Is Obama care working?

[mojo]

Hi, This year I will be facing a hefty fine for not buying into Obama care. Guess I'm not the only one. People on the low economic scale really can't afford monthly payments. I tried last year to find a tax form for economic hardship in paying for Obama care but there is no form that I could find. It seems unfair that it is forced upon us.

[KiwiElf]

Each country has its own different healthcare system, I guess. In NZ, once you retire at age 65 (if you choose to do so), the government pays an individual pension of around $370 per week after tax.

If you have an accident or injury which prevents you from working, the ACC (accident compensation scheme), supports you up to 80% of your salary at the time of the injury or lump sum depending on circumstances, all derived from existing taxes you pay, and provides for your rehabilitation/recovery. This is guaranteed & mandatory for ALL NZ citizens.

(Of course, you may have to go through some difficult hurdles of proving such a condition).

There is no additional cost. (A large amount of their funding comes from the registration fee you pay annually for owning a motor vehicle, which typically makes up for some of the largest medical costs). Other medical fees are derived from smokers (roughly NZ$25 per packet of cigarettes, which the tax is approx 75% of the retail cost, goes to healthcare, which in itself, accounts for more than 4 x the cost of NZ's healthcare paid by the government, amounting to well over a billion dollars annually collected by the government. ie the true cost of a pkt of cigarettes is around $4 - the govt takes the remaining $20). Medical care here is effectively a Dr's fee of roughly $50 per visit. All other healthcare is "public", free and paid for by the govt/taxpayer.

You can opt for private health care which will cost you big time, or private medical insurance.

The NZ "public health system" in contrast has been widely criticised (ie you may have to wait a long time for serious treatment and risk dying before they get to you, ie treatment of prostate cancer).

Compared to Obamacare, I'll take our system any day, thanks :)

[risveglio]

Based on what you just said and a few others I have met, my guess is no. Our premiums went up around 40% and our deductible doubled. I thought it was so that those that could not afford health insurance would get some but it seems that is not the case. Looking at what happened to healthcare in my lifetime just proves to me that Government should not be involved. When I was a kid, a checkup cost $5. That was the full price.

[TargeT]

When I was a kid, a checkup cost $5. That was the full price.

I just went in for a quick check up.. took a total of 15 min of the doctors time (about a hour and a half of mine due to waiting...........) and it cost me $130

Thanks OBAMA CARE! (due to the massive amount of paper work, forms and other government hoops they have to jump through they need a skilled staff that is almost as large as the "medical" workers numbers they employ... which drives the cost of everything up.. gotta cover those salaries!)


the true cost of a pkt of cigarettes is around $4 - the govt takes the remaining $20)

cigarettes cost $2.50 here....(zero tax on them)


GOVERNMENT: Giving you what you want at 10x the cost!

[mojo]

It would be so neat if a lawyer took on the case for all Americans against being forced to buy in or pay a fine. Not sure if calling representatives would help?
What about a petition?

[TargeT]

It would be so neat if a lawyer took on the case for all Americans against being forced to buy in or pay a fine. Not sure if calling representatives would help?
What about a petition?

Well, you don't ask the wolves to police themselves do you?

how fair and impartial and objective is a GOVERNMENT court when handling cases against the GOVERNMENT?

who has the standing to bring a case? in what jurisdiction?

hoping the legal system will do anything good for you (with out you using it to take from a non-government entity) isn't very realistic.

Petitions are a great way to keep people busy and feeling like they are doing something... I don't recall one that made much of a difference (though apparently I'm a bit cynical this afternoon).

[mojo]

Its a helpless feeling from the very beginning. Nobody got to read Obama care before they passes it and all the lies Obama made in an effort to convince politicians to vote for it. The big red flag was the politicians got to keep their Cadillac health plan. It's true a petition would only make people feel like they are doing something but they sold us a lie and someone has to stand up.

[TargeT]

Its a helpless feeling from the very beginning. Nobody got to read Obama care before they passes it and all the lies Obama made in an effort to convince politicians to vote for it. The big red flag was the politicians got to keep their Cadillac health plan. It's true a petition would only make people feel like they are doing something but they sold us a lie and someone has to stand up.

It's almost like there's a formula... anything you are told a lot of times by the MSM is probably the opposite of the truth. Obama care is a great example.

HOWEVER! this shouldn't make you feel helpless, it effects you in a (in the grand scope of things) a minor way.

Avoid taxes where ever you can, deal "person to person" as much as possible... don't participate in what you don't support. That's a great start ;)

[FinallyNow]

I have it and it's great coverage. I'm paying $96.00 per month. I was paying $56.00 for awhile. I only pay five or ten dollars for most meds. I don't take any consistently. I don't use it a lot bu overall I"m glad I have it. I have a sister that's benefiting greatly from it as well. I wish it covered other modalities.

