The Supreme Court saved the Affordable Care Act! Obamacare is here to stay, yay! Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion. [Jezebel]
Brandi Glanville confirms that she’s leaving RHOBH. [Starcasm]
Idris Elba might be the perfect man. [LaineyGossip]
This Texas pastor is an idiot. [OMG Blog]
Selena Gomez shows off Jennifer Aniston’s maternal advice. [Celebslam]
Nene Leakes’ son is still a mess. [CDAN]
Mariah Carey is not going to marry James Packer. Yet. [I’m Not Obsessed]
London banker snorts cocaine on the tube. [The Blemish]
Kendra Wilkinson feels betrayed by Holly Madison’s tell-all. [ICYDK]
Don Lemon has lost his damn mind. [The Frisky]
Howard Stern has left America’s Got Talent. [Seriously OMG WTF]
I hate talking Politics..
that being said.. the Republican really need to crawl out of the POTUS butt. Let it go. He is in the final months of his term of office.. they keep coming for him and losing. I don’t agree with some of his policy decision but I do support him.
I was talking to my mother and we both agreed. President Obama could teach classes on how to publically handle the people that hate you. He has handled all the things thrown at him with a lot of grace and style. The opposition has not been able to break in in 2 terms. That is something I don’t think many people would have been able to withstand. Some of the attacks have been so vicious and low.
That picture of him laughing is what I hope he does the day he leaves offices..
“President Obama could teach classes on how to publically handle the people that hate you. He has handled all the things thrown at him with a lot of grace and style… that is something I don’t think many people would have been able to withstand.”
This, exactly. No matter which of his administration’s specific policies or practices have gone against why I voted for him in the first place, I have so often admired exactly *this* throughout.
So we’ll put lisa2
Completely agree with both of you.
Amen.
For someone who doesn’t like talking about politics, you sure hit the nail on the head and touched on something that very few people seem to acknowledge–and quite eloquently at that.
Well done and I agree with you 100%.
Today would be a great day to watch Fox News, wonder if they will drown themselves in their own tears?
SHUT THE FVCK UP about FOX news already. Why do you clowns always have to drag FOX news in to every conversation? Is it that you are AFRAID of fair and honest reporting? Obama has had the press in his right pocket since the beginning. Everybody knows that. Better we should watch NBC and have the commentator lie bold faced to us about things he said happened to him personally that NEVER happened? Yeah…how come we’re not hearing you mouthing off about that? All news programs have their agenda’s…including FOX but I feel overall…they give the fairest assessment of the news of any of them!
LOL yes Brian William’s lies go all the way to the top. Thanks Obama!!!11eleven!
As a European, I am always mystified at the hate, rage & viciousness that so many Americans have for Obama. Pretty much everyone I know here in Europe think he is the best thing to happen to the US in many decades. All the measures he has tried to pass, such as Affordable Health Care & gun control are things that are absolutely necessary. When one considers the mess he inherited following 8 years of catastrophic neoconservatism, which is still the main cause of most of the global disasters we are dealing with now, his track record is nothing short of miraculous. It will be a major step backward for the richest country in the world to repeal the ACA, and any American with a shred of social conscience ought to do everything in his or her power to resist this happening. Fortunately, the Supreme Court were wise enough to understand this. The hatred that Republicans have for the less fortunate members of society, never ceases to amaze us here in Europe
Thanks for that. Sincerely.
You certainly don’t speak for the Europeans I know.
Bravo, Tristan.
I am European as well and she speaks for me and all the Europeans I know. Obviously, there is no person in the world to be liked by everyone.
Thank you, Tristan.
It’s encouraging to read your point of view, Tristan. As an American transplanted thru marriage from SoCal to a well-to-do town in very conservative red state in the erroneously named “Heartland,” I can tell you, there are so many Obama haters here, some of them just the expected ignorant Tea Party idiots, but (and this is the depressing part) many are educated and respected (and wealthy, which is what motivates their hate: they think Obama’s policies will rob them of some small portion of their wealth). Anyway, it was great to read your post, and to see others agreeing with you.
All presidents age visibly while in office and that’s no wonder, but I have never seen any POTUS age as much in office as has President Obama. According to the secret Service, he has had triple the number of threats on his life of any other POTUS. As someone who worked in his first campaign, sometimes I worry for him so much that I just want to see him get safely out of office and take his life back. It keeps me awake some nights.
