ACA/Obamacare for American Cruisers Abroad MERGED THREADS

[CarlF]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

If all of that is correct, then you must be missing the part where someone else is subsidizing your care, because $35 a year seems like an obscenely low rate, even for catastrophic coverage.

Somehow ACA gives me this great deal for cruising AND reduces government spending (according to The Congressional Budget Office). So the taxpayers are doing less subsidizing under ACA not more.

I don't pretend to understand why

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Steve W

to answer goboating now, it is my understanding the the ACA deductible does not apply to prescriptions and dr visits, just pay the co-pay. Also, your co-pays apply to the annual deductible under ACA. That is a nice change, especially for patients with many prescriptions. My company-provided group health insurance agent told us that all group plans have to apply co-pays to annual deductible under the new ACA rules. My wife's co-pays average $1,200/month, so now we will reach the deductible sooner.

Jeepers I had to pay a "co-pay" of €125 for my daughter in france ( she's been told to take out the €23 a month top up insurance , grrr) Im still smarting over it. !!!

How can people pay 1200 month in co-pay , jeepers, thats the payment on a nice boat loan!!!

Dave

[MBLittle]

Originally Posted by sailpower

2. The politicians were from one party only.

I assume you mean republicans. Since the ACA is similar to what Reagan wanted in the 80's (especially exempting his voting base) and almost identical to what Romney implemented in Mass...

I'm no democrat, but come on. Political duality in America is one the greatest downfalls. It allows people to blind themselves to reality and use convenient scapegoats dressed up as either donkeys or elephants.

For decades everyone has agreed that healthcare in America needed changes. Because of the duality, nothing ever happened even though BOTH sides had a very similar plan. It's the party bickering that got nowhere.

Now one party stepped up and delivered something that MOST people wanted and expected, but oops, it's not my party. BLINDERS TIME. Growl! Snarl!

Yikes. There are greater problems in the world these days people.

Most of the loudest critics either have healthcare already, can easily get it with expanded Medicare and medicaid, or are exempt based on income, veteran status and a plethora of other factors.

The problem is corporatism. There's a reason healthcare in America is 7x higher than the rest of the western world, and it's not the level of care.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3
If all of that is correct, then you must be missing the part where someone else is subsidizing your care, because $35 a year seems like an obscenely low rate, even for catastrophic coverage.

No doubt the toll you paid on the recent Interstate system, paid for the whole US road system too......... ( sorry )

dave

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by colemj

Right now, every US citizen has been completely in the dark as to what will even be offered until today, and everyone is trying to find out and are frustrated.

Besides, have you EVER been to a government website that worked?

Mark

Mark....remember...."we have to pass Obummercare to find out what is in it"...surprise.

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The irs statement where we had to pay taxes last year on the employer provided health insurance listed the amount paid by my wife's employer to be $32,000 for two healthy adults living in Massachusetts on blue cross blue shield. Plus we have a $4,000 co pay which comes out weekly from her pay. Then there's a $1000 yearly deductable for each of us. The total over $36,000 per year....Not an unusualy amount in todays market since premiums have nearly doubled in a year.

So it's not costing you a dime by your typical math, what's the issue?

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by sailpower

I am curious to know what you are basing that on?

Perhaps that the US is number 37 in overall quality by world standards?

Facts hurt, don't they.

[hellosailor]

Dave, some 2,300 miles of the 46,000 mile Interstate and Defense Highway System are toll roads. They existed before the system was built, and were grandfathered into it in order to use existing roads rather than build new ones. They are allowed to remain as turnpikes (toll roads) if and only if they receive zero federal funding. So the tolls you pay "on the interstate" are never paid to the federal government, they remain local and only fund the road you paid them on.

