Get Ready for Huge Obamacare Premium Hikes in 2017

a reply to: ketsuko

I'm interested in your claim that most Americans are unwittingly taxed at 50%. Where can I read more?

originally posted by: roadgravel
Allowing health care to be a huge money making business doesn't help.

It's a supply/demand thing. Americans want to feel better NOW, and will pay dearly for that relief from pain, sickness, or physical aging. I haven't watched TV in other countries, but I bet they don't have 5 commercials for medications and treatment centers every hour.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Subaeruginosa

Looking at what you actually pay now, and most Americans are taxed at 50% although they don't really know it.

I assume you're combining income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes, to arrive at the 50% figure, Ketsuko?

a reply to: AboveBoard

I'm not sticking up for Republicans however, I don't see why the govt or "our tax dollars" should be subsidizing any private business' losses. So, if I was in Rubio's place I would've voted against extending the subsidies too.

The premise of, "Congress should do something," is crazy to me. the Govt should get out of the way 100%. Govt regs are the reason Pre-existing conditions are a factor to begin with. It's govt regs that won't let us carry our insurance from job to job. They say we have to get a new policy. Getting that new policy, as opposed to keeping the existing insurance policy we have, is the point where Pre-existing conditions come into play!!!

The Govt is the cause of many issues, not the solution!!!

a reply to: sasquatch5100

I would disagree with your premise that pre-existing conditions were the result of regulations. That came about due to the nature of insurance risk management.

They never HAD to make people stay out of their pools except they were for- profit and while some smaller groups would not be able to handle a load of sick people, the larger groups did it cause it increased their profits.

They lobbied Congress to do their bidding for years with very powerful amounts of money so they could have laws that worked in their favor.

Corporatism at work. I have a cynical view as I used to type up letters for an insurance company that denied claims. It left holes in my soul.

AB

originally posted by: amazing
It would really be great if congress would come up with some tweaks to lower costs.

They will not be doing that.
They are beholden to BigPharma and the Insurance Companies.
obamacare will not be going away.
not anytime soon.

I personally would like to see the medical insurance industry nuked from orbit.

Erego, I support single payer.

Obamacare wasn't tossed out for a reason when Republicans had control. Obamacare was originally Rommny's plan. Rommny instated this healthcare plan as Governor of Massachusetts back in the early 2000's. I almost think it was a test run for what was to come. It didn't matter who we elected the powers that be already had their mind's made up. This is nothing more then a tax on the middle class to pay for the poor that didn't have insurance because it was costing the rich money. It cost the rich every time someone showed up in the emergency room with no health coverage.

originally posted by: Snarl
a reply to: FissionSurplus

Remember these words?

And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really really critical for the thing to pass

I just don't understand how 0bamacare got by the SCOTUS. They're all smarter than that. I mean ... people say "I'm innocent," all the time and still go to jail anyway. I thought a Judge was supposed to apply common sense.

 

Good to see a post from you, FissionSurplus. Was wondering if you had pulled a disappearing act from the boards.

The liberals in the SCOTUS don't care about right, wrong on Constitutional. They are just as much hacks for the left as any liberal.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Snarl

The judge is supposed to apply the letter of the law. Even IF Obamacare is a tax, it still shouldn't be constitutional as they found parts of it unconstitutional and the idiots who wrote it did not put in a severability clause meaning that if part of it went down, all of it should have, issues of tax or unlawful mandate aside.

But even on the issue of tax, is was not written or passed as a tax. It would not have passed as a tax, but John Roberts suddenly created a new interpretation of plain language that suddenly made it a tax in order to save it. The way things fell out over it in the SCOTUS suggest to some that there was some kind of pressure applied to Roberts that got him to change his actual ruling at the last minute, a conspiracy if you will.

NSA listened in on conversations or the CIA planted child porn on his computer remotely. Bottom line...the government is working as always.

originally posted by: carewemust
Keep in mind that 85% of the people on ObamaCare health plans have a significant portion of their health insurance premium paid by the Government (aka "the US taxpayers"). The law caps the premium liability at 9% of income, for those who earn less than 400% of the Federal Poverty Level. For these people, if the premium goes up 30% or 300%, they won't notice much of a difference in the amount of money they pay for their monthly premium. That's one of the really deceiving things about this ObamaScrew law. There's a LOT of smoke and mirrors designed to hide the real damage and pain.

