Can someone please explain the health care reform to me?

Hello there ATS.

What exactly was reformed?

What I gather is that your not given health care, but rather your forced to buy health care from insurance companies?

That to me is not National health care, national health care would be everyone is on the same plan, everyone pays the same amount in taxes to "Cover" your health insurance. Your taxes is what pays for your coverage, not you pay taxes and you pay a monthly premium.

so I guess what I am not following is this.

If you are paying out of pocket for coverage(because it will be mandatory, or pay a penalty.) on top of paying taxes for it, what changed other than the government getting tax money from the public?

So they put in stipulations to where people cannot have a cap on their coverage, people cannot be denied for pre-existing conditions, why couldn't this be the case without forcing everyone to purchase insurance?

I am not sure how other countries health care works, but when talking to a friend from Canada, he told me they pay taxes that is it, when he needs to see a doctor he goes and sees one, he doesn't have to worry about paying out of pocket because it is already being payed for by everyone in taxes.

So if you all could explain to me what this country gains from this bill, I would appreciate it. As I am sure I am missing quite a bit of the picture here.

Thanks.

i would also like to know. Someone please reply

you answered your own questions in that but if you must know then I suggest to gain the understanding necessary to be able to talk about this bill is to read the bill which is available online.

if you cant be bothered to read it then dont worry its clear it doesnt matter much. All the answers are available if you look them up.

Good luck in your quest for knowledge but if you have a thirst for knowledge please see the link so you can be informed about the discussion and be allowed to participate in discussions about health reform in an acceptable manner.

If you mean the actual senate bill that was passed last night - no. No one can; that's the problem. Nancy "Bay Area Genius" Pelosi said we'd have to pass it to find out what was in it. Of course, the House leadership is going to follow up with some "fixes" that weren't in the Senate bill. I suspect it will include more "free" goodies that the Senate was wise enough not to consider.

The fact that the Dems rammed this through doesn't surprise me. The Democratic leadership is essentially a group of power drunk; morally bankrupt professional leftists who are trying to make up time lost since LBJ was President. What surprised me was the number of apparently sane people willing to significantly damage our economy to insure 30 million uninsured citizens. I realize that math education has really hit the skids in the last thirty years, but the reasoning power of some of our fellow citizens seems to have declined to the point of imbecility. I suspect Governor Perry will take care of this on a state level, as have Virginia and Idaho. I suspect that other states will be ruled by the lowest common denominator.

Originally posted by tigpoppa


if you cant be bothered to read it then dont worry its clear it doesnt matter much. All the answers are available if you look them up.

Thanks,

It does matter, but apparently congress does not even know what is in this reform, so if they cannot be bothered to read it themselves why should I?

on another note, I have perused it and I will be honest it is not written in plain speech, rather in a dialect that is only understood by those who wrote it.


I was looking for a clear cut plain English explanation, not one left to interpretation.

Thanks again though for your response, it is appreciated.

Clear laymens term explanation of the bill:

We The People get bent over a barrel and screwed prison style yet again by this criminally corrupt government.

OP, you are asking this question on the wrong site.

This site is for people who don't read the bills... they only complain about what they speculate is in them, based on conspiracy and government bashing.

I have gone through it a bit.. not the whole 2500 pg behemoth, but pieces here and there. So far, it seems like a tax and waste sort of thing.

1) Yes, it forces everyone to get an insurance plan that meets federal guidelines.
2) It imposes a $62 per month penalty (indexed against inflation) for each month you do not have insurance.
3) It taxes the hell out of the back end of the medical industry (device manufacturers and drug companies, etc)
4) It applies a 10% tax on indoor tanning services (you, know, just because they can. )

I did notice that they offer public funding to allow the states to create a Community Health Insurance Option. The states are not obligated to do so, but they can if they feel that there is a political advantage to doing it.

Originally posted by rogerstigers

4) It applies a 10% tax on indoor tanning services (you, know, just because they can.

)

I did notice that they offer public funding to allow the states to create a Community Health Insurance Option. The states are not obligated to do so, but they can if they feel that there is a political advantage to doing it.

I do not see what 4) has to do with health care reform at all, how does this benefit the public?

So they off a public funding for community health insurance? what is the need for this if we all have national health care? are we as Americans not all part of the reform? see I am still not understanding things.

thanks for your reply

Long story short...it becomes more profitable to cure something than to treat something finally.

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Long story short...it becomes more profitable to cure something than to treat something finally.

if this is true, this would be a good thing.

