The problem I see is that it doesn’t really protect most of the people it claims to protect. Sure, it provides basic preventive care to people that previously didn’t have it, but that wasn’t what was bankrupting people. You don’t have to have no assets for an unplanned $8,000 bill to force you into bankruptcy. Maybe you’re able to maintain a 5 figure safety net, but a ton of people in this country are not and those are the people who are supposed to be helped by the law.
Finally I would suggest that part of what makes our health care problem so challenging is that we are trying to crawl away from an unworkable model at a time when our demographic status is so inconvenient.
The pre-existing “pass the buck” and “defer the problem” model was fully operative at a time in the US when the baby boomers came of age and spent their most productive years; they occupied and continue to occupy such an outsized portion of our population and face that portion of their lifetime health expense curve where it steepens.
Indeed that contributes to the youthful vs. older premium “true up” that obviously makes any transition that more challenging
Well, the problem is not just bankrupt/not bankrupt. In between, the health care still costs money and drags on the economy through higher taxes and less money to spend on other things.
Ironically, democrats claimed earlier this week that Obamacare has already provided a boost to the economy through all the new premiums that are being paid.
Very true…the pre-existing health care model had us spending almost 18% of our GDP on health care far beyond our “socialist” OECD peers. How is that for “free market” efficiency LOL!
And so out existing model sucks and so how do we change it
Fully agree that the existing model sucks. Obamacare is marginally better because it provides coverage to folks with pre-existing conditions, but it still sucks overall. Replacing one sucky system with an amost equally sucky system is not a solution. If some really wants to fix healthcare in the US, they need to address costs of the underlying care before trying to provide coverage to everyone. I provided several ideas earlier in the thread (at least I think it was this thread) on how to cut costs.
To “really fix health care” in one shot is not politically feasible…Obama would be the first to acknowledge the limitations of the A/C/A but entrenched special interest place constraints and what is possible. This will be an evolutionary process!
In addition to addressing the pre-existing conditions the ACA:
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acknowledges and implements the necessity that citizens fund their own health care. As human beings we all break down sooner or later
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establishes rudimentary standards for what health insurance must provide for
Yes buy all means there are common sense approaches - and I fully agree with your thoughts - to cutting costs that should be pursued in parallel. But caution you that things that look easy on the face of it are not so easy to implement because you are spilling someone else’s foodbowl
PA would go to town on this…
^ this shouldn’t be a surprise for anybody. Unless of course they have their head in the sand.
hello
http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/30/news/economy/obamacare-patients-blue-cross-blue-shield/index.html
An alternative description of the CBO report refernces in the “newamerican” article:
In 2016, the deficit is expected to grow to 2.9% of GDP, marking the first time it has grown after six straight years of shrinking.
By 2026, the end of the forecast period, the deficit is projected be 4.9% of GDP. Per the CBO relaese, the number of persons 65 and over is expected grow 37% from what is today. Consequently, increased SS and Medicare spending in 2026 is expected to be 1.9% of GDP, almost entirely explaining the growth in th deficit.
At 2026, the Debt to GDP ratio is expected to rise to 86% of GDP. Cutting taxes is dumb idea right about now (okay, I added the last sentence…hehe).
i can’t link but google "CBO Report Summary and outlook 2016 2026.
is anyone down for socialist medicine?
As expected, contrary to what Obamacare proponents promised.