How long before it's us?

[Mugwump]

8....you're dreaming....

Dennis, spot on.....

I realize it's but a dream. The establishment Repubicans will never follow through on their promises. They disgust me. Hussein should have been impeached long ago.

They are so divided among themselves that they're eroding from the middle out.......save your breath, the President will serve out his term....then you can mutter about Hillary.

[GraphicGr8s]

I sure wish they'd start doing what we elected them to do. They promised they'd get rid of ObamaCare. Yet here it still is.

Why would the same group that voted it in, turn right around and get rid of Mit Romney's plan?  I think you're delusional, (that means having false or unrealistic beliefs or opinions).

Dennis

You do realize that not one Republican voted for HusseinCare right? And 34 democrats voted against it.

Even Romney said his plan wouldn't work nationwide. It needed to be on a state by state basis.

And the largest insurer is pulling out of HusseinCare.

[BallAquatics]

I can't speak to this "HusseinCare" you mention, whatever that is, but the Affordable Health Care Act is definitely a step in the right direction.  We like to claim we are the greatest country, yet our health care is a joke when compared to the rest of the free world.  The only area where our health care comes out on top is for being the most expensive for the least effectual care given.

Dennis

[Mugwump]

I sure wish they'd start doing what we elected them to do. They promised they'd get rid of ObamaCare. Yet here it still is.

Why would the same group that voted it in, turn right around and get rid of Mit Romney's plan?  I think you're delusional, (that means having false or unrealistic beliefs or opinions).

Dennis

You do realize that not one Republican voted for HusseinCare right? And 34 democrats voted against it.

Even Romney said his plan wouldn't work nationwide. It needed to be on a state by state basis.

And the largest insurer is pulling out of HusseinCare.

..and why are some of the biggest insurers considering backing out?....it's because they can't make enough profit, the greedy idiots...plus them all being Repubs.....they and their lobbyists want one last shot across the bow(Obama) before the Repubs get run out of congress......Pepubs, etc..refused to offer, or compromise, anything to tweak the bill at all.....Repub Governors fought it tooth and nail, knowing that doing so tossing higher expenses on their state's population  .....and it's not about 'Health Care'....it's about hating a President.....

Many smaller insurance companies tried o form to take advantage of the ACA......too many failed because they weren't prepared, or had decent backing....when these started to fail ...the bigger companies were inundated with large enrollments....fact is...most these same folks left them because of their high rates....upon returning, the big insurers couldn't get those same rates back again....meaning..'Less profit'.....so they are screaming....

Well ain't that a bitch....LOL....trillions of dollars in business and the profits aren't enough...? If these same companies lobbyists get their buddy Repub's to get it repealed somehow.....the catastrophic costs they will incur absorbing everyone back will bury them.....but they must have a plan...sure ...their Repub friends in congress will vote them a bail out.....with our money...and the Insurer's will raise rates too.....the rich get richer, and the less well to do go without....folks will drop their insurance because they can't afford it.....thus putting the burden back on the public when they can't pay....it's a downward spiral that will effect hospitals, doctors, communities......healthcare will shrink for everyone.....except those nice rich folks that don't give a hoot about anything but a buck...
...and if they have their way.....social services will be nonexistent.......so I guess we're all expendable, ...when we're all broke....we'll be disguarded..

[Mugwump]

[BallAquatics]

Great summation Jon.

Dennis

[JR]

Please tell me how you can call it Affordable Health Act. It cost me 1400 a month for insurance. It hurts more ppl then it helps. I was paying 800 month before we got this great insurance. I have to pay it my meds cost 1600 a month with out it. My brother is on SSD gets 2100 a month. His spin down is 1280 a month. How is a man able to pay that over half of his SSD. So please tell me how the Affordable health care helps.

[Mugwump]

Please tell me how you can call it Affordable Health Act. It cost me 1400 a month for insurance. It hurts more ppl then it helps. I was paying 800 month before we got this great insurance. I have to pay it my meds cost 1600 a month with out it. My brother is on SSD gets 2100 a month. His spin down is 1280 a month. How is a man able to pay that over half of his SSD. So please tell me how the Affordable health care helps.

I just looked up Ohio ACA... ...not sure what's happening in your case???

