What The Health Care Bill Means To You
Last night the Democrats rammed through a historic landmark health care bill that included sweeping reforms in health insurance. While some say health care reform was needed, this bill will take four years just to put a dent in the problems plaguing the health care system. In the end, this bill will not be a fix, and America still does not have free health care.
Here is what this bill means to you in a nutshell:
- No free health care
- Insurance premiums will rise astronomically to cover the uninsured
- Insurance companies will go out of business throwing hundreds of thousands of people out of work
- The bill includes more taxes for those making $250,000+ per year (the people who hired you and will now lay you off)
- Insurance coverage expanded to 32 million people who will be forced to pay their own premiums
- $500 billion in Medicare cuts means more doctors will drop Medicare patients
In anticipation of this bill passing, the giant drug store chain Walgreens has already announced its decision to stop taking Medicare patients. And other chains have already dropped Medicare patients. This won’t mean anything to you if you don’t have elderly parents or grandparents who will have a more diffcult time finding a doctor who will take them.
- By 2014, everyone must purchase health insurance or face a (minimum) $695 annual fine.
Remember when you got laid off and you were offered Cobra coverage that you declined because you couldn’t afford it? Well, now you will be forced to pay for insurance whether you can afford it or not. If you don’t pay, you face that aforementioned fine and/or jail time. Aren’t you anxious to see what your new premiums are going to be?
In addition to paying for car insurance (if you own a car), you will now have to pay for health insurance. If you can’t afford to pay the premiums, you are eligible for subsidies (as long as your income is at poverty level)– but even then, you will still have to pay something. Whereas, before this legislation was passed, you didn’t have to pay anything if you didn’t want to.
- Six months after the bill is signed into law, insurance companies can no longer deny children coverage based on a preexisting condition.
- Starting in 2014, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to anyone with preexisting conditions.
- Insurance companies must allow children to stay on their parent’s insurance plans through age 26.
What they don’t tell you is that there is no cap on the premiums that insurance companies will charge you for a preexisting condition. Yes, you will now be covered for a preexisting condition, but your premiums will be sky high. But I guess paying $1,500+ per month in premiums is better than paying nothing, right?
Illegal immigrants are exempt from paying for health insurance. Which means they will continue to be a burden on the emergency health care system. And guess who pays for their medical care now?
- This bill closes the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole” by 2020. Seniors who hit the donut hole by 2010 will receive a $250 rebate.
- Beginning in 2011, seniors in the gap will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs. The bill also includes $500 billion in Medicare cuts over the next decade.
And please don’t think that this bill lowers your current premiums. In reality, your premiums will rise so the insurance companies can still make a profit. Insurance companies are operating at a 4% profit margin. Compare that to Coca Cola which operates at 19% profit margin (quadruple what insurance companies make).
With such a hit to their bottom line profit margin, more insurance companies will go out of business. Millions will be left without insurance, which is where the government will step in.
If you think the insurance companies are bad, wait until you have to deal with government workers to get approval for your surgery or treatments!
Meanwhile, the illegal immigrants (who can’t get insurance) will continue flooding emergency rooms around the country. And when Obama signs that amnesty bill for illegal immigrants, I hope you welcome them with open arms since your insurance premiums will be paying for their care)..
Instead of the states eating the cost for indigent medical care — the costs will be passed down to YOU in the form of high premiums that you will be forced to pay.
This is the Hope and Change you wanted!
Source: CBS
52 Responses to “What The Health Care Bill Means To You”
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So does this mean that Rush Limbag will now get da fukk outta here and take da rest of his sorry azz ppl wit him Sandra? Will u go back to London and get ur healthcare? Get da fukk out!!!!!!
Hell, I dont know if its a good thing or a bad thing
When someone IM’d me last night the healthcare bill passed I literally got sick to my something.
Because of the gullible, the whole country has to pay the price for the election of this fraud of a President.
Sure, healthcare should have been dealt with long ago– but not in this way.
