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| quote: | Originally posted by Big Worm
As others have said, the system over here sucks. Also, when considering the Affordable Care Act it's important to consider the massively dysfunctional government we have trying to deal with it.
I am a fan of Obama and the intentions of his "signature legislation" but the administration has done such a shitty job from the start with the whole thing. |
I agree with this.
I'm all for Socialized healthcare (although using the "S" word in public here gets you the same reaction as saying you like to burn American flags in your spare time) but sadly, the resistance against the ACA and the Dems being too pussy to bulldoze it fully through, meant we were left with a bloated and wasteful version of the law.
The main problem was that it should have been single payer - i.e. everyone has to be in and we all pay a standardized amount. Not this "it's up to you if you want to opt in" bullshit.
Yes, there is a "fine" if you don't have insurance now, but it's only in the form a minimal tax deduction exception. In other words, you get like $85 per year less tax deduction. That hasn't scared anyone in to making sure they're covered.
The other problem is that the administration REALLY fuck up the launched.
The company they used to build the website was a Canadian company (lol how unamerican is that?) called CGI that completely fucked it up. They already had a disaster over a Canadian healthcare site so there were questions as to why they were given it but then again, they are a big international government IT contractor so they should have been able to do it.
Long story short, they built it on a poor software platform, missed deadlines and the end product really just didn't work.
It's all since been fixed and now you sign up either via your job, a broker or your state's portal (which is how it should have been dine in the first place).
I'm not totally happy with the current system but there are two crucial things that have changed since the ACA came in to effect.
1, Despite republican's endless scaremongering about Obamacare, Healthcare costs have gone down for the vast majority of people (estimates put it at 80% of the population now have lower insurance premiums).
2, It's single biggest achievement: allowed people with pre-exising conditions to finally get coverage. Prior to this, insurance companies would just decline from covering you. That means any old injury, any previous or current illness (asthma, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure - you name it) meant it was either impossible to find a provider or they would charge so much you'd be better off just paying out of pocket.
That more than anything has been the game changer for health coverage.
The ridiculous part is that the republicans are doing everything possible to repeal it (the count is now above 50 votes/motions - all failed) but what needs to happen for it to properly work, is for it to go further; No opt out, everyone pays, and if you don't much less tax deductions. It would drive costs down further and make the entire system cheaper.
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