...........
http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts-and-features/state-by-state/how-aca-is-working-for-ohio/index.html
...................
5 Years Later: How the Affordable Care Act is Working for Ohio

The Affordable Care Act is working to make health care more affordable, accessible, and high quality for the people of Ohio.

Better Options

Making health care more affordable and accessible through the Health Insurance Marketplaces: Through the Marketplace, Ohioans had the option of signing up for quality health coverage at a price they could afford. Whether they visited the simpler, faster and more intuitive website at HealthCare.gov or contacted the call center, they found more choices and competitive prices.

In Ohio, 234,341 consumers selected or were automatically re-enrolled in quality, affordable health insurance coverage through the Marketplace as of Feb. 22.  Nationwide, nearly 11.7 million consumers selected a plan or were automatically enrolled in Marketplace coverage.

Marketplace Signups and Tax Credits in Ohio:

    84 percent of Ohio consumers who were signed up qualified for an average tax credit of $244 per month through the Marketplace.
    41 percent of Ohio Marketplace enrollees obtained coverage for $100 or less after any applicable tax credits in 2015, and 82 percent had the option of doing so.
    In Ohio, consumers could choose from 16 issuers in the Marketplace in 2015 ? up from 12 in 2014.
    Ohio consumers could choose from an average of 54 health plans in their county for 2015 coverage ? up from 30 in 2014.
    79,436 consumers in Ohio under the age of 35 are signed up for Marketplace coverage (34 percent of plan selections in the state).  And 56,073 consumers 18 to 34 years of age (24 percent of all plan selections) are signed up for Marketplace coverage.

Ohio has received $1,000,000 in grants for research, planning, information technology development, and implementation of its Marketplace.

Open enrollment for 2015 coverage ended on Feb. 15, 2015. Open enrollment for 2016 coverage runs from November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016.  Consumers should visit HealthCare.gov to see if they qualify for a Special Enrollment Period because of a life change like marriage, having a baby or losing other coverage.  Enrollment in Medicaid and the Children?s Health Insurance Program is open year round.

Reducing the number of uninsured Americans: Nationwide, since the Affordable Care Act?s coverage expansion began, about 16.4 million uninsured people have gained health insurance coverage - the largest reduction in the uninsured in four decades. And Gallup recently announced that the uninsured rate in Ohio in 2014 was 10.5 percent, down from 13.9 percent in 2013.

New coverage options for young adults: Under the health care law, if your plan covers children, you can now add or keep your children on your health insurance policy until they turn 26 years old. Thanks to this provision, over 2.3 million young people who would otherwise have been uninsured have gained coverage nationwide.

Expanding Medicaid:  Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, states have new opportunities to expand Medicaid coverage to individuals with family incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level (generally $32,253 for a family of four in 2015). This expansion includes non-elderly adults without dependent children, who have not previously been eligible for Medicaid in most states.

Thirty states plus DC have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, including Ohio.    And as of January 2015, 587,107 Ohioans have gained Medicaid or CHIP coverage since the beginning of the Health Insurance Marketplace first open enrollment period. Across the nation, approximately 11.2 million more Americans are now enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.

Better Value

Providing better value for your premium dollar through the 80/20 Rule: Health insurance companies now have to spend at least 80 cents of your premium dollar on health care or improvements to care, rather than administrative costs like salaries or marketing, or they have to provide you a refund.  This means that 35,361 Ohioans with private insurance coverage benefited from $1,216,544 in refunds from insurance companies, for an average refund of $69 per family because of the Affordable Care Act.

Scrutinizing unreasonable premium increases: In every State and for the first time under Federal law, insurance companies are required to publicly justify their actions if they want to raise rates by 10 percent or more. Ohio has received $5,091,507 under the new law to help fight unreasonable premium increases. Since implementing the law, the fraction of requests for insurance premium increases of 10 percent or more has dropped dramatically, from 75 percent to 14 percent nationally.  To date, the rate review program has helped save Americans an estimated $1 billion.

