Obamacare? what are your thoughts

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Jun 21, 2014

Yeah? OK, thanks for verifying.
The point is, no one's health is guaranteed, and no one can count on not needing healthcare. Not even marathon runners.

Thank You. :yes:

carl5480 · Jun 25, 2014

My first personal experience with ACA:

Patient X has "Obamacare" insurance. There are two major hospital systems in my area - one does not accept the pt.'s new insurance, the other does but refuses him outpatient wound care because his plan does not reimburse enough to cover their costs of seeing him.

How is this helpful? This man has paid for health insurance, and the benefits are exactly the same as if he had no insurance at all. Is this progress?

Unfortunately, this is not the only person I've seen this happen to.

As a side note: I've worked home health and in several hospitals and have seen first-hand the many headaches Medicare imposes on health-care professionals - denying care, paying less if you don't treat your patient under their exact guidelines regardless of the pt.'s individual needs, etc. A government-run healthcare system that works with the "efficiency" and sense of Medicare is really quite scary...

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Jun 25, 2014

I saw and experienced the same thing before ACA.

MunoRN, RN · Jun 25, 2014

My first personal experience with ACA:
Patient X has "Obamacare" insurance. There are two major hospital systems in my area - one does not accept the pt.'s new insurance, the other does but refuses him outpatient wound care because his plan does not reimburse enough to cover their costs of seeing him.
How is this helpful? This man has paid for health insurance, and the benefits are exactly the same as if he had no insurance at all. Is this progress?
Unfortunately, this is not the only person I've seen this happen to.

I'm with you on this part; just like before the ACA, insurers are allowed to keep their premium costs low by preferentially doing business with providers that can provide services at a reasonable cost. As a result, consumers who use that insurance aren't going to get fully covered care for all providers if they want to pay the lower premiums that go along with "network" plans.

Instead, we could regulate the cost of services which would do away with network only plans while still controlling prices. This is where conservatism might have become the victim of it's own rhetoric; arguing that the ACA is a 'government takeover of healthcare', does give the impression that they've done things like regulated prices for services, which would make it likely you could could see just about any provider you want. The ACA seems to get criticized because it's a 'government takeover of healthcare', and also because it's not a government takeover of takeover, amazingly often by the same people.

As a side note: I've worked home health and in several hospitals and have seen first-hand the many headaches Medicare imposes on health-care professionals - denying care, paying less if you don't treat your patient under their exact guidelines regardless of the pt.'s individual needs, etc. A government-run healthcare system that works with the "efficiency" and sense of Medicare is really quite scary...

This is where you lost me. One of big criticisms of private insurers is how frequently they deny coverage of care, unlike medicare which is sometimes criticized for not limiting what's covered. What care have you seen "denied" by medicare? I've worked quite a bit with core measures and other initiatives that carry medicare cost penalties for not meeting the requirements, and I've never seen one that didn't allow for variances for the patient's individual needs, what are you referring to?

Dewman · Jun 29, 2014

I haven't spoken to a single person in healthcare who thinks O'care is a good thing.

Think of it as the problems with the VA, but writ large.

MunoRN, RN · Jun 29, 2014

I haven't spoken to a single person in healthcare who thinks O'care is a good thing.
Think of it as the problems with the VA, but writ large.

I think there were better options for reform, but I do think it's a good thing that, for instance, people who were formerly in the individual market can now get a plan with group-plan-level coverage for an average of $82/month. So now you can say you've spoken to someone in healthcare who thinks it's a good thing.

BlueDevil, DNP · Jun 30, 2014

I, too, have found the ACA to be a huge plus for people in my community. My complaint is that it is still insurance through a 3rd party, an idea to which I am philosophically opposed. I accept that the ACA is flawed health insurance reform that offers a first step toward real health care delivery reform. It is better than what we had, but not what we deserve. One step at a time.

