Individual mandate weakened by insurance companies’ pullouts.
There are so many problems with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – better known as ObamaCare – that you could write an entire book on its issues. In fact, several people have already done that.
The latest problem – and there will be plenty more of them exposed as time goes on, believe me – is that some of the insurance companies that were supposed to make up the states’ exchanges where people could purchase health insurance are bowing out of the program. Decision makers at these companies have determined that due to the limitations that some states are placing on customer rates, they will not be able to make enough money to make it worthwhile.
Deciding to not participate in some states’ exchanges are some of the big boys of the health insurance industry, including Blue Cross, Aetna, Humana and United. Aetna has pulled out of Connecticut (where it is based), plus Georgia and Maryland, and it never intended to participate in California. These companies can still sell group policies to employers in those states, but they won’t sell individual policies.
The law stipulates that all Americans have health insurance or face a fine, and it also requires states to set up exchanges in which people can purchase insurance. With insurance companies being required to accept patients with pre-existing conditions and also being limited by the rates that individuals must pay, some insurance companies are getting out while the getting is good.
All of which will deliver yet another blow to the train wreck known as ObamaCare.
The votes are not there to repeal ObamaCare – at least not yet – so the problems will continue to be exposed. The losers will be the individuals and families whose rates will rise, the companies that will go out of business because they can’t afford to offer what ObamaCare requires, and the states that could go bankrupt when the health insurance law takes full effect over the next few years.
What have your experiences with ObamaCare been so far? Please let me know how it has affected you, your family or your business.
I don’t know why Frank’s email today (June 17, 2015) directed us to go to this 8-month old post, but I’ll comment. I lost my insurance this year because of Obamacare. Before the ACA, my monthly premium was $287. Jan 1 2015 (still Anthem) my coverage got worse, deductibles and max out-of-pocket went up, and my premium jumped to $688! Can’t afford it so now I have NO insurance. Not eligible for subsidies.
Everyone keep in mind that while the media, etc., keep insisting that health insurance is required under the law, it is NOT. Section 18115 (42 USC 18115) says that no one is required to sign up for health insurance and no one can be fined for not signing up. There is a detailed article on this at yourremedyisinthelaw.com under the Obamacare link to the right
The information at yourremedyisinthelaw.com is from 2010 to 2013 does anyone know if it is still applicable? Are there any updates for 2015?
When this sign up period for Obamacare started, I phoned my regular carrier for information: I was told
that I could keep my primary Medicare insurance and
their insurance and that I need not switch to/take this
new insurance. I am retired, of course.
On the other, my niece was sure that she had to switch to Obamacare and now pays more for her insurance coverage than she did previously.
(What a tax/insurance relief!!!)
No Obamacare for me!
Mary Ann
A line in this 2000 page mess of a law states that all health care facilities must have a> 90 % compliance with employees “voluntarily” taking the Flu shot or the Medicare reimbursement is decreased. Therefore this mostly ineffective injection is forced upon us whether we really wanted it or not. With the CDC poor record ( 5 “mistakes” in the past 12 years) all attributed to “virus mutation” Big Brother never admits it’s errors.
Flu shot is poison. Haven’t gotten one in over 20 ears and i don’t get the fl.
I refuse to get the yearly flu shot, as well. I had a flu shot many years ago (in the 90’s) and that was the worst case of flu I can ever remember having. I’d rather stay healthy and keep the flu at bay like I have done for years by eating properly, staying rested and hydrated and taking plenty of Vitamin C.
I was injured on the job about 5 years ago and haven’t been able to work in over 2. I don’t have any health coverage, but I’m sure as #@!! NOT signing up for OBummerCare!
My name is Tom too, I’m 62 and I’ve never had the flu or a flu shot ever.
I purchased health insurance from the exchange for 2014. I was sent the premium cost for 2015. The monthly rate will increase by 25%. I understand that the insurance companies are being subsidized by the
Government for any losses. This “make up” is going
to last for the first couple of years of the ACA. After that the premiums are expected to blast up. So for everyone who purchases their own coverage expect to be drained.