Robin – I don’t understand what you mean? Are you saying you know lots of Europeans who can’t stand Obama?
Here in Britland, I don’t know anyone who can’t stand Obama. Almost everyone thinks he has been a step forward for America and people’s view of the ACA is overwhelmingly that at last, Americans are moving in the right direction on health and why do so many of them want to shoot themselves in the foot over it?
I would say there is all round disappointment on his foreign policy, which has ended up being (unpleasant) business as usual. We thought he’d put an end to Endless War, but he hasn’t. But I also think blaming the Americans is convenient for my compatriots because it enables us to avoid blaming ourselves – most of the people running OUR foreign policy make it just as unpleasant. It’s a nice figleaf for us to say that it’s only because we’re being led by the nose by those nasty Americans.
The Tory party in the UK pretty much detests the unfortunate too. But Obama is widely admired and respected in Europe, though some of his overseas policies are not popular. So glad that affordable healthcare insurance looks to be a lasting legacy. And on a shallow note, what a lovely family ( including the first dogs).
Thank you for speaking for the European nations! Pfffft. Seriously?
Because god forbid that the Republicans could have just worked with him to create a bill that would have benefited the American people, and addressed the issues they actually had with the bill itself.
Ditto!!!
People get all cynical about politicians and whinge about them being liars and untrustworthy. Being jaded about democracy or hating government is so fashionable for some reason (note that’s different from constructive criticism); yet, the alternative really anarchy, dictatorships, or something extreme along those lines. And as this is a celeb blog, I’m just a list a few government haters / irrational libertarians in HW that I know of, just for good measure: Gary Oldman, Vince Vaugh, and possibly Clint Eastwood.
Lisa2, if there were a share button on your post I would put it on my Facebook page.
Well said, lisa2. It is disspiriting to think what could have been accomplished with a bit of bipartisanship instead of the irrational hatred and obstinence shown toward President Obama these six years.
Yes, Lisa2, well said, and belle de jour’s comments reflect exactly my feelings and thoughts. I support our President, and, whatever else, the man has class.
Saved? The Supreme Court never should have taken this case. The basis of it was ridiculous.
Correct. But, without a nationwide SCOTUS decision, the door was left open to other circuit courts deciding to strike down the law. So it was better SCOTUS addressed the issue for the whole country.
I agree. I don’t like president Obama or pretty much any of his international policy. That being said the ACA is good, and a step in the right direction. It’s not perfect, but a lot more people have benifited from it than have been hurt and most of the hurt is people being stubborn.
When it first passed I thought it was awful and evil, but after the slow implementation I’m adult enough to say I was completely wrong. It’s not perfect, but trying to destroy it would seriously hurt many Americans who before could not afford life saving let alone preventative care.
I think the balance is conservative people being able to see Obama on something and look past that to see the truth and not just media rabble.
That’s a really admirable admission to make, marie. I am making “I am not worthy” little bows in your direction right now.
I’m the opposite–at first I was absolutely for it, but now after seeing person after person have nothing but problems because of it (including my own family), I think it’s a disaster that needs a complete overhaul. Hopefully whoever gets in office next will build on the good parts and work on getting rid of the harmful ones.
The mechanics of the health exchanges leave a lot to be desired, Samtha, but I think the basic idea is good. I too have had issues on our state exchange; however, I hate to throw the baby out with the bathwater just because the framework needs some tweaking.
There’s a lot of things that it didn’t take into account; I’m down a wormhole on one of them, but at least health care is available now with no health questions.
What irritates the living hell out of me is that instead of this being a collaborative effort, House Republicans instead vowed to blow this out of the water. Obama was elected on the platform of Healthcare Reform. The American people desperately want it.
I disagree – there have been a lot of people that have been hurt by the ACA. I’m the director of benefits for a large company and we are going to cut our benefits significantly and we are late to the game. Why because in 2018 there is an excise tax and companies will have to pay serious penalties for plans that are too comprehensive – go figure! Keeping our plans the way they are will create an extra $3.1M in taxes in 2018. I agree with the concept but the ACA was drafted poorly and will in the long run cause more problems than fix.
glad they actually took it because its over & done for the Republicans in sabotaging it. the horse they’ve kicked has now been buried. They may have took it too close it for good.
Don’t get me wrong, it needs a lot of work, but it’s a complete overhaul of a massive industry it is going to probably take 8 to 10 years to iron out all the problems, it is a base… that kind of how you have to look at it.