I hope the Democrats in the House and Senate are happy. They will be joining the rest of the citizens of this great country on the unemployment line come November.
The GOP doesn’t have to even work hard to re-gain the trust they lost, the Democrats are handing them back the power on a silver platter.
Sandra, you sure have a way with words.
We already pay for the uninsurded.
This bill wasn’t even explained to where I knew what it meant. I’m paying $110premium now for single coverage and thought that amt would come down.
However,everybody does need ins so we’ll just hafta see how this goes and keep it moving.
*sick to my stomach. Multi-tasking is of the devil!
Sandra is right. This bill scares the ell out of me. It is probably all Sandra said and then some. I mean the government can’t even get the post office right and they’ve had how many years to get it done? And it’s BROKE. Just like we are all going to be soon. SMDH
blah blah blah, the bill still passed. Deal with it!
It is what it is folks. It’s the same as paying taxes that you barely get to see the results of. Look at it like just another form of mandates “taxes.” If it gets too bad, I’ll probably just go seek asylum in Canada. Hell-my passport is valid!
What’s written above is some b.s….before you believe what SANDRA ROSE says about something as important as healthcare…LEARN IT FOR YOURSELF!!!
SAD!!!
anti-PC Says:
Sure, healthcare should have been dealt with long ago– but not in this way.
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If not this way then what way? I’ve heard this alot but what is your solution? Ya’ll hate on it but don’t have a better solution. I guess it would have been better for them to do nothing. Maybe that would have kept everyone within their comfort zone. Change is uconfortable,…..get used to it.
*uncomfortable*
I’m still reading up on the bill, but you can’t really compare this to the Post Office. The Post Office is mostly failing because of technology. Sure other shipping methods such as FedEx and UPS are in competition, but the bread-and-butter of the Post Office–letters–are just not being sent like they were 10 years ago with the many forms of electronic communication around.
My advice for those currently working is to talk to your Benefits department and hear what they have to say about it. They will be able to break it down in English and let you know how it will personally affect (whether good or bad) you.
I TOLD YOU IT WOULD PASS!
If anyone would like a short read on how this bill might affect your, the New York times has a great article in the Money section. Read it online or check their twitter for a link.
it trips me out when people say “we are now going to have to pay….” YOU PAY ANYWAY!! i mean do where do you think the public hospitals get their money from? the problem with america is that we are all for self. in countries that fund healthcare, it’s understood that the haves will help the have nots. but america is so damn divided that we turn our back on the less fortunate, including the handicapped, mentally unstable, children, and elderly.
Umm, healthcare was never going to be “free” in the first place, so that not being a part of the bill should not be a disappointment to anyone.
And I agree with someone else – please go and read all of the information about the bill for yourself before passing judgement. There is no fix-all for health coverage in this country – there never will be because you can’t please everyone. But, these are steps that are being taken – the final destination has not been reached, but you have to start walking to get there.
The only thing I have a problem with is funding illegal immigrants. No “illegal” person should qualify for any public assistance IMO.
@Lovely……Too Late……they been getting it for years….
If you want to see the entire bill, google “latest version of health care bill” and read it for yourself. People who write summaries purposely leave the important shyt out. Sandra is not too far off in her rant. SMH. People are so pacified by the fact that he’s a “black president” to see him continuing much of the Bush administration agenda. Ummm…FUGGIN NEWS FLASH!!!! There were at least 4 black/biracial presidents before him….and we’re still 3/5 human and chattel of the U.S.
Please over that fairytale mentality that he’s gonna do something different simply because he’s so-called black.
*get* LOL
Lovely One Says:
The only thing I have a problem with is funding illegal immigrants. No “illegal” person should qualify for any public assistance IMO.
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They already qualify for Medicaid and get it.
