Invest your own money, let compound effect be your leverage, and avoid debt like the plague.
- Manlobbi
Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 6
"Republicans again find themselves in an Obamacare pickle
GOP lawmakers are talking about pursuing a health policy overhaul — but leaders are warning not to revisit a repeal of the Affordable Care Act."
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/17/republica...Republicans are now also mired in internal discussions about whether to extend the ACA credits, and what changes they could make to the subsidies to appeal to a broader set of conservatives. They have floated ideas such as instituting new income caps, minimum co-pays, a cutoff for new enrollees and abortion restrictions.
Republicans insist those talks won’t get underway until after the shutdown ends, though some of them also warn negotiations will totally unravel if too many ambitious GOP policy proposals get added to the mix.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who’s been tapped by the White House to work with Democrats on a shutdown offramp, said in an interview this week said the current imperative for government funding negotiations is to “keep it simple” with “some just very easy changes that both sides can agree to and then get in the weeds at a later date.”
“I’m afraid once we dive into health care,” Mullin added. “It’s going to take a while to unpack that.”Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated!
No. of Recommendations: 2
Why does the “affordable” Obamacare need so many government subsidies?
No. of Recommendations: 6
Why does the “affordable” Obamacare need so many government subsidies?
That's how healthcare is made affordable for low- and middle-income people. Without subsidies they cannot afford it.
The ACA does not reduce overall healthcare costs.
How do you pay for healthcare?
No. of Recommendations: 0
Why does the “affordable” Obamacare need so many government subsidies?
It needs fewer subsidies than Spankee receives....
No. of Recommendations: 2
That's how healthcare is made affordable for low- and middle-income people. Without subsidies they cannot afford it.So it doesn't, never has and never will "lower prices".
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczyns..."If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less." So the guy that said this was full of it, as many of us said at the time. Glad to see reality catching up to the left.
No. of Recommendations: 0
So it doesn't, never has and never will "lower prices".
LOL !!
You get so many subsidies you can't live without them. $10/gal gas sound good? NO SUBSIDY. With subsidies, $3-$5/gal gas is not an issue. Your ignorance is showing (again!!).
No. of Recommendations: 2
"If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less."
So the guy that said this was full of it, as many of us said at the time. Glad to see reality catching up to the left.
He got that wrong. For some people it was cheaper, especially older and sicker people. For some it was more.
Obama also got it wrong when he said, "if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor". Providers decide which insurance to take.
The ACA is *far* better coverage than we had before it. Health insurance underwriting was a nightmare. There was always that nagging feeling they would drop you if you got a serious illness.
Asking again, how do you pay for healthcare?
No. of Recommendations: 3
Why does the “affordable” Obamacare need so many government subsidies?
You know why. Soon you may be able to buy farms cheap though. What a country!
No. of Recommendations: 2
The ACA is *far* better coverage than we had before it. Health insurance underwriting was a nightmare.
Is it, now. Insurance companies are bigger and have more power and we haven’t seen price reforms (such as transparent pricing) as we should have.
The biggest innovations in health care have been around the localized Zoom Clinics and similar.
Asking again, how do you pay for healthcare
I use:
-My employer’s HSA, where I’ve been maxing out contributions pretax since the program’s inception
-Cash out of pocket. I’d rather my pre-tax money grow on the side.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Obama also got it wrong when he said, "if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor". Providers decide which insurance to take.
Obama generally got it right. If the doctor was ok with the insurance, no problem. However, no patient gets to "pick" a doctor if that doctor does not accept their method of payment. PLUS, key point NOT mentioned: The doctor does NOT have to accept ALL patients. Only the ones the doctor decides are "right" for him/her.
No. of Recommendations: 4
"If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less."
So the guy that said this was full of it, as many of us said at the time. Glad to see reality catching up to the left.
No Dope, he got it right. The fellow selling health insurance will ask you your income, and determine your premiums under ACA from your income, otherwise you will pay more for a non ACA plan or choose not to buy. Lots of people choose not to buy. The kicker is that if you give them an income that's lower than the income on your tax return, it comes out of your refund. ACA reduces the premium. It's just a shock at tax time to lose a big chunk of your refund.
No. of Recommendations: 5
"If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less."
That was exactly true for me.
I’ve been self employed and buying my own insurance for the last 25 years. I jumped onto Obamacare as soon as it was available.
I kept my old doctor. I kept my old pharmacy. And I paid a whole lot less for the insurance.
And my cost for that insurance premium has fallen as I’ve gotten older. Until now. I turn 65 next year and will pay more for Medicare than I have been paying the last 3 or 4 years on Obamacare.
No. of Recommendations: 3
“ I’ve been self employed and buying my own insurance for the last 25 years. I jumped onto Obamacare as soon as it was available.
I kept my old doctor. I kept my old pharmacy. And I paid a whole lot less for the insurance.
And my cost for that insurance premium has fallen as I’ve gotten older. Until now. I turn 65 next year and will pay more for Medicare than I have been paying the last 3 or 4 years on Obamacare.”
Sure, as I wrote upthread, for some people it was cheaper - if you got subsidies - for some it was more.
I’m self employed and have been buying my own insurance the last 17 years, since Mrs.C decided to stay home with the kiddos. We did not get significant subsidies until 2020 (no work) and then since due to the subsidy cliff being removed with the enhanced subsidies in 2021.
Our premiums and deductibles have increased *a lot*. We did have to change doctors. Our insurance has a very narrow network. One provider we use is not in network so we pay out of pocket. No alternative.
We’d still rather have the guaranteed coverage of the ACA over the old “system”. I don’t think 8.5% of AGI is unreasonable, which is what we currently pay with the enhanced subsidies. They go away and we’re looking at over $40k for a Bronze plan with $9,200 deductible per person. Unless I finally pull the plug and retire early…looking tempting.
No. of Recommendations: 2
Obamacare was an imperfect but amazing step taken.
My side saying "noun verb tax voucher" "noun verb free market" i feel isn't legit because it was never backed by something real and workable. After all, one can shop for a car or TV and forgo the purchase. Heart bypass is quite different.
Most of my business life I had whatever the 'best' plan was and it was 100% paid thru the business, i saved income tax on it, etc. Whatevet the zero deduct, zero out of pocket, highest costing PPO was, was me.
But 5 years ago I was very fortunate to have ObamaCare.
It was nice to not worry about pre-existing conditions, about getting kicked off the policy, and frankly, getting quick, easy, transparent cost information. A few of my people who were close to me also used ObamaCare for at least a year and were fine with it.
I know my premiums will go up ---but I'm hoping there's NO DEAL.
I want millions of swing and Red voters to to see their premiums skyrocket.
And then - see if Democrats have the talent and can stop the he/him shit---and ride that issue hard. So far, i'ven not seen it but maybe when the masses actually see the new costs that can change.
No. of Recommendations: 7
We’d still rather have the guaranteed coverage of the ACA over the old “system”.
That’s another benefit. My wife had considerable pre-existing conditions, which meant that changing insurers wasn’t feasible. To change insurance companies, she would be basically uninsured for a couple of years while still paying premiums based on those conditions. We were stuck with that insurance company and had to accept whatever premium increases they threw at us.
Obamacare let us have more options (although in a perverse twist, we actually stayed with the same insurance co at first - getting slightly improved coverage in the package).
—Peter
