The Hidden Impact of Obamacare and the Economy

The Fiscal Times | Jacqueline Leo
22 Dec 2013

Obamacare has delivered another sucker punch to the middle class. This time it's sticker shock.

Now that a few people can get past the tech problems of HealthCare.gov and actually see the real cost of insurance plans available, they are finding that Affordable Care is big hit to the family budget.  And when the family budget gets hit in the solar plexus, guess what happens to consumer spending and the economy.

In California, policies for about 900,000 Californians are being canceled because of Obamacare's mandates and about 2/3rd of these do not qualify for subsidies, according to The Chicago Tribune.  The result—these folks will be paying higher premiums.

In Alabama, premiums have doubled for some middle class families like Courtney Long, a stay-at-home mother of four. She told WHNT News. "It's devastating. I started crying," said Long. "I mean, we have worked so hard to get out of credit card debt, get ahead on the car loan, transfer our mortgage to a 15 from a 30 year mortgage... and for what?"

.... The top 20 percent of income earners account for about 40 percent of all spending in the U.S.  When you increase the costs of health care and the new taxes associated with Obamacare, you can hear the wallets closing.

Full article at the link, above.

Get ready for the next Great Depression.

Get to know who bank roles your writer, which by the way has no economics or health-related degree or experience... such a magazine pusher!

Quote


Radical Republicans think that they can roll back the welfare state.  Conservative Republicans want to find a way to pay for it that is more efficient than the revenue systems that conservative Democrats will contrive. No one is sharper on these differences than Bartlett, who keeps track of his reading, maintains a blog and writes occasionally for Tax Notes, and posts these articles on the Social Science Research Network (author search required).You can sign up here to for an email edition of his weekly column for The Fiscal Times.

Eventually these differences will resolve. The radical Republicans are going to lose the argument, along with creationists and the deniers of climate change. At some point, a rising generation of conservative Republicans will take over the party.  Until then, it's going to be a rough ride. Fasten your seatbelts, please

http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2010.10.31/1194.html

"bank roll"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Leo

Rather than make ad hominem attacks against the eZine editor and writer, why not contest the facts?  However, I appreciate your implicit argument that a "welfare" state exists, and might I say, is being rapidly expanded.

Quote from: Jamie D on December 22, 2013, 04:28:58 PM
Get ready for the next Great Depression.

At least two "ACA" threads were already locked, here we go again. 

Quote from: Jamie D on December 22, 2013, 05:20:43 PM
"bank roll"

Well known fact my dyslexia and foreign tongue gets to me every time....still does not detract the fact that the woman has not credentials, she is just perpetuating the "Reader's Digests" war on the disenfranchised... and that is in Christmas's time... what would Jesus say...the shame of at all!

Quote from: Jamie D on December 22, 2013, 04:28:58 PM
Get ready for the next Great Depression.

*Rolls eyes* This is what republicans said when Obama took office. <sarcasm>Yeah 2013 was so horrible for my portfolio. I hope we can get someone like GWB back in office to repeat what happened in 2008!</sarcasm>

I thought they fixed the problems on the website and it works a lot better now.

For the majority of people who lost coverage... Weren't the plans they had bare-bones awful plans that didn't cover much of anything?

And for the people who don't qualify for subsidies... You have to be pretty well off not to qualify.

Bunch of fear mongering. I'd either be dead or have cancer if it wasn't for the aca, so people who don't like it can kick rocks imo.

It is "cadillac" plans that got canceled. Mine just got more costly than it is worth to have. Cheaper to pay the fines for the next 5 years.

Just a ninja reminder to everyone, we all have differences in opinion, but let's all get along and respect those who differ in those opinions. These topics sometimes flare up emotions, so be sure not to make disagreement on issue into a personal dispute.  Even though that hasn't happened yet, I just wanted to throw that out there because it has gone there before (and I've been part of this problem too). 

