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Yet another healthcare topic

Started by LMNO, February 25, 2010, 08:18:57 PM

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Jenne

Quote from: Suu on March 23, 2010, 06:17:45 PM
I'd rather pay a fine than a $2000 ER bill I can't afford the next time I have to go in for an Asthma attack or UTI. Just sayin'.

I'm rather perplexed sometimes at the purist attitude over the bill...because really, no one had any hopes that it would even pass...

Cain

Oh please, a bill was always going to pass.  The only question was over the single payer/public option stuff, and even that was (as it turned out) planned in advance. 

But hey, if you wanna be grateful for crumbs, I guess that's your perogative.  On the other hand, being pissed off with a bill being bad and being willing to kill it if you don't get a better one is the basis of all political negotation.  That's how the unions got their concessions.  They made plausible threats and said what was on the table wasn't good enough.  And it paid off, for them.  If you want better than crumbs, sometimes you have to be prepared to say "fuck this" and risk going without anything at all.

Jenne

Nope.  Not in my perview.  I'm one of the few that are still grateful some of the juggernaut still farts in my general direction.

I'm also not one to rest on my laurels and have hounded my legislature for what I want, not pandering to Democratic tastes, either.  I called Bilbray an asshole to his aide for not voting on S-chip.

It's ok to be pissed off, I just don't get the purism after the woe-is-me it's-so-not-gonna-go-anywhere.  That view was pretty damned popular, no matter what realist views there might have been in the interim, not THAT long ago.

Doktor Howl

Quote from: Cain on March 23, 2010, 06:41:29 PM
But hey, if you wanna be grateful for crumbs, I guess that's your perogative

This is one of those times you sit back and let legislative creep do its job.
Molon Lube

Quote from: Suu on March 23, 2010, 04:26:13 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on March 23, 2010, 03:55:13 PM
Quote from: Jenne on March 23, 2010, 03:54:24 PM
No, but we'll still have a "legacy" force left behind like we do everyotherfuckingplace we've been to.  WHY we are still in Germany, etc.

Because the Germans are kind enough to let us use their airbase?

Technically Rammstein is a NATO base, not just a US base. And other countries have "legacy" bases in former holdings as well. France and the UK being the most guilty. I was also on base for a while that housed a bunch of guys from the French Foreign Legion right here in the states. What a lovely bunch those are.



Landstuhl and Kaiserslautern too.
US is pretty invested in germany.

Sir Squid Diddimus

Quote from: Z³ on March 24, 2010, 05:56:04 AM
Quote from: Suu on March 23, 2010, 04:26:13 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on March 23, 2010, 03:55:13 PM
Quote from: Jenne on March 23, 2010, 03:54:24 PM
No, but we'll still have a "legacy" force left behind like we do everyotherfuckingplace we've been to.  WHY we are still in Germany, etc.

Because the Germans are kind enough to let us use their airbase?

Technically Rammstein is a NATO base, not just a US base. And other countries have "legacy" bases in former holdings as well. France and the UK being the most guilty. I was also on base for a while that housed a bunch of guys from the French Foreign Legion right here in the states. What a lovely bunch those are.



Landstuhl and Kaiserslautern too.
US is pretty invested in germany.

I miss Germany so much.
Even if I lived in US military housing.

Dimocritus

Wait. If I can't afford health care, I'm going to get fined?
HOUSE OF GABCab ~ "caecus plumbum caecus"

Remington

Quote from: dimo on March 26, 2010, 06:41:47 AM
Wait. If I can't afford health care, I'm going to get fined?
IIRC the insurance mandate only takes effect on those above a certain income level.
Is it plugged in?

Dimocritus

Quote from: Remington on March 26, 2010, 06:44:54 AM
Quote from: dimo on March 26, 2010, 06:41:47 AM
Wait. If I can't afford health care, I'm going to get fined?
IIRC the insurance mandate only takes effect on those above a certain income level.

Oh, good.
HOUSE OF GABCab ~ "caecus plumbum caecus"

Remington

Is it plugged in?

LMNO

Quote from: dimo on March 26, 2010, 06:59:23 AM
Quote from: Remington on March 26, 2010, 06:44:54 AM
Quote from: dimo on March 26, 2010, 06:41:47 AM
Wait. If I can't afford health care, I'm going to get fined?
IIRC the insurance mandate only takes effect on those above a certain income level.

Oh, good.

Yeah.  If you can't afford it, you will be subsidized by the Gvt.




Or, you could get a job, hippie.

Cain

How are the govt calculating the subsidy?  Because as far as I can see, there is nothing to stop the insurance companies raising their prices above current inflation levels.  In fact, they've done that for the last several years, I believe.

LMNO

From politifact:


The subsidies will take effect in 2014, and are available to Americans who buy insurance on the exchange, which will be virtual marketplaces for health plans. The exchanges are designed to serve people who do not already have insurance through their employer and who are not covered by a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid.

The bill offers two kinds of subsidies to people who buy through the exchange -- one for insurance premiums and one for out-of-pocket medical costs.

Under the premium subsidy, the government will pay the difference between the premiums for a designated plan and a set percentage of your income. As for the cost-sharing subsidy, the mechanism is still evolving, but the idea is to reduce the amount that beneficiaries have to shell out for co-pays and other medical expenses.

The subsidies will operate on a sliding scale, benefiting those who earn between 133 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. At the upper end of the range of those who qualify for premium subsidies -- those earning 300 percent to 400 percent of poverty level -- the government will pay whatever amount of the premium that exceeds 9.5 percent of the beneficiary's income. (Those earning less than 133 percent of the poverty level qualify for Medicaid instead.)

Cain

Thanks.  Hmmm.  Gonna think on this some more.

Bebek Sincap Ratatosk

I know its HuffPo, but this article seems to cover the bases pretty well (keeping in mind that it seems to be written from a perspective which dislikes the bill):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/fact-sheet-the-truth-abou_b_506026.html

Covers these topics:
Myth 1: This is a universal health care bill.
Myth 2: Insurance companies hate this bill.
Myth 3: The bill will significantly bring down insurance premiums for most Americans.
Myth 4: The bill will make health care affordable for middle class Americans.
Myth 5: This plan is similar to the Massachusetts plan, which makes health care affordable.
Myth 6: This bill provides health care to 31 million people who are currently uninsured.
Myth 7: You can keep the insurance you have if you like it.
Myth 8: The "excise tax" will encourage employers to reduce the scope of health care benefits, and they will pass the savings on to employees in the form of higher wages.
Myth 9: This bill employs nearly every cost control idea available to bring down costs.
Myth 10: The bill will require big companies like Wal-Mart to provide insurance for their employees.
Myth 11: The bill "bends the cost curve" on health care.
Myth 12: The bill will provide immediate access to insurance for Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition.
Myth 13: The bill prohibits dropping people in individual plans from coverage when they get sick.
Myth 14: The bill ensures consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to challenge new insurance plan decisions.
Myth 15: This bill will stop insurance companies from hiking rates 30%-40% per year.
Myth 16: When the bill passes, people will begin receiving benefits under this bill immediately
Myth 17: The bill creates a pathway for single payer.\
Myth 18: The bill will end medical bankruptcy and provide all Americans with peace of mind.

Sources at the bottom.
- I don't see race. I just see cars going around in a circle.

"Back in my day, crazy meant something. Now everyone is crazy" - Charlie Manson