@Isabelle, This is the third ACA case to make it to the Supremes in as many years. One would hope they would be done wasting our money (the courts don’t function for free and these cases have gone through multiple levels of costly appeals) but one never knows.
@Marie, very true and, like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Tri-care, it will forever be a work in progress as new technologies, drugs, and illnesses come to light.
Yes!!!!!!! At least there is some good news this week.
For now….
His cackles are my cackles LOL This is HUGEEEEE i got a nifty IUD last year thanks to Obamacare after Insurances kept trying to circumvent stuff by changing the tier of my pills and whatever else, under the same insurance ( supplemented by temporary Medicaid), my Brother in Law was able to get a Peacemaker to help with his seizures and they didn’t go broke in the process 🙂
Glad for you and your family! Two of my friends were able to extend health insurance coverage on their family’s plans until they were 26, which helped immensely in a tough job market. After 26, one got a better job with benefits, and the other is still having a tough time finding a better job, but was able to buy health insurance for a very affordable rate. The ACA certainly isn’t perfect and will probably need years or decades of improvements, but it has really helped many people.
It would be nice if instead of constant lawsuits and challenging it to the Supreme Court, everyone worked together to fix the components of it that don’t work.
^^ EVERYTHING you said! i have tons of friends in the same situations
You are on the mark
It would also help if members of Congress who are paid to read legislation actually read the law that has now been in place for years instead of trying to overturn it without any knowledge of what it contains. Yes, I am looking at you, Senator Cruz.
Lilacflowers, kind of like Nancy Pelosi, bless her heart, saying, “you have to pass it before you can find out whats in it.” Pathetic!
.
Have YOU read it? Do you know what all is in it? it will terrify you…
I am cackling at Scalia’s dissent. So melodramatic! Particularly “Words no longer have meaning if an Exchange that is not established by a State is ‘established by the State.”
I’ve been reading it aloud to a co-worker. He’s so melodramatic. I’m going to write my congressional representative, with a copy to Scalia, proposing legislation to drop his health insurance because he must have some pre-existing conditions
He uses the term “interpretive jiggery-pokery” I have to use that in everything now
@lilacflowers – “interpretive jiggery-pokery” sounds like some sort of legalese for buggering. 😜
“He uses the term “interpretive jiggery-pokery”
This is begging to be a senior thesis dance performance.
I majored in Interpretive Jiggery-Pokery at Oberlin.
haha maybe whenever he talks nonsense, you can keep interrupting him with that phrase until he leaves the room fuming lol
I really wish there was video of the Notorious RBG’s reaction when she read that phrase.
@belle de jour, “Kit Harrington will now dance an interpretive jiggery pokery of Jon Snow knowing nothing.”
@lucy2: In honor of your major, I am sending you a conceptual bouquet – from a non-traditional yet sustainable florist sobriquet and dancer manqué – located somewhere between Middletown and New Haven and Ohio-ay.
Oh, man, Lilac, I needed a laugh today. You had me at the intro and the Kit and the dancing gerunds knowing nothing. Yes, please.
This is the second time the Supremes have upheld the ACA in decisions written by John Roberts so can the self-proclaimed fiscally responsible conservatives please stop wasting MY federal tax dollars in their attempts to deprive me, a cancer patient, of health care coverage for which I pay premiums?
These aren’t adults. They’re children throwing tantrums.
As a Republican I wish my elected officials would stop wasting valuable time and start passing laws to regulate gun storage especially in homes with children under 18. You fight so hard for guns, which is great, my family owns tons, but make laws to protect innocent people. Kids can’t shoot up schools if their parents are required by law to lock up all firearms at all times.
Pass laws that make people take gun safty classes during the waiting period, pass laws that stop quick gun sales at gun shows…. solve a damn problem that appeals to your party and stop spending all of your time bickering with the Democrats.
@Marie, standing ovation!
@marie–finally, a Republican with statements I can get behind! You should run for office, marie–I’d vote for you (Democrat/Green Party here.)
@marie-Are you sure you’re a Republican? 😉
Kidding.
But seriously, based on your comments here you seem a bit more centrist, no?
I’m just sick and tired of obvious problems with obvious answer going unaddressed. Fix what’s easily fixable and work on the huge stuff a little at a time.
We’re wasting valuable time and times are changing quicker than politics and we’re lagging behind in everything. Not just guns or health care, but everything.
