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A turning point for American healthcare.

Manc Skipper

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The only way is up.

"Insurers can no longer deny coverage for children under age 19 because of pre-existing conditions. Checkups, immunizations and other basic preventive health care will become free for many people with health coverage, although many others will fall through a loophole. If you get seriously sick, the insurance company can't cancel your coverage because you forgot to tell them about the hangnail removed five years ago. Coverage can still be canceled if you deliberately lie about something important on your insurance application, but not for accidental omissions. Lifetime coverage limits disappear, and annual coverage limits start to fade away. There's a stronger appeals process for when insurance companies deny care."

New Law Brings Changes To Health Insurance Rules This Week - Kaiser Health News

" ... Don't those all sound like pretty good things? Well, in this election season, what are the Democrats prepared to do about it?

Obama is giving a speech Wednesday touting the new measures. But what else? See, if this were the Republicans, they'd have a whole huge strategy. Not just one presidential speech, but a string of appearances; at each one, a child cancer survivor or an elderly dialysis patient whose coverage had been denied and was being restored; et cetera. You get my drift..."

Remember healthcare?| Michael Tomasky | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
 
- Your right on one thing, the only way is up, for premiums that is. How can people be so gullible to think health care can be free?
 
Who thinks it is free? Isn't that more an invention of people opposing reform?
 
In response to the "Obama I don't really care about your Health Kill Granny plan" we have already seen rates go up substantially and now I read that many Insurance Co. are dropping Child policies to avoid the new rules.

This tells me the best course is for a more pragmatic Health Care plan that doen't have 13 or more new taxes hidden in 2000 plus pages, of garbage.

The republicans actually have a better idea for after we get rid of the Obama plan after the Nov. Election.

I only hope they follow through with what they are saying now. We could see much of the damage of the last two plus years reversed with a little luck.
 
- Your right on one thing, the only way is up, for premiums that is. How can people be so gullible to think health care can be free?
So these kids with cancer on ssi are getting free health care?
 
In response to the "Obama I don't really care about your Health Kill Granny plan" we have already seen rates go up substantially and now I read that many Insurance Co. are dropping Child policies to avoid the new rules.

This tells me the best course is for a more pragmatic Health Care plan that doen't have 13 or more new taxes hidden in 2000 plus pages, of garbage.

The republicans actually have a better idea for after we get rid of the Obama plan after the Nov. Election.

I only hope they follow through with what they are saying now. We could see much of the damage of the last two plus years reversed with a little luck.

Premiums were going up before healthcare reform, so why would any reasonable person just assume reform caused them to go up?
 
Premiums were going up before healthcare reform, so why would any reasonable person just assume reform caused them to go up?

Of course they were going up. That's the nature of the beast. However to think that the reform wouldn't cause them to go up also (or go up more than normal) is unreasonable at best. There are too many provisions in the HCR to not expect it to go up.

I would like to say however that the one thing that I do agree with on the HCR is the part that makes it to where insurers cannot deny coverage to someone due to a pre-existing condition.
 
Of course they were going up. That's the nature of the beast. However to think that the reform wouldn't cause them to go up also (or go up more than normal) is unreasonable at best. There are too many provisions in the HCR to not expect it to go up.

I would like to say however that the one thing that I do agree with on the HCR is the part that makes it to where insurers cannot deny coverage to someone due to a pre-existing condition.

The only way to have the part you like, without a public option, is to make it a requirement that everyone have insurance. The truth is all that many complain about
is what is required to have what they want.

If we could have removed the fear mongering misinformation, we might have done a much better job with reform. But that isn't how it worked out. However, my point is that things we're getting worse before reform. Permiums were going up, people were losing insurance, losing coverage. All of this before refrom. Doing nothing wasn't a viable option. Even if it cost more, but more people are covered, we're still better for it. And we can keep working to make it better.
 
The only way to have the part you like, without a public option, is to make it a requirement that everyone have insurance. The truth is all that many complain about
is what is required to have what they want.

Why make it a requirement?

If we could have removed the fear mongering misinformation, we might have done a much better job with reform. But that isn't how it worked out. However, my point is that things we're getting worse before reform. Permiums were going up, people were losing insurance, losing coverage. All of this before refrom. Doing nothing wasn't a viable option. Even if it cost more, but more people are covered, we're still better for it. And we can keep working to make it better.

