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[LlamaJohnson]

I don't understand much of this because, frankly, my wife handles this part of our lives. I can say this though: My rates went way up under Obamacare. At first, this annoyed me for purely selfish reasons. Very soon, I realized that we were still able to function just fine with the higher rates, and many people, including members of my family, finally had insurance. This blows. Certain things are a basic human need: food, health care, clothing, housing. I really think the people who have never needed these things before should spend some time living under those conditions.

 

[Silent Chief]

They said they'd keep the pre-existing conditions mandate. I really, really hope they do.

The pre-existing conditions mandate, when you let people wait until they are sick to get insurance, will lead to huge premiums.

The US has a very expensive system and someone has to pay for it.
It wasn't called the Affordable Care Act because it lead to higher premiums than the alternatives.

 

[GreenMonkey]

I don't understand much of this because, frankly, my wife handles this part of our lives. I can say this though: My rates went way up under Obamacare. At first, this annoyed me for purely selfish reasons. Very soon, I realized that we were still able to function just fine with the higher rates, and many people, including members of my family, finally had insurance. This blows. Certain things are a basic human need: food, health care, clothing, housing. I really think the people who have never needed these things before should spend some time living under those conditions.

Cost growth rates went down under Obamacare. Yes, costs still went up.

Does no one remember how health insurance costs were spiking before the ACA passed? That's why there was any political will to do anything about it.

I don't think anything could bring DOWN insurance costs short of a lot of tax hikes to pay for subsidies.

Yes, costs have continued to rise. But at a slower pace than before. It was an improvement.

 

[Man-is-Obsolete]

I just wish most Americans would realize that much of the reason why it has become so expensive is that the GOP controlled congress refused to make necessary changes so that it could be more affordable. Even at the more expensive rate it has grown to the ACA still helps so many people, and has helped to curb how much rates would have increased unchecked.

Now they want to repeal it all and hand it over to the companies that were increasing the prices to begin with and do so with less regulation. Oh and lift regulations on costs of medicine. That'll make healthcare cheaper I'm sure.

 

[gogosox82]

Everyone needs to calm down for right now. They still need to repeal and replace and he still doesn't have most of his cabinet confirmed by the Senate yet.

 

[SlickShoesRUCrazy]

Cost growth rates went down under Obamacare. Yes, costs still went up.

Does no one remember how health insurance costs were spiking before the ACA passed? That's why there was any political will to do anything about it.

I don't think anything could bring DOWN insurance costs short of a lot of tax hikes to pay for subsidies.

Yes, costs have continued to rise. But at a slower pace than before. It was an improvement.

Public option that creates competition for insurance companies.

 

[Lightning_Roller]

Everyone needs to calm down for right now. They still need to repeal and replace and he still doesn't have most of his cabinet confirmed by the Senate yet.

You honestly think that they are going to replace it? And also considering his cabinet too? Really? Also another thing, republicans have been beating the "repeal obamacare" drum for years and haven't said a damn thing about what it's replacement is. So take that as you will.

 

[Greatest Ever]

Cost growth rates went down under Obamacare. Yes, costs still went up.

Does no one remember how health insurance costs were spiking before the ACA passed? That's why there was any political will to do anything about it.

I don't think anything could bring DOWN insurance costs short of a lot of tax hikes to pay for subsidies.

Yes, costs have continued to rise. But at a slower pace than before. It was an improvement.

I'd love to see some stats on this, I don't remember this that well and any sort of information would be appreciated

I'm also a bleeding liberal so, you know, talking points.

 

[Shadybiz]

Cost growth rates went down under Obamacare. Yes, costs still went up.

Does no one remember how health insurance costs were spiking before the ACA passed? That's why there was any political will to do anything about it.

I don't think anything could bring DOWN insurance costs short of a lot of tax hikes to pay for subsidies.

Yes, costs have continued to rise. But at a slower pace than before. It was an improvement.

Exactly. This is what is becoming apparent to me. We have extremely short memories here in the US. We got the ACA BECAUSE costs were going up so much, and because so many didn't have access to basic care. Hell, the Michael Moore documentary "Sicko" was made because of this, and that was in 2007, well before the ACA. Say what you want about Moore, but the fact is that costs and standards in the US were getting so out of hand that a movie had to be made about it.

 

[Culex]

My understanding is that many insurance policies are partially subsidized if they meet metrics of the ACA.

No matter what happens your insurance WILL go up. Our HR ecutive sent us a cautionary bank wide memo last night.

 

[Vixdean]

You know, the conservatives are probably a lost cause, but when the party of Trump does get rid of Obamacare, maybe the politically ignorant liberals who've been whining about "gradualism" and attacking the law for not being single payer will finally wake up and realize how fucking stupid they've been. They own this outcome just as much as the idiots who voted for Trump.

