Obamacare Question

[Ali]

I am assuming that Obamacare is going to be done away with early next year. What are the implications going to be? I know health care costs are currently out of control. It has caused a lot of difficulties for us and now I am worried that we are going to be hurt even more.

I am now stressed about what repealing Obamacare means for me. I have preexisting conditions. I am high risk for developing certain cancers. I wasn't worried before because it would be caught early or prevented if I can receive proper medical care. Now I don't know. I had genetic testing done and was informed that I would not need to worry about preexisting conditions. I'm scared.

[Anny Nym]

Ali... So sorry to hear hat.

 

That was one of the first questions Mr. Nym and I thought of too this morning after we read the news.
 

What is now happening to the national healthcare system? Could he just ousht the metaphorically (PLEASE let it only be the metaphorically...) Red Button and just undo it all?  Isn´t the system already up and running and it would be too complicated/expensive to stop it?

 

I assume hospitals, health centers, doctor´s offices etc etc operate on the premises of the reforms made by Obamacare?

[catlady]

I heard a conversation at work this morning between the HR staff. They believe it will take the better part of a year, and possibly longer, to undo the ACA. 

These three women pissed me off today because they are genuinely happy the Orange Monster was elected. They are also looking forward to the end of the ACA because (get this) their jobs will get easier. Yep. They've been inconvenienced by the 2,000 employees who count on our company for medical insurance. WTactualF?

[MarblesMom]

I went to this link for the answer to pre-existing conditions:  http://www.cancer.org/treatment/findingandpayingfortreatment/understandinghealthinsurance/whatishipaa/hipaa-pre-existing-condition-creditable-coverage

I hope this is helpful, @Ali.

[sophie10130]

So of the things I've read, a lot of people are saying it will be way too expensive and too time consuming for it to be completely undone maybe even in 4 years. Likely he will move funds away from it and try to repeal parts and/or change parts. But I don't think he will be able to, on January 20th, push a button that says "repeal Obamacare"

Also, no matter what fundies might believe, the president is not God. Trump made a lot of enemies in the now Republican held house and senate. It will be interesting to see what he does with all these burned bridges, and if they decide to still treat him as a persona non grata or not. He will hopefully have a hard time with them. Plus, these things need to be voted on and if the past 8 years are any indication, these folks are never at work it seems. Hopefully he will get little done.

[karen77]

Even if they do repeal it, our premiums aren't going to decrease... insurance companies aren't that nice!

[Toothfairy]

Republicans are so fucking shitty. I'm scared that my foster kids and adoptedkids won't get the services they need. Leave Obamacare alone. This country isn't for the rich.

[FakePigtails]

4 minutes ago, karen77 said:

Even if they do repeal it, our premiums aren't going to decrease... insurance companies aren't that nice!

Yep, they'll do anything for a buck. People are going to flip out when they have to deal with pre-existing condition issues, lifetime limits, and surprise limited coverage again (I'm so relieved to have done my BRCA test when it was 100% covered regardless of your plan). That's not to say the ACA is perfect at all, but these protections have been critical for so many.

edit: and still pay out the ass for the privilege. 

[candygirl200413]

Haven't found the article but someone on twitter said changes won't be able to happen till 2018, so if you apply in 2017 you should be fine

[molecule]

I have two young adult kids who require medication and on-going health care treatment; our health insurance is what makes that possible. For various reasons, neither of them is currently able to have a full-time job that carries benefits. The Affordable Care Act's provision that adults under the age of 26 can be carried on their parents' health insurance has been a life-saver for us--literally. Many of my tears have been about that. The results of this election will have a direct and negative impact on the people I love the most.

