dc koop

No worries. Trump loves the "poorly educated" He also "loves Muslims and Hispanics" He just doesn't want them here though

zargof

Make America White Again.

themadpooper

Yeah, maxed out the deductible but $200 is nothing. Premiums aren't too bad, work covers most of it. The mrs and I are registered at one of the big hospitals in Chicago so that comes with a premium but there's no waiting around for blood tests, scans etc., which are done on the spot

My point is, Obamacare had made health insurance vastly more expensive for those of us who already had it, that's undeniable. The argument that it's justified so the less well off can get on the insurance ladder is fine, and as someone who grew on a council estate myself, I know all about being poor but Obamacare went about it the wrong way

You don't ram something as controversial as that down people's throats and then arrogantly laugh off criticism of it as self serving Republicans playing politics. Had Obamacare been subjected to a referendum, there is not a hope in hell it would've gotten voted for. I don't know anyone who likes it and I have a vast bunch of in laws who live all over America and mates from many walks of life

SultanOfSwing

A missed opportunity, indeed. That being said, it was better than nothing.

Though group plans did suffer, I won't lie. Because of increased cost, unless your employer is willing to pay more, you'll end up with a plan that wasn't quite as good as the pre-ACA one. Or, at least, that's what happened to me. Copays doubled and out-of-pocket maximum increased, but at least my generic prescription costs went down

dc koop

He also tried unsuccessfully to partially privatize either Social Security or Medicare. One of the two

sir_eccles

The further expansion of Medicaid under the ACA has actually been one of the biggest success stories. Even the insurance companies like it.

username.exe

If I'm not mistaken, pre-ACA your insurer could have decided that you were just too expensive to insure with your conditions and treatments and kicked you to the curb. Many had problems getting insurance and treatment in the first place due to 'pre-existing conditions'.

dc koop

What about the 20 million or so who had no health care of any kind before?
Do they like it?

Even North Korea has a universal health care program of some kind to cover everyone., If we stopped wasting trillions on military hardware and aid to countries that hate us then everyone could have a decent affordable health care system

I have the best health care coverage possible through the Senior Advantage program. It costs me almost nothing so you could say I'm alright Jack but that doesn't mean to say I have no feeling for the poor buggers on minimum wage who have no coverage at all

dakota44

If by some idiotic fluke...Trump won the general....we might see the electoral college play the roll that was intended for it.

zargof

Given the mentality of Trump supporters that could turn very ugly if it came to that.

dakota44

It could. It could also turn ugly if he just loses.

Steerpike

FYI the coverage for a colonoscopy depends on how the visit is 'coded'. I'm about to get my '5-year' colonoscopy and I found out that if it is coded as a 'preventive' procedure, it's covered by insurance without having to meet any out of pocket limits. But if it is coded as part of a 'procedure' (sorry, I'm not getting the right terms), it is no longer 'preventive' and has to be covered differently. This is not related to ACA at all.

More generally, ACA is highly misunderstood. First of all, the vast majority of Americans are covered by Group Health coverage through their employers, and are somewhat shielded from any ACA impacts. Where ACA really comes in to play is on individual plans, which only a relatively small number of people are even candidates for. Prior to ACA, insurance companies were able to refuse coverage based on pre-existing conditions, or set astronomical rates for said coverage (for private plans only). ACA made the rates standard regardless of prior history, and are based only on age and location.

My g/f had cancer 5 years ago (now fully clear). She's 62 and about to lose group coverage through her employer. Without ACA, it would be almost impossible for her to find private insurance for the 3 years until she reaches 65, due to her pre-existing condition.

I had a brief period 10 years ago when I thought I was going to be unemployed. I started looking around for private insurance, and the bast*rds wanted to jack up my rates to an astronomical level because I had had a hernia operation! Luckily I ended up getting another job right away.

I'm currently self-employed, and getting a plan that was ACA compliant was a piece of cake. The 'bureaucracy' you speak of (that gets all the airtime) is only if you want a subsidy.

themadpooper

As I said earlier, I don't begrudge the poor getting insurance. I grew in extreme poverty in England in a 1 parent family, even my school meals were subsided so I have a deep appreciation for those living in poverty, but you don't help these people by penalising everyone else to the degree Obamacare has

Car insurance is a good example of what I mean, should mine and your premiums go up because of reckless drivers?

Steerpike

Well wasn't it the 'big spending' of Bush that spawned the Tea Party? They didn't like the fact that he actually did something helpful to people.

tuxedocat

Didn't you know only suburbanite teens work low paying jobs with no benefits.