The folks who earn more than 400% of the Federal Poverty Level get no premium assistance at all. They have to pay the huge increases. They're voting for anybody but Hillary. She wants to keep Obamacare as is, because in her words, "it's a good law."

100% and part of the plan. Those sucking off the rest of us praise Obamacare while the rates go up because we are paying it. We bitch about it and we are racist whiners.

originally posted by: AboveBoard
a reply to: ketsuko

We have awesome insurance now. We are done with our deductible usually by March, but that's pretty unusual I guess. This year we met our maximum allowable out of pocket in 10 horrible days.

I'm grateful for what I have and know a lot of people that the ACA has really helped. I'm also frustrated at its shortcomings and how it has made other people's lives more challenging. I would advocate for working to fix it to make it more fair for everyone, or to go with universal health care. Just like the VA, however, it would still be less than optimal in some areas and great in others.

One problem is how uneven it is for folks from area to area/state to state/income to income. There are a ton of factors at play for what people end up being able to choose from and how much it costs them.

The subsidies to the insurance companies are ending, and that was helping to cushion everyone's cost. Thanks to Congress, however, that provision was eliminated as part of a budget deal, so we can all thank them for the further pinch on our pocket book than we otherwise would have had. Yay Congress.

- AB

Like I said...the leeches will praise Obamacare while those paying for them will be demonized. What kind of country has this become when those who don't earn their own living are calling those of us that do...wrong.

originally posted by: carewemust
Americans want to feel better NOW, and will pay dearly for that relief from pain, sickness, or physical aging.

I cannot afford to be sick.
I cannot afford to go to the doctor for pain relief.
I cannot afford to consider medical treatment just because I am aging.

After just paying to live [food, clothing, roof, utilities, and health insurance premium]...there is not much left to pay that pesky $6300.00 deductible.

a reply to: WeAreAWAKE

Thank you so much for the name calling. I suppose you would rather my kid dies. Whatever.

Incidentally we pay freaking taxes just like you.

One more thing:

Show me a better way. I'm sure there is one as the ACA is far from utopian. Don't tell me the way it was is the lost utopia, because the glaring problems of the past are evident to all those who were denied insurance based on pre-existing conditions, or were priced out of the insurance market, or who couldn't pay out of pocket.

I totally hear how things are NOT perfect now! I've never said that they are, and I've never implied that improvements weren't needed. I am a fair person. I would love a kum bah yah solution to the massive health care crisis we face in America with the COST of CARE being astronomically high.

Some of that cost is artificially boosted by the insurance industry itself (and what better way to get people to NEED insurance than to have the cost of care be more than the vast majority of people can possibly pay?). They require "insurance processing" which is a significant employee cost for everyone from small doctor's offices to, of course, hospitals, which have entire divisions to handle claims.

And then there is the fact that because insurance companies have power because of the number of people in their pool, that they can negotiate a sweet price-point for themselves - 40% reductions from "the original cost billed" - that sort of thing.

So if you DON'T have insurance, you are left paying 100% of the bill! A bill that has been artificially inflated due to what...the insurance companies. Hm. Even the percentage that you DO pay after insurance is applied is significant. It's a problem.

Now on the other end of the spectrum from no-insurance to "forced insurance" would be a world without insurance, but still WITH the "insurance mentality" of "who gets to have what and why" - well, some of this is needed to keep costs down for everyone else, but it sucks if YOU are the one being denied a service, or being told you have to wait, etc.

So. It ain't free. It would be significantly cheaper if the middle-man were removed and the hospital industry forced to price things they way that they actually cost, and drug companies, and medical suppliers couldn't over-inflate their costs (some kind of controls would have to be put in place to insure they were both solvent and fair).

If we had single-payer, with private insurance riders for those who can afford them (like Medicare currently has), you would run into other problems. You would have a behemoth that, depending on how it was run and how it was FUNDED (that's you Congress - and if Congress wants to sabotage something, they just have to cut the purse strings and watch it flop and flail, then point their fingers and say "see! you don't want this it doesn't work!!").

