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Sigh....No, total cost will not go down. Yes, hospitals won't have to hike prices to cover the uninsured. They will just bill their insurance company instead. They'll still collect what they collect now IF everyone ends up with insurance which will NOT happen (read below).
Yes preventative care is cheaper, however, when free clinics go away (no need for them when everyone is insured) and everyone has a copay to see the doctor, will they? You're assuming they will go. For the poor, I think the $20 copay will be enough to keep them home unless they're really sick. Ditto for copays on prescriptions. You'd have to make it free (...you know like...um...the free clinics we have now????) to get the poor to go to the doctor.
Now toss in that it doesn't result in everyone being insured. It results in everyone who can find a full time job being insured. If you don't have a full time job....good luck finding one. But, on the bright side, there will be a lot of 29 hour per week jobs available....with flexible hours....
You are very right. This is not perfect. Far from it. It's a disaster.
Well, I give up. Good thing most voting Americans are able to understand how these things work.
You won't see a check. I just got a letter from my company about this.
They are not disbursing any money to employees/retirees. They will keep the money "to offset future costs" which they are legally allowed to do. They were given that option as part of Obamacare.
Don't count on seeing any refund of overpayment.
Illegals will still have to be paid for by the taxpayer so there will still be "unpaid bills". And we have anywhere from 12-20 million illegals in this country.
Ooops..I mean "undocumented Americans".
We will also have to pay for anyone who can't find full time work and, therefore, doesn't have insurance as well. I predict there will be a lot more of them.
Intersting. My employer (self insured) issued refunds. I don't know why. One person getting cancer 5 years from now could wipe out all of those overages. I think they should have kept it but they may purchase a policy for things like that. If that's the case, then they should have done the refund.
Well, I give up. Good thing most voting Americans are able to understand how these things work.
LOL, um no. They don't. They just vote on wishes.
Unfortunately, you'll see. But it will be way too late by the time you do. Actually, it already is. Just remember you voted for this. The fallout is already starting. Companies are announcing lay offs and reduction in hours. Next is higher prices at the grocery store, gas station and for everything else which will leave people less able to pay the copay for a visit to the doctor...
All I can say is you'll see. But I'm sad about that.
Unfortunately, you'll see. But it will be way too late by the time you do. Actually, it already is. Just remember you voted for this. The fallout is already starting. Companies are announcing lay offs and reduction in hours. Next is higher prices at the grocery store, gas station and for everything else which will leave people less able to pay the copay for a visit to the doctor...
All I can say is you'll see. But I'm sad about that.
This post is positively, absolutely (and unfortunately) 100% correct.
Yeah, it's the Affordable Healthcare Act . It couldn't be globalization, Americans' cheapness, Americans' greed, our entrepreneurs' quick adaptation to the "sell new ideas to the highest bidder ASAP regardless if it stays in America" mentality that our current economy rewards, and the, "If you work for less than $30/hour it's 'cause you're lazy" that belittles essential workers. No...couldn't be that! Because life would be so much better without some lazy-a$$ changing the oil in my car for $8/hour so that I could do it myself.
Yeah, it's the Affordable Healthcare Act . It couldn't be globalization, Americans' cheapness, Americans' greed, our entrepreneurs' quick adaptation to the "sell new ideas to the highest bidder ASAP regardless if it stays in America" mentality that our current economy rewards, and the, "If you work for less than $30/hour it's 'cause you're lazy" that belittles essential workers. No...couldn't be that! Because life would be so much better without some lazy-a$$ changing the oil in my car for $8/hour so that I could do it myself.
ZOOOOOM.... That's the sound of the logic here going right over your head. Yes we have globalization and we already have a problem with not being able to sell goods made here to our own people. Tell me how making them more expensive helps this.
Who's selling ideas abroad? Please name names. I see businesses going abroad because it is a global economy and it's already too expensive to manufacture here. So tell me how making it MORE expensive to manufature here helps this?
LOL, no life is fine with someone making $8/hour to change out oil. But that's about to get more expensive when you add in medical. So tell me how life gets better when it's $8/hr plus $10/hr in benefits? This helps how??? It doesn't help. It results in his boss capping his hours at 29 so he doesn't have to pay the tax penalty or for the benefits. Now he has even LESS to live on. And because of obamacare doctors are now even less likely to work free clinics so he can't even go to the doctor for his depression.
You've got your fingers in your ears and your eyes closed saying "NA-NA-NA" because you don't want to hear the truth. But you don't have to. You will see what happens when obamacare kicks in and all I can say is "I told you so". I wish it weren't so but, unlike you, I know the difference between a wish and reality.
