Anyone ElseTerrified about Repeal of ACA Bill
Comments
-
NotBroken, what lawsuit?
0 -
https://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2018/11/14/singlepayer-health-care-n2535886
Single-Payer Health Care
John Stossel
0 -
It's not difficult to understand the philosophy of this article. Stossel is a Fox, libritarian that is interested in raising up a new generation of followers after his own heart. The Mahattan institute is a conservative think tank that formulated social and economic policies beginning with Reagan administration and have brought us to this time of division. You either believe that Americans have a God given right (if you believe in God or that human beings have value) of healthcare as a human being or the drowning of government in the bathtub until it's dead and completely replaced unapologetically with a king or dictator that will sort it all out for us.
0 -
Pupmom, several States have challenged the whole premise of the ACA. In order for the mandate to be deemed constitutional it had to be termed a tax. Now that the mandate has been rescinded it was brought to the courts that the whole bill is null and void because it is now not a tax. A ruling is expected any day but it seemed that the Judge was leaning towards ruling against the ACA and for the Plaintiff States.
0 -
OK, then why not a public system that may be not the best but at least available and affordable. Those with the financial means can buy public, or like Medicare, they can buy a supplemental.
FOX news pissed me off awhile ago. They said the ACA was not needed since the poor already have Medicaid. HUH? OMG, they showed their ignorance. So they are saying that in those States that did not expand Medicaid, anyone making just over $8000 can afford to live never mind buy health insurance? Those States that expanded Medicaid only qualify til approximately $16,300. I was furious when the news made that naïve statement. Low and middle income needs relief.
0 -
NotBroken, I see what you meant. However, everything may change after last week's midterms. For instance, my state Kansas got a new Dem governor, and I expect her to do the Medicaid expansion pretty soon after being sworn in.
0 -
Not....I want the best possible care. And arguably, when ANYONE shows up at the Columbia-Presbyterian emergency room, they will get the BEST possible care in the world whether they can pay or not. Recall, former President Clinton went there when he needed help for his heart...
Whether one wants to debate the research done by a conservative group, so be it. But, I would rather debate which facts are right or wrong.....
And...has anyone bothered to read Dr. Brawley’s book? Not sure if he identifies with any political group.....perhaps if he doesn’t identify then would his facts be more believable?
Could we set aside politics and try to parse what is true? And then parse what we value....and then devise a healthy health care plan....
0 -
Looks like another plan is being drafted called Trump RepairCare. Hmmm..... wonder what this is about.
0 -
Unfortunately it is a myth that care must be provided despite payment. The requirement is far more narrow, stabilization of an immediately life threatening condition. For example I am a self-employed Ohioan. I currently have a small business ACA plan which allows me to have treatment at the James. Initially there was confusion with my health insurance policy and I could not even make an appointment until it was clear that I had a health insurance policy that included the James in the network. Despite a good income, ie I pay my premiums in full with no subsidy, and have since I graduated from college and at that time came off my parents' plan, my insurance broker has said I will be entirely uninsurable because of my pre-existing condition if the ACA goes down. Yes, I might be able to get emergency care if I fall off a ladder and I am hauled to a hospital, but I will not be able to get care for my breast cancer beyond my ability to self fund.
0 -
Nat, and even if you could get health insurance can you imagine what it would cost? Just think of the bills for a stage 4 cancer patient.
I wasn't in this situation prior to the ACA and so likely I didn't pay much attention but what the heck did people do before the ACA?
0 -
NoBroken, They went without insurance nor did they go to a gynecologist when a palpable lump consumed the lower quarter of their breast.
My husband retired November of 2010. Our cobra was $1800 a month. So we went without insurance. We both had a preexisting condition. January of 2012 got ACA for $486 a month $1500 out of pocket for me. Diagnosed with stage 2 February 14, 2012. Helped two family members with preexisting conditions who had to go to charity hospital emergency rooms for life threatening episodes. They hated Obama but the desire for life trumped hatred. My head explodes.
From day one, the insurance companies huddled and began to raise premiums so they could blame ACA. All of our wellness and screening for certain conditions are because of ACA mandate.
