Health care exchanges

Marynb
Marynb Member Posts: 1,118
Well, the numbers for the ObamaCare exchange are out and i went to a meeting where it was all explained by government workers. It was explained that some groups will see insurance rates soar, because that is the way the law is written. Of course, I am in that group! I am so sorry that I voted for Obama, who I now dub Oh-bummer!

I am so damned angry. My rates for an individual plan, which covers less than what I have now, will jump from 650 to 850 a month, with less coverage! Why? Because the law was designed to support those who are under 4x the poverty level. This is a nationwide number of 45k per individual. Now, that might be all well and good in some parts of the country, but it is not doable in the northeast! The woman explained that if we don't like it, the penalty for not carrying insurance is $95, which could be waived for good cause. They do not seem to understand that not many will be able to afford this and it is not a matter of not liking it. When this law takes effect, many are either going to lose their homes or go without insurance. This is a HUGE trainwreck. Companies are already starting to cut employees and drop coverage for spouses.

I was all for health care reform and in fact, wanted universal coverage. What we have here is the worst of all possible worlds, with the health insurance companies making even larger profits! This just cannot stand! I have had enough.

Now, before some post that this is not relevant on a cancer site, let me ask a question. If health insurance is not relevant to cancer patients and survivors, who the hell is it relevant to???

I suggest that everyone take a look at your states health care exchange. If you think it won't effect you, think again! Sooner or later, it will!

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    Marynb

    I think this post is most appropriate here, as it's something that affects all of us.  I agree--HUGE trainwreck!  So many people who are uninsured now will still be shut out and many of us, such as myself, will end up paying more for less. 

    As for how companies are handling the increased costs, both UPS and Delta, which are locally based corporations in my area, are finding ways to cut costs--reducing employees' hours to part-time so they don't qualify for health insurance anymore and/or dropping spousal coverage.  You are totally correct.  I find this particularly sad--people who are hard-working and paying their own way are going to be punished by earning less money and having no health insurance.  It makes absolutely no sense. 

    I am not a fan of big government taking over peoples' lives.  I'll leave it up to you to figure out who I voted for in the last election.

  • Marynb
    Marynb Member Posts: 1,118
    mp327 said:

    Marynb

    I think this post is most appropriate here, as it's something that affects all of us.  I agree--HUGE trainwreck!  So many people who are uninsured now will still be shut out and many of us, such as myself, will end up paying more for less. 

    As for how companies are handling the increased costs, both UPS and Delta, which are locally based corporations in my area, are finding ways to cut costs--reducing employees' hours to part-time so they don't qualify for health insurance anymore and/or dropping spousal coverage.  You are totally correct.  I find this particularly sad--people who are hard-working and paying their own way are going to be punished by earning less money and having no health insurance.  It makes absolutely no sense. 

    I am not a fan of big government taking over peoples' lives.  I'll leave it up to you to figure out who I voted for in the last election.

    Martha
    Actually, Romney was my Governor when I lived in Mass. and was a damned good governor! He established universal health insurance coverage in Massachusetts, which works very well and unlike Obamacare, it did make insurance more affordable. It is the best system in the country. He also made Massachusetts number 1 in education performance.

    Sadly, during the election, Romney distanced himself from his biggest accomplishments,health insurance reform and education reform, in order to please Republicans.

    That being said, something has got to be done to correct this disaster. The latest is that companies and governmental agencies are seeking permission to terminate contracts with retirees who were promised continued health insurance. All these retirees will be forced onto the exchanges until they qualify for medicare. So, anyone thinks that they are immune from this dreadful situation, check out the costs on your state's exchange.
  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    Marynb said:

    Martha
    Actually, Romney was my Governor when I lived in Mass. and was a damned good governor! He established universal health insurance coverage in Massachusetts, which works very well and unlike Obamacare, it did make insurance more affordable. It is the best system in the country. He also made Massachusetts number 1 in education performance.

    Sadly, during the election, Romney distanced himself from his biggest accomplishments,health insurance reform and education reform, in order to please Republicans.

    That being said, something has got to be done to correct this disaster. The latest is that companies and governmental agencies are seeking permission to terminate contracts with retirees who were promised continued health insurance. All these retirees will be forced onto the exchanges until they qualify for medicare. So, anyone thinks that they are immune from this dreadful situation, check out the costs on your state's exchange.

    Marynb

    I just saw a news report the other evening that named IBM as a company that is either reducing or eliminating coverage for retirees.  It's inconceivable to me that the O-administration did not see these things coming.  Corporations are going to take whatever steps are necessary to protect their bottom line.  It won't be long before unemployment will rise again and so will the number of uninsured. 