I want new blood in the house and Senate. Get out all these old politicians on both sides and start fresh with a true focus on Americans and what we want and need. Comprises and start being realistic.
@kitten I’m registered republican, but these days I’m annoyed with all of Washington.
My family lives in rural AZ, with solar panels, a garden, our own chickens and we choose private school over public because our area has low quality public schools at best.
It’s a life we choose, but my husband is a veteran and we own many many guns for not only home protection, but also hunting.
I spend a lot of my time trying to pass gun control laws directly connected to storage and education on safty, not because I’ve been affected by gun violence, but because everyone here has a gun, my girls play with toy guns and I worry about them going somewhere and mistaking a real gun for a toy.
I am however on a 5 year one woman crusade that is blocked by politics at every turn. I go and make storage and safty recommendations and they always say “why not just eliminate guns.” It’s not going to happen, we can only hope to better control what’s out there.
I just hate that in 5 years the only people willing to help me was the NRA. It is not an ideal partnership because for every safty measure passed they try to sneak in two things for concealed carry or try to remove ammunition restrictions. The politics make real progress impossible these days.
nodding in agreement, Lilacflowers. And wishing you well.
Thank you, Liberty and Belle de Jour.
Lilacflowers (I love the specificity of your name): for what it’s worth, I agree with your point completely, am gratified that the ACA has afforded you agency in affording your own healthcare decisions, and am sending you all sorts of additional encouraging vibes as far outside the realm of policy or politics as they can be.
Lilacflowers, as usual, your comments say everything so I don’t have to!
Yet I want to add here that I’m just so tired of the Republican hatred for Obama because that’s what this has really been about…
Sure, there are glitches in the ACA, but most Americans like me are grateful to have real health insurance, not this Vegas-style House Always Wins, and they can kick us off the tables anytime, kind of gambling with our lives so-called “coverage” of the past. If Republicans really cared, they’d try to reform parts of the law instead repealing the whole damn thing.
Of course, that’s exactly what they’re planning to do again today – year after year, wasting our tax dollars, no less.
With that said, marie, you sound fairly moderate. Are you sure you don’t want to come over to the darkside of the Dems? 😉
LIlacflowers: unfortunately, they’ll never be able to read your statement because they don’t speak common sense.
The guy on the tube might well be an arse, but his coked-up twottishness is preferable to the drunken chanting that is much more prevalent on the tube. Jus’ sayin’!
(Happy for your ACA, guys).
This is a relief. I am 64 and one year away from Medicare. Now my premiums will not skyrocket. While not perfect, the ACA is a starting point.
I’m Canadian. I have friends in California in their mid 50’s who are retired. Their combined premiums are $18k a year. How is that considered affordable?
Those sound exceptionally high.
They must be at a platinum level plan? If not, they should shop around, that’s really high! I just ran a quote through BCBS California for 2 people in their 50s – there’s basic, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. They range from $900/month – $1500/month (for 2 people).
Wow, we chose platinum for our family of 5 (6 in October) and we pay 300 a month for all of us, we don’t even qualify for subsidy. We had to shop around, but even then I never saw anything that high.
Marie – Where do you live that you get a Platinum plan for a family of 5 for $300/month????? I’m in TN and have a family of 5. Platinum quotes I got were $2700/month. That’s more than a mortgage payment!
I would like to take this moment to point out something that people keep preventing. The ACA and the government is not setting insurance premiums. The insurance companies are. Issues with high premiums have little to do with the ACA other than insurance companies trying to place the blame for high premiums on the ACA.
That being said there are a number of factors that can contribute to premium cost; two of the biggest are smoking and alcohol abuse. Just about everyone I’ve met with what would be considered abnormally high premiums are smokers.
Who did they choose? Kaiser? Because platinum plans with them and BCBS are the highest on the exchange. My mom is an agent and I’ve never seen someone with a combined income of $18K pay more than $120 a month with a silver Humana plan. Jeez! That’s…wow. That’s all I got. They definitely need to shop around.
No one in our house smokes or drinks. My husband’s self-employed, so maybe that contributes to the higher pricing but it is still basically unaffordable for us to purchase. (We previously had BCBS and that is their quote since the ACA became law). Before the ACA, our top of the line insurance was $550/month and it included dental and vision. The ACA was not so great for our family.
