Obamacare : good for you?

[leshoequeen]

S/I health insurance below - do you think obamacare is good for you personally?

For me, yes, but I'm nervous that premiums are going to skyrocket to cover extra benefits like well visits and the end of lifetime maximums.

[LoveTrains]

Yes, I think obamacare is good for me personally. I think the end of lifetime maximums is good for me personally as well as everyone else in America.

[bunch]

Yes, as prenatal preventative care is now covered for me (if and when I become pg again).

[kaylie]

It hasn't made any difference for us so far, but it's been a life saver for my sister who can stay on my mom's insurance for a few more years while she gets her crap together.

[yellowbrkrd]

Yes, I've been screwed for my history of migraines as a "pre existing condition".

[pugz]

it doesn't affect my insurance situation much

but I am a hospital social worker so it is going to mean more of my patients will have coverage and services available to them, which will in turn, hopefully make my job/life easier.

[Deleted]

Right now, I have great insurance that covers basically anything (with some exception, like non-medically necessary plastic surgery and massage) and I don't think there are any yearly/lifetime maximums. I guess I'll get free birth control now, but I don't really "need" that since the cost per month is minimal (I think less than $15).

However, I feel that as a member of society I will benefit by the fact that my friends and family will have access to healthcare that they did not have before. I don't know if my insurance premiums will change or not, and I don't really mind if they do if it means others can now benefit from what I already get. I know that's not what you're asking, but I do feel it's a benefit to me if the people around me can be treated and I don't have to worry about their health.

[Deleted]

I asked this of DH a few weeks ago (he works for a low-cost HMO that provider that offers a supplement to state insurance) and he thinks it will make things a little worse for us personally for the next few decades. As for when we are older and we can benefit from the lifetime max.? He doesn't think it will be in the same format it is now so he doesn't know if it will benefit us or not. He does think there are some who will benefit from it.
P.S. He is in favor of a gov't sponsored medical plan but he doesn't really like ObamaCare as it is now.

[megalicious]

Since I work in healthcare, not really. Payments to providers keep going down, particularly with medicare. I'm still definitely for it!

[Deleted]

Well, right now, it hasn't made a difference except I have a pre-existing condition and it eliminates so many what-ifs. It is one less thing to worry about.

[pugz]

medicare reform is making my job more difficult though, very very hard to prevent readmissions with chronically non-compliant patients

[lanyac]

I don't actually know how it will affect me. Neither of us have pre-existing conditions. We don't get insurance through our jobs, we went through BCBS when he left the military. I miss TriCare, lol.

[CloudBee]

My company sponsored benefits will likely worsen as premiums are going to jump.

[Miss Phryne Fisher]

I think it will benefit DH and I in the long run, he has Crohn's. I live in fear of losing our insurance for even a minute.

[sunny]

I am not anticipating much change for the time being, but the peace of mind is nice re: pre-existing conditions.

[GailGoldie]

i'm all for SOME of it --- the pre existing conditions, staying on until 26, etc... I think that is great - but I'm against the govn't forcing you to purchase anything... and i fear that many employers will now cut out insurance benefits - which will = crappier care for many people.

i'm a drug rep - and doctors that i call on are scared to death about what will happen to health care. Already govn't programs (medicare/aid) are horrible for their offices to deal with - so now they will have more patients with shitty govn't agencies managing their care - more crap for the doc's office to deal with, etc.

I fear greatly that we will have many less doctors - i know many who plan to retire sooner now... and NONE of them encourage young people (their kids, etc) to go into med careers now.

[carfar]

Yes, I have a per existing condition. It will be good to know that I can have coverage with out a group if I don't work.

[Deleted]

Yes, but for a totally different reason - I work in healthcare IT.

[Becca]

Mixed reviews from me.

Considering only my personal wants/needs - our current employer's policies do not have lifetime max caps, and we have had continuous insurance coverage our whole lives, and would use Cobra to never let it lapse, so pre-existing conditions are too much of a concern for me. (at least at this time)

Ultimately, obamacare is going to cause our coverage to be worse, and premiums to be higher. Yuck.

That said, we may see benefits from it at some point.

[mcsangel2]

It is imperitive to me now. I had a stroke in August, and if I lose my job, I am completely uninsurable.

[Doggy Mommy]

For me personally, the most helpful thing will be having BC covered (I have an IUD that will need to be replaced in a couple years). Getting rid of the lifetime maximum is good for everyone.

My husband has arthritis and has been turned down due to this preexisting condition, so it will definitely help him. He has been ok because Colorado has a health care plan for people who have been denied due to preexisting conditions, but it will be great to have more than one option. (And FYI for the person who thinks that preexisting conditions will never be an issue if you have continuous coverage: Not true. My husband has never been uninsured for a single day in his life and has been turned down due to preexisting conditions.)

My father-in-law would probably be dead right now if it wasn't for the lifetime maximum going away when it did. He got a notice from his insurance company saying that he no longer had a lifetime maximum right as he was reaching the $1 million mark for cancer treatment. Had the lifetime maximum not changed when it did, I guess he would have had to just stop treatment and die. There is no way he could afford chemotherapy and surgeries out of pocket.

Health care is my issue this year (not that I would vote for Romney anyway). For some people, it is literally a matter of life and death.