Removing lifetime limits on health benefits: The law bans insurance companies from imposing lifetime dollar limits on health benefits ? freeing cancer patients and individuals suffering from other chronic diseases from having to worry about going without treatment because of their lifetime limits. Already, 4,154,000 people in Ohio, including 1,542,000 women and 1,100,000 children, are free from worrying about lifetime limits on coverage. The law also restricts the use of annual limits and bans them completely starting in 2014.

Ending discrimination for pre-existing conditions: As many as 5,053,131 non-elderly Ohioans have some type of pre-existing health condition, including 643,049 children.  Today, health insurers can no longer deny coverage to anyone because of a pre-existing condition, like asthma or diabetes, under the health care law.  And they can no longer charge women more because of their gender.

Expanding mental health and substance use disorder benefits: The Affordable Care Act increases also access to comprehensive coverage by requiring most health plans to cover ten essential health benefit categories, to include hospitalization, prescription drugs, maternity and newborn care, and mental health and substance use disorder services.  The health care law expands mental health and substance use disorder benefits and federal parity protections for 62 million Americans nationwide, including 2,078,730 Ohioans.

Better Health

Covering preventive services with no deductible or co-pay: The health care law requires many insurance plans to provide coverage without cost sharing to enrollees for a variety of preventive health services, such as colonoscopy screening for colon cancer, Pap smears and mammograms for women, well-child visits, and flu shots for all children and adults.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, 76 million Americans with private health insurance gained preventive service coverage with no cost-sharing, including 2,814,000 in Ohio. And women can now get coverage without cost-sharing of even more preventive services they need.  Of the 76 million Americans with expanded access to free preventive services, 29.7 million are women, including 1,079,000 in Ohio receiving expanded preventive services without cost-sharing.

Investing in the primary care workforce: As a result of historic investments through the health care law and the Recovery Act, the numbers of clinicians in the National Health Service Corps are near all-time highs with 9,200 Corps clinicians providing care to approximately 9.7 million people who live in rural, urban, and frontier communities.  The National Health Service Corps repays educational loans and provides scholarships to primary care physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, behavioral health providers, and other primary care providers who practice in areas of the country that have too few health care professionals to serve the people who live there.  As of September 30, 2014, there were 121 Corps clinicians providing primary care services in Ohio, compared to 69 in 2008.

Increasing support for community health centers: The Affordable Care Act increases the funding available to community health centers nationwide. Health Center grantees in Ohio have received $217,319,926  under the health care law to offer a broader array of primary care services, extend their hours of operations, hire more providers, and renovate or build new clinical spaces. 

Of the $217,319,926 awarded to Ohio, $6,308,121 was awarded to Ohio health centers to help enroll uninsured Americans in the Health Insurance Marketplace.  Overall, since 2013, Ohio health centers used these funds to help more than 170,845 Ohio residents with enrollment into affordable health insurance coverage, with 23,230 of those being assisted between October and December 2014. These investments ensure that health centers continue to be a trusted resource for assistance with enrollment in the Marketplace, Medicaid and CHIP in Ohio.

In Ohio, 40 health centers operate 219 sites, providing preventive and primary health care services to 508,333 Ohioans, including 37,309 Latinos and 139,417 African Americans.

Preventing illness and promoting health: Through Fiscal Year 2013, Ohio has received $33,794,581 in grants from the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the health care law. This fund was created to support effective policies in Ohio and nationwide, such as initiatives focused on tobacco cessation, obesity prevention, health coverage enrollment assistance, and increasing the primary care and public health workforce, so that all Americans can lead longer, more productive lives.

A Stronger Medicare Program

Making prescription drugs affordable for seniors: In Ohio, people with Medicare have saved nearly $750,550,535 on prescription drugs because of the Affordable Care Act.  In 2014 alone, 239,721 individuals in Ohio saved over $235,018,764, or an average of $980 per beneficiary.  In 2015, people with Medicare in the ?donut hole? received a 55 percent discount on covered brand name drugs and a 35 percent discount on generic drugs. And thanks to the health care law, coverage for both brand name and generic drugs will continue to increase over time until the coverage gap is closed.  Nationally, over 9.4 million people with Medicare have saved over $15 billion on prescription drugs since the law?s enactment, for an average savings of $1,598 per beneficiary.

