Forum Replies Created
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Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Belinda: That is just not accurate. A relatively small number of people are actually denied coverage because of a medical condition. Look, you have got about 110 million in Medicare and Medicaid. Another 160 million with employer coverage. Those cannot deny coverage because of a preexisting condition. it is a problem if you are uninsured and get a medical condition and then want to go buy coverage. But even then Texas and most states have a high risk pool for them.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
But, Karen, if you believe that how can you support Obamacare? It is taking your tax dollars to provide subsidies for people on exchanges, up to 400% of the federal poverty level, for crying out loud–that’s $94,000 for a family of four. And you are paying for the Medicaid expansion, and advertising of Obamacare, and gifts to navigtors, etc. You are paying through the nose for Obamacare. So how can you say you support it?
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Adrianne: Not sure I would use the word “earmark” here, probably more like “mandated.” Even though the feds will pick up most of the expansion costs for Medicaid, states must bear the extra administrative costs. That’s a lot. And they will have to pick up increased Medicaid costs starting in 2015. Plus they had to chip in funds for creating the exchange if they wanted a state-run exchange. So the states absolutely face some additional costs.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Leia: My only suggestion is the Social Security office. They are the only ones who can determine if you qualify for help. If you make too much money for those programs, please look into the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal program designed to help lower-income working people financially. Some 20 million Americans or more get benefits from that program.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Frankly, Robert, the best thing to do is to see a trained and licensed health insurance agent. They actually know what they are talking about, they have access to the various policies being sold in the state and you can trust them. That’s what I did recently.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Karen: You are raising the issue that the rest of us pay for the uninsured in higher premiums. Actually, as the actuarial firm Milliman has shown, the real health care cost shifting doesn’t come from the uninsured but from Medicare and Medicaid low reimbursements. That isn’t to say that the uninsured aren’t a problem, but the government solution of shifting them to Medicaid has created higher premiums for us.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
I think the best solution is to take the highest affordable deductible and open a Health Savings Account. HSAs give you the freedom to spend money on some things not covered by Obamacare, though the legislation actually imposed more limits on what HSAs can be used for tax free. And a good reform for Obamacare, assuming it can’t be repealed, would be to make changes in the HSA provisions to ensure that people like you have the widest possible use of their HSAs.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Um, the groups that the administration gave money too. It is a very, very bad policy because there is no real policing, as health insurance agents have to go through.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
There is a big debate among health policy people whether Medicaid is better than nothing–which kinda shows you just how bad it is. What bothers me is it was such a huge missed opportunity to do something that would have improved Medicaid rather than just dumping an estimated 16 million more people in a program that is breaking the states. Look, Robert, Medicaid is draining state budgets. It is siphoning money away from education and other needed programs. And that is true even for states that don’t expand.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Robert: You probably know that MOST states did not create their own exchanges–only 14. And some of those are having as bad or worse problems than the federal exchange. So in retrospect, it appears to be a good decision. Even KY, which the administration has been pointing to as a success story, has had a number of problems. That said, it is unclear how exchanges will evolve. You may know that there are several private exchanges, some that predate passage of the ACA, that are doing very well. And several very large companies are shifting their employees into those private exchanges. I think this may be one of the health care success stories and they have nothing to do with Obamacare.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Very good question, Misty. I think that there will be. But we may need someone to be “injured” first so that there is standing. I don’t expect that to take very long. The Obamacare website is apparently so full of holes that it will be pretty easy for hackers to break in and steal information. That should open the door for a flood of lawsuits. Of course, many people are apparently avoiding it exactly because of the security threat.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
As I mention in some of the other comments, I like what OK is doing. Recently IN and VA have filed their own suits based on the same reasoning. In August a federal judge ruled the suit could go forward on its merits, which many people didn’t think would happen. I think several states were waiting to see what happened there. Since OK won the first round, I expect more states to jump in.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Yes, Sharon, a lot of adjunct professors are facing similar problems. My daughter is one and I hope it doesn’t hit her. If the OK lawsuit is successful, it will largely defund Obamacare in the states that do not have state-created exchanges. That will only exempt those who would have gone in the exchanges, but I don’t think it will affect large companies that self insure under ERISA. Unfortunately, many of them are also cutting back employees to 29 hours.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
Leia: I am sorry to hear that. It sounds like you are facing some real challenges. It’s one of the problems caused by states not having the flexibility they need to adjust programs to meet the needs of people like you. And when states ask for more flexibility, the immediately get shut down.
Merrill Matthews, 11 years ago
I strongly disagree, Belinda. Please do not mistake health coverage with access to health care–something Team Obama has done repeatedly. Medicaid is the worst health insurance in the country. And every conservative I know whats to find a solution to the uninsured. But putting them in Medicaid, which no person who has access to real health insurance would voluntarily choose, is a bad option. Why not give low-income people a real health insurance option. That’s not what Obamacare does. And as a result a lot of people will have “coverage,” but will have difficulty finding any doctor who will treat them.
