Goodbye ObamaCare

[Optimistic Paranoid]

News item posted purely for information.  Excerpt from a piece that appeared in today's New York Post.

"ObamaCare's collapsing.  United Health will abandon most ObamaCare markets, the insurer announced Tuesday.  Giant insurers like Aetna and the BlueCross/BlueShield Association are next.  They warned last week that losses trying to sell ObamaCare plans are 'unsustainable' - $3 billion a year, according to Standard and Poors - and they'll either stop selling the plans or significantly raise premiums.

. . . Even Hillary Clinton's campaign admits the cost of ObamaCare plans is already 'crushing'."

Full article here:

http://nypost.com/2016/04/19/getting-set-to-pick-up-the-pieces-of-obamacares-collapse/

 

[Canine]

Good news! The sooner these insurance companies go broke,the sooner we can catch up to the rest of the civilized world with universal health care.

 

[Queen]

Amen, Bob.

 

[LeeRevell]

This was all planned when the tax scheme was created.  Complete collapse of the US healthcare system.  Next step.....   triage-based Single Payer healthcare.  Expect very long wait times, reduced critical testing, refusals to cover critical procedures and meds.  Yep.....   just like in England.  "Progress" is killing us.

 

[Canine]

Over 80% of the citizens in Great Brittan like their health care system.Canadians like their system so much they have a national holiday in honor of the man who designed it.Ask the people on Medicare in the US if they would rather not have it.Medicare operates with a 4% overhead.Private insurance has a built in profit margin of 20%,plus everything they can write off as expenses.Ask your parents and grandparents if they want to get rid of their Medicare.Unfortunately,some politicians take advantage of people's fear and ignorance to convince them to vote against their own interests.While raking in money from corporations and billionaires.

 

[B and C]

Good news! The sooner these insurance companies go broke,the sooner we can catch up to the rest of the civilized world with universal health care.

As long as the wait times they have can be improved on.  Afraid the USA as a medical leader is on the decline though.  I just want the Dr. that I used to have.

 

[Canine]

Well,unfortunately,the US has not been a leader in healthcare for a long time.We rank 11th in quality of healthcare and 42nd in life expectancy.Our healthcare costs average over $8000 per person per year.Compared to the number 1 ranked system which averages a little over $3000 per person per year.We pay more and get less than any other modern country.If you are rich,you can buy premium care in the US.If you are middle class or poor you can't.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Over 80% of the citizens in Great Brittan like their health care system.Canadians like their system so much they have a national holiday in honor of the man who designed it.Ask the people on Medicare in the US if they would rather not have it.Medicare operates with a 4% overhead.Private insurance has a built in profit margin of 20%,plus everything they can write off as expenses.Ask your parents and grandparents if they want to get rid of their Medicare.Unfortunately,some politicians take advantage of people's fear and ignorance to convince them to vote against their own interests.While raking in money from corporations and billionaires.

I'm always amused by the people who point to foreign examples while ignoring real world American ones.  Have you not been paying attention to the WONDERFUL job our government has been doing running healthcare for our veterans?  Massive coverups, document shredding, completely unaccountable bureaucrats.  Nobody even got fired, let alone thrown in jail as should have happened.

If you really believe that our government can run a health care system for the rest of us better than they've been running it for our veterans, you must already be off your meds.

 

[Gary68]

with all the natural resources and the population of california,canadians should be living high on the hog

the u.s. government is a money making machine,that is their priority

 

[LeeRevell]

Over 80% of the citizens in Great Brittan like their health care system.Canadians like their system so much they have a national holiday in honor of the man who designed it.Ask the people on Medicare in the US if they would rather not have it.Medicare operates with a 4% overhead.Private insurance has a built in profit margin of 20%,plus everything they can write off as expenses.Ask your parents and grandparents if they want to get rid of their Medicare.Unfortunately,some politicians take advantage of people's fear and ignorance to convince them to vote against their own interests.While raking in money from corporations and billionaires.

Which is EXACTLY the point.  We need to close off the gusing monetary artery of the failed obocare, tighten up our funding elsewhere, and expand the decently working Medicare to the entire population.  My elderly Mom is in rehab now after more than a week in Cardiac ICU.  Yes, she loves Medicare, backed up by the HMO plan she had as a State employee.  I'd not take that away from her or forcr her onto obocare.  She couldn't afford it.  Neither can I.  I know many who's costs in all areas have skyrocketed as their coverage and quality of care has dropped. 
We as a nation CAN do better.  Get the damned bean counters off the hospital boards.  Allow our meds to come at the same cost as those in Canada.  We pay usurious rates for our drugs.  It is criminal.  The system needs to be improved, not junked and replaced by a tax system linked to an unworkable website.
WE CAN DO BETTER!!

 

[Almost There]

Please, please whatever y'all think - don't for a minute think that the Canadian system of healthcare is perfect or even good.

I've yet to see a government satisfactorily run anything WELL! And that includes healthcare. I'm not sure what the answer is but universal government run healthcare is NOT the answer IMO.