It needs to learn from both the good and the bad of the VA (we have a very high rated one here that gives excellent care - other places, not so much). It needs to be managed wisely and with the intent to make it work, obviously, not to sabotage it based on ideology.

So tell me - those of you who don't like me getting insurance now that eases the burden for my family in no different way than a tax break for the wealthy eases their burden, but instead of buying a new yacht I get to keep my kid alive - solve these problems. Make the world a better, healthier and more fair place for everyone where we get to have medical care and I will stand with you.

- AB

May 24, 2016

I bet most Americans don't know that the Healthcare CEO's LOVE Obamacare. Hospitals, Health Insurers, Pharmaceutical companies... they're all raking in huge sums from this trillion dollar Ponzi scheme that Obama put in motion.

Check out the last poll from "Modern Healthcare". Only 2% of these CEO's want the ACA repealed.

Link: www.aol.com...

It's a safe bet that these CEO's are pro-Clinton. It's not that they like HER as a candidate. They like the fact that she's not going to get rid of their Obamacare golden goose! Meanwhile..on the flip side of the coin, American consumers will be screwed with higher premiums and higher deductibles starting just 7 months from now. It's despicable.

-cwm

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa

originally posted by: Snarl
Anyway, universal healthcare costs anywhere in any country are quite high.

In Australia, universal healthcare is paid for by the GST tax... but by law, only non-essential items can have a 'goods and services tax' on them.

So essentially, universal healthcare is being paid for by people buying things they can already afford... seems ridiculous to me that US citizens tolerated 'Obamacare', but refuse to tolerate full blown universal healthcare under a similar system.

Seems like its just the phrase 'universal healthcare' Americans reject, rather than the actual concept.

But I guess we're all prone to being blatantly petty and superficial at times... I suppose!

No the problem is the middle class are slaves in America. When ever a demoncrap comes up with a social program it's always one group paying for it which is the middle class. This has nothing to do with free healthcare because who wouldn't want free health care the problem is it's not free and the people footing the bill are loosing their jobs and houses due to offshoring and government regulation.

a reply to: Snarl


"Establishment" Republicans will not toss it out other than groan and moan as if their hands are tied since they worship the Large Corporations running DC just like the Establishment Democrats


Cha Ching!

www.opensecrets.org...

Top Lobbying Industries

Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $3,146,090,212
Insurance $2,190,651,832
Electric Utilities $2,013,127,133
Electronics Mfg & Equip $1,823,347,451
Business Associations $1,811,811,643
Oil & Gas $1,715,405,541
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $1,416,425,661
Education $1,399,862,870
Hospitals/Nursing Homes $1,310,021,801
Telecom Services $1,271,840,866
Securities & Investment $1,264,774,284
Civil Servants/Public Officials $1,216,181,432
Real Estate $1,215,135,758
Health Professionals $1,189,983,794
Air Transport $1,125,384,003
Misc Issues $929,225,311
Automotive $891,793,138
Defense Aerospace $887,354,553
Health Services/HMOs $863,410,051
TV/Movies/Music $851,379,595

originally posted by: FissionSurplus
I have always had the opinion that Obamacare is one big phony lie. It was deemed 'constitutional' by the SCOTUS as a TAX.....so now nobody can afford the plans, and are forced to pay the 'penalty' instead, which is done during tax season and enforced by the IRS.

We've been sold a rotten bill of goods. It has nothing to do with health care, and everything to do with massive tax increases against the middle class. It was never meant to help people, it was meant to allow the government to tax us into poverty.

Obamacare only benefited the shareholders and Executives of the large Insurance and Pharma Groups.
The Poor and Destitute did not bring this to us because they already got "free" care via the emergency room and also have no money to purchase puppet politicians.

It is a stealth bailout


This was brought to us by Insurance and Pharmaceutical Lobbyists purchasing puppet politicians that did not want to take a paycut in this Corporate Led Globalist Utopia

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Snarl

Obamacare is a perfect example of why I would rather have Congress do nothing. It is in the best interest of the people to keep these two crappy mainstream parties in opposition. Obamacare is what happens when one party takes control of both houses and the Presidency.

Exactly