Covering preventive services with no deductible or co-pay : With no deductibles or co-pays, cost is no longer a barrier for seniors and people with disabilities who want to stay healthy by detecting and treating health problems early. In 2014 alone, an estimated 39 million people benefited from Medicare?s coverage of preventive services with no cost-sharing.  In Ohio, 1,486,864 individuals with Medicare used one or more free preventive service in 2014.

Cracking down on fraud and abuse: The health care law helps stop fraud with tougher screening procedures, stronger penalties, and new technology. More than $27.8 billion has been returned to the Medicare Trust Funds since 1997 because of these fraud enforcement efforts. For every dollar spent on health care-related fraud and abuse activities in the last three years the administration has recovered $7.70.

[GraphicGr8s]

HusseinCare, ObamaCare The Affordable Health Care Act.

What most people fail to realize is we have the best healthcare in the world bar none. What we lack is health INSURANCE. But the blame is not just with the health industry. Most Americans, unlike the European counterparts don't get their checkups etc. What happens then is a problem that could be solved with simple treatments blows up and leads to more money spent or, in a worse case death.

If you like your plan you can keep it. That's been proven to be a lie from the get go. Obama knew you couldn't before he ever said it.

We used to have a great insurance system. I used to have the BC/BS Million Dollar Mater Medical. It was affordable. Doctor's office visits I paid OOP. But they fees were a lot less then. Seems as though all the lawsuits have driven Malpractice to extreme heights. And many doctors now practice CYA medicine. My last primary was like that. My current one is a bit better though.

I'm not in the ACA. But my plan has changed dramatically and I have way more OOP expenses. So what happens then? I go less. So in the end if I do ever have a serious illness it will be found later and will be more expensive to treat. I'm not getting a new CPAP because of the DME deductible I now have. Thanks Obamacare.

[GraphicGr8s]

Please tell me how you can call it Affordable Health Act. It cost me 1400 a month for insurance. It hurts more ppl then it helps. I was paying 800 month before we got this great insurance. I have to pay it my meds cost 1600 a month with out it. My brother is on SSD gets 2100 a month. His spin down is 1280 a month. How is a man able to pay that over half of his SSD. So please tell me how the Affordable health care helps.

Cracking down on fraud and abuse: The health care law helps stop fraud with tougher screening procedures, stronger penalties, and new technology. More than $27.8 billion has been returned to the Medicare Trust Funds since 1997 because of these fraud enforcement efforts. For every dollar spent on health care-related fraud and abuse activities in the last three years the administration has recovered $7.70.

They've recovered 27.8 billion since 1997. $17 - $57 billion was lost in fraud in 2012 alone.

For example, Medicare health care expenditures grew from $546.3 billion in 2011 to $572.5 billion in 2012,
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary said. That?s an increase of $26.2 billion
in Medicare spending over one year. (CMS said there was a large uptick in Medicare enrollment in 2012, largely
due to the baby boomers turning 65. Also, spending per enrollee grew by 0.7 percent.)
If you apply the frequently cited estimate that 3 to 10 percent of health care expenditures are lost to fraud to
the actual Medicare expenditures cited above, then an estimated $17 billion to $57 billion was lost due to
Medicare fraud in 2012. The 2013 actual Medicare expenditures haven?t been published by the Office of the
Actuary yet.

http://www.smpresource.org/Handler.ashx?Item_ID=9145EE0D-A2B8-4BD0-8533-84BF59B6DBD1

[Mugwump]

HusseinCare, ObamaCare The Affordable Health Care Act.

What most people fail to realize is we have the best healthcare in the world bar none. What we lack is health INSURANCE. But the blame is not just with the health industry. Most Americans, unlike the European counterparts don't get their checkups etc. What happens then is a problem that could be solved with simple treatments blows up and leads to more money spent or, in a worse case death.

If you like your plan you can keep it. That's been proven to be a lie from the get go. Obama knew you couldn't before he ever said it.

We used to have a great insurance system. I used to have the BC/BS Million Dollar Mater Medical. It was affordable. Doctor's office visits I paid OOP. But they fees were a lot less then. Seems as though all the lawsuits have driven Malpractice to extreme heights. And many doctors now practice CYA medicine. My last primary was like that. My current one is a bit better though.