I'm not sure of the stats now but years ago it was a poorly kept secret that ALL the countries that had universal health care were ALL bordering on the brink of bankruptcy that could be directly linked to the cost of their healthcare systems.

Government run healthcare is expensive. The taxpayers are the ones that foot the bill.

I know that there are many problems with the cost and lack thereof of healthcare in the US but right now you still have a choice of what healthcare you choose to have.

BTW, y'all don't want to get me started on the problems inherent in the Canadian healthcare system...really you don't!!

 

[Queen]

Have to disagree with I know that there are many problems with the cost and lack thereof of healthcare in the US but right now you still have a choice of what healthcare you choose to have. AT.  First question I'm asked when I call a providers office is "what insurance do you have", if mine isn't one they're interested in, I'm not permitted to see that provider.  As far as choosing goes, you can get what you can afford, and that is the hard part, it costs a bloody fortune to get a quality high end plan.

 

[highdesertranger]

be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. highdesertranger

 

[WriterMs]

Medicare is a single payer system that works because of the "clout" it has to keep down costs.

I just a few days ago got the billing summary for my mom's 6-day hospital stay (there was NO surgery, just IVs and meds). The hospital charged just over $22,000. Medicare paid the allowable amount of just under $5,000. Mom has a good supplemental plan which paid just under $2,000. Her remaining liability is less than $300.

So even if she did not have the supplemental insurance, she'd only have to pay about $2,000, not the $22,000. If I had the same treatment at the hospital, they would bill me the $22,000 in full I'm sure, and I'd be left to try to negotiate some of that down. Of course, the hospital writes off the Medicare difference as a loss on their books.

And most hospitals are now owned by corporations who are accountable to their shareholders first. If you think non-profit hospitals are better, check out the salaries of the non-profit executives and board members.

Something happened for SD this year, so I could again get healthcare (I have not tried to get the news on how SD residents can again participate in Obamacare as I've been plenty busy with my mother's healthcare needs in another state.) So at least I have some coverage if something catastrophic happens (I chose not to pay more for the better coverage, but at least I have something that I can afford).

It may also be important to remember that Obamacare made two very substantial rules for insurers. To me the biggest is that they MUST use at least 85% of the premiums they collect to pay for healthcare for insureds. (So that 20% administrative costs someone quoted should be going down to 15%.) The other is that you cannot be turned down for prior health conditions.

I do think insurance companies will eventually bow out of the healthcare market clearing the way for a single-payer solution.

 

[Canine]

Vic has Medicare and I have VA coverage.We are both very satisfied with our healthcare.I would have no objection to closing VA healthcare and putting everyone on medicare.It is obviously a much better run system.This is a good discussion to have since we will all be needing medical care sooner or later.Maybe some more folks could jump in here.

 

[masterplumber]

Well if we're going to go to one system, then the rest of us should get the same coverage as our illustrious politicians in Washington. After all, we're the ones paying for it. Along with that we should have access to the same retirement plan, instead of them being able to opt out of SS. I totally agree that the system is broken, I jsu have no faith in our or any other government being able to fix it - too much greed is involved.

 

[johnny b]

Dental care is included in The National Health Care system in the U.K.

'nuff said!

 

[drysailor]

Vic has Medicare and I have VA coverage.We are both very satisfied with our healthcare.I would have no objection to closing VA healthcare and putting everyone on medicare.It is obviously a much better run system.This is a good discussion to have since we will all be needing medical care sooner or later.Maybe some more folks could jump in here.

Hi Bob - My wife & I are using a Blue Cross plan thru her employer, have had it for about 15 years. Before that, we used a similar plan from my job for 25 or so years. We had both opted for lower pay to get better medical, benes & future. Our costs had generally gone up $20-30/month, once every few years. Since ACA was enacted in 2010, our out-of-pocket costs have risen near $600/month, with approx half in premiums & half in increased copays & deductibles. Coverages have also been cut, dramatically in some areas. I'm personally ok with using medicare, or VA if I want to drive 100 miles to get to the waiting line. So far I've had and beaten the Big C, have only routine medical at this point, but my wife has more medical issues and doesn't want to do that, so if she does retire, she will use literally her entire pension to continue her existing plan. Guess you could say we don't need any more of this "$10,000 hammer" version of medical insurance. But thanks for asking.

 

[Canine]

Glad your cancer is gone.Best wishes for your wife.

 

[LeeRevell]

Well if we're going to go to one system, then the rest of us should get the same coverage as our illustrious politicians in Washington. After all, we're the ones paying for it. Along with that we should have access to the same retirement plan, instead of them being able to opt out of SS. I totally agree that the system is broken, I jsu have no faith in our or any other government being able to fix it - too much greed is involved.

Exactly!  Had this been the case, both healthcare and SS would be solvent and working fine and there would be no obocare, and our futures wouldn't be looking so bleak.  Equality - it used to be a guiding principle in this nation before the term became a PC slogan for favoritism.