"If You Like Your Plan, You Can Keep Your Plan -- And Sell Your Children To Pay For It"
I have some numbness in my toes after stubbing my toe really hard and perhaps fracturing it on August 7. This is terribly worrisome -- I'm scared I might have nerve damage or... maybe I have some terrible disease and the toe injury is just coincidental.
(Welcome to my late-night hypochrondria! It gets worse after sundown -- providing I have an Internet connection...hmm...multiple sclerosis? Brain tumor? Both?)
As I've joked (bitterly) about my formerly affordable health care; I still have health care in the wake of Obamacare; with my new, fun high deductible, I just can't afford to use it. (Unfortunately, hoping that you're okay isn't a great strategy, either.)
I do love how I paid into the system for decades, getting into an HMO and continuing to pay in when I was young -- doing the responsible thing -- and now I'm paying for all the people who gambled that they wouldn't need care. (Previously, my HMO had a policy of, basically, once you're in, you're in -- then the rates just went up with your age. They didn't jack you if you, say, came down with Ebola -- or just let a bunch of sick people in at age 55 and give them the same rates as somebody like me, who'd been paying into the system for eons.)
What is sick is how the ACA pushers called Obamacare "Affordable Care," as if that would make this giant, misguided crackpot scheme work financially or otherwise. As the joke goes, it's neither affordable nor care.
And now, as so many of us predicted, the cracks in the crackpot are showing.
Blake Neff writes at The Daily Caller that Minnesota is hiking Obamacare premiums at least 50 percent to avoid "collapse":
Minnesota will let health insurers increase their rates by at least 50 percent next year to protect the state's Obamacare health insurance individual market from "collapse," the state announced Friday.The announcement came from Minnesota commerce commissioner Mike Rothman, who explained bluntly that the state's individual market was barely staying afloat.
"The Commerce Department pursued every option within its power to avert a collapse this year," said Rothman. "We succeeded in saving the market for 2017, with only Blue Cross leaving. But the rates insurers are charging will increase significantly to address their expected costs and the loss of federal reinsurance support."
The increase in premiums for next year will range between 50 percent and a staggering 67 percent. This comes on the heels of an increase of between 14 percent and 49 percent for 2016. After those increases, Rothman warns, the annual growth rate will be completely unsustainable, showing a desperate need for reform.
Yes, health care "reform" is now in desperate need of reform.
Prior to Ocare Texas had an equivalent program called the Texas Health Pool. You couldn't be rejected for pre-existing conditions and the coverage was quite comprehensive. The price was roughly $500/mo for a person in their 30s. It went up a bit for older people but not by much. And the deductible was only $2k.
The key thing was not everyone had to join. The Texas Health Pool wasn't the only game in town. Obamacare should stabilize out at this price point. Of course by then you won't have anyone without an expensive medical condition paying for insurance.
Ben at October 2, 2016 5:43 AM
That solved the problem of people who couldn't get care because of pre-existing conditions.
I truly resent that I did the responsible thing -- getting in early and paying for all these years -- and now paying for all the people who paid for other things instead of health insurance.
And, absurdly, Obamacare didn't do what it should of -- in a time when people don't keep jobs long and many people work freelance -- it didn't untie healthcare from the workplace. Whether you leave your job can sometimes be tied to your healthcare. I have a friend who couldn't change jobs after she found she had Crohn's Disease.
Amy Alkon at October 2, 2016 6:31 AM
But by all means keep voting for it. If Hillary wins, they'll "fix" it by shoving single-payer on us. Then, you might be ablessed to afford to go to the Dr, you'll just have to 9 months for the appt.
Even if your vote means nothing, and in CA you're *probably* right, voting for Hillary yells the DNC she was an acceptable candidate to you. At LEAST write-in, or vote Johnson. Let them know she's unacceptable.
momof4 at October 2, 2016 7:19 AM
And the Democrat pols that brought this to you have been removed? OH, right. The Repubs are EVIL!!
Until Congress is forced to give up its privileged status and abide by the "rules" it forces on us lessor folk we reap what THEY sow.
Bob in Texas at October 2, 2016 7:26 AM
Reminder:
• Pays providers immediately for most care
• Not dependent on employment status
• Not dependent on citizenship
• Can use existing secure payment networks
• Can eliminate price differences, cash vs "insurance"
• Does not pay thousands who do not treat you.
Radwaste at October 2, 2016 8:45 AM
> But by all means keep
> voting for it.
Mom4, as per you challenge last week, this blog comment will have no solutions.
Therefore, it's time to send another check to Trump!
No USPS service on Sundays, so perhaps you could phone it in to his campaign headquarters. Which I'm told are the absolute best, the most elegant of anyone's, because the name "Trump" betokens an extremely high standard of elegance and class.
Crid at October 2, 2016 8:45 AM
"because the name "Trump" betokens an extremely high standard of elegance and class."
Hillary's BFF thought they'd make it better:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/10/clinton-supporters-vandalize-trump-international-hotel-washington-dc/
Would we see more of this behavior if Hillary wins.
Dave B at October 2, 2016 12:50 PM
Live here. The health insurance racket has been terrible for awhile for families if they're not low income.
Jess at October 2, 2016 2:17 PM
Crid, it's 2016. 3 clicks of the mouse, it's done.
momof4 at October 2, 2016 4:36 PM
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