[T Smith]

It seems unfair that it is forced upon us.

There is a word for this: it's called fascism.

Of course, in a milieu where illness is forced upon the masses, e.g. GMOs, cancer-causing vaccines, aspartame, fluoride, chemtrails, etc., one can at least understand the need for universal health care. On this front I would like to report positive ramifications, even in the face of corporate consumption at gun-point, but at the end of the day, on a continuum of costs vs. benefits, Obama Care is largely a scam. The insurance companies and bureaucracies that crop up around them are having a very large chuckle about this all the way to the bank.

[wnlight]

Is Obama care working? YES. Quite well, really. It is sucking money from the population and at the same time destroying the USA healthcare system.

[Hym]

There's a health care system here? Monopolies, pay offs, ford foundation medical schools (deleting ALL preventative medical advice, destroying homeopathic schools, attacking chiropractic credibility) creating pharmaceutical-based "legal" drug addictions, flu vaccines that the cdc said last year were only 24% effective, medical costs rising 4 to 9 times the cost of living per year, lawyers who keep potential litigants away from suing hospitals, medical insurance costs rising and criminally imposed thru this implemented health care law, usually upon the poorest who are unable to afford it.

The system is set up entirely for the monetary health of those companies involved and the whores (congressional types) that swallow upon command. I guess that is a type of health care, but not community health care when you consider the large amount of monies the public puts into it.

[earthdreamer]

The for-profit insurance companies wrote the bill and they bought off all the politicians on both sides of the aisle. I knew it was doomed when they wouldn't even consider the public option (single-payer). Our health insurance premiums have only got more outrageous and we hardly use any medical care. I'd like to know where I could get good coverage for $96.00 a month! It doesn't exist in my state. America's healthcare system sucks.

[skyflower]

Obamacare would have cost me 400 bucks a month with a 10k deductible a year.
I decided to use the money to buy health supplements and organic food.
I joined some Christian health network for 45 bucks a month. It's not insurance but it exempts me from paying a fine.

[TargeT]

I joined some Christian health network for 45 bucks a month. It's not insurance but it exempts me from paying a fine.

Great work around!.. hopefully there's a lot of programs out there like that.

I want to see health insurance go back to "Trauma insurance" to help drive more emphasis on self care and prevention.... hard to make money off that though.

[Ahnung-quay]

Like sky flower I joined a health sharing plan. Mine is $190.00 per month plus $25.00 annual fee. There are four of these plans available out there; grandfathered in with the IRS. So, no tax penalty. Mine is Liberty Health share; no Christian affiliation required. It's way better managed than insurance.

[mojo]

Well, I'm feeling terrible and screwed over signing up for the deadline yesterday that I might have made a big mistake. The cheapest monthly premium for Bronze plan was $492 per month. Who making under 20 k can pay that? Now the real surprise was that on the website it mentions you qualify for about 5000 in tax credits to apply towards care but have no idea what it means. I couldn't find an answer so thought someone might tell me if that means I will have to give up my tax refund and pay the whole monthly amount at the end of the year? If so Obama care truly hides the costs to screw a person on the fine print which isn't even explained.

[Pam]

I have a new perspective on this since my 20's aged son stopped working due to a drinking problem when he got a DUI. He was required to go to treatment and had no money since his license was taken away and he couldn't get to his job. I was blown away that he was able to get far better coverage then I have (which an employer pays 800 USD a month for) in less than 5 minutes on the computer. He doesn't pay a penny, no deductibles, no out of pocket expenses,it has dental and they will even pay for transportation to appointments and a translator if he needs one! The insurance payed every penny of his treatment.

I began to think about this, who would work at a low paying job and pay for insurance if the government will pay 100%. When my son got the insurance, there were no questions about whether he was able to work or not. And he has the insurance for a year before they ask questions again.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think anyone should be in pain, without medical attention, but this system is set up to get people dependent on the government. All the while, the middle class pays the cost of this.

[Pam]

Well, I'm feeling terrible and screwed over signing up for the deadline yesterday that I might have made a big mistake. The cheapest monthly premium for Bronze plan was $492 per month. Who making under 20 k can pay that? Now the real surprise was that on the website it mentions you qualify for about 5000 in tax credits to apply towards care but have no idea what it means. I couldn't find an answer so thought someone might tell me if that means I will have to give up my tax refund and pay the whole monthly amount at the end of the year? If so Obama care truly hides the costs to screw a person on the fine print which isn't even explained.


Do you mean to tell me that have to pay 492.00 a month and you bring in less than 20 thousand a year? If that is true, it is highway robbery.

