Obamacare and Nursing.. what do you think?

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I know that I am possibly opening up a can of ugly worms. I hope that in spite of differing opinions, that this thread can remain friendly and a simple exchange of ideas and opinions.

As a beginning nursing student, I am being told that there is this looming nursing shortage and that there is great job security. A little research on my own shows me that in my particular state, there definitely is a decent population of still practicing nurses who are 60 years and older who will be retiring soon, which would open up the way for us who are just getting started. More and more emphasis is also being put on the new healthcare law and how it will open the doors for more people to access medical care which again will increase the need for staffing.

I grew up in a country with a socialistic government, which also includes healthcare for everyone. I have seen how the hospitals are understaffed, and you are lucky if you get to spend 5 minutes with your physician, and you are not in control over which healthcare facility you can go to. I know that the new bill isn't necessarily socialistic, but there are socialistic principles in it.

As a nursing student, I can't help but wonder how this is going to affect my future as a nurse. I know that nurses talk among themselves and things trickle down from above onto the floors. Nothing is going to keep me from becoming a nurse. I am not in it for the money, but rather I feel somehow "called." However, I believe that it's good to be prepared for times ahead so that I can adjust accordingly.

How do you think that Obamacare is going to affect how care is delivered?

By the way, this is NOT a homework assignment of any kind. I am merely looking for for a friendly exchange of ideas and opinions.

Specializes in Critical-care RN.

... will you stop your BS and move on please

Well, since we're being political:

Obamacare is fatally flawed by design. It is financially unsupportable, primarily because the "young immortals" who would pay premiums but not financially drain the system, are simply NOT signing up, BECAUSE they believe they are young and immortal, and simply don't need it.

Also, the TRUTH does NOT become "myths and lies" just because you call it that.

You probably also missed the part where young people are signing up for insurance. :facepalm:

"You are certainly allowed your own opinions about the ACA but not your own facts."

This cliche' is what people say when they want to infer that OTHER'S opinions are baseless, but THEIR opinions AREN'T.

That you are in the tank for the current president is obvious.

No further comment is necessary.

I didn't miss anything of the sort.

Most young people AREN'T signing up.

Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
"You are certainly allowed your own opinions about the ACA but not your own facts."

This cliche' is what people say when they want to infer that OTHER'S opinions are baseless, but THEIR opinions AREN'T.

That you are in the tank for the current president is obvious.

No further comment is necessary.

It doesn't matter to me if you assume that I am some sort of Obamabot...you clearly are in the habit of ignoring facts as evidenced by your refusal to consider the conservative origins of the ACA. Even when presented with evidence from a typically accepted source (Forbes) you ignore facts and make your comment personal. This is not about whether or not my opinions are more valuable than yours, it is about basing one's opinions upon falsehoods and then insisting that they actually have validity, as you have done with your opinions about the ACA.

Perhaps you could support your opinions and comments with some sources which verify their accuracy.

More than 1 million young people (18-34) have signed up for the ACA to date. Many others opted to stay on their parents health insurance plan while they are of an appropriate age to do so. It is interesting that some of the conservative propaganda surrounding the ACA contributes to the overall ignorance of consumers relative to the exchanges, the subsidies, and how the mandate works; which in turn contributes to reluctance of some to engage the system.

Low ACA Knowledge And Health Literacy Hinder Young Adult Marketplace Enrollment - Health Affairs Blog

With an estimated 4.7 million losing their plans, and many switching plans, some argue that the ACA did more plan switching than insuring the uninsured. But the fact is the uninsured is down from a high 18% to an impressive 13.4%. This new low uninsured rate is aided by the fact that nearly 6 out of 10 of the 8 million who enrolled in the marketplace were previously uninsured. Most of them hadn't had insurance in the past two years.

New Kaiser Survey of People with Non-Group Insurance Finds Nearly Six in 10 People Enrolled in Marketplace Plans Were Previously Uninsured | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

WASHINGTON — Health insurance premiums went up an average of 10% a year in the three years before the Affordable Care Act was enacted, a report released today finds.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/05/premiums-grew-average-of-10-before-affordable-care-act/9960093/

Here are some additional sign up statistics about the number of uninsured from a July study by the Commonwealth Fund. This data looks at open enrollment only (unlike total numbers which take into account all ACA related sign ups since it was signed into law). Notice that their data for uninsured rate is a few points higher both before and after the ACA then the April Gallup study.

• The uninsured rate for people ages 19 to 64 declined from 20 percent in the July-to-September 2013 period to 15 percent in the April-to-June 2014 period.

• An estimated 9.5 million fewer adults were uninsured during the above period. Young men and women drove a large part of the decline: the uninsured rate for 19-to-34-year-olds declined from 28 percent to 18 percent, with an estimated 5.7 million fewer young adults uninsured.

• By June, 60 percent of adults with new coverage through the marketplaces or Medicaid reported they had visited a doctor or hospital or filled a prescription; of these, 62 percent said they could not have accessed or afforded this care previously.

Gaining Ground: Americans' Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care After the Affordable Care Act's First Open Enrollment Period - The Commonwealth Fund

"...I am some sort of Obamabot..."

If the shoe fits...

I am not the one who started with the political slander in this convo. If you want a factual, non-biased discussion, then remain factual and non-biased yourself.

Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
"...I am some sort of Obamabot..."

If the shoe fits...

I am not the one who started with the political slant in this convo. If you want a factual, non-biased discussion, then remain factual and non-biased yourself.

In case you haven't noticed, this thread is not about me and is not about Obama and is not about liberals...it is about the ACA.

I do want a factual discussion which is why some of your statements have been challenged. It is one thing to state something as your opinion or your POV and quite another to state something as if it is factual and represents something other than just your opinion or POV. For instance, you may state that you don't believe that the ACA was based upon a conservative design and approach, but if you want to state that it was not IN FACT born out of the Heritage Foundation it would be adviseable to support that with a link or two (preferrably to something other than an opinion column or blog). Similarly, you may believe that young adults are not signing up for the ACA and it is okay for you to have that opinion but not okay to state that as fact without providing some supporting evidence.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

MODERATOR NOTE:

Please debate the post and not the poster. Allnurses promotes good debates as long as the responses are polite.

Agreed.

Specializes in Hospice.
Agreed.

And here we are, politely waiting for non-biased and factual support for your allegations.

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day:

At the end of the day, you have President Obama, Vice President Biden (who recently admitted on video the hope and change they promised FAILED), Nancy Pelosi, and the other democrats who voted on a completely partisan bill who LIED to American public to get their bill (which Nancy Pelosi stated you had to pass to know what's in it vs. READING the darn thing) passed.

Lie -> If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor PERIOD.

Lie -> If you like your health insurance plan, you can keep it, PERIOD.

Lie -> ER visits will be reduced.

Lie -> Families will save $2,500 per year PERIOD.

goes over the lies.

Those who bring up the # of people on Obamacare forget to tell you that since it is MANDATORY, the number doesn't mean a lot. Take in the number signed up less the number of people who had their quality policies cancelled (oh, because liar in chief, fund raiser in chief, have time for golf chief, spent over $44 million on vacations chief president states the policies are junk, do you think his words have any value?), and you get around no more than 1 to 2 million who went on Obamacare that didn't have a quality policy cancelled due to Obamacare inflating the required benefits (like birth control coverage, abortion coverage, invitro coverage, maternity care coverage, etc. regardless of age or sex -- yes sir, all those benefits one will never use really make it a quality policy -- NO, just a government rip off policy so those without subsidies pay more to subsidize those with subsidies - wealth redistribution).

Thank you.

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