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Who Obamacare has helped the most
10-29-2014, 06:30 AM
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#1
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 534
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Who Obamacare has helped the most
No mention of it helping folks under 65 retire early. It has sure helped me.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...most.html?_r=1
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10-29-2014, 06:54 AM
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#2
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Utrecht
Posts: 2,650
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Wish there would be an objective analysis somewhere of whether it will reduce the overall cost of healthcare in the medium to long term.
Hard to find that in a polarized topic such as this one.
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10-29-2014, 07:09 AM
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#3
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,602
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After the 2012 Presidential election was complete and the future of ACA was fairly certain, I was confident enough to pull the plug on w*rk at age 47.
Although we currently have access to subsidized employer sponsored retiree health insurance and we are also in good health, who is to say that this will continue for the next 18 years or so?
With the new restrictions on premium discrimination in the individual market in ACA, I felt that I had enough safety nets in place to make the leap.
We can argue until we are blue in the face (well not in this forum ) about whether ACA was the best solution for the country as a whole, from the perspective of a potential ER it was a timely solution to manage the individual risk that I would have been facing without it.
-gauss
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10-29-2014, 07:20 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,372
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Really interesting study. I'm glad to see that so many of the under-served segments of the population are getting insurance. It would go a long way towards cutting costs if they learn the benefits of prevention, and seeking care before things get serious.
Anyway- I agree that Obamacare helped my decision to retire early. I rarely go to doctors for anything other than checkups because overall I'm blessed with very good health, but like most over- 60s, I have a few blips in my medical history that might have caused an insurer to deny coverage in the past. It is a huge relief to know that can't happen now. I quit at age 61.5 and would have been able to hang onto COBRA for 18 months, but would still have had to find something for the last 2 years before I hit 65.
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10-29-2014, 07:42 AM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,695
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In my ER decision back in 2008, there was a small leap of faith when it came to then-candidate Obama promising health insurance reform in the 2008 campaign. At the time, I had lined up an affordable individual HI policy to begin in 2009. But that policy's premium rose 50% in 2 years, far more than I had anticipated and was beginning to strain my ER budget.
But in 2011, a year after the ACA had passed, I dropped my old and costly policy and switched to a bare-bones policy, leaving me rather underinsured (a term not mentioned at all in the linked NY Times article BTW) but only for 20 months until I could enroll in my state's exchange and return to a broader policy but paying a premium lower than my old indivdual policy even without any subsidy (I still qualify for a small subsidy which is helpful).
Interesting how the last map in the NYT article, the one about where the biggest areas of uninsured people live, greatly corresponds to the states (deep south, many Rocky Mountain states) which did not expand Medicaid.
__________________
Retired in late 2008 at age 45. Cashed in company stock, bought a lot of shares in a big bond fund and am living nicely off its dividends. IRA, SS, and a pension await me at age 60 and later. No kids, no debts.
"I want my money working for me instead of me working for my money!"
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10-29-2014, 07:46 AM
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#6
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 4,337
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Until the ACA, Texas had an unlimited access high risk pool which guaranteed brone plan like coverage for not much more than I'll have to pay for my ACA bronze plan. Health insurance was never an issue with my retirement plans. Only the cost was important as a major budget item which the ACA didn't change.
I realize some states weren't as aggressive in making sure insurance was availble to those wishing to buy it. If anyone was delaying retirement because of this, moving to Texas was always an option.
I deleted a section of my original text because I assumed the moderators would think it too political in pointing out the ways I feel the ACA isn't meeting its objectives. The article presented in the original post is nothing but a "puff piece" cheerleading the ACA.
__________________
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane -- Marcus Aurelius
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10-29-2014, 08:52 AM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
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I was retired with my former employer providing health insurance, but that benefit was never guaranteed, so I breathed a sigh of relief when the ACA was passed. I don't need to worry about getting shut out of the insurance pool with a pre-existing condition or God forbid, moving to Texas.
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10-29-2014, 09:11 AM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,343
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Well if no one had their premium increase by less than 326% then I am obviously the clear winner in Obamacare. Do I get a prize for winning?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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10-29-2014, 09:19 AM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,259
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I can think of three people who it helped get insurance. Two are young folks who did not have insurance available through work (I could tell you a story there about that.) And, one a person who was able to retire early thanks to insurance being available.
So, I figure that's six people that ACA has helped.
The three persons who got insurance.
The one person who found a job that the now retired person left.
The parents of the two younger persons who can sleep better at night knowing their children are insured.
OK, I may be pushing it a bit on the last one. But, the person who got the job is, IMHO, a legitimate though indirect benefit.
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy
The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
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10-29-2014, 09:25 AM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: On a hill in the Pine Barrens
Posts: 9,719
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It helped us, as we are not bound to current employers or insurers. Pre-existing conditions...
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10-29-2014, 09:31 AM
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#11
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 475
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It made early retirement an option for me.