I would gladly give my life savings for a cure to say anything, rather than pay a lifetime for an offset.

Originally posted by I think Im normal

I do not see what 4) has to do with health care reform at all, how does this benefit the public?

So they off a public funding for community health insurance? what is the need for this if we all have national health care? are we as Americans not all part of the reform? see I am still not understanding things.

thanks for your reply

Well, the only thing I can figure right now is that they are employing the "sin tax" approach in order to recover monies that can be used to fund the administrative needs for overseeing all of this.

They basic premis of the whole thing is (I think),

1) Force everyone to get an insurance plan so that costs come down by virtue of volume and because healthy people who currently do not have insurance will be added to the pool (which should in theory lower operating costs be reducing overall risks)
2) Create a controlled market place (Health Insurance Exchanges) where all publish their rates. Kind of like a health insurance mall, I think.
3) Provide monetary support for people who cannot afford insurance through cost reductions and grants
4) Prevent Insurance companies from cheating by making it illegal for them to drop you simply because you became a "risk".
4) Derive and publish federal standards as to what is a good health care plan.

In essence, this is NOT Health Care reform. This is Health Insurance Regulation.

Originally posted by I think Im normal

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Long story short...it becomes more profitable to cure something than to treat something finally.

if this is true, this would be a good thing.

I would gladly give my life savings for a cure to say anything, rather than pay a lifetime for an offset.

I honestly expect to see sudden dramatic advances in cures and cheap treatments as if by magic within the next 10-20 years because of how this cute little trap is set.

but hey, I am an optimist.

reply to post by I think Im normal


I think you've answered your own question. I laugh when people say that now everyone, even the poor, will have health insurance. No... everyone will be expected to buy health insurance. It's not free. It's not at all like Canada's system. Everything else remains the same, other than pre-existing conditions, etc, which as you said could have been done without this 'reform'.

To me, in short, the only thing this did was put even more money in the insurance company's pockets (did you notice their stocks today have gone up) by adding more people to the health insurance market... many of whom don't need or want it (did you also realize this bill was written bt the insurance lobyists).

I think a lot of people thinking that suddenly they're going to have free health care aer going to be in for a suprise when they realize they are actually being forced to BUY insurance... or be fined and if not find themselves in jail.

This 'reform' did not help us... its a stimulus bill for insurers.

www.businessinsider.com...

Here is a link with some information on it for you.

www.washingtonpost.com...

Might help.

Here is a short explanation..... Wake up, shake head, make coffee, then turn on news, and at the top of your lung's, scream Holy @#$%, It wasn't a dream, they did, and then call 911 for your heart is failing, only to be told, an ambulance is on the way, and should be there in about 6 months.... Have a nice day

Originally posted by SaturnFX
I honestly expect to see sudden dramatic advances in cures and cheap treatments as if by magic within the next 10-20 years because of how this cute little trap is set.

but hey, I am an optimist.

Wow, you are an optimist

The way Government handles things there will probably be a rise in treating symptoms and a lot less actual curing. Why save money and lives when you can spend more and be less efficient at the same time?

In short this is that my understanding of the health care bill is going to do:
1) If you are willing to serve in a public sector job, and have financial aid, the government will forgive it. (We the people will pick up the bill on that one)
2) Now follow the logic and reasoning: If you do not have health insurance, you lose the same rights that a convited felon loses, here is how I came up with that one: A) The IRS is the enforcement on that mandated health insurace, and if you don't have one, they slap a fine on you. If you do not pay the fine, (Like the majority of the people who are out of work) they will slap a bigger fine and then charge you with a felony, and a mandatory jail time. You lose in the end, the government gains and congratulation, instant work force that can not participate in politics, can not own a gun and have trouble finding a job.
3) And a good chance that there will be amensty for all of the illegale aliens currently living in the USA.

From the BBC

Cost: $940bn over 10 years; would reduce deficit by $143bn

Coverage: Expanded to 32m currently uninsured Americans

Medicare: Prescription drug coverage gap closed; affected over-65s receive rebate and discount on brand name drugs

Medicaid: Expanded to include families under 65 with gross income of up to 133% of federal poverty level and childless adults

Insurance reforms: Insurers can no longer deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions

Insurance exchanges: Uninsured and self-employed able to purchase insurance through state-based exchanges

Subsidies: Low-income individuals and families wanting to purchase own health insurance eligible for subsidies

Individual Mandate: Those not covered by Medicaid or Medicare must be insured or face fine

High-cost insurance: Employers offering workers pricier plans subject to tax on excess premium