Mine is 550 a month for me individually. I casually priced on the exchange, and I could probably get it for cheaper , but I’d pay more out of pocket. Sadly, it’s cheaper for me on my own because my husband’s employer has so many ancient people to insure it’s more than a private individual plan. I’ve also never been a smoker.
I was just pleased it only went up about 30/month this year instead of the normal 60-70.
I’m so happy! I have a brain tumor that I honestly couldn’t afford to treat before Obamacare. I know it could still use some work but it’s been amazing for me.
So happy for you. Wishing you health and healing.
wow, Alyce, I’m so sorry for your health woes. Wishing you recovery and healing.
Be well, Alyce.
Best wishes and internet hugs to you, Alyce. ♥
Thanks everyone! I’ve been so worried about what SCOTUS would do. I’m so relieved!
A lot of us are breathing a sigh of relief this evening, Alyce. I’m so glad to hear you will be able to retain access to treatment. Big high five to you, and thank goodness for being able to focus more on getting & staying healthy!
WHY did anyone think they could come at the President, who himself is a former a constitutional scholar and who surely employs many other such scholars on his staff, on a con law issue? OH, because they thought the republican appointees on the Court would fall in line with the party and do as they are told. Let’s give some MAJOR credit to Roberts and Kennedy for doing what’s right, rather than paying back the party that put them in office.
I think they honestly still don’t want to believe that Obama like President Clinton is very, very smart AND hires the sharpest constitutional law staff members. He and his team go over everything like a million and one times. That is why he stays willing. Clinton was a hillbilly so they just couldn’t accept that he was elected twice and had an off the charts IQ. His downfall was his low IQ little brain in his pants. Obama is Biracial but claims Black so again the use the same prejudice against him: he can’t be that smart, he’s Black!
Their prejudices will continue to see them fail in their attempt to bring him down.
You just nailed what they don’t wish to acknowledge.
I could care less if he is black. And most of my more conservative friends don’t care either. I’m sooooooooo over that crap. I don’t like his policies and I wouldn’t like them if he was white, green or purple. My sister had a policy before obamacare that she couldn’t keep because of obamacare. Her premiums on the AFA were going to be over twice her former premium a month with a 6000 deductible. Doesn’t seem all that fair to me. She is middle class and doesn’t smoke and rarely drinks. She is now paying the penalty and praying she does not have anything major happen before she is 65 in October. It helped some people but really really hurt a lot of other people.
She is now paying the penalty and praying she does not have anything major happen before she is 65 in October. It helped some people but really really hurt a lot of other people.
Aliharr999: Not trying to be sarcastic but don’t you see the irony in your statement? Medicare is too an entitlement system funded by the government using the money that us young people pay in taxes. It’s not free money grown on trees. So you are essentially saying you can’t wait to benefit from the government helping you to keep getting medical insurance but you hate that the government is helping those UNDER 65 years old who have cancers or other pre-existing conditions, those who are working full time but are underinsured, those whose insurance companies in the past would do ridiculous yearly rate increases and many families who too would pray daily that nothing happens to them because they wouldn’t be able to pay their medical bills without losing their homes. I do find it sad that some older Americans are so selfish on this basic fact. You don’t see protests on the White House lawn of young people refusing to pay for Medicare do you.
Calling Obama the anti-Christ, evil etc and opposing EVERY SINGLE thing he tried to pass even ones the Republicans originally wanted to pass themselves speaks volumes about their prejudice against him. There has been so much more vitriol and disrespect aimed at him by lawmakers than ANY other Democrat in history. But sure we can just bury our heads in the sand and continue to say his race is not a big contributing factor. Hey there is no racism in America, those innocent people gunned down in church weren’t hated for their skin color, it was because hated their Jesus policies.
Except for his backtracking last year on the issues of women’s health care, Roberts has consistently diverted from party politics on this issue and has now written the TWO Supreme opinions that uphold the ACA.
Amen. But ‘smarts’ – or recognizing of smarts – had very little to do with their ‘challenge.’
Most of the base of the ACA was written by Ted Kennedy, who spent decades of his life working on health care legislation to improve access to health care for all. As the new Supreme decision clearly states, the ACA is modeled on the Massachusetts law, passed in 2006, that resulted in the state having 98% coverage for residents. The MA law actually has a much broader scope of services than the ACA but they had to take baby steps to get things through Congress. Also, MA, which heavily regulates health care more than any other state, has consistently had the top rated health care insurance plans nationally for the past decade
Hurray! I can remain a self-employed freelancer!
