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President Obama signs the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. It's now up to the Supreme Court. (official White House photo by Pete Souza)
The Affordable Care Act featured prominently both in the first day of the Democratic National Convention and in the party platform. It seems the Democratic Party has come to the conclusion they can’t run from what they did and its similarity to Romneycare makes it harder for Republicans to attack it.
One the biggest efforts to sell the new law was having Stacey Lihn speak about it really helped her young daughter by lifting her insurance’s lifetime cap. From a political perspective, it’s a good story to try to put legislative fights in real life terms, but it only serves to highlight what political malpractice the design of the law was.
To give it the illusion of being cheaper, the full implementation of the law was pushed off until 2014 with almost no benefits before then. As a result, it is now over two years since Obamacare was signed into law and it is still extremely difficult to find regular people significantly helped by the law. There are some children helped by regulations, some young adults who can stay on the parent’s plan, several thousand in the high risk pools. Overall though, the number of people that it has had a really big impact for are very few and far between. Odds are most voters don’t know anyone who has been helped at this point.
A perfect example of the difficulty of finding regular people significantly helped by the ACA was the 2012 State of the Union. One of Michelle Obama’s guests was a young adult who had cancer and supposedly got to stay on his parents’ plan thanks to the new law. It later turned out though he would likely have been able to do that even without the ACA because of a state law.
If the ACA was designed to start expanding coverage to millions of people before the election, that tangible experience for regular people could have changed opinions about the law and Obama. Instead, by delaying the law Democrats are forced to sell it using only a very few real examples of it in action. Mostly it is sold based on promises that weren’t even designed to materialize for several more years.
Trying to run on an “achievement” that for practical purposes still hasn’t been achieved yet is not easy.
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Hell by 2014 no matter who wins it’s be gone or criminal health care corps. will get the poor to pay more or jail for you;)
I knew someone who benefits: because he has enough money to have insurance in the first place and also has enough money to afford the extra premium payment to keep his daughter on his policy. When I pointed out that many people couldn’t afford insurance, at all, he didn’t, or purported not to, get it. Lawyer. Which probably just shows that post HS schooling doesn’t extend one’s worldview.
At this point buying a gun is cheaper than an insurance ripoff. Guess which way they want us to chose. I have other ideas.
The chief architect, or consultant if you will, of this health care act was Big Pharma. One might thus assume that this protects the profits of that industry rather than protecting the people from escalating and extravagant costs.
As the only western nation currently not providing universal health care to its citizenry we all should be outraged and actually demonstrating said outrage.
And yes, to those democratic loyalists who infest this forum with sarcasm and silliness, there are a few benefits to the act, damn few.
Democratic Victory Plan: Pass Conservative Legislation with the connivance of corporate lobbyists, then retire from office and get their multimillion dollar payoff.
Are you nuts?
Why do you write such drivel.
Obamacare inaction:
http://news.yahoo.com/scorpion-sting-leaves-arizona-woman-huge-bill-225717487.html
I am not a democratic loyalist, but I am really offended by your choice of words. None of us here “infests” this forum, and you owe us all an apology.
Who you?
I’m guessing even the people who are praising Obamacare don’t like Obamacare.
Obamacare is welfare for a larger net. It requires poverty upon entry. If you own a home, you won’t be receiving any Obamacare. Don’t worry, you can sign it over. That’s why Obamacare is waiting until Obama’s election is well over. You people are getting ready to find out what the poor have always known. Your poverty serves and they want you poor and their systems insure it.
Who even understands it? I don’t.
“To give it the illusion of being cheaper, the full implementation of the law was pushed off until 2014 with almost no benefits before then”
Thank you, Barack “American Austerity” Obama.
It might easier to defend if, at it’s core, it wasn’t a mandate to pay private bloodsucking health insurance companies for junk insurance no matter what.
1) Give your money to the insurance companies or be punished
2) See #1
I’m pretty sure they delayed full implementation precisely because they didn’t want to have to defend it before the election. How exactly are those exchanges supposed to get up and running and what exactly is the definition of affordable for the working poor? Very much not questions the Dems want to have to answer.
One thing from my understanding is you can’t even get on the exchanges unless you haven’t had any insurance for six months. (Or maybe that’s only for the “pre exchanges”)
Not sure if that is true once it “kicks in”.