Today is 29 Oct 2014. In just a short six days the country will vote for new or the same old representatives for Governor, Senators, House of Representative, mayor, councilman, dog catcher and alike. There is one thing for certain, President Obama hasn’t campaigned for his party. He has been hiding out in the White House because the handwriting is on the wall. His days are numbered. The Republican party will control both houses. He knows that his programs that he has fought so hard for these past six years will be torn to shreds, and there is nothing he can do about it.
If Mr. Obama was smart he would have made his “Obamacare” for the average citizen the same thing that all federal employees enjoy. But no, he had to try and include outside insurance companies to underwrite the “Obamacare package.” With the handwriting on the wall these companies are pulling out of the Obamacare program because it is not so profitable and they have the word of the Republican Party that Obamacare will be targeted for dismantling. The insurance companies were warned that if they didn’t pull out now, they will be left holding a very messy grab bag of expensive policies. In short they will be swing in the breeze by their lonesome. In a few short years a new president will take over and there is no longer a guarantee that these insurance companies will still receive the protection of the President.
Winter is coming, and there is no help on the way to save the day. The President has packed his bags and has them by the door just in case. On the wind, you can hear the howls of the wolf pack getting louder and closer. Do you cut and run or stand your ground?
People forget that Nebraska was exempted from Obamacare by Obama, just to buy the senators votes. Then Pelosi refused to let anyone to read the bill before it was voted. Huge red flags, but the train rolled right on through. Obamacare IS unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court ruled otherwise? We are in deep trouble.
Politics is a strange bedfellow. Just make sure you are sleeping on rubber sheets, or better yet sleep alone.
The Supreme court DID NOT RULE that the ACA was constitutional. It only looked at a very narrow portion dealing with the question, was the law really a Tax, which requires the legislation start in the house, and that it be approved by them. In the end, that small portion was declared valid, and was indeed a tax, and was not unfair or unconstitutional, because of how it was worded.
They purposefully avoided the question, like gay marriage, by allowing the states to provide their own rules, but the federal government and agencies had to abide by what various state law required.
I strongly object to being forced to purchase something just because I breath.
10 years ago I got tired of paying 2 and 3 times as much on premiums, deductibles and out of pockets as what my total med bills were and that included an occasional ER visit. Immediately prior to ObamaCare I acquired a high deductible plan and am still paying more per year than my actual expenses or at least based on negotiated rates. Currently my specialist visits cost a co pay of $50 but uncovered and deductible items cost me an additional $100 per visit.
Only good thing is that the insurance company gets the task of negotiation where a $1200 billed visit turns into $300 of negotiated rates.
We live in a nation of medical innovations where other countries benefit at our expense in footing all the costs of any improvements.
First, I need to say that I am not in favor of the present system. I do not understand how people who are trying to sign up for insurance are told they can not do so because they do not make enough money. I know of two people in this situation. I do not see how they would have to pay a fine, but I do not understand how they can not qualify for coverage. Has anybody else run into this? My friend’s two adult children were told they did not qualify. I have no additional information about this.
Olame Scare doesn’t affect me at all. I don’t know why people pay any attention to it.
That is what the burglar said about the guard dog, “Don’t pay any attention to that dog, until he bites you in the ass, then you will know he is on duty.”
By ignoring something, doesn’t make it disappear. You must deal with it while you can. When it is manageable and small you have a chance to work with it. When you allow it to grow you may face stiff opposition to your efforts.
The healthcare law does not concern me either. Section 18115 of the law says no one is require to sign up and no one can be fined for not signing up. Read the People.
