Implications of Obamacare... what's your opinion?

[Nurse_AV]

I've read and heard a lot of things about Obamacare. I'd like to hear what other nurses think the implications, if any, that Obamacare will have on their jobs. And where do you work? Nursing home? Hospital? Dialysis center? Home health? And please explain why you think there may/may not be implications on your job.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

[Overland1, RN]

WILL EVERYONE JUST STOP USING THE TERM "Obama Care." It was started and used by extreme racism at Tea Party rallies in 2009 (and still is being used). It has the same implications as "Hillary Care" did in the 1990's of having sexist motives.

This is very saddening to see people using racist terms and not even noticing it is racist...

Excellent satire!

Where's that 'thumbs up' smiley?

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

Was Romneycare racist? Was Hillarycare sexist? That's ridiculous. These terms simply make reference to ideas which have a common understanding. Who else was president when the health care system was revised?

[tewdles, RN]

Mediocrity for all.

Our current outcomes are pretty mediocre ...

[Overland1, RN]

Is avoiding the use of the term "Obamacare" a means of denying the President a major part of His legacy?

[tewdles, RN]

I am not certain how our language could impact any legacy that a president has...

Calling the ACA "Obamacare" is simply using a term coined with the intent to criticize rather than using the proper term.

Will it affect the legacy of this president, doubtful, IMHO.

[skyandsydneysmom]

Eh, maybe to an extent. I don't know if the guys are really going to go in for yearly exams. I'd say the females will probably go for pap smears.

However, I bet when they get something as simple as strep throat that they will go to a clinic instead of the emergency room. I don't see how anyone can dispute that will save money.

I grew up around plenty of poor, uninsured people and if they ever went to the "doctor" it was because they felt like they were dying or a limb was at stake. That's because they didn't have a doctor and they knew they couldn't afford an ER bill. I don't know of anyone who made the decision to go to the ER on a whim.

Why should someone have to go to the ER because they have strep throat? Yeah, you can say, "Well, they wouldn't have to if they worked and had insurance, blah blah," but that's like preaching contraception to a pregnant teen.

I worked minimum wage jobs, paid for 100% of all my expenses, and there simply is NOT any money left over for insurance when you're in that situation. My checks were about $400 every 2 weeks so $800 a month after taxes and the rent + utilities alone was more than half of that. The rest went to food (crappy), gas, and that was about it! I couldn't afford to even get a flat tire, much less to get sick.

I'm just sick of people acting like "Obamacare" is something to help lazy people who don't work or try. It's the exact opposite. People who don't work or try already have Medicaid! Many people who work don't qualify for Medicaid, but can't come close to being able to afford their work insurance plan that costs half of what they earn! Not everyone has parents who help them financially. Even if someone goes out on their own at 18, enrolls in college, and works full time to support themselves...they can't afford health insurance. I wouldn't quite consider that person not trying.

I guess I see Obamacare as a better alternative because the ultimatum many people are facing today is: A) keep your job where you can't afford insurance and don't qualify for Medicaid, or B) quit your job so you'll qualify for Medicaid, food stamps, housing, and everything else known to man...even if all they really wanted/needed was insurance.

Nobody should have to make a choice between those two options, and believe me, there are people who do. They especially do when it's their child who is sick, and I don't know one person who wouldn't do WHATEVER it takes to get their child the healthcare they need.

BRAVO!

[dtrimblecbond]

This is interesting to me, im not sure what to expect really, but i will say this, I work in a private practice infectious disease office and have recently acquired some information about the practice that im certain was never intended for the nursing staff to know. Basically, the physicians that i work for expect to bring in revenues of at least $1,000,000.00 per month. Doing some rather quick calculations regarding number of employees, average salaries, cost of supplies, medications, office space, public service, etc, it is my belief that the cost of doing business is at its most expensive under 500,000.00 per month, leaving half a million dollars in revenues. If each of the 7 physicians is paid a salary of 20,000.00 per month, they would still have 360,000.00 dollars in surplus revenues. Im sure each of these physicians make much more than the generous 240,000.00 per year. They may see some changes in reimbursement but i doubt they will suffer. We as nurses will suffer. These same physicians routinely complain that they have too many people on payroll that are overpaid and who do not work hard enough to justify their salaries. I have worked for these people for five years, have not had a pay increase in the past three years and do not expect to see a pay increase any time soon. Healthcare will not suffer because of Obamacare, but nurses will suffer at the hands of greedy physicians, hospitals and administrators. It is time for nurses to take a stand, quit wringing their hands over fear that a patient will not get needed care if the nurse refuses to sacrifice themselves any further and stand up and demand that nurses be treated better, be given greater autonomy and be treated as the professionals that they are.

[Katie82, RN]

All this mass hysteria about Obamacare is funny. People act like that once uninsured people are given an insurance card then they are just gonna go on a "healthcare spree

However, the thought that ALLLL of these people are suddenly going to start flooding hospitals and doctor's offices is just not realistic in my opinion.

Unfortunatly, there are millions of folks who suffer from chronic disease that has gone untreated because of unavailability of health insurance. These patients will soon enter the system by way of state Medicaid systems. As a nurse who is currently working as a Case Manager with the Medicaid/Medicare population, I believe the system will be overwhelmed. And these will not be folks who are abusing the system, but those needing acute care. As a diabetes educator, I am preparing myself for working with patients who have been living with untreated diabetes for many years - and diabetes is only one of the many chronic diseases I deal with on a daily basis.