All I have to say is…I’m GLAD I’m Canadian. From your child is born you get your child’s health card. All dr visits, hospital visits, specialist visits etc are FREE. I’ve given birth to 2 children and paid nothing. I go to my emergency room if I have to, and never have a problem. I love public health care. And it’s only fair that everybody gets the opportunity to quality healthcare regardless of their financial and job status without this big divide between who thinks it’s right and who thinks it’s wrong.
I didn’t even bother to read the entire thing. I stopped reading after the first lie. Wal-mart has not announced its no longer accepting Medicare. It is WALGREENS in Washington state who as of April 16 is no longer acceptiong NEW patients who fill prescriptions through Medicare. Because they have a dispute over reimbursement from their state.
@Mspeng where in Canada do you live? I was seriously considering move to Canada about a yr or so ago.
I’m shaking in my pink booties! Dayum!
To all who HATE the fact that the bill was passed, think if the shoe was on the other foot, and you was the one without healthcare and the bill got passed, someone would be PAYING for you! So before you have a heart attack abt something u can not change, THINK this could be me, I could be the one needing this one day. And now im back to work to finish paying for everyone and everything else, PEACE!!!
@Ksmommy…I live in Toronto. It can get cold (even though this has been a great winter) but one thing I’ll say for here…you SEE your tax dollars hard at work and the social programs are amazing.
Hmm seeing as how I just found myself unemployed with a lapse in cobra, a chronic health condition that disqualifies me for private insurance and many rxs that I need to function on a daily basis that I now can’t afford I’d really like to tell all of you complainers to shut the fluck up. Until you’ve walked in the shoes of the millions of uninsured tax paying Americans who can not get private insurance but don’t qualify for state insurance than you really can’t speak on ****.
Mspeng Says: @Ksmommy…I live in Toronto. It can get cold (even though this has been a great winter) but one thing I’ll say for here…you SEE your tax dollars hard at work and the social programs are amazing.
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the very idea of “social programs” in america sends shivers down our necks. white people believe social programs equal black [and now hispanics] people stealing money out of their pockets.
Ms.Everything Says: Until you’ve walked in the shoes of the millions of uninsured tax paying Americans who can not get private insurance but don’t qualify for state insurance than you really can’t speak on ****.
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i just HEARD [unsubstantiated], that the #1 cause of bankruptcy in america is healthcare costs. we make good money and one of my co-workers is chronically ill. i can’t believe what she pays for medicine (and she’s on one of our plans)! also my grandparents were paying out the whizzle for medications; thankfully they could afford it.
Ms.Everything Says:
Hmm seeing as how I just found myself unemployed with a lapse in cobra
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How will this new bill solve your problems? If you are unemployed, how will you pay for insurance that this new bill mandates you pay?
Oh and a iittle known yet interesting fact since the high cost of cobra was mentioned back in 2009 as part of the stimulus bill congress determined that certain individuals will have their cobra cost cut by 65% meaning instead oh payg $858 each month for myself ill pay $275. Which is a huge benefit but of course critics will complain on that too. I’m out
@ Mspeng: unfortunately, we in America still don’t have free health care. Because of Obama, we’re stuck with paying high premiums for health insurance even if we lose our jobs!! I’m STILL waiting for someone to tell me what’s the benefit in that?
Sandra’s self-hatred and dislike of President Obama causes her to twist the facts. There is so much waste and gouging in the healthcare industry… recently I needed a nebulizer for bronchitis, the durable device company sent my insurance a bill for $985 for a nebulizer that the MSRP was $140 and you could get on Amazon for $60.50. THAT is the type of thing that jacks up insurance! EVERYONE needs healthcare coverage, no one knows when a catastrophic illness will strike. When and if it does, I hope that those affected will be able to get equitable, humane treatment. Investigate how much is being spent on the uninsured today… this is not a bad option.
Ms.Everything Says:
Oh and a iittle known yet interesting fact since the high cost of cobra was mentioned back in 2009 as part of the stimulus bill congress determined that certain individuals will have their cobra cost cut by 65% meaning instead oh payg $858 each month for myself ill pay $275. Which is a huge benefit but of course critics will complain on that too. I’m out
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Let me know how people plan to pay even $275 with no job. I thought the point of health care reform was to make health care affordable for everyone? Now people are forced to pay for insurance even if they are unemployed. What’s the benefit please?
