Obamacare

[jyng1]

The online controversy appears to be continuing. Every time NPR and Atlantic Cities put something online comments come thick and fast.

I don't get it. Health care costs $8,900 per capita. 22 cents in the tax dollar already goes to pay for socialised health care like Medicaid and Medicaid that still leaves a pretty big chunk to be paid by private health premiums.

Quite a few people who appear to have changed their plans have now got quite good subsidies and quite a few who don't are complaining. The complaints appear to be mostly Republicans and that strikes me as being a little ironic. I thought Republicans would be pretty keen to pay the full cost of their health care and wouldn't want any communist subsidies.

Anyway, I thought we needed a thread as the whole topic amuses the shit out of me.

[LordLatch]

I know I've said this before:

Breaking down the word 'amuse' we get 'no think' as in

The 'a' in amuse means 'no' seen in these other examples:
apathy= no feeling
atheist= no god

Muse means to think and as a noun it deals with one that inspires.

So the whole topic makes you not think or be inspired? Is this what you meant?

[Senseye]

American's just don't seem to get this one. At first, I thought Obamacare would establish a beachead from which a single pay type system could evolve (once the citizens realized they would get more bang for the buck that way). But now, I start to worry that Obamacare might get pushed off the beach, and it may scupper healthcare reform in the US for decades.

[starla]

I think Obamacare is missing the point. It's basically forcing young people who can't afford it to pay jacked up premiums for health insurance that they will probably never benefit from, so that people who also can't afford it but need it can pay less. In the meantime, the vast majority of middle, upper-middle, and rich folks -- you know, the ones who could afford to subsidize insurance for the poor -- have insurance through their jobs and thus are completely unaffected by the scheme. So we're basically robbing the poor to give to the poor. Nice job.

Obamacare changes my premiums about zero. I'll be paying around $200-$250/month for a policy that I will likely never use. It would have been about the same before Obamacare, except that I could have bought insurance that wouldn't cover pregnancy and it would have been around $190/month. And while granted I am not planning to become pregnant in the coming year, the whole point of insurance is to mitigate the risk of unplanned healthcare needs, so the idea of insurance that doesn't cover certain healthcare events is completely ridiculous.

[jyng1]

I know I've said this before:

Breaking down the word 'amuse' we get 'no think' as in

The 'a' in amuse means 'no' seen in these other examples:
apathy= no feeling
atheist= no god

Muse means to think and as a noun it deals with one that inspires.

So the whole topic makes you not think or be inspired? Is this what you meant?

Hmm, I was using the term in it's current common English usage, not really the original French.

[Charde]

I think Obamacare is missing the point. It's basically forcing young people who can't afford it to pay jacked up premiums for health insurance that they will probably never benefit from, so that people who also can't afford it but need it can pay less. In the meantime, the vast majority of middle, upper-middle, and rich folks -- you know, the ones who could afford to subsidize insurance for the poor -- have insurance through their jobs and thus are completely unaffected by the scheme. So we're basically robbing the poor to give to the poor. Nice job.

Yeah, I do see that as an issue, and it's why they are trying to market so hard to the younger crowd but not doing so well with that. (The incentive isn't quite there.) Although, from what I understand about increasing penalties, the incentive ends up being financial since after the first year the cost of not having insurance will quickly become more expensive than having it.

I'm in the class that has insurance through my workplace.

The biggest deal for me is the "no exclusion based on preexisting conditions" clause, which impact my son (with cystic fibrosis) directly and could also impact my health care as well. That one's a big deal, but there has to be a way to cover those costs built into the system.

Fucking up the roll-out really didn't help them much.

[JollyBard]

Oh man, I'm glad to live in Canada. Never do I ever worry about health care, I just know I'll be in good hands if something happens. Although, we do have to wait much longer than you guys. A year before an important operation, 12 hours at the ER...

[pensive_pilgrim]

This idea that young people don't need healthcare is a dangerous myth, and it leads to old people with chronic diseases and serious conditions that could have been prevented or solved cheaply had they been addressed early on. Everybody seems to be okay with the idea of paying thousands of dollars to mitigate the potential expense of unforeseen car problems, and with taking your vehicle in for regular maintenance by a trained professional, but our own bodies? I guess they're just not as important or something.

[LordLatch]

Hmm, I was using the term in it's current common English usage, not really the original French.

English was derived from a mishmash of proto Germanic, French and other influences and I reject the notion that underlying roots and meanings are irrelevant even in colloquial English- if for nothing else but subconscious effect.

[Charde]

This idea that young people don't need healthcare is a dangerous myth, and it leads to old people with chronic diseases and serious conditions that could have been prevented or solved cheaply had they been addressed early on. Everybody seems to be okay with the idea of paying thousands of dollars to mitigate the potential expense of unforeseen car problems, and with taking your vehicle in for regular maintenance by a trained professional, but our own bodies? I guess they're just not as important or something.

To be honest, I see a lot of people run their cars into the ground and not bother with casual maintenance either. It's amazing how many miles people can go without an oil change or a tire check, for example. If it wasn't regulated by the state, people typically wouldn't spend the money on it or take the time, until an obvious problem occurred and by then it would be too late. I'm sure car insurance would also be dropped if it wasn't illegal in the states in question.