So recently a friend of mine, who sells different types of insurance, was sharing the abysmal failure of the Affordable Care Act in Virginia. Well, this just in, our Republican leadership chose NOT to create our own state exchange. What are the ramifications? Well, that is the million dollar question isn’t it.
Here is a comprehensive article in the Washington Post.
It’s a Web site designed to make it easy for people to find health coverage. Each state will have one. The District and 16 states, including Maryland, are running their own exchanges. The rests are either partnering with the federal government or, as in Virginia’s case, relying on the federal government to operate their exchanges. To find the correct site, go to www.healthcare.gov.
When the sky doesn’t fall, what will the Republicans do? I was just talking to a very conservative friend of mine who is perfectly thrilled with the changes thus far. Their adult child has insurance and that is a huge relief for them.
Is the legislation perfect? No, so what, is anything perfect when it is first designed? But now is the time, as John McCain said, to move forward, fix the bumps, and there will be bumps, but it is time to accept this as our new reality and make it the best it can be.
I know, for me, as a very healthy woman in her mid twenties, I never could have imagined that I would be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. But guess what, I was, and from that moment on, without employer healthcare, I was simply uninsurable. Luckily, even when I no longer worked for that employer, he kept me on his insurance, out of the kindness of his heart and no other reason. Even though I raised the rates for everyone, he kept me on.
The Affordable Care Act isn’t perfect, but dammit, it’s better than the what we had before…….NOTHING!
And where do you want Virginia to take the increased spending from if they do set up the exchange. The state would have to increase medicaid spending.
There is federal help for that also.
The actual prices won’t be up until October 1.
If Medicaid isn’t expanded then a lot more folks will find the insurance exchanges unaffordable. Perhaps they can get federal help.
That is an excellent website that Elena posted.
@Cargo…”increased spending” is a dog whistle. Its really a case of pay me now or pay me later.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition just called my house with the most incendiary Bull Crap I have ever heard. Afraid I might have dropped a bomb or two on them.
You have to call some number that you had no time to write down and opt out of their phone calls.
They are trying to defund ”obamacare’ in the states. What a bunch of A-holes.
Here is the website. You can imagine my mood seeing Palin on the page. I probably understand ACA better than she does.
Actually, Virginia turned down tens of millions of dollars of federal money a year to expand Medicare to those in need. Even Jan Brewer took the federal money in Arizona! And the increased Medicaid spending is a separate issue from setting up the exchanges-exchanges are mandatory. Virginia is relinquishing control to the feds- not a conservative position!
It sounds like Jan Brewer is also smarter than Bob McDonnell. Who would have thunk it.
Check out the information from Kaiser Health News. People should be very happy with the cost.
I expect Republicans to step to the plate to support laws passed with bipartisan support … Oh wait … Obamacare has no bipartisan support. It did not get a single vote from Republicans in Congress. No amendments were allowed. Reid treated Obamacare as a funding bill to prevent defeat with Scott Walker’s 41st vote to allow a filibuster. 70% of all Republicans oppose it.
A law that results a fundamental change in the way something as important as healthcare should not be pushed through without bipartisan support.
I do not think it’s reasonable to expect cooperation from those upon whom the Affordable Care Act was forced.
Why not? Why is bi partisan support now the sacred cow? I thought it was all about numbers.
Have you looked at the value to people? Why should this be a political issue? When 42 million people are without health care, it sounds like it is very much needed, for their sakes as well as ours.
@Kelly_3406
Where’s your side’s solution to the health care problems facing this country? Every doctor I’ve queried has supported single payer except for a couple who take cash only, no insurance. One of these practices is going to concierge service where a patient pays $1800/person/year just for membership.
Quick Kelly: call your Congressman and tell them you want them to craft and sponsor bills to amend the ACA the way you want it. The sooner you tell him and the sooner he gets started, the sooner we get a law we all want.
From Kaiser Health News
I think the lack of bipartisan support was because the Republicans withheld their support from Obamacare, Kelly. You said in another thread that you wanted health care “returned” to the states. I was curious about whether the states had a history of doing a stellar job with health care, if they had ever, in fact, been the masters of these programs. Your answer spoke volumes.
ACa was a middling to trivial modification of a pre-existing system that was not meeting the needs of the Nation. If it fails, it will be because it was a half-measure and left the burden of health care on employers while leaving private insurers with the whip hand on administration. Let’s see how it works. Then we’ll know what to do to eventually really tackle the health problems of the country.
@Scout
No. The correct message is that some of us are busy and lack the time to blog extensively. However, I am glad that you asked again. No state except Massachusetts had a comprehensive system, but most did in fact regulate health insurance.
Poor performance by some states on healthcare does not de facto grant justification for the Feds to take over. Even in Massachusetts where Romneycare was in place, most citizens still did not want a federal takeover. The argument that the Feds can simply seize power for something “that was not meeting the needs of the Nation” is chilling.
Obamacare is in fact a huge transfer in wealth. The winners are older folks and folks with health issues. Their preexisting conditions are covered without having to pay more. Businesses are forced to cover the costs of healthcare for adult children. Many pEople are perfectly happy to transfer the costs of their healthcare to someone else.
In reality, Obamacare is really just a giant Ponzi scheme. As long as there are enough healthy people paying into it, it can limp along. But as the population ages, there will be fewer young adults paying into it and more people requiring benefits. Plus, businesses in global competition with Chinese companies using low-wage workers may have to use more part-time workers to avoid the cost of healthcare.
@Censored bybvbl
My belief is that government involvement almost always drives up prices. So the Feds should drastically reduce their involvement. The healthcare industry should move toward cash for service with no limits on the yearly amounts that can be saved in pre-tax health savings accounts. Insurance would be used mainly for high-cost, big-ticket items.