Sorry but the "fear mongering misinformation" is not the cause for the crappy HCR that the democrats passed. What people said had no effect on what was put into that bill. Indeed much of it was put in before people even had an inkling of what was in it. Thanks to the "transparency" (/sarcasm) that was allowed while they were working on it.
 
Why make it a requirement?

Those who don't understand why it has to be a requirement in order to work do not understand health insurance. Or, for that matter, insurance of ANY kind.
 
- Your right on one thing, the only way is up, for premiums that is. How can people be so gullible to think health care can be free?

I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and my prescription price has gone way up. My son is only monthly meds and altogether, insurance used to pay almost of of it and my out of pocket used to be less than $20.00. Now.. the same meds are $72.00 out of pocket.

The company I work for is trying to find new insurance because BC/BS will be so high, more than half the employees would not be able to afford the premiums and the portion the company picks up... well... it's too high for them as well.

Thanks for nothing.
 
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Why make it a requirement?



Sorry but the "fear mongering misinformation" is not the cause for the crappy HCR that the democrats passed. What people said had no effect on what was put into that bill. Indeed much of it was put in before people even had an inkling of what was in it. Thanks to the "transparency" (/sarcasm) that was allowed while they were working on it.

Without a public option, you have to requrie insurence companies to take everyone. The only way to make that work is to have everyone insured, so you have to have the mandate.

And no, the misinformation that killed the public option played a major role in what we ended up with. Certainly we can also blame republican resistence and democrat lack of backbone, but there is no dobt that the misinformation won too much of the day.
 
Those who don't understand why it has to be a requirement in order to work do not understand health insurance. Or, for that matter, insurance of ANY kind.
Nope. Making it a requirement makes the risk pool more unhealthy, not less. This means everyone pays more, not less than the completely unqualified authors of the health care turd of a bill speculated.
 
Nope. Making it a requirement makes the risk pool more unhealthy, not less. This means everyone pays more, not less than the completely unqualified authors of the health care turd of a bill speculated.

Nope. Making it a requirement makes the risk pool MORE healthy, not less. Unless you believe that there are more unhealthy people in the U.S. than healthy... Or unless you believe the majority of uninsured people are unhealthy, in which case, post your link.
 
In response to the "Obama I don't really care about your Health Kill Granny plan" we have already seen rates go up substantially and now I read that many Insurance Co. are dropping Child policies to avoid the new rules.

This tells me the best course is for a more pragmatic Health Care plan that doen't have 13 or more new taxes hidden in 2000 plus pages, of garbage.

The republicans actually have a better idea for after we get rid of the Obama plan after the Nov. Election.

I only hope they follow through with what they are saying now. We could see much of the damage of the last two plus years reversed with a little luck.

sure they do.......that's why they did something about healthcare when they could. lmao.
 
I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and my prescription price has gone way up. My son is only monthly meds and altogether, insurance used to pay almost of of it and my out of pocket used to be less than $20.00. Now.. the same meds are $72.00 out of pocket.

The company I work for is trying to find new insurance because BC/BS will be so high, more than half the employees would not be able to afford the premiums and the portion the company picks up... well... it's too high for them as well.

Thanks for nothing.

uh-huh...and for some reason you think that bc bs is in business for fun? my costs have been going up since BEFORE any healthcare reform, of which most doesn't take effect for quite some time.

insurance companies make money on investing YOUR premium dollars, and when the market is stagnant, their earnings are stagnant, so they look for ways to cut costs. that has nothing to do with obama.
 
- Your right on one thing, the only way is up, for premiums that is. How can people be so gullible to think health care can be free?

Premiums will go up, but not at the rate they have been going up for the last few decades. Last year Health Premiums went up by over 10%. With this health care bill in place, premiums are expected to go up 14% over the next 4 years. That is a vast improvement.
 
Premiums have been rising.

Partisan hacks are just looking for an excuse to point a finger.

Health care premiums have been rising with NO Obama, NO Democratic controlled House, NO Democratic controlled Senate, NO health care bill.

But now all of a sudden it's the fault of all of the above...:mrgreen:




Premium payments for healthcare insurance paid by firms in the US for their employees have doubled over the past ten years. Whereas, the costs incurred by employees on healthcare, has tripled.