[catlady]

16 minutes ago, karen77 said:

Even if they do repeal it, our premiums aren't going to decrease... insurance companies aren't that nice!

yes, they'll continue to go up.  the ACA benefitted the ee's at my company, because we had been a one-plan provider (back in the 90's, we offered plans from 3 carriers, but their costs to us got too expensive, so we consolidated to the one plan).  the ACA requires more options to staff.  so we kept the one carrier but offered three plans.  we had to drop the most expensive plan this year, but the other 2 keep us in compliance.  overall, the ACA's changes were in favor of the ee's (excepting the rates, of course, but those are controlled by the carrier).

my company's plans are pretty good.  i also get a reduction on my share of the premiums for length of service--an ee's payroll deduction goes down for five or ten years of service; I have 21, but I still pay $220/month for me plus spouse.  Mr. CL is on my plan because his job offers a crappy, expensive one that maintains only the bare minimum requirements.  if I were to lose my job, we're screwed.

[Maggie Mae]

My companies plan is pretty good. (Once they offered it to us, prior to ACA.) When ACA happened, our provider pulled out of the state. With only one option, costs skyrocketed. The other plan came back, but it's not the same. And its slated to go up 300% + next year. 

Im happy I won't have to pay my penalties right away. If they keep ACA the way it is (its gone up substantially every year, I have no pre existing conditions, and it's a third of my paycheck already) I'm screwed. If they change it, I'm back to where I was - home remedies. except then I don't have to pay to not have coverage. 

I was very happy for aca. I want a single payer system. I didn't think either candidate would push for that, but at least one wasn't actively against it. 

 

[JMarie]

Don't forget that insurance can once again cost more for a woman vs. what a man would pay, because, um... baybeeez?

[JoyfulSel]

Obamacare is the only reason my mother is not in a wheelchair right now. She has terrible back problems and requires injections / possibility of surgery in the future. If it's gone, I literally have no options for my family. I will rage. I will raise absolute hell.

ETA: Because of ACA, my dad's job has actually offered health insurance finally, btw. My dad's company pays the full amount, but they do not insure spouses/children, hence why the rest of us use the ACA.

[CelticGoddess]

4 hours ago, Ali said:

I am assuming that Obamacare is going to be done away with early next year. What are the implications going to be? I know health care costs are currently out of control. It has caused a lot of difficulties for us and now I am worried that we are going to be hurt even more.

I am now stressed about what repealing Obamacare means for me. I have preexisting conditions. I am high risk for developing certain cancers. I wasn't worried before because it would be caught early or prevented if I can receive proper medical care. Now I don't know. I had genetic testing done and was informed that I would not need to worry about preexisting conditions. I'm scared.

I'm worried that insurance companies will be able to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions also.  I have severe persistent asthma and the only thing keeping me going right now is all the respiratory meds.  If I lose coverage, I don't see me lving more than a year a two.  And that is just wrong.  I am hoping that in 2018 we can retake congress.

[Childless]

It's going to go back to the way it was before the ACA.  The Republicans have zero intentions of fixing it because they could care less about anyone not in the top 1%.  Expect it to get bad.

[molecule]

A friend just sent me a link about what the Republicans want to do with the Affordable Care Act: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-healthcare-ryan-idUSKCN0Z80AQ.

It looks like the Republicans are aware of the aspects of the plan that people like:

Quote

Ryan's proposal would keep some popular pieces, including not allowing people with pre-existing conditions to be denied coverage and permitting children to stay on their parents' coverage until age 26.

That doesn't set my mind completely at ease, but it does help me a little.

[EmmieJ]

I hope it takes at least a year to repeal Obama care.  I plan to get in as much preventative care as possible, starting with a colonoscopy next month.  Teeny silver lining?  I am highly motivated to eat healthy, exercise regularly, and make good care of myself in hopes I can stay healthy until Medicare kicks in (although they probably want to voucherize that program).

[mamallama]

So how is the insurance part of it going to be an improvement.  I'm guessing they'll eliminate the individual mandate which was something the insurance companies wanted.   The other source of outrage are the rates.  Will they go down?  IMO the way to tip Congress back in our favor is to treat Trump the way the right treated Obama.  I plan to bitch and moan that their plan is "even worse" when Trump promised us "so many choices".

