Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

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pioneer98
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by pioneer98 »

The high and rising costs shows just how bad of a need it is/was. Before Obamacare, those people would just struggle on with life being sick without getting treated and maybe even die in some cases. I still think people being too sick to work was still probably a bigger drag on our economy than these Obamacare costs, not to mention a pretty nasty burden to ask people to carry. That person costing us $1 million/month has a rare genetic problem. Their sin was being born.

I don't know how you can look at insurance companies and think they aren't the problem. Unitedhealth is my insurer. They made $53 billion in profit last year on $176 billion in revenue. That's insane. Also, they have $11 billion in cash on hand. They mainly stick to the more lucrative employer insurance programs (more lucrative because people are healthier). They are not one of the companies participating in Obamacare here. Anthem (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) is though. Last year their revenue was $81 billion and their profit was $18 billion. They have $21.8 billion cash on hand. Not enough!!! Their shareholders demand more profit. How much of our health care costs are profit? And these are just corporate profits. Unitedhealth's CEO made $66 million last year, and I bet the VP's and other top people made tens of millions more. Anthem's CEO made "only" $13 million. Their CEO costs us just as much as that person with the rare genetic disorder.

Arthur Dent
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by Arthur Dent »

heyzeus wrote:I may have to leave a job I love in order to make more money just so that I can pay for insurance, or go to work for a company that provides health insurance benefits.
Curious: Did your firm offer insurance prior to the ACA and then drop it when the ACA Marketplace came online?

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heyzeus
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by heyzeus »

Arthur Dent wrote:
heyzeus wrote:I may have to leave a job I love in order to make more money just so that I can pay for insurance, or go to work for a company that provides health insurance benefits.
Curious: Did your firm offer insurance prior to the ACA and then drop it when the ACA Marketplace came online?
No, we've continued to offer insurance both pre and post ACA. Of course it costs us more every year. We offer good employer-subsidized plans for our employees, but I'm not an employee so I can't get on that.

Arthur Dent
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by Arthur Dent »

Weird. I don't know why partners couldn't be covered by the same group plan as employees. Do the other partners just prefer to get insurance through other means?

/perhaps too nosy

Anyway, I guess I'm just surprised because the individual family market for health insurance was a nightmare pre ACA and sucks in some new ways afterwards, so I'm surprised any business owners would subject themselves to it if they don't have to.

cardsfantx
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by cardsfantx »

zeus - aetna? if so, we're in the same boat here in tx...it's awesome

AD - it was actually EASIER to buy insurance before ACA when you were self employed (granted if you had a job/could afford it; i get that. Had cigna...liked it, liked my plan, my doctor took it, wife's girly doctor took it, kids pediatrician, etc. had it for years...went up slightly each year, but nothing too much/to be expected to go up just like anything else...never jumped/plans just disappear after a year/doctors drop out of it/insurance companies pull out of states/etc like we have with ACA)

It's a nightmare buying it now.

try going to aetna, bcbs, cigna, whatever and try to buy a policy for yourself...it automatically routes you to the marketplace website to buy it there. you have to buy through the marketplace, or pay a broker to shop around for a policy for you. and i actually did that the year before last...AND THEY CAME BACK WIT THE SAME [expletive] THAT'S ON THE MARKETPLACE!! the names of the plans are slightly different, but if you look at the plan; it correspond perfectly with a plan offered on the marketplace for the same exact price.

Gashouse
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by Gashouse »

I don't think insurers should be allowed to pull out of the individual market. If they want to sell insurance to anyone in the state, then they have to offer policies in the individual market. Then I'm in favor of caps on the premiums they can charge, even though I know some costs will be passed on to me. I think there's a greater good there that I'm willing to pay for.

On the flip side, one thing I agree with the GOP on is the need for some sort of tort reform. Lawsuits, or the fear there of, do increase health costs. It's often cheaper for hospitals to settle a case than to go to trial, even if they know it's frivolous and know they can win. Those costs get passed on to all of us. The cost savings here may well pay for helping cover everyone at a cheaper rate.

Arthur Dent
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by Arthur Dent »

Easier in the sense that there were more cheaper options? That's true, and my impression is that those options were alright so long as you had ordinary healthcare needs. If you developed a serious condition, it could be a horror show. My wife has had multiple cancers and was completely uninsurable outside work pre-ACA, for example.

Small group health plans have some of the same problems, but to the extent you can find one that's ok, I expect that would be much preferable to rolling the dice in the individual market, and that is still pretty much the case post-ACA.

cardsfantx
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by cardsfantx »

Arthur Dent wrote:Easier in the sense that there were more cheaper options? That's true, and my impression is that those options were alright so long as you had ordinary healthcare needs. If you developed a serious condition, it could be a horror show. My wife has had multiple cancers and was completely uninsurable outside work pre-ACA, for example.

Small group health plans have some of the same problems, but to the extent you can find one that's ok, I expect that would be much preferable to rolling the dice in the individual market, and that is still pretty much the case post-ACA.
yes, sorry...was easier and cheaper to shop around pre-ACA. but I, nor my family had any serious or pre-existing conditions, so yep...that's def something better now (can't be denied for those reasons)

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Leroy
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by Leroy »

So not only can't our lawyer get health insurance, you want to take away his livelihood too?

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IMADreamer
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Re: Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

Post by IMADreamer »

Do any of you think a solution to all of this is coming in our lifetimes?

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