That’s a critique of the original Medicare Part D. Maybe you mean to say the Insurance industry where you say ‘Big Pharma’?
‘universal health care’ means what? Do you mean single-payer health insurance coverage for everyone? Do you mean universal health insurance coverage? If so, do you mean it includes vision and dental insurance coverage? Plenty of US citizens are fit and quite healthy, needing no care, though it would be wonderful if they had insurance just in case.
ACA is/was not about getting more and better healthcare to poor Americans.
Suggesting otherwise as JW does above is missing/misses the goal of ACA.
ACA was a political “kick the can down the road” skit intended to shake the $$ trees Big PhARMA,AHIP,AMA and a number of allied American healthcare business interests keep well watered,tended and pruned.
If Barack Obama is about doing anything as a politician 100% it surely is about finding the $$ trees,shaking them down good and setting up the next shakedown(s) to come well in advance.
2014? What a convenient place for the ACA so called Starting Line to be put at. Past 2012 WH election. During the 2014 WashingtonDC election cycle.
Gosh…wonder how come?
ACA is a fraudulent pile of so called changes and improvements that AHIP signed off on — that POTUS Barack Obama signed off on — that the Ds signed off on. The Rs? Who cares?!
Being told ACA is going to help poor Americans who are not able to benefit very much/at all from what AHIP/Big Medicine/Big Hospital interests have been putting on the table these past 15,25 or 35 years being they do not have lots of $$ which is the first door AHIP always keeps a firm shoulder to is what ACA does not,will not solve. Healthcare should not be about having $$. AHIP is all about having $$. AHIP wants to keep the $$ portal in the middle of American healthcare access/outcomes.
Barack Obama may get four more years in the WH if Obama manages to dupe enough Americans and ACA surely is going to be put into the campaign funds and money making harness shortly after this 2012 election’s manure is swept up and carried away to be stored for 2014 manuring season.
Obama is out to gut SS and Medicare as it is and this ACA junk from the 2009 WashingtonDC Pay To Play politics season was instrumental in revealing who wants to pay big and play big. POTUS Obama is pretty chummy with Wall St.,AHIP and the Gut SS/Medicare charlatans…do the math.
ACA was/is a half cooked goose…for a reason…lots more to “cook” politically and $$ shake down wise. Hardly a mystery. Obama is all about the $$. Ever see Barack Obama going to poor peoples hospitals or hanging out with the poor Americans who dwell in the nursing homes or at edges of American society in the shadows? Obama seeks out the $$ and stops there. So guess what? So does Mitt Romney.
What a non-choice we see/get here in 2012.
I live 20 minutes from the border with British Columbia, Canada. Over the line, my Canadian friends enjoy universal single payer health care. Everyone is covered, and everyone receives the same standards of care regardless of income. The costs for that are about half of our current health insurance costs or around $3K per year per participant. Out of pocket copays and deductibles don’t exist along with lifetime maximums. There is no medical bankruptcy. With incomes over 30K, a single person pays around $60/month, a couple pay $109/month, family of 3 or more pay $121/month. Lower income rates are subsidized or free with no income. Drugs on the pharmacy shelves cost 1/4 to 1/3 the cost here in Bellingham, WA. Sorry, you can’t bring them home!
For those of us who live so close, yet are so far from God it is a shame and a pity we are chained to for profit private insurance and Obama/Romneycare.
The features of the ACA are:
Draconian Increases in Insurance Premiums.
No copays for annual check ups and some screeings and diagnostics.
Adult children can stay on parents insurance longer.
Insurance companies must meet 80/20 care to admin cost ratio.
Eases Medicare into Private Insurance to kill you faster by premium increases and denied “coverage”.
Obama and Romney both suck Donkey Dicks.
Apologies to Donkey Dicks.
Next door, In Alberta they pay nothing. Not one penny.
A six pack costs $18. Gasoline is $1.20 a litre – $4.50 a gallon.
Still, it’s a better system.
INDEED.
That’s simple true.
yep and people keep backing these murdering thieves. I just don’t get it. Michael Moore endorsing Obama and pushing for Obama in 2016 with Michelle. I just about threw up when I read his site today.
