Interesting, if true, regarding ACA
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/02/05/obamacare-a-deception/A detailed analysis of how ACA is financed, and the mechanisms for how Americans will pay the bill.
Of interesting note is that the tax credit is detailed to be a "tax loan" from the IRS in which you may find yourself owing money to the IRS at the end of the year.
Serious discussions only. Originally found at nakedcapitalism dot com. The name, ObamaCare is distasteful, however.
EDIT: I am interested in posts regarding the technical merits of the article. All others need not reply.
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VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Veri1138
(61 posts)...is a stigmatized name associated with RWNJs. Of which, I assure you, I am not. Besides, it is really not a plan by Obama. ACA comes from the Heritage Foundation. You are familiar with them?
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)What's not to like?
And yes, Americans will pay the bill. They always have and always will, the only question is how good will the care be, how universally available will it be, and will the way in which it's paid be a fair way?
How do YOU feel about the ACA?
Veri1138
(61 posts)that the allegations contained therein are quite damning as to what Americans were told and what the reality is.
ObamaCare is a scam.
Single-payer is the way to go. I always enjoyed the European Health Care with just a passport number and a signature. Never was billed as a traveler.
pinto
(106,886 posts)More misguided, unsourced hyperbole from Paul Craig Roberts.
Veri1138
(61 posts)...correct or incorrect? The author is using source and example to make specific allegations of just how ObamaCare will afffect the income of Americans.
Your reply is, well, lacking. Severely. Please provide specific examples of where the author is incorrect, in the interpretation of ACA. Or, simply admit you can't beyond what you have already written.
pinto
(106,886 posts)B. Estimated Impact of the Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Provisions
The net increase in enrollment in the Medicaid program and the resulting reduction in the number of uninsured individuals will produce several benefits. For new enrollees, eligibility for Medicaid will improve access to medical care. Evidence suggests that improved access to medical care will result in improved health outcomes and greater financial security for these individuals and families. Evidence on how Medicaid coverage affects medical care utilization, health, and financial security comes from a recent evaluation of an expansion of Oregon's Medicaid program. [4] In 2008, Oregon conducted a lottery to expanded access to uninsured adults with incomes below 100 percent of the FPL. Approximately 10,000 low-income adults were newly enrolled in Medicaid as a result. The evaluation is particularly strong because it was able to compare outcomes for those who won the lottery with outcomes for those who did not win, and contains an estimate of the benefits of Medicaid coverage. The evaluation concluded that for low-income uninsured adults, Medicaid coverage has the following effects:
Significantly higher utilization of preventive care (mammograms, cholesterol monitoring, etc.),
A significant increase in the probability of having a regular office or clinic for primary care, and
Significantly better self-reported health.
While there are limitations on the ability to extrapolate from these results to the likely impacts of the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid coverage, these results provide evidence of health and financial benefits associated with coverage expansions for a population of non-elderly adults.
The results of the Oregon study are consistent with prior research, which has found that health insurance coverage improves health outcomes. The Institute of Medicine (2002) analyzed several population studies and found that people under the age 65 who were uninsured faced a 25 percent higher risk of mortality than those with private coverage. This pattern was found when comparing deaths of uninsured and insured patients from heart attack, cancer, traumatic injury, and HIV infection. [5] The Institute of Medicine also concluded that having insurance leads to better clinical outcomes for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, end-stage renal disease, HIV infection and mental illness, and that uninsured adults were less likely to have regular checkups, recommended health screening services and a usual source of care to help manage their disease than a person with coverage. Other research has found that birth outcomes for women covered by Medicaid are not different than those achieved for privately insured patients, adjusting for risk variables. [6]
In addition to being able to seek treatment for illnesses when they arise, Medicaid beneficiaries will be able to more easily obtain preventive care, which will help maintain and improve their health. Research demonstrates that when uninsured individuals obtain coverage (including Medicaid), the rate at which they obtain needed care increases substantially. 7 8 9 Having health insurance also provides significant financial security. Comprehensive health insurance coverage provides a safety net against the potentially high cost of medical care, and the presence of health insurance can mitigate financial risk. The Oregon study found people who gained coverage were less likely to have unpaid medical bills referred to a collection agency. Again, this study is consistent with prior research showing the high level of financial insecurity associated with lack of insurance coverage. Some recent research indicates that illness and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of bankruptcies in the United States. [10] Another recent analysis found that more than 30 percent of the uninsured report having zero (or negative) financial assets and uninsured families at the 90th percentile of the asset distribution report having total financial assets below $13,000—an amount that can be quickly depleted with a single hospitalization. [11] Other research indicates that uninsured individuals who experience illness suffer on average a loss of 30 to 50 percent of assets relative to households with insured individuals. [12]
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/01/22/2013-00659/medicaid-childrens-health-insurance-programs-and-exchanges-essential-health-benefits-in-alternative#h-181
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)before to long (some are being developed at Scripps Inst. in San Diego as I understand it). If this technology works out, a lot of the routine medical care like urine and blood tests, electrocardiograms, etc. will probably become cheaper and more accessible.
I am very optimistic about the ability of the medical profession to work more efficiently, handle more patients and provide better healthcare for less. People with certain conditions will be wearing monitors that will make a lot of hospital and medical visits and tests unnecessary.
On edit, these developments may make private corporate healthcare less profitable and lead to single payer.
Think of it, when I was a child, my grandmother had a cataract operation. She had to lie quite still for quite some time. I may be wrong because I was very young at the time, but I think she had to lie pretty still most of the time for a couple of weeks.
Nowadays, you walk in, get lenses in your eye and that same day go home. It doesn't take nearly so long for your eyes to completely heal. We are making so much progress when it comes to medicine. I'm not worried about the cost of healthcare that much.
Exercise and eat right. Those are the most important things we can do to lower healthcare costs in our countries.
Get out of the car and walk. I believe that one of the reasons Europeans have a longer life expectancy than we do is that they walk more. They have cars, but they also walk and use public transportation more than we do.
Veri1138
(61 posts)BTW, I wear contacts. However, apparently, by law - my optometrist is restricted in giving me a general prescription to wear any contact lenses that fit my prescription, and must authorize a specific name-brand prescription lens.
Never had that problem outside of the US. Oh, and "over there", it takes me 15 minutes to get my lenses. Over here? Two weeks.