    I do not care for Romney's personality, but he is a shrewd businessman and I think very smart.  I believe he understood that if Corporate America goes under, so does our nation.  We are headed in the direction of becoming a welfare state now.  It has to be turned around.

  • Marynb
    Marynb Member Posts: 1,118
    mp327 said:

    Marynb

    I just saw a news report the other evening that named IBM as a company that is either reducing or eliminating coverage for retirees.  It's inconceivable to me that the O-administration did not see these things coming.  Corporations are going to take whatever steps are necessary to protect their bottom line.  It won't be long before unemployment will rise again and so will the number of uninsured. 

    I do not care for Romney's personality, but he is a shrewd businessman and I think very smart.  I believe he understood that if Corporate America goes under, so does our nation.  We are headed in the direction of becoming a welfare state now.  It has to be turned around.

    Health Insurance exchanges ......ugh!!!
    Well, I jusr have to vent to alleviate stress. I just got off the phone from the new Health care exchange. If you think going to the state Registry of Motor Veh. is a noghtmare...you ain't seen nothing!!!

    OmG. The man on the line could barely speak comprehensible English. The answer to thr most basic questions is, " we dunno yet". There will be no verification of income. If I estimate my income and it ends up being more, they don't really have a way of verifying. Soooo, taxpayers will be paying subsidies, huge amounts, for people based on the honor system. Right!

    They "dunno" what counts as income . They were trained for a week! They "dunno" the specifics of the plans...we will find out after we select one! WTF???

    This is a nightmare beyond my wildest dreams! Stress, stress, stress!
  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    Marynb said:

    Health Insurance exchanges ......ugh!!!
    Well, I jusr have to vent to alleviate stress. I just got off the phone from the new Health care exchange. If you think going to the state Registry of Motor Veh. is a noghtmare...you ain't seen nothing!!!

    OmG. The man on the line could barely speak comprehensible English. The answer to thr most basic questions is, " we dunno yet". There will be no verification of income. If I estimate my income and it ends up being more, they don't really have a way of verifying. Soooo, taxpayers will be paying subsidies, huge amounts, for people based on the honor system. Right!

    They "dunno" what counts as income . They were trained for a week! They "dunno" the specifics of the plans...we will find out after we select one! WTF???

    This is a nightmare beyond my wildest dreams! Stress, stress, stress!

    Marynb

    It's going to be a disaster, plain and simple.  Too many unanswered questions.  The people in charge don't know the answers, so how are we to know?  There will be so much opportunity for fraud in this program and who is going to pay for that?  You and me.   

    I must say, I applaud you for your efforts to learn the ins and outs of this.  And I also applaud you for admitting that you regret your vote in the election.  I am on Facebook and I had a couple of people who nearly drove me crazy with their constant accolades for the incumbent and bashing of the opposition during the campaign.  Now where are those people?  They are definitely not singing praises for the current administration, at least on that social media site. 

    I tend to be a middle of the roader, but these healthcare changes are pushing me off of that center line towards the right.  I believe that until we go back to encouraging small business start-ups and making it possible for large corporations to turn a profit while employing people and providing benefits for them so that they can take care of themselves, we are in a world of hurt. 

  • Marynb
    Marynb Member Posts: 1,118
    mp327 said:

    Marynb

    It's going to be a disaster, plain and simple.  Too many unanswered questions.  The people in charge don't know the answers, so how are we to know?  There will be so much opportunity for fraud in this program and who is going to pay for that?  You and me.   

    I must say, I applaud you for your efforts to learn the ins and outs of this.  And I also applaud you for admitting that you regret your vote in the election.  I am on Facebook and I had a couple of people who nearly drove me crazy with their constant accolades for the incumbent and bashing of the opposition during the campaign.  Now where are those people?  They are definitely not singing praises for the current administration, at least on that social media site. 

    I tend to be a middle of the roader, but these healthcare changes are pushing me off of that center line towards the right.  I believe that until we go back to encouraging small business start-ups and making it possible for large corporations to turn a profit while employing people and providing benefits for them so that they can take care of themselves, we are in a world of hurt. 

    Health insurance exchange
    Martha, I have no choice, I have to buy my insurance on the exchange. So, my interest is purely selfish. I buy individual insurance directly and the plan I have now will no longer exist.

    The cancer world is buzzing because it is uncertain whether chemo and other drugs will be covered like they were.
    http://nyti.ms/1emvM30

    I don't know what the answer is, but this isn't right. I really don't think it is right to leave it up to corporate America. I do believe that health care is a basic human right and that all citiziens should have access. We were in dire need of health care reform. This does nothing to curb cost of health care. People should not profit from taking care of the sick. I believe it should be run like the system in Canada.