The Unaffordable Hate Act is nothing more than fascism. Mussolini stated fascism is the state and corporations getting together against the people. In this country fascism expresses itself in the fluoridation of our water, the fact that the government has made it illegal to photograph or video the abusive practices of large CAFO animal husbandry, that Monsanto can’t be sued for ruining your organic plants but you will lose your property if Monsanto crops pollinate your organic crops against your desires because then you have “stolen” their seed technology and Monsanto can and will sue you, the dental industry is still allowed to poison Americans with mercury fillings, the pharmaceuticals heavily promote their poisons while natural foods are not allowed to advertise the verified benefits of their products, with the ACA everyone must buy insurance even against their will, the polyester companies got the government to label natural fibers as dangerous to small children in case of fire where in reality the oil based fibers will melt onto your child and are more dangerous, big pharma wants to sell flu shots so the government like the good lap dog that it is pushes them relentlessly. The list is endless.
Italy showed the world the way in getting rid of Mussolini. Hung him by his feet and killed him.
So true. And Congress keeps calling it “ObamaCare” and complain about how it’s not going to work. It was Congress that wouldn’t pass the bill until Obama made a couple concessions: Make it mandatory and keep the Insurance Industry in the loop. It was the Insurance Industry that broke the system in the first place. I’d love to see a ‘democratic revolution’ but, it seems Congress is pushing us into a bloody ‘removal of this “hostile government”‘. My senator, lamar smith is full of ‘anti-Obama’ rhetoric of whom I’ve caught in many lies yet, like most Congressmen, he’s allowed to continue gerry mandering to stay in office. He’s just a racist biggot and a liar. All republicans and democrats must vote outside their parties in order to get these unwanted people out of Congress.
Neither of you understand either national socialism, nor the counterfeit that is Obummercare. Because we have been brainwashed to believe that we are a ‘proposition nation’ rather than a nation of ONE Ethnos, ONE people, and ONE religion (as our Founding Fathers clearly stated […for US and OUR posterity] and every one of the 13 colonies articulated (Free, White, Christian Englishmen) we now have to foot the bill for the unwanted, the irresponsible, and the mentally sub-standard.
However, in a TRUE nation, the care and oversight of its people, as a UNIFIED PEOPLE, is one of the responsibilities of the rulers- the obligation of the ‘nobles’ (noblesse oblige). What we have instead here in the J-USA, is a corporate greed state, where the oligarchs determine life for the rest of us. And an oligarchy is as far from a truly benevolent socialist nationalist state, as one can get… unless you only read the newsmedia, or watch TV for your thoughts…
You did not touch on the effect on doctors. We cannot tell what plans are under the ACA and what are not so we end up seeing more welfare patients for which we get paid little or nothing. Most doctors I know are doing their best to avoid accepting any ACA based insurances therefore you will see a shortage of providers in the near future.
That is because these doctors have to fight for every dollar they get, getting paid for their service takes a long time, and they are under cut and under paid and over worked.
You can’t have For Profit Companies in a Socialist State,
I agree that we need to dump the old compromisers out of public office and as for prayers. I am a believer. along with our voting rights let us sincerely pray that there era some people out there that stand for principle, that will run and will win. There is no question in my mind that we are being set up for a dictartorship and obamacare is more a control vehicle than an answer to our healthcare issues. Thanks Barry E. Brown
If anyone is interested, look up Congressman Stockman R. Texas and sign his documents in the impeachment attempts of Obama. Everyone has to remember, Obama has tremendous power and financial support from outside this country, His foriegn supporters want America to fall, they need the dollar to collapse, and he is making it all happen. Absolute power corrupts, in his sothu address he stated he will cross the lines of his power to attain his goals, this is beyond his true constitutional powers so now he is impeachable, but America has to want it and understand the whole picture.
Obama’s lies, are polluting all government, and the news people, are intimidated into obeying the gag orders from him, and his world owner, handlers. we need a super rich conservative, who can’t be intimidated, to start a newspaper, which will tell the real truth, about all of the underhanded lies,and intimidation. there are still too many people who actually believe in this powerhouse presidential liar.