I'm not in the ACA. But my plan has changed dramatically and I have way more OOP expenses. So what happens then? I go less. So in the end if I do ever have a serious illness it will be found later and will be more expensive to treat. I'm not getting a new CPAP because of the DME deductible I now have. Thanks Obamacare.

So because a lot more folks can afford to get insurance is a bad thing?.....It's not the ACA that has driven up costs....it's greed....what I highlighted is the biggest problem, you're right.....we're idiots when it comes to having good insurance....and just plain not using it....the old 'pay me now or pay me more later' game has bitten us in the butt .....there's why rates go up...

We had supplemental insurance with our Medicare..........Mine just went up $20/mo....I asked why...they said it's because you're getting older.....wtf DOH

[GraphicGr8s]

http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20140222/is-the-affordable-care-act-working-in-ohio-area-residents-sound-off

?You can give someone a policy and subsidize a premium, but if they have to spend $4,000 of a deductible before they can go to the doctor, then what we see is those are prohibitive,? she said. ?We have a lot of patients here who are chronically ill who need a few medications for high blood-pressure heart disease, diabetes, stuff like that. But to meet a deductible, or to have a significant cost share or copay for all those medications is still too high.?


ACA so great it's mandatory.


You couldn't afford insurance before ACA. Now you still can't afford insurance but they are fining you for not having it.

[Mugwump]

Please tell me how you can call it Affordable Health Act. It cost me 1400 a month for insurance. It hurts more ppl then it helps. I was paying 800 month before we got this great insurance. I have to pay it my meds cost 1600 a month with out it. My brother is on SSD gets 2100 a month. His spin down is 1280 a month. How is a man able to pay that over half of his SSD. So please tell me how the Affordable health care helps.

Cracking down on fraud and abuse: The health care law helps stop fraud with tougher screening procedures, stronger penalties, and new technology. More than $27.8 billion has been returned to the Medicare Trust Funds since 1997 because of these fraud enforcement efforts. For every dollar spent on health care-related fraud and abuse activities in the last three years the administration has recovered $7.70.

They've recovered 27.8 billion since 1997. $17 - $57 billion was lost in fraud in 2012 alone.

For example, Medicare health care expenditures grew from $546.3 billion in 2011 to $572.5 billion in 2012,
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary said. That?s an increase of $26.2 billion
in Medicare spending over one year. (CMS said there was a large uptick in Medicare enrollment in 2012, largely
due to the baby boomers turning 65. Also, spending per enrollee grew by 0.7 percent.)
If you apply the frequently cited estimate that 3 to 10 percent of health care expenditures are lost to fraud to
the actual Medicare expenditures cited above, then an estimated $17 billion to $57 billion was lost due to
Medicare fraud in 2012. The 2013 actual Medicare expenditures haven?t been published by the Office of the
Actuary yet.

http://www.smpresource.org/Handler.ashx?Item_ID=9145EE0D-A2B8-4BD0-8533-84BF59B6DBD1

Yep...Drs/clinics/hospitals are raping the system badly.....but thankfully most are getting caught.....but they've been doing this for years, and years...I agree, it's about time these folks pay the pauper. They should jail a few and set an example....fines don't work...

[Mugwump]

http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20140222/is-the-affordable-care-act-working-in-ohio-area-residents-sound-off

?You can give someone a policy and subsidize a premium, but if they have to spend $4,000 of a deductible before they can go to the doctor, then what we see is those are prohibitive,? she said. ?We have a lot of patients here who are chronically ill who need a few medications for high blood-pressure heart disease, diabetes, stuff like that. But to meet a deductible, or to have a significant cost share or copay for all those medications is still too high.?


ACA so great it's mandatory.


You couldn't afford insurance before ACA. Now you still can't afford insurance but they are fining you for not having it.

That article is from back in early '14.......lots of adjustments have been made now....

http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts-and-features/state-by-state/how-aca-is-working-for-ohio/index.html

[BillT]

Its an arrogant conceit to say

we have the best healthcare in the world bar none

.

Not even close.

If you are worried about cost, cut out the middle man and go to a single payer system like so other countries which have lower costs. This would remove the costs of the insurance companies.

People who argue against this must to be closing their eyes to math or are just too mentally subservient to their ideology to consider basic business facts.