The debt ceiling is all about ObamaCare. I do believe this but it's not me saying it but RedStateAmerica itself which is proud of this strategy.
"There is nothing more odious in a free society than politicians using the boot of government to make the most basic goods and services unaffordable for the majority of the country, thereby engendering a need for subsidization. In one fell swoop, representatives who deviate from the Constitution have the ability to destroy the self-respect and quality of life for all but the top 1% – the very people who are reviled by these same politicians."
In other words, we have to kill or at least hamper ObamaCare now while many are still susceptible to scare-mongering and it's real effects. Many believe they will lose their employer insurance and see their premiums skyrocket.
There's quite a sense of urgency. The reality is that once Americans experience first hand the benefits of ObamaCare the scare-mongering will have no effect. In the future, attempts to snuff out ObamaCare will have to presented as earnest measures to save it.
The author of this piece does some nice concern trolling:
"I am one of those people who buy private health insurance and am hurt by the government’s tendentious tax treatment of employer-based insurance. I am also unlucky enough to live in Maryland, where health premiums are slated to increase as much as 150% after Obamacare is implemented. Other people who get their insurance from employers are being laid off as a result of the ubiquitous company splits in preparation from the employer mandate. Still others are being cut back to part time employment."
In point of fact premiums are gong to be capped at some pretty low numbers.
"There are quite a few blogs in the blogosphere who tend to get the PPACA wrong and conflate the issues of it well beyond what is reasonable and truthful. Maybe they just do not know what the facts are and miss the benefits of the PPACA to dwell on the negatives exclusively. Many tend to dwell on the amount of money one has to pay out in insurance and deductibles, what the PPACA does not do, and why we should go back to . . . ahh nothing? For the record, the PPACA is not single payer nor is it even universal healthcare. It is a convenient compromise which has many positives which did not exist previously. Some thoughts for those who think differently . . ."
"Although some insurers have been using Obamacare as an excuse to hike premiums despite record profits, such rate hikes have been rarer — and less extreme — since the law’s passage. And to emphasize, this is all happening before the state has had a chance to review and approve initial plan rates — much less launch the actual marketplace. After the exchange opens up, consumers will have even more detailed information about marketplace plans, including the ability to compare — not just rates — but actual benefits offered on the plans side-by-side."
The bottom line is that while some critics on t\he Left think ObamaCare is too weak and just a sop to the insurance companies, those on the Right and their health insurance friends worry that it won't be weak at all.
P.S. Regarding the 'sop to the insurance companies' gloss, I understand it will give millions of new customers to the insurance companies. However, if this framework brings down costs what's to object to? My concern is not hurting the insurance companies but helping Americans get healthcare. The pressure's on the insurance industry to make this work. If it fails then the next step are stronger measures like the public option or single payer. Remember that the states under the law have the ability to do these things now and Vermont already has piggy backed on ACA to do single payer.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/vermont-health-insurance-rates-obamacare_n_2993968.html
"There is nothing more odious in a free society than politicians using the boot of government to make the most basic goods and services unaffordable for the majority of the country, thereby engendering a need for subsidization. In one fell swoop, representatives who deviate from the Constitution have the ability to destroy the self-respect and quality of life for all but the top 1% – the very people who are reviled by these same politicians."
"This is exactly what is transpiring with Obamacare implementation. That is exactly why Republicans must use the debt ceiling to kill Obamacare while it is extremely unpopular and before its immutable dependency takes effect."
http://www.redstate.com/2013/05/07/the-debt-ceiling-is-all-about-obamacare/In other words, we have to kill or at least hamper ObamaCare now while many are still susceptible to scare-mongering and it's real effects. Many believe they will lose their employer insurance and see their premiums skyrocket.
There's quite a sense of urgency. The reality is that once Americans experience first hand the benefits of ObamaCare the scare-mongering will have no effect. In the future, attempts to snuff out ObamaCare will have to presented as earnest measures to save it.
The author of this piece does some nice concern trolling:
"I am one of those people who buy private health insurance and am hurt by the government’s tendentious tax treatment of employer-based insurance. I am also unlucky enough to live in Maryland, where health premiums are slated to increase as much as 150% after Obamacare is implemented. Other people who get their insurance from employers are being laid off as a result of the ubiquitous company splits in preparation from the employer mandate. Still others are being cut back to part time employment."
In point of fact premiums are gong to be capped at some pretty low numbers.