[hannamaren]

As a random Canadian, I have a question. When you consider Obamacare in general, do you think of the greater impact to everyone or do you mostly think of your family unit?
So if you are for it, is it because it would make your life better or because it would be better for the country?
Or the reverse or any other permutation.

[krystee]

With my current policy, it may not make much of a difference or may even be a negative. But I am grateful for it because I would be uninsurable on an individual policy if I didn't have my current job. And my brother gets health insurance under my parents while he's in law school.

[pugz]

hanna I look at the whole but am fortunate to have great insurance through dh's work that we pay nothing for. I mostly look at it from my social worker perspective

[Doggy Mommy]

Oct 8, 2012 21:03:37 GMT -5 hannamaren said:

As a random Canadian, I have a question. When you consider Obamacare in general, do you think of the greater impact to everyone or do you mostly think of your family unit?
So if you are for it, is it because it would make your life better or because it would be better for the country?
Or the reverse or any other permutation.

I absolutely think of the greater impact to everyone. However, having a husband with preexisting conditions and a father in law who has had to deal with the lifetime maximum issue, I feel like I might have a different perspective than people who have never had to deal with these issues. I don't think anyone should have to stay up nights worrying about how quickly they'll die due to not being able to pay for chemotherapy out of pocket.

[lolc]

I will be the first to admit I do not know enough about it to say for a fact whether it will be good for me or not in the long run, but my opinion about it is VERY poor right now.

We have always had good health insurance coverage. We had/have a EPO (the in-between of a PPO and HMO). DH plans to stay with the same employer through to retirement. They have switched insurance carriers several times, and "pre-existing conditions" have never been an issue. What's covered under 1 carrier was also covered under the new carrier, etc.

My favorite part of DH's health insurance has been the FSA. DH's employer opted to allow the maximum (to be set aside for FSA) to be something like 7k. We never needed that much, but one year the amount did creep up above 5k (which is what we had it set at).

Well, as of December 31, 2012, employers cannot allow their employees any more than $2,500 in annual contributions. Because DH's health care goes from Apr 1 -March 31, his employer had to put this $2,500 max into effect Apr. 1st.

Here it is October, and our 2,500 FSA is far gone.

My son has autism and needs multiple therapies. Even with insurance covering the therapies, we are still required to put out a $20 copay per session. I can't even begin to tell you how much that can add up. He's very high functioning so maybe he'll be ok without them... but I'd much rather him be in the therapies.

I tried going to Social Security to apply for medicaid for him (because he has an actual diagnosis/paperwork to support it) and was denied because we make too much and have too much money in the bank. So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Because we're not "rich" enough that this doesn't hurt us. And we're not poor. But if I had the ability to max out my FSA at 7k, this would not be such an issue.

But I can't. But OH WOW, I get a "free" annual wellness exam, "free" annual OBGYN exams, and my kids get "free" annual wellness exams. Yeah. "Free." Well, I'd rather PAY my $20 copay for those exams with the (up to) 7k of MY money set aside in FSA than have the "free" wellness exams. So F-U Obamacare.

[SusanBAnthony]

Very strongly in favor of it, both personally and for our country as a whole.

Personally,in my family, my dh and kids have a genetic condition, and DH has heart issues, and I have a genetic cancer that will kick in at some point. So we can never buy individual insurance. DH was laid off last year, got a new job immediately as a consultant, and we paid cobra. After a year, we had to move xcountry for another job for him at a "real" company to get health care. That is just crazy.

You can say "I'm doing to work for this company until retirement" but it is naive to think they won't lay you off or go under at some point. And if they do you can pay cobra for awhile, but it doesn't last forever.

For society at large, I think health expenses should never bankrupt you and that health insurance should not be tied to employment. Ie I think we need a single payer system. Health insurance profits and the amount of money wasted in the overhead and management of insurance claims is such a waste.

[Deleted]

Oct 8, 2012 21:03:37 GMT -5 hannamaren said:

As a random Canadian, I have a question. When you consider Obamacare in general, do you think of the greater impact to everyone or do you mostly think of your family unit?
So if you are for it, is it because it would make your life better or because it would be better for the country?
Or the reverse or any other permutation.

For me, I look at it as everyone is one step away from being in a different health situation with a different job situation resulting in either no healthcare coverage or poor healthcare options. I admit having a PEC makes me think about this much more especially during the recession. People who thought they were set for life and could never lose their job found out they could. It made me realize I can't always control my situation and I could end up in dire straights and that there are people who are currently living my worst fear.

[ijack]

Yes, as it means that we can't be denied coverage (both DD and I have been).

[geneg]

No, it won't be good for me. I have excellent health care coverage and my taxes will go up to pay for it. But do I think we need national health care, HELL YES! But I worry that people don't understand that having insurance doesn't mean you have HEALTH CARE. "Everyone" had health insurance in Massachusetts (if they didn't, they had to pay a fine on their state income taxes). But you couldn't find a doctor and/or couldn't get an appointment to be seen for primary care. So people still came to the ED for primary care issues and for things that good primary care would prevent.

To sum up: Obamacare means I will pay more, but I am perfectly willing to do so if it means that we can provide healthcare for everyone.