    As far as the election, neither party was offering good solutions. I just hope that every single cancer patient writes to their representatives in
    Congress to make their concerns known. This just isn't right and it adds to the stress of being sick. Ugh!!!!
  • Ouch_Ouch_Ouch
    Ouch_Ouch_Ouch Member Posts: 508 Member
    Thumbs up for the Heathcare Act

    This is an old thread, true, but I just have to say that without healthcare reform, I could not have paid for any cancer treatment. Period. So far, the insurance company has not questioned anything the MDs have requested. There were many of us in this boat who likewise appreciate the changes. Many of the negative effects mentioned in above posts were insisted on by the Republican House of Representatives. Thank them.

    I don't remember the exact number (sorry), but the last poll I saw a few months ago found that well over 50% of Republicans (I believe) are happy with their insurance coverage. So, I'm not the only one. B^)
  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member

    Thumbs up for the Heathcare Act

    This is an old thread, true, but I just have to say that without healthcare reform, I could not have paid for any cancer treatment. Period. So far, the insurance company has not questioned anything the MDs have requested. There were many of us in this boat who likewise appreciate the changes. Many of the negative effects mentioned in above posts were insisted on by the Republican House of Representatives. Thank them.

    I don't remember the exact number (sorry), but the last poll I saw a few months ago found that well over 50% of Republicans (I believe) are happy with their insurance coverage. So, I'm not the only one. B^)
    negative result for me

    glad it helped you but i had to reply to this because i have worked and paid for individual health insurance for myself for 30 years..... it made my insurance rate go way up......i always had an increase each year but this jumped way up. and it does not cover the same as it did before and it does not cover my prescriptions as well.... since i have been treated at MD Anderson, i wanted to keep this insurance..... it also made my deductible higher....i think it helped those who did not have insurance and it hurt those who already had been paying for it...... sephie

     

  • Ouch_Ouch_Ouch
    Ouch_Ouch_Ouch Member Posts: 508 Member
    sephie said:

    negative result for me

    glad it helped you but i had to reply to this because i have worked and paid for individual health insurance for myself for 30 years..... it made my insurance rate go way up......i always had an increase each year but this jumped way up. and it does not cover the same as it did before and it does not cover my prescriptions as well.... since i have been treated at MD Anderson, i wanted to keep this insurance..... it also made my deductible higher....i think it helped those who did not have insurance and it hurt those who already had been paying for it...... sephie

     

    further...

    "i think it helped those who did not have insurance and it hurt those who already had been paying for it."

    stephie: That's a blanket statement. There are many previously insured people who not only have better insurance now, but pay less for it. And, unfortunately, there are still far too many people who fell through the cracks and still do not have medical coverage. We are groping our way towards universal healthcare, but, sadly, it's very slow going. Look how long it's taken for us to get this far, to this imperfect place.

    My big problem was that I had rheumatic fever as a kid and now have a group of deficiencies called rheumatic heart disease (atrial fibrillation, dysrhymias, mitral valve murmur, etc). Insurance companies wanted to charge me a lot more, if they wanted me at all. As for cancer patients, they used to quickly top out their maximum lifetime coverage and had to start remortgaging or borrowing or quiting treatment. Now the ones who are insured can follow through on their full treatment without going bankrupt.

    Thank you for listening.

  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member

    further...

    "i think it helped those who did not have insurance and it hurt those who already had been paying for it."

    stephie: That's a blanket statement. There are many previously insured people who not only have better insurance now, but pay less for it. And, unfortunately, there are still far too many people who fell through the cracks and still do not have medical coverage. We are groping our way towards universal healthcare, but, sadly, it's very slow going. Look how long it's taken for us to get this far, to this imperfect place.

    My big problem was that I had rheumatic fever as a kid and now have a group of deficiencies called rheumatic heart disease (atrial fibrillation, dysrhymias, mitral valve murmur, etc). Insurance companies wanted to charge me a lot more, if they wanted me at all. As for cancer patients, they used to quickly top out their maximum lifetime coverage and had to start remortgaging or borrowing or quiting treatment. Now the ones who are insured can follow through on their full treatment without going bankrupt.

    Thank you for listening.

    jeez

    of course,, that was a blanket statement that i made ...i can voice  almost anything that i want to on this site  unless the monitor decides that it is inappropriate or too political.  i still hate what it has done for me ..... ...... i have many friends that it hurt also and some that their insurance co. let them go.... as i said sooooo glad it has helped you....... but in my case it has hurt me , hurt my pocket book and the quality of care that i recieve in my small town ( i have other medical issues),,,,(not the quaility of care at MD ANderson).......sephie