"There are quite a few blogs in the blogosphere who tend to get the PPACA wrong and conflate the issues of it well beyond what is reasonable and truthful. Maybe they just do not know what the facts are and miss the benefits of the PPACA to dwell on the negatives exclusively. Many tend to dwell on the amount of money one has to pay out in insurance and deductibles, what the PPACA does not do, and why we should go back to . . . ahh nothing? For the record, the PPACA is not single payer nor is it even universal healthcare. It is a convenient compromise which has many positives which did not exist previously. Some thoughts for those who think differently . . ."
"Maggie Mahar at The Health Beat Blog: “Even if you do not qualify for a subsidy, your out of pocket spending is capped at about $5,500 for an individual; $12,000 for a couple. (That includes deductible and co-pays under a Bronze plan–or any other plan)."
"A couple earning $65,000 joint might not have $12,000 lying around –especially if they were young. But they could work out a payment plan with the hospital or surgeon– paying, say $5,000 up front as a sign of good faith, and $7,000 over time. If they had to, they could borrow the $5,000 from relatives or friends or a credit card.(These days it’s pretty easy to get a credit card that charges 0% interests on cash withdrawals for 6 months to a year)."
"Bottom line: they don’t lose their house, and they don’t go bankrupt. A $12,000 bill is the worst that can happen to them, even if they’re in a horrible accident and in the hospital for 3 months."
"There will also be no annual limit or lifetime limit on how much the policy will pay out.
This is why the ACA is a boon—even for people who don’t qualify for subsidies. You can’t be ruined by medical bills, and they can stop paying even if you have a very expensive chronic disease."
"As for poor people –if they’re below 133% of poverty, they’ll be on Medicaid (once all of the states expand Medicaid which, eventually, they will).If they’re above 133% of poverty, the subsidies are rich enough to make insurance comprehensive affordable.” Maggie Mahar in an email."
When the conservatives say things like this, they are desperately running against the clock:
"No, the bill will not collapse under its own weight; the country will collapse under the weight of the program. We must make the program collapse."
If we can't make it collapse now, we'll never be able to explicitly do this again. In fact we are already seeing signs of the benefits of ACA. We have seen a drop in healthcare costs over the last 4 years and at least some of that may be due to the much maligned bill.
Now there's this report by ThinkProgress:
"Looks like Obamacare is more “on track”than “train wreck.”
"In a striking illustration of the promise that the health law holds for consumers, two Oregon private insurers vying to sell coverage on the state’s Obamacare insurance marketplace this October arereevaluating their opening bids for the plans’ monthly premiums. The reason? A side-by-side regional comparison of all proposed 2014 premiums for Oregon marketplace plans became public onOregon’s marketplace website Thursday, and showed that the two insurers’ planned monthly premiums were far higher than other proposals. That raised fears among the companies’ officials that their plans wouldn’t be competitive on the market later this year, leading them to proactively request a rate reduction — and as more of Obamacare is implemented, state insurance commissioners expect that trend to continue:
“Posting rate comparisons company-by-company is a taste of what is to come,”says Cheryl Martinis of the Oregon Insurance Division.Judging by the reaction, there’s already an impact.Providence Health Plan on Wednesday asked to lower its requested rates by 15 percent. Gary Walker, a Providence spokesman, says the “primary driver” was a realization that the plan’s cost projections were incorrect. But he conceded a desire to be competitive was part of it.A Family Care Health Plans official on Thursday said the insurer will ask the state for even greater decrease in requested rates. CEO Jeff Heatherington saysthe company realized its analysts were too pessimistic after seeing online that its proposed premiums were the highest.“That was my question when I saw the rates was, ‘Can we go in and refile these?’” he said. “We’re going to try to get these to a competitive range.”
"Although some insurers have been using Obamacare as an excuse to hike premiums despite record profits, such rate hikes have been rarer — and less extreme — since the law’s passage. And to emphasize, this is all happening before the state has had a chance to review and approve initial plan rates — much less launch the actual marketplace. After the exchange opens up, consumers will have even more detailed information about marketplace plans, including the ability to compare — not just rates — but actual benefits offered on the plans side-by-side."
The bottom line is that while some critics on t\he Left think ObamaCare is too weak and just a sop to the insurance companies, those on the Right and their health insurance friends worry that it won't be weak at all.
P.S. Regarding the 'sop to the insurance companies' gloss, I understand it will give millions of new customers to the insurance companies. However, if this framework brings down costs what's to object to? My concern is not hurting the insurance companies but helping Americans get healthcare. The pressure's on the insurance industry to make this work. If it fails then the next step are stronger measures like the public option or single payer. Remember that the states under the law have the ability to do these things now and Vermont already has piggy backed on ACA to do single payer.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/vermont-health-insurance-rates-obamacare_n_2993968.html
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