In the last year I discovered I had
1) hodgkin's lymphoma - treated and gone now
2) enlarged aorta - watch and wait
Both of these would be huge costs if they need to be treated before I get to medicare so being able to get insurance @ a "reasonable" rate is a huge benefit for me.
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10-29-2014, 09:41 AM
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#12
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Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,708
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We probably won't know for a few more years just how how the ACA helps. Most of us below age 65 already benefit because coverage has been guaranteed, standardized, is more comprehensive and cannot be cancelled.
The average family group policy premium is $15K and the median household income is $52K. At 30% of gross income, healthcare insurance is unaffordable for at least half the US population. Those receiving employer sponsored insurance already receive substantial taxpayer support. The ACA extends that support to individuals.
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10-29-2014, 09:46 AM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 9,358
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It has been a huge benefit to us. Pre-ACA our premiums alone were over 2K a month. Because of pre-existing conditions, we were captives to a post COBRA conversion policy with no caps on the premiums and very high deductibles or a small business policy also with high premiums and even worse out of pocket maximums.
I don't remember the exact final tally, but our total medical costs the year before the ACA kicked in were on the order of $40K -$50K due to premiums, out of pocket max and out of network costs.
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10-29-2014, 11:05 AM
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#14
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulligan
Well if no one had their premium increase by less than 326% then I am obviously the clear winner in Obamacare. Do I get a prize for winning?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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As I understand it, you never really tried to use this old policy. I think if you had actually done so, you would feel very, very differently about PPACA.
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"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
- George Orwell
Ezekiel 23:20
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10-29-2014, 11:11 AM
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#15
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,797
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2B
Until the ACA, Texas had an unlimited access high risk pool which guaranteed brone plan like coverage for not much more than I'll have to pay for my ACA bronze plan. Health insurance was never an issue with my retirement plans. Only the cost was important as a major budget item which the ACA didn't change.
.....The article presented in the original post is nothing but a "puff piece" cheerleading the ACA.
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Excellent point that pre-ACA many states already had functioning provisions for pre-existing conditions (inc. "shall issue" regs, hi-risk pools, etc.). I know many who chose their state of residence (for w@rk, self-employment, or ER) due to HI (inc big regional differences in premiums-which unfortunately remains an issue).
I think gauss is spot on in predicting pre-existing condition coverage in HI is here to stay regardless of how ACA may be modified (even repealed) over the years. This provision has widespread support among the public & leaders from both parties.
Of course the original article is a pro ACA puff piece. Every law has winners and losers (inc among FIRE's), and title of the piece tells ya it would only cover the former.
FWIW- Here's another NYT piece on some of the losers under ACA-
http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/201...y-they-matter/
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10-29-2014, 11:16 AM
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#16
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Madison
Posts: 1,337
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2B
The article presented in the original post is nothing but a "puff piece" cheerleading the ACA.
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This post seems to be pretty political. I agree, it's a puff piece for ACA.
__________________
Wild Bill shoulda taken more out of his IRA when he could have. . . .
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10-29-2014, 11:17 AM
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#17
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,343
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345
As I understand it, you never really tried to use this old policy. I think if you had actually done so, you would feel very, very differently about PPACA.
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That may be true, Brewer. I will admit I have tended to view insurance in all areas of life as money thrown down the drain, so I must admit I view it only in terms of cost. But in the next few years I am going to get around to getting a "medical" hot tub for my achy back. The cost of that combined with the high premiums will get me a nice tax refund and I will get my subsidy that way.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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10-29-2014, 11:22 AM
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#18
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Cville
Posts: 1,602
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Although I disagree with many parts of the new program, I have to say that guaranteed coverage is priceless, and keeping kids on your policy till 26 is a win for all. I assume you still pay a premium for the kids, and I'm sure premiums went up to pay for guaranteed coverage. However, I'd say it is a price I'm willing to pay.
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10-29-2014, 11:27 AM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulligan
That may be true, Brewer. I will admit I have tended to view insurance in all areas of life as money thrown down the drain, so I must admit I view it only in terms of cost. But in the next few years I am going to get around to getting a "medical" hot tub for my achy back. The cost of that combined with the high premiums will get me a nice tax refund and I will get my subsidy that way.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Insurance that actually covers very bad events that you cannot otherwise hedge or afford is worth a lot. Before the PPACA reforms, most states did not have such policies available in the individual marketplace and in those that did massive negative selection often resulted in premiums being completely out of reach for most people in that market. Now we have a usable product and the price is a lot less than it was in the few states where it used to exist. Yep, a lot of the time you never get anything for your insurance premium dollars. We should all be so lucky.
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"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
- George Orwell
Ezekiel 23:20
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10-29-2014, 11:46 AM
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#20
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 9,358
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I guess the winners under the ACA include the additional 10 million people to date, the equivalent of the entire population of Portugal, going from uninsured to having health insurance.
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