Obama, obama, obama…..everyone wants to blame Obama for everything. I admit, I am severely disappointed in his lack of spine, but it is shocking how ignorant people are about who REALLY controls the government and the fact that in these times, the President is just a puppet!!! This guy and anyone else in his tracks will all do as they are told as the consequence of not being a puppet is too high. People…wake up and smell the wholesale destruction of our society and constitution. Television is rotting everyone’s mind with debauchery, mothers cannot afford to stay home and drill ethics into our children and citizens are becoming the new “slave” of the future. Wake up, stand up and be counted before it is too late.
WANT ANSWERS: FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL THAT IS
WHERE YOU GET THE ANSWERS
IMPEACH KING OZAMNA
I agree with Jacki and Steve. You spend your life trying to do the right thing, give part of it to the coutry or society for a pittance and in the end their’s nothing there for you. What you may have been able to salvage and save is taken away from you so fast that simply loose track of it. I’m a liberal now also, I don’t think anyone should be able to stay in office if he or she isn’t doing their job. And, I agree it stinks to get old, but it happens and I like so many others am stuck with it. What I didn’t expect is to be stuck with the financial burden that this government has created for me. Thank you Obama… You notice I did’t say mister!
I have been working in healthcare since I left high school in the ’60’s, The changes in the past 10 or so years are frankly frightening. For example the HIPPA laws, presumably to protect patients privacy, protect a spouse from the other checking on what is going on , or protect a teenager from their parents finding out they are using drugs of getting g birth control. But those laws also overruled the centuries-old rule of patient-doctor confidentiality, & gave our government access to those previously protected records. I doubt very much that many working in healthcare see the current changes as improvement. It is all government mirrors & political smokescreens, & the survivors hopefully will vote for the incumbents. Be oh so careful what you wish for………..
Bear in mind also that one of the government mirrors and political smokescreens is our right to vote. Sure, we get the right to walk into a poll station, stand behind a curtain, and fill out a vote card, but that’s where it ends for us. In reality, the winner is decided by which major corporation has thrown the most money into backing the campaign of the winning candidate. Unfortunately, that’s the sad reality of our corporate-owned government today.
I don’t understand what happened in this country to health care. We have always had it and every job you had offered it. It covered everything except for a few dollars. We have been married for 38 years and the co pays etc. started 10 or so years back. But they still paid most of everything. My husband , 71 years old, could not breathe and I called for help and they took him to the hospital and he did not have a heart attack, thank goodness. but they kept him for 2 days to run tests etc, and we got a letter from the insurance company saying they were NOT going to cover it because he did not have a heart attack and should not have been admitted to the hospital. He did not admit himself! There were no lung doctors at the hospital so they thought he had asthma. Put him on puffers and then after seeing a lung doctor who took him off a statin drug and the puffers he is back to normal. We still don’t know if we have to pay for all that. Then the other day we got a letter saying we now have a $3,000.00 deductible on prescription drugs. We don’t use that many drugs per year not yet. so we have no prescription coverage as I see it that we pay for. We are just waiting to see what is next. My daughters insurance has just doubled all her co-pays. My 86 year old mother has medicare and another insurance and still pays $600. per month on drugs. In Jan. one of her pills went from $190.00 to $219.00 per month. ACA is not helping us and we have carried insurance all our lives and have used it very little. As your body ages it just wears out. A fact of life. I feel like every penny I have is being sucked right out of me until I am toast. Can no longer afford to live. And not just with health care. I don’t understand why people can’t see that the gov. gets it’s money from you. The more they spend, the less you have. How did we have such good health care in the past and now you pay for it and get nothing? Sorry for complaining, I want good coverage for all but this is not the answer.
