Will Obamacare succeed where term limits failed?

[Xiahou]

Although I personally do not support Obamacare, I have to agree that the obstructionism generated by the House Republicans has crossed all the possible lines out of civilized discourse and firmly into hardcore ideological frothing.

I'm morally opposed to the mandate, but it'd be a lot easier to swallow if it allowed for low-priced catastrophic / high deductible plans. From what I've seen, even the bronze level plans are required to offer comprehensive coverage. But then, making young, healthy people pay for coverage they don't need is how Obamacare gets the numbers to add up...

Any real healthcare insurance reform (let's face it, that's what it is- not healthcare reform, but insurance reform) needs to decouple coverage from employment. I don't know that Obamacare helps much in that regard.

[Kralizec]

I'm morally opposed to the mandate, but it'd be a lot easier to swallow if it allowed for low-priced catastrophic / high deductible plans. From what I've seen, even the bronze level plans are required to offer comprehensive coverage. But then, making young, healthy people pay for coverage they don't need is how Obamacare gets the numbers to add up...

That really depends on...which way you look at it, or something.

Young people not wanting to be in the same insurance scheme as old people is an example of negative selection. Meaning; you think that being in the same pool as some old guy (more prone to disease) is a bad choice, and so you refuse. As a result, the insurance payments of all the old people will rise.

As a young person, I'm in effect paying for the medical care of the elderly. But since I hope and expect to become old too, I don't think it's unfair. Besides, the scheme also covers a lot of treatments that could theoretically befall me too and which I can't possibly afford on my own. Insurance is a form of solidarity.

There will always be questions: in one case, I remember looking at the optional choices of one insurance company and noticed that the only way I could get dental coverage with that company was to buy Package A which included dental care but also various forms of bull****, sometimes called "alternative medicine". I refused out of principle, which is another form of negative selection I suppose.

If you accept that it's morally undesirable to deny a patient treatment for a certain condition, then mandatory insurance is pretty much inevitable.

[Xiahou]

NBC realizes the obvious...

Employers around the country, from fast-food franchises to colleges, have told NBC News that they will be cutting workers’ hours below 30 a week because they can’t afford to offer the health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

“To tell somebody that you’ve got to decrease their hours because of a law passed in Washington is very frustrating to me,” said Loren Goodridge, who owns 21 Subway franchises, including a restaurant in Kennebunk. “I know the impact I’m having on some of my employees.”

Many of us have been pointing this out since the law was passed- better late than never NBC.

[Papewaio]

Really poorly implemented. Just pick any other first world country and implement their health system. It will be better, faster and cheaper then what this monstrosity will get you.

I cannot point to a more expensive, less effective health system then that in the US.

[Beskar]

NBC realizes the obvious...
Many of us have been pointing this out since the law was passed- better late than never NBC.

Perhaps less regulation would fix the issue?

[a completely inoffensive name]

The free market stinks at organizing the distribution of anything that is not a non-essential, consumable product. How long until the US figures that out?

[Xiahou]

Obama's hometown newspaper takes a dump on Obamacare.

If you've tried to sign up online for health coverage under the problem-plagued Obamacare exchange, our sympathies. Many people have tried to create accounts and shop for insurance under the new law. Few have succeeded. Those that have enrolled have found that the system is prone to mistakes. Some applications have been sent to the wrong insurance company.

Wait. It gets worse. Those who have managed to browse the marketplace have often been hit by sticker shock. Take Adam Weldzius, a nurse practitioner and single father from Carpentersville. He sought the same level of coverage on the exchange as he and his 7-year-old daughter have now, with the same insurer and the same network of doctors and hospitals. At best, Weldzius found, his monthly premium of $233 would more than double. If he chose a plan priced at the same level, the annual deductible would be $12,700, more than three times his current $3,500 deductible.

It goes on, but you can read it yourself.

If you like your insurance you probably won't get to keep it. If you like your doctor, you might not keep him. Higher premiums, higher deductibles. None of it should be a surprise to anyone.

For giggles, here's a DailyKos blogger who is shocked- shocked that his insurance premiums are going to double...

My wife and I just got our updates from Kaiser telling us what our 2014 rates will be. Her monthly has been $168 this year, mine $150. We have a high deductible. We are generally healthy people who don't go to the doctor often. I barely ever go. The insurance is in case of a major catastrophe.

Well, now, because of Obamacare, my wife's rate is gong to $302 per month and mine is jumping to $284.

I am canceling insurance for us and I am not paying any fucking penalty. What the hell kind of reform is this?

Oh, ok, if we qualify, we can get some government assistance. Great. So now I have to jump through another hoop to just chisel some of this off. And we don't qualify, anyway, so what's the point?

I never felt too good about how this was passed and what it entailed, but I figured if it saved Americans money, I could go along with it.

I don't know what to think now. This appears, in my experience, to not be a reform for the people.

What am I missing?

The theme seems to be that if you are young and relatively healthy, you can expect to pay a lot more for healthcare.

[Husar]

So basically you're unable to fix a broken system?