 

[Future]

So basically, blue states MIGHT wistand this but once again red states are fucked?

Ideally that's how it should be. Red states voted trump

 

[Laekon]

My understanding is that many insurance policies are partially subsidized if they meet metrics of the ACA.

No matter what happens your insurance WILL go up. Our HR ecutive sent us a cautionary bank wide memo last night.

Employer plans were not subsidized at all. Many companies took the ACA as an opportunity to reduce the % they were covering and blame it on the law increasing cost. Few people that get coverage through their employer know how much their coverage actually cost and how much the employer pays. This is a big part of the issue.

 

[SporeCrawler]

So basically, blue states MIGHT wistand this but once again red states are fucked?

I dont see the problem here. Thats what republican voters want and they won the election in those states.

 

[Jeels]

I like how fast they are moving tbh. Hopefully the American people wake the fuck up. I feel really sorry for everyone who is affected, including my parents and many of my friends (actually, even those of us with insurance through our employers are affected, but lol why bother to understand)

 

[Kai Dracon]

There are already mobs of angry people screaming at congressional reps in various states. I really hope that Republicans walked into their own trap card here because they thought Trump wasn't going to win. They thought barking about repealing Obamacare would remain mere talk, because they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

And now, to keep up appearances, they decided to act like this was the plan all along, to begin cutting everything the moment Trump took the oath. Fucked by their own propaganda of convincing people Obamacare wasn't the ACA.

 

[Beartruck]

How much is this going to fuck up insurance for people not on the ACA? Really worried this could start a domino effect that either spikes prices or crashes the whole industry.

 

[NetMapel]

I don't understand how a country of 300 millions can't find a way to spread healthcare costs amongst that huge population and lower its costs. Canada got a population of 30 millions and got reasonable healthcare costs. Imagine spreading that amongst 300 millions. You guys should be paying dirt cheap healthcare costs.

 

[Biske]

I don't understand how a country of 300 millions can't find a way to spread healthcare costs amongst that huge population and lower its costs. Canada got a population of 30 millions and got reasonable healthcare costs. Imagine spreading that amongst 300 millions. You guys should be paying dirt cheap healthcare costs.

It's not that we cant, its that our corporate masters don't want to.


There are how many other countries we could look to and learn from and copy the systems of?

We could if we wanted to. We don't. Not the money bags ruling over us.

 

[George Washington]

Hopefully there is some way the people that were able to get health insurance for the first time under ACA can keep it for some time until there is an alternative (doubt there will be an alternative).

The regulations were there to protect people from the insurance companies' greedy policies and as a result they jacked up the prices to keep their profit margins. This was expected, but with a congress that opposed the president on every whim, there was little to be done to remedy the cost impact on families (athough Obama still tried with subsidies / credits).

As a result this left a negative impression of the ACA so that now, the people who are advocating for the old system, don't realize that they are advocating for a for-profit health insurance system with little to no regulations.

 

[Sianos]

Everyone needs to calm down for right now. They still need to repeal and replace and he still doesn't have most of his cabinet confirmed by the Senate yet.

With what?

No, but for real though, with what?

I assume that after seven years of campaigning on repealing Obamacare - and the fact that it's being repealed right now - they're beyond the initial brainstorming stage and have started to think about implementation, right?

 

[Culex]

Employer plans were not subsidized at all. Many companies took the ACA as an opportunity to reduce the % they were covering and blame it on the law increasing cost. Few people that get coverage through their employer know how much their coverage actually cost and how much the employer pays. This is a big part of the issue.

Our employer pays about 13k per employee per year, or about 30 mil a year.

 

[George Washington]

With what?

No, but for real though, with what?

I assume that after seven years of campaigning on repealing Obamacare - and the fact that it's being repealed right now - they're beyond the initial brainstorming stage and have started to think about implementation, right?

They don't have anything to mitigate the price gouging of the health insurance companies and keep the same amount of coverage.

Also I suspect there will be a battle between Trump and the Republican Party over this.

Trump cares about his image and this will be portrayed as leaving people on the street to die without a replacement (which is true). The old system left a lot of people unable to have health insurance or lacked the coverage they needed.

 

[Sianos]

Hey Trump, I thought you said we don't have a gun problem we have a mental health problem and something needs to be done. Oh right, you weren't being serious. Hope you prove me wrong.

And yeah like you say, *shockingly enough* no one who was so adamant about this very real mental health problem when it was relevant to the gun debate actually gives even a single solitary fuck about mental health care! They can't even commit to standardized and watered down CBT worksheets, let alone some actual multifaceted and comprehensive therapy, not even medication (note: medication is really important to ensuring people are in a state of mind where therapy can be effective, don't think I'm downplaying it, just merely refuting those who think therapy is obsolete).