The super rich don't buy insurance . They pay cash and that's great. Those of us who buy insurance now buy junk most of the time . The rest of America goes without or is in crushing debt.
The arguments against universal healthcare is a mindset that harks back to the dark ages.
I guess Jesus's story of the Good Samaritan was a sick joke or an outright lie.
I choose to believe He showed us the way and many regardless of their belief system have joined together to bind the wounds of our sick.
I have felt like a throw away since my diagnosis. I've listened how I'm a drag on the healthcare system even though I paid a hefty premium. Now my husband and I are on Medicare and pay for two supplemental policies each to meet our medical and he still can't pay for cholesterol meds because he can pays a huge copay for his trulicity for diabetes and we won't touch our funeral savings so our only son won't be left with more debt.
My copay for kisqali was 2200 the first month and 476 a month thereafter. Thank God for copay assistance that my doctor helped me with. I thought I was going to stop my treatment last month even though it's working.
We on the cancer raft listen to our leaders speak platitudes about us. Every leader that fights against our citizens healthcare is guilty of weeding out the weak and vulnerable. In their minds we have nothing to offer society, our families, our neighbors.
It might just be our purpose is to raise our voices for those who can no longer speak, who are lost and lonely and despair that they have no value to our materialistic culture.
Who is better equipped to fight the good fight than BC fighters. It's what we do.
0 -
I think we will have Medicare for all, or something similar, within 4 years. Trump is going to be resoundly thumped, lol, and the Senate and House will be in Democratic hands. That's all it will take, and the voters have signaled that's what they want.
0 -
I just want to say, everybody should have health care, no matter what their immigration status. I'm happy for my taxes to subsidize that. But the truth is that people here undocumented are actually subsidizing me. Immigrants of all statuses overall put a lot more money into the taxes as the economy in general than they 'take out.'
0 -
I have MC. If funds are going to run out like projected where is the money going to come from? Also anyone think the good docs would opt out? I know some who don't take mc because they don't get paid well. There are a few reg insurance that pay better. Quality may go down imo and that would suck for cancer pts.
0 -
There was a new poll taken regarding if insurance should cover pre-existing conditions and the majority said yes. When asked if they would think so if everyone's premiums went up, the numbers dropped considerably and when asked if the quality of healthcare suffered for all as a result, the majority was no longer in favor of coverage for pre-existing.
Jo, I know little about Medicare but have been looking forward to the day, but it seems like it is not all that I had hoped and likely will decline over time. That is atrocious that you and DH each have to have two supplementals and still struggle to get your prescribed meds. Errrrr....that makes me so mad!
0 -
NotBrokenJustBent:
They died.
0 -
Sometimes the difference between having insurance or not is that, without insurance it's usually pre pay and with insurance it's post pay. So those with insurance get treatment in many instances even if they can't actually pay.
But the reality is that a lot of people with insurance still aren't paying their medical bills because who has $50,000 laying around?
0 -
WC, I wondered that. I have a dear friend who owes 2 million in healthcare costs. I wondered why she was treated and got her extensive cancer treatments at a major metro hospital despite her inability to pay, but yes, she had insurance but was underinsured. She refuses to declare bankruptcy though acknowledges she will never be able to pay back her humongous bills. She pays what she can month to month. On a happier note she was never expected to survive as the cancer was throughout but 9 years later she is with is and healthy. With her type of cancer, after 7 years she was termed 'in remission' and now deemed cured.
0 -
there is no cure for cancer.
0 -
it's prescription supplements that are tricky. Our medical supplement pays all that is is not met by Medicare. Our Medicare coverage is excellent. I have had ecellent coverage with it. We had a Medicare advantage with private insurance last year and it stopped me from getting a bone scan for pain before my diagnosis of metastatic so we switched back to original Medicare.
0 -
what medicare supp is that Jo?
0 -
Don’t bet on it pupmom. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. Politics aside I just don’t want to get in the position of being unable to afford meds that I need. Ditto for my DH. He has Parkinson’s Disease. Very few symptoms for now and new meds are helping control tremors.