As for the ACA, I'm mixed on how I feel about it.  It's impacted my own life in both positive and negative ways.  It was positive for me because I got to get on my mother's insurance.  I went through a terrible period of unemployment, despite my efforts to get anything, and this was a lifer saver to me.  Since I have very little to my name, the coverage of medication, blood work, and doctors visits saved me from being completely destitute and unable to continue my transition. It was negative for me because it caused economic strains for my employer causing a hiring freeze just when I needed my transfer into a permanent full time position after my temp position ended.  Because of that, I must get approval from those at the top and have to wait until they make their decision (I'm hopeful though because they really need to fill this position and the hiring freeze can be lifted in certain circumstances).  If they don't approve, I may have to wait for the freeze to be lifted or look elsewhere for a job.The ideas behind the legislation were admirable (in my opinion) and did bring about some positive changes,  but I think there were a lot of major oversights that should have been addressed.  Nonetheless, it's been both a positive and negative in my life.  I'm sure there are people that have had different experiences with it (some good and some bad) and we need to remind ourselves that it's not always a black and white issue.  I can easily see both sides of the story here and don't begrudge anyone for feeling one way or the other on this topic. 

Okay, that's it for me on this subject.  Peace and love all!

Oh no not another Obamacare thread I thought that fad was over. I guess they'll be more pointless arguing over something nobody has any control over. 

It's embarrassing that watered-down pandering to the health insurance industry is what passes for socialized health care south of the border. Somewhere, Tommy Douglas is watching this fiasco and shaking his head in dismay.

My health insurance premiums have quadrupled under the ACA.  The replacement insurance plan is worse, the deductible is higher and has very high copays.

My insurance has skyrocketed to pay for the subsidies (a.k.a., welfare) of other people. My state has allowed the individual mandate delay and I'll have my old plan until January 2015. At that time I will go uninsured for the first time in my life, I can't afford the astronomical premiums. I'll increase my life insurance and just insure my children.

This law is horrendous.

But Obama has corrupted our government with his governance by executive fiat so the next President who doesn't support obamacare can end it easily if he so chooses. Just sign an executive order that removes the mandate... simple.

93 million Americans are expected to lose their employer provided insurance in less than a year (those are this administration's own numbers), maybe then people will care. But hey, as long as YOU aren't being screwed... who cares right?  What a shame.

It sky rocketed due to no lifetime limits, and no pre existing condition clauses among other things. Not to cover welfare, insurance has nothing to do with that.

Quote from: GeWnYnNyNwEg on December 24, 2013, 01:14:08 PM
It's embarrassing that watered-down pandering to the health insurance industry is what passes for socialized health care south of the border. Somewhere, Tommy Douglas is watching this fiasco and shaking his head in dismay.

Tommy Douglas = "father of the Canadian single payer system"

On the flip side:

For instance, when Robert Bouressa, the Premier of Quebec, had to have his potentially lethal skin cancer treated, he quickly beat a path to the United States and paid for treatment at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Source: Nancy Wood, "Missing, But Not Forgotten," McLean's (December 10, 1990): 14.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams will be sidelined from three to 12 weeks because of heart surgery he'll undergo at an undisclosed location in the United States, acting premier Kathy Dunderdale says....

"Having the surgery done in the province was never an option that was offered to him," Dunderdale said.

"Ultimately, we have to be the gatekeepers of our own health, and he has taken medical advice from a number of different sources," she said. "Based on all of the medical advice that he's received, he is doing what is best for him, to do everything he can to ensure that he can have the best outcome from the surgery and that he can be back on his feet and back here doing his job as quickly as possible."  Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/heart-surgery-to-sideline-n-l-premier-for-weeks-1.869535

OTTAWA–Belinda Stronach, the MP for Newmarket-Aurora and former cabinet minister, travelled outside Canada's health-care system to California for some of her breast cancer treatment earlier this year....

Speed was not the issue, MacEachern said – it was more to do with the type of surgery she and her doctor agreed was best for her, and where it was best performed. The type of cancer Stronach had is called DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ, one of the more treatable forms.

Stronach, who has announced she is leaving politics to return to executive duties at her father's Magna empire, paid for the procedure.  Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2007/09/14/stronach_travels_to_us_for_cancer_treatment.html

VANCOUVER, CANADA — When the pain in Christina Woodkey's legs became so severe that she could no long hike or cross-country ski, she went to her local health clinic. The Calgary, Canada, resident was told she'd need to see a hip specialist. Because the problem was not life-threatening, however, she'd have to wait about a year.