It disgusts me. A whole lot of insecure bastards who are deathly afraid of any form of introspection have denigrated therapy as being "for the weak" and have through this projection caused so much pain and suffering - putting down others when they are the most pathetic of all. Truly, truly deplorable.

 

[Sianos]

They don't have anything to mitigate the price gouging of the health insurance companies and keep the same amount of coverage.

Also I suspect there will be a battle between Trump and the Republican Party over this.

Trump cares about his image and this will be portrayed as leaving people on the street to die without a replacement (which is true). The old system left a lot of people unable to have health insurance or lacked the coverage they needed.

It's truly frightening to me that in seven years they still have no idea about what their magical plan will be besides vague platitudes about "the free market~" - you know, since people can just decide to not buy medical care when they're sick, right, so we can just treat this like buying consumer goods - and no ideas on implementation.

You're right though, that this will be portrayed as people being left to die in the streets, because now that it will effect white people no longer will the rhetoric be "you didn't work hard enough [on account of being sick] [so you don't deserve to live]". Shame it takes this for people to care.

 

[Nemesis121]

I live in a disgusting country, they don't care about these people, it's all about destroying what that Black man did when he was in office, racist fucks, you die because of no Health Insurance, don't care, your lives mean nothing to them, gotta undo all the black man did...

 

[The_Dama]

If they cancel pre existing condition, I'm dead

 

[MrMephistoX]

And the tens of millions of folks who voted against this fuck who also live in those red states?

Spoiler

Like me?

Think your only choice much like with Pot and jobs is to move to a state that supports this...sadly the blue states are becoming completely unaffordable from a housing standpoint so yeah you are fucked my friend. My only hope is that they somehow tap Mitt Romney for the replacement plan or at least someone in his cabinet since Massachusetts was the model for the ACA. This is one area where I HOPE Donald Trump wins out and bullies his neocon congress into a pragmatic replacement solution like he's been saying. Fuck just rename the ACA the MAHCGA (Make American Health Care Great Again Act) and don't change a thing then take all the credit: it's too serious to dick around. My worry is that they'll come up with a bipartisan plan and throw something stupid in like defunding planned parent hood and repealing provisions around religious hospitals and make it a non starter for democrats.

 

[Ac30]

The pre-existing conditions mandate, when you let people wait until they are sick to get insurance, will lead to huge premiums.

The US has a very expensive system and someone has to pay for it.
It wasn't called the Affordable Care Act because it lead to higher premiums than the alternatives.

I'm aware, but many people can't get coverage if they axe the pre-existing conditions mandate... and it's a necessity in a modern healthcare system. The point is that EVERYONE has to pay for it. That's how you bring costs down. Maybe the Republicans will figure it out one day, because disaster coverage and HSAs are just shite ideas.

 

[Hale-XF11]

With nothing but out-of-touch wacko billionaires running the show now, I have no hope.

 

[keenerz]

if there was a plan we'd have heard about it, if we haven't then there's some issue of transparency that's going to be a big problem moving forward.

 

[MrMephistoX]

With nothing but out-of-touch wacko billionaires running the show now, I have no hope.

Liberal states should just start planning now to offer their own universal health care if you live in the state. Red states are fucked but at least blue states can do something about it.

 

[Tanston]

How is it even possible to grow old in this country? Something dramatic needs to change before it's too late.

 

[whitemex88]

How is it even possible to grow old in this country? Something dramatic needs to change before it's too late.

Pretty sure the average life expectancy age just went down recently.

 

[Hale-XF11]

Liberal states should just start planning now to offer their own universal health care if you live in the state. Red states are fucked but at least blue states can do something about it.

Considering that Colorado just failed at passing UHC, I'm concerned that no state will be able to pull it off anytime soon. But if even just one state can make it happen, it would at least set a good precedent for the rest of the country. I fear I'll be old and dead though before this country gets there.

 

[Foffy]

Liberal states should just start planning now to offer their own universal health care if you live in the state. Red states are fucked but at least blue states can do something about it.

The problem with the "three universals" we need - health care, education, and basic income - can only really be done nationally.

Sure, California actually has a UBI pilot going on, but you need the whole country on board. For this reason, what we need involves getting people all over the nation on board.

How do we do this when the GOP involves denying reality, information, human dignity, and public solidarity? We need all three of those program happening at the same time, and the GOP is averse to all of them in totally different manners that even entertaining a status quo change is considered violent dissent.

 

[Strike]

:/

*sigh*