Seriously, this presidency has directly affected my life more than any other; if it weren’t for Obamacare, I’d still be working for a corporation that didn’t pay me fairly and that required me to compromise my ethics regularly. I became a freelancer and started working from home a few months after it took effect, because I could finally afford my own health care without corporate benefits. My anxiety and depression prescriptions are not an option, so I’m SO happy to hear this news.
When relatives and acquaintances rant about “entitlement” and Obamacare (mostly in the form of Fox News talking points), I always tell them this. I think it’s an abstract concept for many privileged people, so it’s fun to watch them talk in circles after realizing I’m one of those horrible leeches they were using to prove their point. And I don’t have a terminal illness or serious disability, so I’m not even the best example. It’s amazing that people actually don’t care if their fellow human beings live or die, because that’s what would happen if this were taken away. Lives are being SAVED, and you still don’t think those people had the right to keep living? Seriously?
And you are PAYING for your healthcare, you aren’t taking handouts, which is the major part they don’t understand because they were lied to by Fox and others about what the ACA does
Right?!
I even tried to use a prescription coupon at a Kmart (“fill a new RX, get $10” or whatever) and the *pharmacist* berated me for expecting a handout when she already pays for my health care. Apparently the coupon had a no-ACA clause in tiny print, but she felt the need to editorialize. Well, I wasn’t aware she was paying those bills every month; definitely thought it was my money!! I worked to earn it and everything!
Wow, Brittney, I think I might have written a letter to Kmart on that one, you went in with an advertised coupon and she accused you of trying to get a handout. There is no need for the editorializing, all she had to do was explain that she couldn’t take the coupon. And I think I’d question why they were accepting coupons for some insurance plans but not others.
“Lives are being SAVED, and you still don’t think those people had the right to keep living? Seriously?”
That’s a disconnect for some people; they seriously don’t see or weigh this in the balance vs. other (often partisan or policy or rhetorical ) issues. My hope is that the more the day-to-day effects of ACA become real & in context to someone close to them, the more their understanding of just what this policy means *practically* – for a huge number of people they don’t know – will become clear and palatable and even desirable as well.
Many Americans are completely clueless on the actual cost of health care in this country. A med-flight from Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket to Boston STARTS at $15,000 and while rare in this part of the country, med-flights on air ambulances are often the only way for a trauma patient to get to an acute care hospital, which can treat the patient, instead of a rinky-dink 4 bed critical access hospital, in many parts of this country. A regular ambulance starts at $500 for just pulling out of the garage – and they are the most notorious bill collectors. A radiologist will not look at your x-ray, mammogram, whatever for less than $1,000 and that’s only part of that bill – the hospital bills separately and this is just to get you diagnosed. Blood work starts at another $1,000 on average and I’ve had some blood tests that have been in excess of $5,000. Factor in that some illnesses require weekly bloodwork. Surgery, physical therapy, doctor’s visits, and prescriptions all cost much, much more. One of my father’s meds for treatment of his lymphoma was an ointment that cost $3,000 per tube.
“I think it’s an abstract concept for many privileged people” You are so right about that, and I say that as someone who has been privileged when it comes to insurance and such. It’s very easy for people who are secure in their job and benefits (like politicians) or who aren’t facing a major medical issue to complain, or to simply not understand what it’s like for someone else in different circumstances.
I give up bothering to argue into circles with conservatives. Like, they think those who use it don’t also pay into it. Idiots.
My cousin’s wife is bemoaning the decision on her Facebook page, whining about government handouts to leeches, despite the fact that her disabled granddaughter is on a MassHealth waiver that has provided her with hundreds of thousands of dollars of life-saving medical care, which has prevented her parents from going bankrupt and allowed them to obtain services to keep her functioning while they are able to continue working. Some people just never get it.
Lilicaflowers, this uninformed, knee-jerk ranting is what drives me the most batty. I don’t mind debating issues as long as both sides are thoughtful and informed on the matter. Just mindlessly repeating talking points does nothing. As someone said above, politics seem to make progress impossible.
It is so heartening to read the comments on this website. Thank you.
I’m so happy for these stories, keep it coming guys!
It is not Constitutional to force people to buy a service or product from a private company.
My personal experience with the ACA was premiums I couldn’t afford, which – ironically – left me uninsured, and then a huge fine when I finally got insurance.
I can’t wait until the ACA just goes away forever.