Healthcare Costs to Skyrocket Next Year | TopNews United States



Since 2005, employee contributions to health insurance costs have risen 47 percent, according to a survey released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Insurance Trust.

Health insurance costs expected to surge - SignOnSanDiego.com


Since 1999, health insurance premiums for families rose 131%, the report found, far more than the general rate of inflation, which increased 28% over the same period.

Health Insurance Premiums Up 131% in Last Ten Years - It's Your Money - TIME.com
 
Premiums have been rising.

Partisan hacks are just looking for an excuse to point a finger.

Health care premiums have been rising with NO Obama, NO Democratic controlled House, NO Democratic controlled Senate, NO health care bill.

But now all of a sudden it's the fault of all of the above...:mrgreen:

Yeah, but don't mess with a popular narrative. ;)
 
Nope. Making it a requirement makes the risk pool MORE healthy, not less.
Not at all, remember I work in this industry. There are high risk companies that specialize in unhealthy insurance and are going to be squeezed out of the market due to the new bill, as well group policies exist because of the nature of PECs and even though individuals don't see rediculous premiums employers most certainly do(the trade off to the individual is no portability). When the PECs are eliminated AND people are forced to buy insurance people who otherwise would have sought out options more geared towards their needs will be forced into the overall pool, thus the risk is skewed up, not down. Again, the only people who asserted that the pool will go down in risk are a bunch of clueless politicians with no working knowledge of the health industry and frankly no real world experience to boot.
Unless you believe that there are more unhealthy people in the U.S. than healthy
This is the least healthy time in American history. remember all the news stories saying how overweight we are?
Or unless you believe the majority of uninsured people are unhealthy, in which case, post your link.
Why do you need a link? It's common sense that many people do not buy insurance because they are trying to get into shape and/or stop habits that increase their premiums such as smoking or heavy drinking, as well many people have credit problems which btw is a secondary reason that will come back to bite insureds if coverage grace period increases become mandated.
 
Not at all, remember I work in this industry. There are high risk companies that specialize in unhealthy insurance and are going to be squeezed out of the market due to the new bill, as well group policies exist because of the nature of PECs and even though individuals don't see rediculous premiums employers most certainly do(the trade off to the individual is no portability). When the PECs are eliminated AND people are forced to buy insurance people who otherwise would have sought out options more geared towards their needs will be forced into the overall pool, thus the risk is skewed up, not down. Again, the only people who asserted that the pool will go down in risk are a bunch of clueless politicians with no working knowledge of the health industry and frankly no real world experience to boot. This is the least healthy time in American history. remember all the news stories saying how overweight we are? Why do you need a link? It's common sense that many people do not buy insurance because they are trying to get into shape and/or stop habits that increase their premiums such as smoking or heavy drinking, as well many people have credit problems which btw is a secondary reason that will come back to bite insureds if coverage grace period increases become mandated.

No offense, LA, but your working in the industry in no way discounts what I've said.

First bolded sentence: Just what are these "other options more geared toward their needs?" People with pre-existing conditions need HEALTH INSURANCE. There ARE no other options.

Second bolded portion: It's not common sense at all. It is common sense that young people with many other priorities for their money who are NOT covered by group plans are quite healthy and simply choose not to purchase insurance. It's common sense also that those not covered by group policies simply cannot AFFORD (or think they cannot afford) individual ones.

This is far from the most unhealthy period in American history. The problem we have is that technology has outstripped our ability to pay for it. So those that HAVE get. Those that don't have CAN'T. The insurance model hasn't changed much in a hundred years, I'd bet. Yet our lifespans are ever increasing and technology is ever advancing. We treat fatal illnesses with the same aggressiveness that we treat cureable ones, right up until we put these unfortunate souls in the ground. Capitalism at its finest.

A link? Link me to one of these companies that provides insurance for people who are insulin-dependent; those who have had a diagnosis of cancer at any time during their lives; those with HepC; transplants. If there are any, they are prohibitively expensive, meant only for the rich.
 
I would like to say however that the one thing that I do agree with on the HCR is the part that makes it to where insurers cannot deny coverage to someone due to a pre-existing condition.

Pre-existing limitations were never as bad as democrats made them out to be / or to speak like Boo Radley, were never as bad as democrats fear mongered them out to be.

However, I do have to say I like the way HIPPA fixed them a bunch of years ago.
 
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