So wait she did.

In January, the hip doctor told her that a narrowing of the spine was compressing her nerves and causing the pain. She needed a back specialist. The appointment was set for Sept. 30. "When I was given that date, I asked when could I expect to have surgery," said Woodkey, 72. "They said it would be a year and a half after I had seen this doctor."

So this month, she drove across the border into Montana and got the $50,000 surgery done in two days.

"I don't have insurance. We're not allowed to have private health insurance in Canada," Woodkey said. "It's not going to be easy to come up with the money. But I'm happy to say the pain is almost all gone."  Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/27/nation/na-healthcare-canada27

To be honest, living in the UK, I don't know much about Obamacare, except for what I read and how its affected my family. My mother has cancer and has had her treatments stopped due the simple problem of the insurance problems with Obamacare. I don't see it getting better anytime soon. She has had nothing but problems since it has started and she is getting more and more worried about her treatment. She has 2 different kinds of cancer at the moment and they won't do anything because of this horrible thing.

if you want to know why obamacare is an absolute fail, its because its being brought into existence by a criminal politician, now i know obama was the first black president and that was a groundbreaking achievement but unfortunately he is absolutely destroying the us economy by trying pay for it with more debt, which intern makes the Canadian economy(where i live) suffer, in Canada we don't see the propaganda filled news that you americans see, one thing to put into perspective is that the US national debt is $17 trillion, and keeping that in mind you should watch this video you will definitely laugh at the end

Quote from: LordKAT on December 25, 2013, 09:51:07 PM
It sky rocketed due to no lifetime limits, and no pre existing condition clauses among other things. Not to cover welfare, insurance has nothing to do with that.

It has everything to do with welfare. Insurance isn't about welfare, but the government is, that's why they stuck their bloated nose into the system to take from some to give to their constituents. It's a massive wealth redistribution scheme and many so-called winners in this theft will be happy. Many won't though, they understand it's wrong to steal.

Let me tell you what insurance is, it's a mechanism for willing participants to spread THEIR risk over time. The government has forced people to participate AND to pay for other people's risk. That's not insurance. If you get a subsidy, YOU ARE NOT INSURED, YOU ARE ON WELFARE. Congrats.

I don't believe in coercion of this nature, it's un-American. I support a person's right to join a program like obamacare if they freely choose, but don't force it on people.

I'm pro-choice. I believe it's our body our choice.  Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... how can so many pro-abortion people support obamacare? obamacare IS about our rights to our bodies, our health choices. Abortion isn't at all, it's about killing another human being. How ironic.

This president lied about everything concerning this so-called law. Many of you just don't know yet the ramifications, you're still under a delay of this 'law'.

But hey, like I say, as long as YOU don't get hurt, don't worry about it. Don't worry about the families losing their coverage because they can't afford it. Don't worry about the cancer patients losing their current plans and doctors, thus losing their scheduled procedures and being thrown into chaos. Many of these people literally can't live with any delays or changes in treatment.

But don't worry about it, it's other people, not YOU. 

Can someone put all these topics in a can and burn them. This is NOT a USA political site it is an international support site for gender dysphoric people.

This is a political thread, you don't have to participate. The title of the thread gives ample evidence of what this discussion is about.

I wish people would stop bashing my views, but I'm not going to go to threads I'm not interested in and start whining about it.

Good grief.

Quote from: kiaraja on December 26, 2013, 04:58:40 AM
if you want to know why obamacare is an absolute fail, its because its being brought into existence by a criminal politician, now i know obama was the first black president and that was a groundbreaking achievement but unfortunately he is absolutely destroying the us economy by trying pay for it with more debt, which intern makes the Canadian economy(where i live) suffer, in Canada we don't see the propaganda filled news that you americans see, one thing to put into perspective is that the US national debt is $17 trillion, and keeping that in mind you should watch this video you will definitely laugh at the end

And I thought I would never agree with Obama!  Excellent.  (Am I allowed to post this Cindy?  )