Now you have heard from two. Most well informed people in health care, providers in particular are, IME, either strongly in favor of access for everyone, or ambivalent. I only know one provider who thinks the ACA is a negative thing, and he doesn't even understand it, so I don't think he counts.

ceccia · Jun 30, 2014

well, we got a lovely fearmongering lecture yesterday about how the medicare changes that go into effect in january are going to drive the company broke and how we employees will be lucky if we still have our jobs/salaries/hours after Jan 2015. ugh. why the **** did I ever decide to work in healthcare?

toomuchbaloney · Jul 1, 2014

I haven't spoken to a single person in healthcare who thinks O'care is a good thing.
Think of it as the problems with the VA, but writ large.

Now you have heard from several healthcare professionals who "think" that "O'care" is a good thing for many people.

Now at least women who work for "religious" corporations can obtain their own health insurance with which to pay for their reproductive health care.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jul 2, 2014

Good day:

Health care insurance does not equal access to health care. Obamacare was forced upon us by President Obama and the democrats; the vote for it was forced without enough time to read it, and you have Nancy Pelosi famously (or infamously) stating one had to pass it to know what's in it. How many of you nurses and pre-nurses would inject a patient with something you've not read in order to find out what's in it? How outright moronic is that statement Nancy Pelosi made?

On top of this you have the known lies from President Obama and the democrats:

* If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor PERIOD.

* If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan PERIOD.

* Families wills save $2,500 per year PERIOD.

* ER visits will go down under ObamaCare.

* Obamacare will not add to the deficit.

* Obamacare will be affordable to everyone.

We were fed a number of lies by a very corrupt administration with Obamacare forced upon us (we didn't ask for it; if we did, it would have been bipartisan). For those who want to believe in lies or to lie, yes, the republicans offered many alternatives -- all of which were blocked by Harry Reid and the democrats.

Thank you.

toomuchbaloney · Jul 2, 2014

Good day:
Health care insurance does not equal access to health care. Obamacare was forced upon us by President Obama and the democrats; the vote for it was forced without enough time to read it, and you have Nancy Pelosi famously (or infamously) stating one had to pass it to know what's in it. How many of you nurses and pre-nurses would inject a patient with something you've not read in order to find out what's in it? How outright moronic is that statement Nancy Pelosi made?
On top of this you have the known lies from President Obama and the democrats:
* If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor PERIOD.
* If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan PERIOD.
* Families wills save $2,500 per year PERIOD.
* ER visits will go down under ObamaCare.
* Obamacare will not add to the deficit.
* Obamacare will be affordable to everyone.
We were fed a number of lies by a very corrupt administration with Obamacare forced upon us (we didn't ask for it; if we did, it would have been bipartisan). For those who want to believe in lies or to lie, yes, the republicans offered many alternatives -- all of which were blocked by Harry Reid and the democrats.
Thank you.

I am always amazed at the "lies" that people focus upon in the political world. There is not much conservative outrage at the lies which have cost us billions of dollars and thousands of lives, but there is enormous outrage that insurance policies were cancelled by insurers after the POTUS said that people could keep them. Where was the outrage when Bush/Cheney said we would be done in maybe 6 months?

Frankly, it is hard to really have any concern at all for the outrage related to the things you just highlighted when Bush et al were given a pass on lies that cost us ever so much more than the ACA has or will.

The ACA was not forced on anyone, it was passed through Congress just like any bill.

We get that you don't like Nancy Pelosi (or presumably any democrat), however, you cannot blame her for republican ignorance on the topic of the ACA. The legislation, after all, began as a Heritage Foundation remedy to our country's health insurance woes.

Please share with us the "many alternatives" offered by republicans to the conservative bill introduced as the ACA.

fltopp1 · Jul 2, 2014

LOL, typical, its all Bush's fault. And your comment " it is hard to really have any concern at all for the outrage" is maybe true for you and anyone too ignorant to open your eyes, however my insurance did go up a high dollar amount, and my parents both lost their coverage due to the "ACA" beginning. The current ACA is a joke and should have been better planned by both parties together instead of the politicians working on making money for their owns pockets and not the public they work for. Both parties are to blame for all political garbage that has happened. As you blame Bush for 9/11 and the Iraq war, dont forget that the decision was a majority decision by Dems and Repubs to go to Iraq. Quit blaming eath others party and blame all the politicians themselves.