[cindyluvs24]

I was reading a mutual fund prospectus (health care ETF)   and in the summary, it mentioned that it had gotten good returns on United Healthcare and expected it to remain a good investment.  Now, when a managed care plan is able to deliver dividends and is a good profit-maker for investors - that has got to come at the expense of the patients.  This is a disaster in the making. 

[Childless]

10 hours ago, molecule said:

A friend just sent me a link about what the Republicans want to do with the Affordable Care Act: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-healthcare-ryan-idUSKCN0Z80AQ.

It looks like the Republicans are aware of the aspects of the plan that people like:

That doesn't set my mind completely at ease, but it does help me a little.

How are they going to do that?  Eliminating the ability of insurance companies to exclude pre-existing conditions means they have to cover unhealthy people.  The point of the individual mandate was to offset that risk with healthy individuals who would pay in, but not use it as much.  How are they going to offset the costs now?  Oh, yeah.  That's right.  Higher premiums.  Seriously, are the Republicans really that stupid?  Can they not do simple math?

[cindyluvs24]

2 hours ago, Childless said:

How are they going to do that?  Eliminating the ability of insurance companies to exclude pre-existing conditions means they have to cover unhealthy people.  The point of the individual mandate was to offset that risk with healthy individuals who would pay in, but not use it as much.  How are they going to offset the costs now?  Oh, yeah.  That's right.  Higher premiums.  Seriously, are the Republicans really that stupid?  Can they not do simple math?

Them, yes.  Their supporters, not so much.

[Penny]

As far as our healthcare is concerned. I think we to communicate with our senators and representatives and urge them we need affordable healthcare for all people.  I am scared since my daughter is on aca and she has a preexisting condition as well. We need to stick together and take this opportunity to voice our concerns. Our strength are in numbers.  

 

 

[VelociRapture]

2 hours ago, Penny said:

As far as our healthcare is concerned. I think we to communicate with our senators and representatives and urge them we need affordable healthcare for all people.  I am scared since my daughter is on aca and she has a preexisting condition as well. We need to stick together and take this opportunity to voice our concerns. Our strength are in numbers.  

 

 

Yes!!! I've been advocating for people to contact their Congressional Reps since we learned Trump won. Here's a version of the letter I posted in another thread for anyone that needs it:

Dear Representative/Senator <insert their name here>,

I'd first like to congratulate you on winning your recent election. You've done a fantastic job for the people of <insert your state here> in the past and I have no doubt you will continue to do so in the future.

As the nation processes the news that Donald Trump will succeed President Obama, I wanted to take a moment to urge you to help our nation move forward. As horrific as I find a Trump Presidency to be, I care too much about the future of the nation to hope he does poorly. Please do what you can to help heal the divisions he has caused and please try to find common ground on any issues you can with House/Senate Republicans and the future President.

But I also want to urge you to continue to be a strong advocate for all Americans regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, country of origin, sex, or health. On issues of vast importance - such as <insert issues you want to mention specifically here> - please continue to stand strong in your support. Every American deserves to feel safe and secure in our country, not just the selected few the future administration may end up favoring. It will take strong and brave leaders such as you and <insert names of other politicians here> to ensure that happens.

Congratulations again on your recent victory. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
<insert your name here>

Use it as a starting point and alter it however you want or need to. And share this with whoever needs it.

[zygote373]

4 hours ago, Childless said:

How are they going to do that?  Eliminating the ability of insurance companies to exclude pre-existing conditions means they have to cover unhealthy people.  The point of the individual mandate was to offset that risk with healthy individuals who would pay in, but not use it as much.  How are they going to offset the costs now?  Oh, yeah.  That's right.  Higher premiums.  Seriously, are the Republicans really that stupid?  Can they not do simple math?

Frankly, I hope this is exactly what they do. It is so, so important to keep the provisions that keep people insured. And if they do it in a way that raises premiums and make people mad enough to vote Democrat in 2018, well...