There was no “huge fine” if you didn’t get insurance right away! Be reasonable and truthful. The “fine” on one’s taxes was something like $125 or less. C’mon!
“It is not Constitutional to force people to buy a service or product from a private company.”
The Supreme Court of the United States of America, in a decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, a Bush appointee, ruled otherwise two years ago.
Additionally, the ACA did not cause insurance premiums to rise. Private corporations made the decision to raise those premiums on their own. There were provisions in place to help you and others with those premiums, if you had availed yourself of them.
The Supreme Court made it their own law when they revised the law and called it a tax.
As for the insurance companies, the reason the rates went up was because they are now forced by law to cover conditions they normally would have considered high risk and uninsurable.
Take for instance my family pre-ACA. We had top of the line insurance with BCBS which included dental and vision. We were (and thankfully are) a pretty healthy family of 5. Our premiums were $550/month. After ACA, to get the same coverage is a whopping $2700/month ($2400 with the tax rebate they offer). We still cannot afford it and had to look for another alternative.
The additional $2200/month they wanted from my family was going to cover the previously uninsured person with a disease or condition which was never covered before but now has to be by law.
The ACA may have made insurance affordable for those previously uninsured, but it knocked my family out of the loop and forced us into a cheaper option that is not even close to what we had.
Sherry, insurance premiums went up because insurance companies CAN. There is absolutely no reason why health care premiums have been rising at the rate that they are. Did anyone read Elizabeth Edwards book?
Sherry , the insurance company, not the law and not the Supreme Court, did that to you and so sorry that you resent that insurance companies and employers who purchase packages from insurance companies can no longer discriminate against people like me or anyone in your family in the event of a future illness. I worked for a major health care provider when it was implementing RomneyCare in Massachusetts and no, that is not why rates went up at all.
I did medical billing for quite a while. Insurance rates have been going up exponentially way before obamacare, and it was not on a course to correct itself in any way. All you would have ended up with had the aca not been implemented was continually rising rates, with ever increasing deductibles, and more insurances denying coverage for more and more diagnosis. There was already a massive problem with insurances randomly denying payment for certain services, and outright canceling coverage because they didn’t want to pay once you got sick.
I think that was the best thing to come out of the aca is that provision. You have no idea how many people the insurance companies used to cancel on a whim, and it was getting worse and worse.
Unless you deal specifically with the ACA and pay $$ directly out of your own pocket you really shouldn’t comment. This ACA has completely F*ed the majority of people and businesses. Yes, the idea is good-health insurance is great for all BUT the implementation and the details and the $ that go with it are atrocious! More money has come out of my meager paycheck through premiums and HSA that about equals how much I pay for my mortgage a month. And this is with the best deducible I could afford for my family of 5. Seriously it’s outrageous and unethical. Again, the details, the costs, the bottom line for most struggling middle class Americans is very very hard on a day to day basis. I won’t even go in to the doctor bc my out of pocket is sky high! TRUTH. Us Americans pay more in insurances than anything else–health, dental, car, home, etc etc etc, the prices go higher and higher and higher–don’t matter if you use it or not.
We are a family of 5 as well, and have insurance through my husband’s company. Aside from incremental increases, we haven’t seen any spike or increase due to the ACA. Insurance before the ACA was expensive, it still is now. His company tiers the employees’ contributions -those who earn more pay a higher percentage than those who earn less,, which lessens the burden for those who don’t earn “big” salaries.
Your beef is not with the ACA, it’s with your employer for not offering better benefits or even with your governor if you live in a state that refused Medicaid expansion. I went from paying a $180/month premium withwith exclusions on all of my “pre-existing” conditions that they wouldn’t pay for treatment for, plus a $3,000 deductible. This year because I make less than 400% of the federal poverty level and my state expanded Medicaid, I pay $50 a month for my premium with no deductible. I was hospitalized for several day and paid nothing out of pocket. And before you flip out at me for being a freeloader, I do work full time for a clinic (and no, they don’t provide me with health insurance) so I pay my taxes just like you do.
My premiums went down $20 a month AND my annual physical, prescriptions, and annual mammogram (prostate exam for guys) were exempted from my deductible. If I change jobs or my employer changes plans, I no longer have to worry about being excluded for a pre-existing condition. Not one of the people who propose abolishing the ACA ever mention what they think should happen to those of us with pre-existing conditions or why they think we shouldn’t be allowed to get coverage, which, by the way, should be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Businesses were very quick to blame things on the ACA and people willingly believed when the problems actually belonged withe the corporations own business decisions, not the law.
