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When Obamacare users can't afford it?
10-08-2013, 11:24 PM
Most (at least a large percentage) of the low-income people who will be signing up for it, will not be able to afford the monthly payments. It's not cheap at all, the most basic plan for a healthy 25-35 year old man is something like $65, and this can be higher/lower depending on region.
Before, a lot of these people were probably going to the public hospital or on medicaid if they qualified. Now, a lot of them will be signing up for this "Obamacare" and not be able to afford it.
This hasn't been addressed, because it's such a divisive topic and both left/right want to argue till the cows come home, like everything else in American politics.
They won't be able to afford the penalty either for not having health insurance, so is this really just a way to rob the poor of the little money they have? What will happen to the millions who get insurance via Obamacare, but cannot afford the payments? That's going to end up being the majority.
*let's avoid whether you agree with Obamacare or not, there's enough of those already
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When Obamacare users can't afford it?
10-08-2013, 11:44 PM
Oh the people on medicaid will still be on medicaid, make no mistake about it.
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When Obamacare users can't afford it?
10-09-2013, 12:26 AM
Another way to look at it...could Obamacare essentially cancel itself out when the majority that sign up for it, can't afford it?
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When Obamacare users can't afford it?
10-09-2013, 02:09 PM
Quote: (10-08-2013 11:44 PM)master_thespian Wrote:
Oh the people on medicaid will still be on medicaid, make no mistake about it.
sort of. Thats the plan right now, that if you are FEDERALLY eligible for medicaid based on your income then you get ZERO discount on an insurance exchange. You pay as much as Mr. 100k+. The idea is that you're already eligible for medicaid and should be on that.
here's where the plan falls down. State's that don't participate in medicaid or have suspended it. TN for example is not taking new enrollment in its medicaid program. So, those people are fucked by obamacare.
Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? Psalm 2:1 KJV
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When Obamacare users can't afford it?
10-09-2013, 02:23 PM
I'm a Brit, so I may be missing important points of Obamacare, but:
It takes 8 years to train as a doctor in the states, right?
Currently, since the options are Medicaid/Medicare or private insurance, the choice is between
cost of care and quality of care, right? You can pay through a provider, or take your time in a public hospital/welfare clinic?
The ACA aims at providing the same level of care to all comers, regardless of whether they have a contributory
healthcare plan, right?
So why has nobody stopped to think that, between the inception of the Affordable Care Act, and about 10-15 years down the line, it will cost more and more money to get less and less access to fewer and fewer doctors, nurses, consultants and auxiliaries?
Where will they recruit new doctors when the pay, prestige and benefits of the job vanish?
Just a thought. The whole idea strikes me as a logistical nightmare
"The woman most eager to jump out of her petticoat to assert her rights is the first to jump back into it when threatened with a switching for misusing them,"
-Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
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When Obamacare users can't afford it?
10-09-2013, 03:31 PM
This was a problem I had with Obamacare (and Romneycare before it) from the get-go. It means that poor and working class people have a lot less disposable income.
So, okay maybe some guy can just afford paying for a basic plan on the health care exchange.
But it could mean he's now living completely paycheck to paycheck and can't save for the future.
Remember - the whole rationale of the Affordable Care Act is that healthy young people who rarely need medical care will end up subsidizing old and sick people.
But when you think about it, doesn't this just mean that young people will have less wherewithal to save for the future, whether for retirement, to buy a home, or start their own business.
The program could end up reducing economic mobility, especially if it also has negative impacts on small and medium sized businesses and job creation.
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When Obamacare users can't afford it?
10-09-2013, 04:42 PM
Back to topic, what's going to happen when either a substantial amount or majority of those who signed up for health insurance via "Obamacare" cannot afford it?
All these people who were in favor of it thought it was going to be free like the NHS or whatever they have in Canada, when it's really just a merging of private insurers/government.