It took us a year to pay off some medical bills from my BC and we have BC/BS insurance with a deductible of 5k- $2500 each for him and me. Idk what we would have done without it though when I had to have radiation treatments. By then we were at 100% coverage thankfully.
I think it’s a myth too thatdoctors have to treat you even if you can’t afford it. Good grief some want upfront $ from those of us who do have health insurance and no I don’t have $50k laying around either.
A $2 million dollar medical bills tag - yikes! Bless her for trying to do what she believes is right but sometimes it’s just too much to overcome. No one would blame her if she did file bankruptcy. I couldn’t sleep nights knowing I owed that much.
Diane
0 -
RoseBella, I have an RX plan and medical supplement plan N with united healthcare. The Rx plan treats my kisqali as specialty drug and my plan N treats it that way instead of chemo. One of the ladies on this site saidthat plan F treats her oral chemo just like IV chemo. Getting an appointment with my agent to see if that will work for me.
0 -
I have plan F aarp. I've asked under financial forum if it covers oral and seems no? I know part d medicare doesn't. I'm not stage 4 but high risk and am trying to figure out how oral chemo works with insurance.
0 -
NotBrokenJustBent:
I'm glad to hear your friend is doing well.
As to her choice of facility and the cost, one problem is, most health care facilities don't have open pricing so patients have no idea how much treatment will cost and it's difficult to even get estimates. But if it costs $2,000,000 to treat cancer at one place and $1,000,000 at another place and the person makes a median wage then it becomes irrelevant as to what facility is cheaper. They can't pay $1,000,000 any better than $2,000,000.
0 -
I found out too late that I don't have prescription coverage under my pharmacy benefits, meaning brand name, so I don't know if I will have access to any life extending cancer drugs if needed...they don't seem to have generics.
This flew under my radar for a few reasons, one being that my other medications are brand name and my insurance had always covered them, leading me to believe I had prescription coverage. It turns out they cover some brand name drugs under contract with certain pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies though, and all of the drugs I have needed until the cancer dx happened to be among them.
0 -
Dumb question. Can a person purchase a supplement to private insurance to pick up deductibles and out of pocket
0 -
Roseabella, the friend I mentioned is 9 years out and yes, she has been deemed cured by all her doctors. As for BC we can never know as ours can come back at any time, but with some other types they go thru a remission stage and thereafter if it does not resurface they are considered "cured".
Well I just signed up for my Obamacare and while grateful for the subsidies, it is still not affordable. I went with the cheaper monthly payments with the high co-pays and max out of pocket but gotta say I am stressing and I know I will end up going without services due to unaffordability, but even with the higher monthly payments it all ends up pretty much the same. I know I need an MRI in January. I wonder what that will cost?
It is all so complicated with these tier 1 and tier 2 and even 3 and I had a terrible time navigating the insurance sites. Is it me or did life become very complicated after BC.
0 -
What type is that? Just a caution of feeling cured. There is no cure. You can be no evidence of disease. I met a lady who got stage 1 bc at 45 and was told cured! 30 years later she is stage 4 bc. Having been told she was cured it was even more devastating. Just because a doc uses that word doesn't mean it's real. She had no evidence of disease for 30 years. She was never cured from bc. It lay dormant for years before it came back to mets. We all strive for no evidence of disease for the rest of our lives. Cure is deceiving as there is none and no doc in the world can say someone is cured because there is no scan that can go through all your cells to determine that. As ned we monitor our symptoms for life. Anything off for more than 3 weeks that doesn't go away on it's own needs to be reported to your mo which you should be seeing once a year or more if mo says.
0 -
No Rosebella, she did not have BC. I kinda forget what she had as it has been 9 years but she did have a brain tumor and something in her abdomen and a few other places but was not BC. Docs say she is cured and does not even follow up or get scans now after 9 years.
I am reviewing finances and my budget. Ut oh... ugly picture. Anyway, I have a question for the group. Is Medicare dependent on what you put in like Social Security? I must confess I did not put in much being a stay at home housewife forever but now in divorce I worry.
0