[mojo]

Yes it's true...And not only that it's very deceptive to have someone think they are getting a credit when in fact they take any refund coming back and you have to pay the difference. I just cancelled out of it after finding out. Obama care truly sucks and even people on the poor scale just over 16 k pay not just middle class are getting screwed unless of course you don't work.

[ThePythonicCow]

In my estimation, Obamacare is working as intended ... it is succeeding in "monetizing" and neutering healthcare in the US. Along with the mortgage backed security fiasco that monetized real estate, and the student loan and Common Core fiascos that monetized and neutered education, we're seeing three of the last honest major areas of economic activity go rotten.

The three major sources of apparent "wealth", of substantial economic activity, at least where I live in North Texas, over the last few years, have been building homes, hospitals and schools/universities. In each case, this economic activity is the visible face in the present, of debt and promises of increased wealth and benefits in the future.

And in each case, making payments on that debt depends on the economy continuing to be healthy, with income from jobs and taxes sufficient to make the payments.

Now the banksters, as they have done many times before, are calling in loans and declining to extend more loans. That debt will fail, and the penalties will be paid ... foreclosures, repossessions, bankruptcies, privatization, tyranny, and other consequences that will further impoverish and enslave most people, while further concentrating control in the hands of the few, is once again the likely consequence.

Once again ... the false prosperity of easy credit leads to excessive issuance of money now for debt (future promises of greater wealth, security, prosperity, pleasure, ...) later, all depending on the continued issuance "easy money" ... with onerous terms applied when the easy money is shut off and the onerous terms of default applied.

In other words, there are way too many new big fancy, immensely well equipped, hospitals near where I live, with well paid staffs of administrators. Lots of money and debt and financing are involved; but the only health usually provided is more focused on improving the financial health of a few, not the physical health of the many.

[Jake]

When he was running for president, he was adamant about tackling the tough issues of healthcare.

• The rising costs of healthcare,
• Insurance fraud and price fixing.
• Cobra, premiums,
• Access to healthcare, etc...

Absolutely ZERO of these issues were addressed!

A law was passed requiring everyone to get insurance or face hefty penalties... And everyone cheered!!!

Sorry for being a bit daft, but ObamaCare is an oxymoron...

jake

[mojo]

Wow it really is the fleecing of America by the PTB...

[mojo]

Jake he wanted a legacy...lol.

[mojo]

I also checked into medi-share program yesterday. The buy in for their lowest annual fee was $423.00 per month. The lady on the phone was nice though, but it's not designed to help poor people. It reminded me of a pyramid scheme after seeing the breakdown those on the bottom are paying the people's bills that are higher up. Its a sad day...:(

[TargeT]

Sorry for being a bit daft, but ObamaCare is an oxymoron...


Not the way I read it...

0BamaCare
Zero Bama Care

he doesn't give a ****, typical sociopath.. & as I'm sure he's just a figure head he's probably just scrambling to keep his handlers happy......

This looks like an awful rough 8 years...
http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/6506684ed99ad0c267d19b2794623586/202196333/15+Barack+Obama.png
http://www.stresshacker.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Bushbeforeafter.jpg

[Pam]

Yes it's true...And not only that it's very deceptive to have someone think they are getting a credit when in fact they take any refund coming back and you have to pay the difference. I just cancelled out of it after finding out. Obama care truly sucks and even people on the poor scale just over 16 k pay not just middle class are getting screwed unless of course you don't work.


So, lets look at the math here. You are being asked to spend about 6000.00 USD on health insurance per year and you are making 16,OOO.00 . I venture to guess that there are copays and deductibles and other expenses. If you don't pay it you will be fined. That is absolutely insane.

It is so clear to me, that we are being systematically pillaged. What kind of madness is this that would expect you to spend over 1/3 of your income on health care insurance? I am so weary of this absurd society that we live in. It is frickin madness.....

[mojo]

Thanks, I emailed the Senator of Oregon, Merkley to voice a concern but he voted for Obama care and of course he never replied.

[Calz]

All I know is my medical cost went up about $100 a month (co-worker double since he smokes) for my family.

Not going to link but United Healthcare lost close to a half billion last year and expects the same this year.

Looking to leave o'bummercare.

[mojo]

...totally understand why you might do that Calz. So how is it making people pay extra on penalties somehow fair? It's insane to dupe us into paying for it at a price that is a burden to live with.

[Calz]

...totally understand why you might do that Calz. So how is it making people pay extra on penalties somehow fair? It's insane to dupe us into paying for it at a price that is a burden to live with.

United Healthcare is the one possibly leaving the o'bummer healthcare exchange ... not me :)

I roll with what my employer offers.

As for why ... we can ask that of many things being foisted upon we the people right?