Because of this, people will get laid off. Because of this people who want to work full time will only be able to work part time. Because of this prices will go up across the board which will result in Americans buying even more foriegn products because they're cheaper, which will result in more lay offs, which will result in less goods sold, repeat ad nausium until we're in a depression and then God help us because this is a global economy and the rest of the world would just as soon watch us implode than help us. This will be VERY VERY BAD. When all is said and done, I predict that obama goes down as the worst president we ever had but it's too late to change any of this. Just remember YOU voted for it and you will get what you voted for.
Right now our economy is fragile (you might have pulled this off in a good economy but not in a bad one). obummer will push it right over the edge. Just wait. You'll see.
Oh well, Applebee's isn't that good of a restaurant anyway, someone else will come along and get the business that this guy turns away.
By the way, I'm pretty sure I don't want sick people cooking and serving my food, so I'm glad that these other businesses will treat their employees right.
I believe it's they had insurance available to them. Some choose not to take it.
Something I've never researched is how this impacts those of us with insurance. I, currently, pay 20% fo the cost of my policy (up from 10% last year). How much does someone making minimum wage contribute to theirs? Or is it all on the employer to come up with the $1000/month it takes to insure a family (my policy costs $15K/year but it pays for things it shouldn't so it's expensive so I contribute $3K/year.).
Benefits are part of your wage packet. By mandating employers pay for insurance, what we're really doing is telling them what they have to pay their employees. This is like doubling minimum wage. It will have serious impact on our economy and will be devestating for many small businesses and even large ones that don't, currently, offer insurance. They have to either cut costs (translation eliminate jobs), generate more revenue (translation raise prices) or cut hours to avoid having to pay.
I do think we need to do something to insure the poor but I'm thinking it should be part of the welfare system. If you can't afford insurance, there should be a cheap group policy you can buy. I also think that it's high time we made 100% of all medical expenses a tax write off (since we have write offs). It is NOT fair that the $300/month I pay towards my policy is pre-tax, while someome buying insurance on their own and payint the entire bill pays with after tax monies. It is NOT fair that I can contribute $2500 into a medical spending account that I can use to pay co pays and other out of pocket expenses while someone else must spend 5% of their income before these expenses become a write off. That should be fixed.
Quite honestly, what I expected was for the government to decide that people like me would pay taxes on those monies and they'd use that money to pay for the insurance for the poor which would he handled through the welfare department. I also think they should allow a write off for time doctors spend working free clinics. Paying taxes on my benefits is not something I like but, when you think about it, my benefits are part of my wage packet. If I took a job in industry and didn't take the medical, I could negotiate a higher wage. It is income that is, currently, not taxed and I'm allowed to take $2500 of my pay in the form of pre tax medical spending. You have to stop treating one group of people differently from another when they are really buying the same service with their labors.
I know people won't like what I just suggested but taxes have to go up. There is no other choice now and you have this situation where one group is getting a tax break on benefits that the other is not. It needs to be the same for both groups whichever way you go. Make all medical a write off and you make insurance more affordable. Tax benefits as income and you generate revenue to pay for medicl through welfare (Medicaid). If you do that, however, you need to put it in place during a good economy.
I also think they need to tax the hell out of insurance company profits over and above a certain point and put that money into the pot to pay for insurance for the poor.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 11-11-2012 at 06:09 AM..
Oh well, Applebee's isn't that good of a restaurant anyway, someone else will come along and get the business that this guy turns away.
By the way, I'm pretty sure I don't want sick people cooking and serving my food, so I'm glad that these other businesses will treat their employees right.
Actually, no. People will stay home more. Let's say that everything goes up in price 20% because of this. People have to cut costs somewhere. They will cut luxuries like going out. You can cook 2-3 meals at home for the price of going out once. What you are going to see is even more restaurants going out of business.
Our economy is not in position to do this and it needs to be phased in with tax increases when it is done. As it's being done, it will shock the economy and the economy is already in bad shape. This will be BAD. VERY BAD.
And having insurance won't stop sick people from going to work. That would require employers to pay them if they stay home. Are you suggesting we mandate that too?
Are you listening? What employers will do is lay off peole and cut hours. How is that treating them right?
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 11-11-2012 at 06:11 AM..
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But it will be way too late by the time you do. Actually, it already is. Just remember you voted for this. The fallout is already starting. Companies are announcing lay offs and reduction in hours. Next is higher prices at the grocery store, gas station and for everything else which will leave people less able to pay the copay for a visit to the doctor...
. It couldn't be globalization, Americans' cheapness, Americans' greed, our entrepreneurs' quick adaptation to the "sell new ideas to the highest bidder ASAP regardless if it stays in America" mentality that our current economy rewards, and the, "If you work for less than $30/hour it's 'cause you're lazy" that belittles essential workers. No...couldn't be that! 
Because life would be so much better without some lazy-a$$ changing the oil in my car for $8/hour so that I could do it myself. 
