than someone my age for the same coverage.

Thank you so much for that.

While my son lives in Rhode Island he works at PWC in Boston, Mass.

His insurance is with United Health.
 

Dee*Jay

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 26, 2006
Messages
15,104
Ruby, does your son get insurance through his employer? Perhaps I'm confused about this as I thought he got it through the marketplace but now I'm thinking he gets it through work... ?
 

siamese3

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
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Messages
1,028
I guess this would belong in the "Trump's first 100 days" thread that thankfully doesn't exist :) (oh yeah, you know I thought about!)
I have been thinking about this opinion piece I read the other day, and I think it really captures my biggest problem with Trump. The fact that he has degraded the office of the president in these early days of his term. I will admit to watching Obama the other day (and I know I will now be accused of loving him, but maybe I do :whistle: ) and I just felt like it was so frickin' crazy to see and hear someone speaking full, coherent sentences who seems so utterly genuine. In his caring and concern for the future of our country and how necessary it is for citizens, especially the younger generation, to become engaged in civics at all levels. It was almost shocking to me after the last 100 days. And I am not being dramatic. It is just my opinion, which I am entitled to.

http://www.newsweek.com/robert-reich-what-has-trump-achieved-his-first-100-days-588450
 
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katharath

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Messages
2,850
I guess this would belong in the "Trump's first 100 days" thread that thankfully doesn't exist :) (oh yeah, you know I thought about!)
I have been thinking about this opinion piece I read the other day, and I think it really captures my biggest problem with Trump. The fact that he has degraded the office of the president in these early days of his term. I will admit to watching Obama the other day (and I know I will now be accused of loving him, but maybe I do :whistle: ) and I just felt like it was so frickin' crazy to see and hear someone speaking you full, coherent sentences who seems so utterly genuine. In his caring and concern for the future of our country and how necessary it is for citizens, especially the younger generation, to become engaged in civics at all levels. It was almost shocking to me after the last 100 days. And I am not being dramatic. It is just my opinion, which I am entitled to.

http://www.newsweek.com/robert-reich-what-has-trump-achieved-his-first-100-days-588450

Lol, I love this post bc:
A) I generally agree with Reich and certainly do here
and
B) I *also* love Obama and I really don't care who knows it :razz:
 

t-c

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
723
Off topic, but I love Robert Reich! I wish I could take one of his classes at Berkeley. I plan to retire there, so one of these days...I hope he's still teaching by then.
 

ruby59

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Messages
3,553
Ruby, does your son get insurance through his employer? Perhaps I'm confused about this as I thought he got it through the marketplace but now I'm thinking he gets it through work... ?

He like my husband both get it through work. With my husband and his latest promotion he was considered a paid contractor no longer part of the Union.

My son does get paid through PWC but Obama triggered a change in the workplace, and for the last few years his coverage went from Blue Cross (wonderful) to UnitedHealthCare ( crappy) with ever increasing premiums and deductibles and pretty much them having to switch all doctors and labs because suddenly they were out of network.

He showed us the email:

Same deductible as before - increase of $500 a month.

Lower deductible - $1,000 more a month.
 

Tacori E-ring

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
20,041
I was under the impression that companies choose who they contract their healthcare benefits with. I don't know anyone employed who gets *free* insurance. I get coverage through my employer but still have to pay part of the premium/co-pays/deductibles. Of course it adds up but has nothing to do with ACA.
 
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