Which comes back to the point, there's a lot of disinformation and confusion about ObamaCare but there has always been a lot of disinformation about medical insurance and medical payments in the US. Many folks have been rudely surprised to find there are annual and lifetime and incident care limits in their policies. A standardized national system is going to have many problems in implementation, but at least it should get rid of a lot of the fine print that has been screwing so many customers for so long.
In a system where hospitals routinely charge $500 for a $1 (actual cost) one liter bag of saline solution, it is time to clean out the Augean Stables. All the itching and moaning from our Congress simply means "here's another scoundrel needs running out of town."
I think ObamaCare as implemented is illegal. Our Supreme Court agreed with that, but said it is illegal but for the public good, so they'd let it stand. Welcome to America. [sic]

[Boatguy30]

So it was legal then illegal or sorta illegal, but apparently 100% constitutional according to the ones in the ropes.

funny how electing a constitutional lawyer president makes everyone an expert on the constitution but him.

[goboatingnow]

Dave, some 2,300 miles of the 46,000 mile Interstate and Defense Highway System are toll roads. They existed before the system was built, and were grandfathered into it in order to use existing roads rather than build new ones. They are allowed to remain as turnpikes (toll roads) if and only if they receive zero federal funding. So the tolls you pay "on the interstate" are never paid to the federal government, they remain local and only fund the road you paid them on.

I know the detail, I used to have to use the New Jersey Turnpike on a daily basis, ....

I was merely looking for a comparison that even though you pay a little bit , the rest comes from general taxes. Thats what I mean . Its not an unusual setup.

as to the rest , we agree, medical inflation seems to have a life of its own, Yet say education costs dont have a similar trend , or military pay. Must be a parallel there somewhere.

dave

[goboatingnow]

I think ObamaCare as implemented is illegal. Our Supreme Court agreed with that, but said it is illegal but for the public good, so they'd let it stand. Welcome to America.

I could suggest building a bridge.......

dave

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by CarlF

Somehow ACA gives me this great deal for cruising AND reduces government spending (according to The Congressional Budget Office). So the taxpayers are doing less subsidizing under ACA not more.

I don't pretend to understand why

Now this guy is in the true spirit of the OP.

[colemj]

The ACA passed 3 years ago - we should have had more information by now.

Our (personal) "free market" healthcare insurance has been terrible with costs increasing 20% every year for only catastrophic insurance. We get absolutely no benefits from it and are on the hook for the first $10,000 (each year, not total - if we had a costly catastrophic long term illness in December, we would pay $10k in Dec and another $10k in January). It presently costs us $4,000 for that privilege. We have never made a claim, are in excellent health and relatively young, but the 20% increases (a higher rate than both general inflation AND healthcare costs) just march on in every year regardless.

The ACA so far looks like a much better deal for us. I understand some are angry about which political party brought it to be, but the reality so far for us is we will get much better insurance terms with it.

I am frustrated that some of this information wasn't available a year or so ago, and am frustrate with not being able to get on the website today, but I am not frustrated about the possibility of actually receiving health insurance with much better terms for less money.

Regardless which political party or individual politician brought it about. Absolutely no party or politician has brought anything different forward since the failed 1990's attempt (and nothing before that since the 1960's), and our current system is simply not working for us and many others.

The argument can be made that ACA is using my taxes to pay for other people who may not be as careful with their health risks as me. So what? I pay for other's social security, medicare, medicaid, VA benefits and pretty much completely help pay for Raytheon, Lockheed, General Dynamic, Grumman, and all of those other companies on the teat. I may not agree with where all of the money goes, but that is part of the bargain struck to have a democratic society. For me, it is either get rid of all of the above tax support, or stop quibbling about particular shades of support.

Mark

[goboatingnow]

The argument can be made that ACA is using my taxes to pay for other people who may not be as careful with their health risks as me. So what? I pay for other's social security, medicare, medicaid, VA benefits and pretty much completely help pay for Raytheon, Lockheed, General Dynamic, Grumman, and all of those other companies on the teat. I may not agree with where all of the money goes, but that is part of the bargain struck to have a democratic society. For me, it is either get rid of all of the above tax support, or stop quibbling about particular shades of support.

Mark

sanity prevails +100

[Boatguy30]

To be fair, Bernie Sanders Senator of Vermont had a new op-ed out today about his long time push for single-payer.

so the ACA is more like the best thing they could (barely) pass. But pretty much still enriches the big corporations just like all those others you mention, but hopefully at a slightly lower rate.