Healthcare insurance would also be portable. Instead of purchasing insurance for the worker, the employer would provide pre-tax dollars directly to the individual or family for medical insurance/expenses. If the employee does not buy health insurance, then he would not receive this payment.
Here’s where regulation would be imposed. There would be a limit on the percentage that insurance rates could be raised in a single year. And the percentage would be inversely proportional to the number of years that a person had been paying into the insurance policy. This would prevent abrupt jumps when a costly illness is diagnosed.
This is just a brief discussion, but you get the general idea.
The reason that the feds are managing Virginia’s ACA is because Virginia’s leaders opted out. They didn’t have to do that. Virginia lost a lot of money from the feds by opting out.
Additionally, old people (wincing) don’t pay more. They have Medicare. That is a system within its self. The gap insurance is similar to the exchanges.
You can say that all insurance is one giant Ponzi scheme. ACA is no different.
I am also amazed that so many republicans, many whom I have heard call for rule of law on other issues, like immigration, would start acting like “Obamacare” was just something they can discard because they don’t like it. That isn’t how rule of law works.
The House passed it, the senate passed it, the President signed it and the Supreme Court upheld it. What’s left?
Disregard for rule of law just seems like a temper tantrum at this point.
Kelly – states have always regulated insurance generally, but, prior to Massachusetts, I am aware of none that provided comprehensive health care structures. Insurance, generally, by the way, depends on pooling risks. Nothing unusual about “Obamacare” in that regard. Risk pooling is not the same as massive “wealth transfers.” Risk pooling is why conservatives thought it important to advocate mandatory enrollment across when Mrs. Clinton was (inexplicably to my mind) charged with fashioning a federal health care system. Of course, when the Obama Administration picked up this idea, suddenly it became the dreaded “individual mandate.”
In any event, I keep asking ( and never getting any real answer), what is the health care system the House Republicans want and how will they have it in place the day Obamacare is gutted. They have to let people know what will be there. If nothing, fine. Say so. If they have some clever alternative up their sleeves, they had best not be keeping it a secret.
Yes, what will they tell all those people who finally are able to afford health care? There are a whole lot of people out there who really like the ACA.
What I love is that the premiums are higher but can be lowered on some people by subsidies…..as if we don’t pay those too. Or…at least our children and grandchildren will. Its MORE borrowed money so that the Democrats have yet ANOTHER group of people dependent upon gov’t.
@Scout
Why do the Republicans need to replace anything? Its not the job of the federal government.
There doesn’t have to be an alternative.
The kids and the grandkids reasoning is getting a little old by now. No one worried about that during WWII and Korea and Vietnam. We are still paying for it. Then there are the new middle east wars. Let’s take some of the blame off the Democrats. I think both parties have a foot in the door on those future paybacks.
Furthermore, they will be paying for a whole lot more than that if we don’t get health care costs under control.
Let’s say you get sick. What happens when you run out of money? Do you just want to be thrown out on the street?
Yes…the feds were giving us money. We all know what federal largesse means. We would then be stuck on the money addiction.
Furthermore, our medicaid expansion that goes along with accepting the program would bankrupt us. Of course, MacAuliffe is all for Virginia being attached to the federal money trough like an addict to the dealer. He’s used to making millions while bankrupting his companies. Why should Virginia be any different? The Democrats don’t care. They’ll reward him in six years with some cushy job.
Maybe McDonnell will hire him. Why 6 years? Our governors only go for 4 years.
As to the bankruptcy…oh bull puckey. That isn’t going to happen. More scare tactics. What you should be afraid of is not having health care.
A heart attack costs upwards of $100k…just for starters.
Four years…
For some reason, I was thinking six.
As for the bankruptcy…I’m sure that California said that too.
They haven’t yet.
Maybe you were thinking Louisiana. How long to their governors stay in office?
@Kelly_3406
One would want Bipartisan support for all bills – but many Speakers of the House have enforced rules that only bills supported by the majority of the majority come up for a vote – which prevents many bipartisan bills from seeing the light of day.
People do not like change and do not understand ACA nor how the healthcare industry really works. Also the “Government takeover” sound bite is just that – http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/dec/16/lie-year-government-takeover-health-care/
I talk to people who are not happy about ACA at all and then mention to me how nice it is that their children have healthcare till they are 26 – and do not have to worry about the cost.
What are pre-existing conditions – many people do not know that rape, pregnancy (not the birth itself), cancer, birth defects, acne are all pre-existing conditions that can affect the care and payments that are made by the insurance company.
It surprises many people to learn that Hawaii has mandated insurance coverage since 1974.
Have you been close to a family devastated with something like MS, hear attack or Cancer when they have been without insurance? I have. A friend who had insurance his entire life and then when without insurance through no fault of his own found himself with a heart attack and no coverage. He had not planned nor saved for it – because his plan was to have coverage.
The Insurance Exchanges have created a one stop shop where people can actually compare comparable plans for insurance and see the cost. If anything they are actually helping the private market by allowing people to compare comparable plans.
Are there problems with ACA – yes. Are they insurmountable – No. Does ACA include many Republican ideas – Yes.
The cognitive dissonance is unbelievable at times. I don’t understand how people can hate the aCA and yet be glad that their kids are on the policy and happy that pre-existing conditions aren’t costing more. Go figure.
I basically think most of us are ignorant about how it all works.
Thanks for some good insight, Pat.
It’s a difficult issue because health care on a national scale is a fiendishly complex thing to administer and explain, even leaving to one side all the partisan campaigning that swirls around it. If one side wants to grab bullhorns saying that it’s the End of the World As We Know It, it can attract a reasonably large number of people who have no means or time to sort it out for themselves. I think the House Rs understand this facet of the issue very well.