Prior to WWI, there were very few insurance programs, only for the rich and were an innovation created during WWII when wages were frozen, and the differentiator was employer paid insurance benefits, starting with Life insurance, and later health insurance. Auto, Home and other insurance were added later. Since many don’t ever submit a claim, on some of these, or pay close to the face value in premiums, over time, it is a big money maker. For most of us, it would be much better to drop insurance all together, and go to straight cash system, pay as you go, or prepay for certain procedures.
Much of the work today is barely or not necessary – often diagnostic, evaluating to ensure that you haven’t reached a certain point, where medication is required, if you don’t change your diet (no processed or ‘fast’ foods) and improve exercise. Real nutrition and financial education is sorely lacking from schools today. Most ‘treatment’ pushes pharmacy cures to mask the symptoms, instead of changing our lifestyle to fix the root cause and really cure the problem. There is no profit in a cure, but major $$ in treatments, that require regular monitoring.
I,m currently paying 56% of my income just for my medical insurance. This does not count medicine, doctor visits etc – just the basic premium. I can not drop the insurance due to pre-existing conditions ie cancer and back problems so I,m stuck.
If Obama care does work at all I can get the exact same insurance even with the same company for almost $1000.00 a month less than I,m paying now. It would greatly help us. Everyone complains about having to pay a couple hundred a week while working but you’ll faint when you retire which I was forced to due at age 54 for medical reasons.
I DO NOT like Obama at all and what he is doing but our medical system is totally messed up and starting something like health care for everyone then fixing later it is a start. I am not a free loader but try living when you pay 56% of your income just for basic insurance which you can’t afford to drop. Think about it – millions of us are living this way and you will to as you grow older. The worst time is between 54-65, you’ll eventually see.
I refuse to give up everything and live like a dog to qualify for the state run medical programs.
What other solution do we have, please answer that for me. All our savings are almost gone trying to just live due to high insurance premiums.
I spent my entire life giving to this country, 11 years in US Army and 19 years as a civilian police officer in large metro city. What do I get for it – not a damn thing.
Yet I don’t complain or beg for govt assistance programs. My wife and I just struggle on – praying for some change somewhere to help us survive. I’ve been a strong republican all my life but it is obvious they don’t care about this type of issue affecting millions of Americans so I will now become an Independent and constantly vote to kick all the old timers out until we get representatives in our government who will listen to the people and help us somehow.
The problem for you Steve, would appear to be an inherent problem with SSA Disability and Medicare. Disability is supposed to be available if you are disabled and unable to work, or expected to be unable to work for one year or longer, however, you can’t get Medicare until you’ve been disabled for two years … does anyone else see the flaw in this math? Easy fix, change Medicare to where it is available to disabled persons effective their disability date! Why should the safety net be designed to bankrupt you before it can be used?
Virtually all govt social ‘benefits’ are only available at the onset, as a youth, or after prolonged condition, if you were well compensated or have accumulated some measure of wealth. In order to qualify, you have to divest those things, can’t really own much, including a home and receive benefits. Their term is to ‘spend down’ to true poverty, where they can control everything that matters, and keep you in that state, as long as possible.
Yes, there are limits, where some benefits may be possible, but once you’ve exceeded them, you have to slip below bottom and lose virtually everything before they will help. None of it is about helping people bet on their feet and become self-sufficient. Instead, it is about making people dependent, with penalties for improving, rewards for dependent behavior, to keep them there.
I had to retire early for medical reasons. I’m on Medicare, but my wife is on my company retirement insurance ( now COBRA) for another year. We’re paying over $1200 a month for insurance. Both of our premiums went up in January. It’s a struggle, and the only way I see costs going are up. If people think the government is going to give them something for nothing, they’re in for a rude awakening as they get older.
My job has cut me from 40 hours a week without benefits to 24-32 hours a week just before I was eligible for benefits so they won’t have to provide them. I won’t participate in ACA,,,I refuse.
It seems that we must support those who will continue the effort to replace obamacare with something that will work for the people and not for Obama’s dream of dictator. I hope letters an calls to both houses will make a difference.