Beauty

[Gooday]

On 3/26/2015 Reba055 said: Sorry, but once again the government had to jump in to "fix" a problem, and created a nightmare. How could anyone have foreseen that happening! The bottom line is the majority of Americans had access to affordable health insurance through their employer or with Medicare or Medicaid. If they would have gotten off their a$$es and went after insurance fraud and abuse of the loopholes in the system, and corruption at for profit hospitals and clinics, they could have provided a means for those who fell through the cracks access to affordable healthcare. Of course our employer provided insurance rates are going to increase and our out of pocket expenses are going to increase. That is if you were lucky enough to have not lost your employer insurance as many employers cut employee hours so they didn't have to proved full time benefits. Who did those in favor of this craziness think was going to pay for it? The tooth fairy? And now we are left with the fallout....all the while I'll bet those abusing and defrauding the system haven't missed a beat. How about getting out there and enforcing what you already have laws in place for before you create more. What a joke.

Exactly! And, don't forget the cuts to mental health coverage. Shameful!

[Gooday]

On 3/26/2015 kitty60 said:

I think it is wonderful that some of you have such affordable plans and coverage but don't think that those who don't are not being honest. I pay for my own insurance on a high deductible almost $600 per month plus my HSA deposit of $300. That's $900 just for me. My husband on medicare, his sup. is about $200 but it covers everything. Fortunately neither of us have any health issues. I'm glad we are able to afford this.

My son is married with a couple of kids and family plan is over $1,000 per month. That takes a hit on a young family. It never seemed that bad when we were younger and it doesn't seem to be getting better now.

DH is Medicare with BC/B s secondary. I am 61 and covered under DH's. It is through the City of Chicago Retirees. We pay $900.00 a month with a $1500.00 deductible for me, no co-pay and 5K out of pocket (I pay 10% until I reach 5K out of pocket - YEAH right!). It was $500.00 when he retired in March, 2006. His contract states he gets a 3% COLA but in the past two years our pension check has been $450.00 less due to the increase in the insurance premiums. Our Mayor, Rahm Emmanuel has stated that he wants all city employees including retirees to be enrolled in the AHCA by 2017 at which point I will be 64! The unions are fighting this vigorously but I sure can't predict what will happen. I am thinking that this may be a mute point come 2016 with elections and Supreme Court challenges.

I think the problem is that it should be all or nothing - have truly socialized medicine with the price of this going to tax payers. If the general public knew how many people pay NO taxes they would be shocked, or not. I am also a believer in a flat tax but that's a topic for another day. You can't try to overhaul medical care/payments in dribs and drabs. It's not working except for those who have nothing but we pay in the end. Remember, AHCA is a tax!

[LeaLeander]

This has nothing to do with the ACA and everything to do with for-profit health insurance companies; that's where your ire should be directed.

My brother-in-law, a doctor, did the same thing 15 years ago -- long before "Obamacare" because he was fed up with the insurance-company red tape. He wanted to practice medicine, not business administration.

Single-payer Medicare for all would solve this problem. So would lobbying lawmakers to force medical schools to enlarge their classes and to let in more doctors from overseas to make up for shortages, and to give nurse practitioners more power. Docs don't want more in their ranks because it will dilute their earning power -- but tough.

[Stray]

To the OP, your situation is not unique, sadly. My physican went into concierge medicine 2 years ago but I could not be included as she is in NYC and I live in NJ but she did send me a list of recommended physicians. Other specialists that I go to in NYC did go to cash only in anticipation of ACA. This is commonplace now. I was a nurse in NYC working for a large insurance company in NYC but not health insurance. But, our benefits director did say there would be great change to private health care insurance because of ACA; as Reba pointed out, someone has to pay for it and that is the definition of socialized medicine in the USA; those who can pay, pay for those who can not. If you are hospitalized in NYC, there is a surcharge applied to your bill which states the percentage applied for the uninsured. Luckily, I retired and my payment per month is $169 and change for my husband and myself, medical, dental and prescription coverage with a $600 family deductible. The ACA helped many uninsured people with pre existing conditions which is good but they require more care and expensive care so insurance companies have a heavier burden. 35 million people are still uninsured. Many people have health care as compared to none but the quality is questionable in many cases. The problem with The ACA is that you can't go from a free market to a socialized system without a great deal of planning and expertise which was lacking in our case. Don't forget government officials are not getting the same care you and I are forced to accept. I would go on the wait list and if you have an emergency, pay cash to your previous doctor if you can or go to an ER. We do have the best medical care in the world bar none but what good is it if few can access it? I don't know if you are eligible for ACA but I would be cautious about changing to their plan but I would question your husband's benefit person at the Union to see if there are better options for you; you do pay a high premium.

[LeaLeander]

On 3/26/2015 Icegoddess said:

On 3/26/2015 jackthebear said:

On 3/26/2015 Icegoddess said:

Not defending the insurance companies because I think they are a lot of the problem, but the ACA tells the insurance companies all sorts of things they MUST cover that maybe they weren't covering before depending on what plan you have. I have no need for pediatric or obstetric coverage (including pediatric dental and optical) but it must be included in my plan. Yet, I have to get separate plans for dental and optical for myself (and they aren't any good anymore). Also, remember the insurance companies are having to cover all those people with pre-existing conditions so those of us that are healthy are subsidizing the coverage for those that have a lot of expenses.

My daughter has run into this issue with her son's ADHD doctor changing over to cash only.

I don't have a huge issue with the dental coverage being mandatory, as there are kids who don't get to the dentist at all, and good teeth are very important.

And as for dental and optical insurance we have never had any.

I don't have children at home, so I don't see why I need pediatric dental or optical. I also don't need obstetric care but have to have that too.

Because that's how insurance pools work.

If pools were sliced and diced so that, for example, only people your age, s*x and with your particular medical conditions/hereditary risks were in the pool, you would be in for an extremely rude awakening when it came to premiums.

In a pool, young pay for old, old pay for fertile, healthy pay for sick, etc.

[kivah]

If u want to change ur doctor, call member services at ur insurance co. and they will contact the doctor for u. When u call a doctor's office, they always say they're full.

[Anniecamp]

Those who say that the ACA has not caused higher prices are telling us to "not believe our lying eyes". The only people I have seen that like the ACA are the ones who are paying nothing, or close to nothing for better coverage than the ones paying high prices are getting.

Personally, I think that EVERYBODY should have to pay something for their healthcare, even with a low income. This no cost for so many people is for the birds. A percentage of their income should be charged. For example, 10% of low income, and 10% of a high income, is a fairer type scenario. Everybody chips in, although I don't have any idea of what "percentage" would be a good one.

[Stray]

ITA .....when the government intervenes everyone looses

[Stray]

ITA .....when the government intervenes everyone looses

[hyacinth003]

On 3/26/2015 stray770 said: ITA .....when the government intervenes everyone looses

So true. I choose to believe what I see, hear, and read.

The ACA has CAUSED a lot of these problems.

We are paying more, have higher deductibles, and higher out-of-pocket expenses.

People who PAY their way in life are paying MORE for those who are not paying. More non payers than ever, in my opinion.

Hyacinth