Obamacare Article

[HalvOnHorseracing]

The article focuses a lot on people getting insurance through exchanges in Florida.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/health/florida-affordable-care-act-obamacare-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=span-ab-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

I thought the guy below was interesting. If Obamacare is repealed, how are this guy and his wife better off? I know people who are buying silver policies on the open market at about $1,000 a month.

Bob Verrastro, a corporate tax consultant who voted for Mr. Trump, said that while he and his wife get a subsidy that reduces their monthly premium to $274, their deductible and other out-of-pocket costs are unaffordable, and he is eager to see the law repealed.

Once the law is repealed and we just go back to the way it was before Obamacare, what cheaper options will this guy have for insurance? And if the Congress decides to "replace" Obamacare, what does that look like?

I don't have a dog in this fight, so I'll be happy to watch the debate, but I don't know that I've heard what the new plan is.

[EasyGoer89]

Isn't the difference that you're not forced at gun point to purchase this? I haven't heard trump mention if he will force everyone to purchase

[Clocker]

How is that guy better off now, with huge out of pocket costs he can't afford?

The reality is that ObamaCare is not going to be repealed. The House doesn't have an alternative plan that can be enacted. The Democrats in the Senate will filibuster any repeal that does not provide alternative entitlements to people that can't afford open market insurance. That means increased spending, which means more debt or a tax increase.

Trump keeps moving the goal posts on what he wants. He said he wanted to repeal and replace it with "something terrific", but he doesn't know what that is. He also said he is in favor of the individual mandate. He also said, after talking to Obama, that he wants to keep pre-existing coverage and kids up to 26 on their parents plan. Most of the specifics he has mentioned in the campaign do nothing to help lower income people, like making insurance tax deductible or expanding medical savings plans. And he has indicated in the past that single payer is acceptable to him.

ObamaCare as it exists is not economically sustainable. There are too few healthy people in the program to cover the high costs of benefits being paid out, and that number is dropping as rates go up. This is compounded by rates that don't reflect risk. I don't see anything from Trump that would change that.

Fixing ObamaCare will become the new comprehensive immigration reform project. As rates go up and insurance companies lose more money and pull out of markets, the feds will prop it up with "temporary" patches and kick the can down the road because they can't agree on a fix.

[HalvOnHorseracing]

The question I am asking is, if the guy can't afford $274 a month, with the deductibles and copays, how is he ever going going to afford insurance without a subsidy?

The only possible way he is better off is if he doesn't get insurance and never gets sick. But obviously if the deductibles and copays are an issue, this guy is using his insurance. He apparently needs insurance.

All the philosophical discussion aside, under what system does Bob the tax consultant do better than he did under the ACA, assuming his health status requires him to have health insurance?

I get that under the system pre-Obamacare insurance companies could charge what they wanted and cover pretty much who they wanted, and this made it easier to make money. Just tell me what can be done so that the Bob's of the country could be better off than they are right now, and it would be cheaper for taxpayers than the old system where the insured paid higher rates to subsidize the uninsured who used emergency care facilities.

[chadk66]

it'll never be cheaper again. repealing obamacare will only stop the bleeding.

[classhandicapper]

Trump keeps moving the goal posts on what he wants. He said he wanted to repeal and replace it with "something terrific", but he doesn't know what that is. He also said he is in favor of the individual mandate. He also said, after talking to Obama, that he wants to keep pre-existing coverage and kids up to 26 on their parents plan. Most of the specifics he has mentioned in the campaign do nothing to help lower income people, like making insurance tax deductible or expanding medical savings plans. And he has indicated in the past that single payer is acceptable to him.


Last I heard he was AGAINST the individual mandate.

The problem is that it becomes difficult for the numbers to work for the insurance companies without the mandate because it's the mandate that brings in young and healthy people that effectively subsidize the older and sick people in virtually all insurance plans.

He's going to wind up putting a lot more poor people on medicaid and block granting it to the states to look for ways of saving money.

He'll create MSAs, tax deductions, cross state selling and stuff like that everyone else.

Honestly, there's not much more you can do other than have a hard cap on spending that says the government cannot grow medical spending by more than inflation and demographic growth and try to squeeze other efficiencies out of the system where possible.

[forced89]

For 2017 I dropped the Bronze Plan I bought in 2016 for my Son and his Wife. I replaced it with a 360 day policy at less cost even assuming they have to pay the penalty for not having an ACA compliant policy.

It is with Golden Rule, a subsidiary of United Healthcare which means they get to (and in fact have to) use United Healthcare Network's doctors and hospitals. The deductible and maximum out of pocket are both lower.

The negatives are that pre-existing conditions (of which they have none) are not covered and it has a Life Time maximum of $1 million (versus none with ACA policies). In addition it is not automatically renewable which means that anything of a major nature that they have to be treated for this year will be considered a pre-existing condition when they go to buy a similar policy when this one matures.

My hope is that the penalty for not having insurance is eliminated for 2017 and Congress comes up with an alternative to the ACA for 2018.

[zico20]

The article focuses a lot on people getting insurance through exchanges in Florida.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/health/florida-affordable-care-act-obamacare-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=span-ab-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

I thought the guy below was interesting. If Obamacare is repealed, how are this guy and his wife better off? I know people who are buying silver policies on the open market at about $1,000 a month.

Bob Verrastro, a corporate tax consultant who voted for Mr. Trump, said that while he and his wife get a subsidy that reduces their monthly premium to $274, their deductible and other out-of-pocket costs are unaffordable, and he is eager to see the law repealed.

Once the law is repealed and we just go back to the way it was before Obamacare, what cheaper options will this guy have for insurance? And if the Congress decides to "replace" Obamacare, what does that look like?

I don't have a dog in this fight, so I'll be happy to watch the debate, but I don't know that I've heard what the new plan is.

Here is an idea. How about the guy gets a job with employer health care, then all of his problems are solved. Not hard to figure out

[Clocker]

Last I heard he was AGAINST the individual mandate.



Oh, maybe that was just a suggestion when he said he thought it was a good idea. :p

[HalvOnHorseracing]

Here is an idea. How about the guy gets a job with employer health care, then all of his problems are solved. Not hard to figure out
I'm sure Bob never thought of that. So, kill Obamacare, and everybody get a job with employer health insurance.

Or, if i am reading all the posts correctly, Bob is screwed.

[Clocker]

My hope is that the penalty for not having insurance is eliminated for 2017 and Congress comes up with an alternative to the ACA for 2018.

The Democrats want a big increase to give it more bite. With the Dems in the Senate able to filibuster any attempt to remove it, I'd guess it will remain as passed.

[zico20]

I'm sure Bob never thought of that. So, kill Obamacare, and everybody get a job with employer health insurance.

Or, if i am reading all the posts correctly, Bob is screwed.

There are a lot of idiots in the world. He actually may have never thought of that.

[zico20]

The Democrats want a big increase to give it more bite. With the Dems in the Senate able to filibuster any attempt to remove it, I'd guess it will remain as passed.

Or attach an amendment repealing the individual mandate to a very popular piece of legislation that would screw the Democrats if they voted against it.

[chadk66]

Or attach an amendment repealing the individual mandate to a very popular piece of legislation that would screw the Democrats if they voted against it.exactly. but they've been screwed already to the point where all that's left are people voting for them that are totally drunk on the kool-aid. Look how many offices at the federal and state level they've lost in the last eight years. You really couldn't loose any more than they have.