Obama's healthcare plan

by Guest » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:35 pm
Guest

Hi, can anyone give me a summary of Obama's health care plan. I don't need to know about the ongoing clash that's going over it. Mellisamoore

Total Comments: 24

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 03:42 pm Post Subject:

In one word: Socialism.

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 04:38 pm Post Subject:

No need to reinvent the wheel:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:38 am Post Subject:

Hi all,

I'm not aware of the entire thing..but yeah, it focuses a lot on health coverage to be offered by employers. It also stresses upon retaining such coverage for workers who've lost jobs and mandates offering health insurance to children.
Thanks..Pinkfloydfan

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:36 pm Post Subject:

I know someone will probaly argue with me on this one but I don't think it will turn out to be good. I recently read up on this and what really irks me is eventually there will not be enough money to completely cover a plan like he is imposing and all us middle class tax payers will once again be footing someone elses bill.
One purposed method of helping cove costs was taxing the people with health benefits on those exact benefits. This meaning if you had $20,000 worth of coverage thru your employer you could be taxed as income on part of that. That is crap. We pay enough already. I do not know if that part is still on the table but I am sure once this health care thing gets rolling someway, sometime, it will come back to bite all the middle class. I think the whole world woulod benefit more from the government knocking people off welfare and social security...at least the ones that do not need it. That alone would probaly pay for this plan.

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 01:00 am Post Subject: insurance

It's ALMOST like the 'plan' that's happening now, with the 'gt mney for your clunkers'. What do you do if 'they' run out of money?..yep..they spent MORE money giving MORE people money for their 'clunkers'. I'm bringing this up because I don't think their should have been a 'program' for this. In my opionion,....it was a waste of money (sound familiar?). They should have used the money for something 'we' REALLY need.............HEALTHCARE!!

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 01:59 am Post Subject:

This new health insurance reform that Obama is pushing sounds OK for some, detracting to others. But I haven't heard anyone say anything about how beneficiaries must know exactly which company holds what asset in order for them to inherit it.

The reform is all well and great but I want there to be money left for my family after I pass away. I recently learned that billions of dollars get lost every year because beneficiaries don’t remember the company or simply don’t know enough about assets. I found link removed by moderator after finding out about this horrible occurrence, and learned it really helps prevent confusion and can protect familes nationwide.

They use technology that allows them to find out when a registered user has passed away, and notifies the listed beneficiaries; and this is for free, by the way. They also provide free insurance quotes for various companies and give cheap prices for them.

It really helped me out finding this website, and I wanted to share this with others who didn't know about this terrible problem. Has anyone else heard about this phenomenon?

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 02:09 am Post Subject: insurance

I think the above post WAS a double-post...it was said twice. Anyway.....I know several people who have had their Healthcare benefits decreased, yet, they have to pay the same premium as they have paid in the past. How fair is that?!

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 02:42 am Post Subject:

Opinions? I have just a few...

Obama's health care plan is arguably one of the poorest pieces of legislation that I have ever personally witnessed in my entire insurance career spanning more than 25 years. It is full of holes, doesn't address some of the most critical elements of the issue (tort reform, liability issues, preventive medicine and a slew of other omissions), will not EVEN BE CLOSE TO REVENUE-NEUTRAL, and will end up bankrupting this country.

I do not say this lightly or without knowledge. I am on several state and national committees that deal specifically with health care issues, have worked with several U.S. senators and their health care plans, have intimate knowledge of the insurance industry from both a regulator and producer/insurer viewpoint and lecture regularly on this subject.

Is the healthcare system broken? It is. Does it need overhauling? It absolutely does. Is Obama's plan the answer. Without equivocation or hesitation- NO!

Without going insane here on this subject (and I could), let me just say this: Why would any sane person actually think that it's a GOOD IDEA to place a $2.6 TRILLION piece of the economy in the hands of the federal government? Does ANYONE think that's rational? Health care in this country accounts for one-sixth of our entire national economy, and you want to put it in the custody of the FEDS? They can't even handle a flood in New Orleans and get it right, and you want to put them in charge of your health care?

Sure, there's mention of state regulation and the state's ability to "govern" within their jurisdiction and make their own sets of rules. Yeah...as long as you understand that our nation's new "Health Choices Commissioner" (read "Health Benefits Nazi") will be the ultimate and singular decision-maker if it all comes down to it, so to speak. And even better- it's an appointed position! No chance for a bit of nepotism or favoritism there, right! We sure wouldn't let the special interests or political pressure affect decisions here, would we? Let's see...it's the President's plan, and HE will likely nominate this commissioner...hmmmmmmmmm. Nah, no problem.

Finally (for this post), I'm sick and tired of the general population laying all of the blame at the doorstep of insurers. Are rates increasing for premiums? Of course they are. People talk about medical inflation compared to other inflationary measures; again a problem. Have you heard ANYONE discuss why this is a problem? Not really, you hear a snippet here and there. How about meaningful tort reform, how about caps on punitive and special damages? What about lawyers who were given free reign to advertise that if "you've been injured/hurt/made ill/violated in any shape/form, call US!! We'll sue the bast*rds! Frivolous lawsuits, depending on who you ask, account for 1/3 off all legal costs. Sue happy lawyers don't help. And remember- it's NEVER your fault, it's ALWAYS somebody else's fault! How about obesity and all of those other good things that people do to themselves to stay so healthy? Insurers don't make NEAR the profit that people think. Health insurers operate on a razor-thin margin...the numbers are public-domain, so look them up.

Don't be a SHEEP...think for yourself and get educated on this. If you don't stand up for yourself now and get heard, it's gonna be too late and you'll be stuck with whatever comes down the pike.

I could ramble forever, but I'm stopping for now. More later if requested.

InsTeacher 8)

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 08:04 am Post Subject:

Hi..

Frivolous lawsuits, depending on who you ask, account for 1/3 off all legal costs.



More often the insured would believe that he's the one who's over-burdened with the lawsuit costs, which in turn affects the settlement.

Now, there's no one to think of the legal costs that have to be borne by the carrier. The bulk of legal costs to be shared by the carrier would surely affect the premiums to be borne by it's customers through some stage.

Pinkfloydfan

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 02:06 am Post Subject: insurance

I think you've said it all, INSTEACHER!! I think to myself:.."What about our children?" By the time all of THIS is done (how to pay for Heathcare,etc.) , either the prmiums will be SOO high that NO ONE can afford to get it,..OR..there will be no Heathcare to buy!! Our kids won't be healthy because we can't pay all the majorly high costs out of our pocket, etc. Just very scary to think about.

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