Obama and senators through lobbies opposed to import cheap generics medications from Canada etc, witch Pelosi and Obama lied about this.
And that’s a F shame!!
Interesting , i always wanted to figure it out about that, i wonder if:
For example: Any person who owns a home and in any coming year the income for that person fall below federal poverty line( less than something…),
and that person at any given moment has (for example)6,000 dollars in a bank account,does this person is eligible for discounts? medicaid? and subsides?
What Obamalosicare says about this?
Yes sir ,the real and only architect was BIG PHARMA.
Poverty upon entry. If you have six grand they will officially mark you as ineligible for a period of time per their formula. You would, in fact, not want to apply if you had six grand. If you had a medical bill, you would be expected to pay it then apply.
I am assuming that it will, more than a lot likely, work exactly the same way as the new Welfare system. It used to be that Welfare, foodstamps, medicaid was run by government and social workers. Now it is run by banks and overseas phone banks. They did that during Bush W reign. I’m sure it was for many reasons, one being that they didn’t want people to see the lines wrapping around the buildings and two they started their hand off to banking elite of control of government and the people.
banking elite are highly involved. Of course, they are all profiting from Big Pharma
they lied about everything and their word is no better than a cup of dog poop. Well, not even that good. At least the poop can be used for fertilizer.
yeah, sure on it’s late implementation. But, it’s a Republican plan too! Not too much to crow about relatively speaking.
Totally agree with you,Obama and his cronies lied about everything, from Public Option to penalties to taxes,definitely like you said a Big cup of
stinky dog poop.
If you are offended then perhaps you should re-read what I actually stated? I did not say that all democrats here were as I described the few I called on the carpet. Let me refresh your memory, or re-post to give you opportunity to reflect:
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“And yes, to those democratic loyalists who infest this forum with sarcasm and silliness, there are a few benefits to the act, damn few.”
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There are a smallish coterie of posters here who have ( deliberately) posted distortions of what I say, acted as surly and sophomoric witches defending their party from my words, as if those words rang so true as to be dangerous to the false image of the current Democratic Party..oh if only!
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I ask you to note the words “to those democratic loyalists who…” and offer me your own apology.
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to AitchD September 5th, 2012 at 5:32 pm
I meant what I said, the reports noted that Obama’s health care legislation was written with lobbyists from Big Pharma playing an important role therein. It is logical to assume that the Insurance Industry played such a role as well but I saw no affirmation for that assumption so left it out.
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Do you honestly believe that the “health” of our citizenry is an excuse for our expensive, exclusive and inept for profit health care system? Do you refuse to note that we rank 37th among industrialized nation in the providing of said care, yet rank first by a wide margin in the cost of same?
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Lastly, whatever you wish to call it this nation stands alone among its peers in the lack of universal health care, call it what you will.
Woah, what???
Where do you see Michael Moore endorsing Obama recently??
I don’t see anything like that here:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/blogger/mmflint/
He hasn’t even blogged at all since July!
You forgot exorbitant and unaffordable premium increases for pre-existing conditions.
splashoil — great to see another FDL reader from the city of subdued excitement! (maybe I shouldn’t have used the exclamation point)
great info BTW.
It does exist for those
families who’s children are on their insurance, college students,
for those with Pre-existing Conditions,
for those families like the little 3 year old Heart Patient who had almost reach her Health Insurance Maximun and would not be able to get her upcoming heart surgery, now her Health Insurance has no Lifetime Maximum after her parents have been paying the Insurance Company for years 20 years they said
Seniors getting relief fromt he doughnut Hole
For Seniors and Americans who are getting Free Preventive Care to prevent Serious Illinesses
And so Much more
So many other benefits currently in existence
Try getting your facts and provide useful information before writing an article that you have not researched the facts.
Read the Bill please before making FALSE statements!
Unfortunately that’s the problem with journalist and media, no one wants to take the time to get the Facts and Read the Subject Matter before commenting.
Just because you or others are not affected, thousands are getting relief!
Crafting a “reform” package that the insurance companies (and for-profit hospitals, and Big Pharma) like is, ultimately, much more important than Obama’s reelection campaign. He’s a corporate pawn–like all presidents–and if he doesn’t win a second term there will be another corporate pawn in his place, pushing the same shitty policies.