This. Most people have no clue how much their insurance premiums actually are. They look at how much they pay, not how much their employer pays. In most cases it’s your employer who is passing on more of the burden to you.
And why is it that we don’t want the government all up in our health care, but we have no problem having our employer do the same? I think we would all be much better off if we got rid of the health care as part of an employee benefits package.
Roxy, the true problem is that a private, profit-driven corporation is providing you with overpriced “health services” under the guise of insurance. The concept of insurance was created (and works) for covering large, unexpected risks – NOT getting between you and your medical care provider for every single treatment you seek, increasing admin costs and tying your doctor’s hands when he/she tries to make medical decisions.
American health care made a wrong turn (to skyrocketing costs) when we allowed profit-driven corporations to manage our health care.
Exactly. Americans opposed single payer because they didn’t want the government involved in their health care, despite the fact that the government licenses providers; doles out “determinations of need” or “certificates of need” to allow for the creation of hospital or nursing home beds or other health care developments; regulates provider services, right down to how far away from a wall your nursing home bed must be; approves medications for treatments of diseases and conditions; provides vaccines for infectious diseases; sets up emergency protocols for epidemics and pandemics; and establishes reimbursement rates for the Medicare program that are used to determine private corporate rates and Medicaid rates, which are often based upon a percentage of medicare rates. No, Americans wanted private industry to have a say in how they access health care and what services your body can receive.
Lucky to live on the west coast where even if they had struck it down, my state had it covered. As a person that had a horrible time attaining insurance before AFA because of former lung tumors, so glad this decision was made because no matter where I move, can keep my insurance. this decision had to be made so now its seen as legally legit in every state. As a born Southerner, just smh when I see the fight against it, when they probably need it the most. Republican party is a bunch of tools because they’ve convinced naive/rural voters not having insurance is best for them, seriously its a big wtf.
You’ve nailed it. I grew up in rural central Florida, and almost everyone in my community proudly voted directly against their own interests. I recently read an article about Appalachian towns that are among the poorest in the country, yet are also among the most conservative… simply because of empty talking points, religion, and misunderstandings.
The writer shed some insight into the superiority complex that drives this ignorance… it’s not always naivete; sometimes it’s an active refusal to identify with other underprivileged people. They want to maintain the illusion that “hard work” is the only thing necessary to get ahead in life, despite the fact that their entire life is a textbook example of why it isn’t. They would rather associate themselves with rich Wall Street brokers than poor inner-city kids (any guesses why…), so they pretend it’s about victimhood vs. accountability instead of human rights vs. greed.
Thank you both – Isabelle and Brittney B – for an astute reading of a self-defeating situation more complex down here than most people imagine. (From an ex-belle who’s temporarily back taking caring of family business – and getting an Obama/socialist/communist ACA earful from conservative family and associates – in Georgia & SC.)
You’ve got it right. I’m in Alabama and shortly before the 2012 election I drove around some of the poorest, most beaten down(white) neighborhoods in my town. They were festooned with Romney yardsigns and bumper stickers. They don’t seem to grasp that the people they support do not support them. That it’s all about big, big business and wealthy donors, not about what could help the middle and lower middle class, no matter the ethnicity.
Idris Elba might be the perfect man. [LaineyGossip] Possibly…but he’s a god-awful actor.
Wow, until now I thought I’d read every possible differing opinion on this blog.
But calling Idris Elba a “bad actor”?
That’s definitely a first.
At this point I believe an entire overhaul of our entire government is needed. In stages, over years, and without all of them from both major parties wasting money. The money each party wastes is what gets me upset the most.
..it would be a great day to have insurance company stock..cha ching!
I remember the photos of the girls first day of school when President Obama was elected. I cannot believe it’s been eight years. Those girls are as tall as their parents.
I havent had any pay decrease bewteen aca and my previous insurance. Before we celebrate and say yaaayyy! Lets actually get to work and see some results.
This is kind of off subject but I work for a school summer camp program and today one of the kids told me that Obama tried to ban summer vacations! Haha!
Could be referring to wanting to start school year 3 wks earlier..it didnt pass
Obama isnt this kind man paying for health care….WE pay for it in taxes! I wonder if he uses “obamacare?”
The Obama girls are such pretty young ladies. They’ve really grown up! I hope they are enjoying all life has to offer them.