I work in a medical office and deal with insurance billing. The medicare plan deserves to be cut anyway, they make money by delaying claims. THEY ARE HORRIBLE! A lot of medicare patients here are switching to better plans as we speak. Most of the medicare patients benefiting are rich, retired doctors, lawyer,etc. If it’s our own grandmothers,etc, we’ll find a way. The point is this plan is a first step. This wouldn’t be done overnight especially in this complicated country. We’re in debt so I wouldn’t expect everything to be completely free. Instead of complaining, propose solutions. Everyone is a critic when it comes to things like this.
Sandra I saw your comment after I wrote my 2nd one. Unemployment will pay me 1900 per month. Less than what I made in one paycheck and I have 4 kids I support by myself. After paying cobra ill have just enough to cover my rent and utilities but I can make it. I have no choice. $1900 for a family of 5 puts me below poverty level yet because of all the cuts to social services its too much to receive assistance. Mind you I’ve paid taxes for years but now that I need help its unavailable. Does that seem right?
*sigh* Ms.Everything you are so right. You are speaking as an unemployed individual who receives UIB & your point is that your cobra is so damn high you’re barely able to make it. The reform passed would help alleviate that situation.
Most of you naysayers probably didn’t dedicate 30min to reading the bill in the first place. I guess we should wait on the next presidency to try and fix something? Or the republicans?
Lord help us all, the Bible says you can tell a lot about a society by how they treat the poor & less fortunate, smh @ some of us in this country.
And another thing, some of you are so far removed from reality, illegal immigrants have been getting public assistance(translation=free) as long as they have an eligible child, which of course they do. I’m convinced people don’t research they just react.
I am glad that this bill passed. I am not a kool aid drinker, but I do believe that this is a good bill. Stop forming an opinion from what other people are saying, read it for yourself. I keep hearing people say, “Well, from what I heard….”. Stop the madness. People need to educate themsleves concerning this bill. We are considered to be the wealthiiest nation in the world, but we have thousands of people who die every year because they are not insured. .Granted, this bill may not be perfect but it does alot of good. It’s mandatory that we pay for car insurance. Madatory that we pay taxes. I don’t hear anyine complaining about that. The “Rethugs” had 8 years to fix healthcare and didn’t. As a matter of fact they didn’t even try.
@ WalkingKontradiction Says:
And another thing, some of you are so far removed from reality, illegal immigrants have been getting public assistance(translation=free) as long as they have an eligible child, which of course they do. I’m convinced people don’t research they just react.
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To be completely clear, I dont support illegal immigrants or thier children getting public assistance before or after the health bill.
*their*
not being ugly:::: but why is it that the uninsured, most specifically their family, believe that they can keep a half dead, alcoholic, crack head, on a respirator forever at taxpayers expense….this bill is just the beginning…we need tort reform so that doctors can make legitimate intelligent decisions without fear. if you can’t pay for insurance, the government will offer a subsidy. State government offers incentives for the poor, but not that small group that fall through the loops.
oh yeah and it fuuny how people word things..making it look liek medicare is suffering. Only the medicare supplemental programs like “medicare advantage” are getting cut. Both doctors in my office and even Medicare patients agree those were a waste and a big ripoff–THEY’RE SAVING! And trust insurance companies are profiting (no layoffs really)…they’re big winners in this
I think people are so funny we paid trillions of dollars ever month on a war we do not befit from but yet people bitch about heath care for everyone in this country. What wrong with this picture! We have people losing their houses, jobs, and health insurance. I work at a medical center we already paid for the uninsured. The president cannot change anything over night. With people like you Sandra his road is so much hard! What are you doing be side spreading your hate? Why don’t you pick a cause and see if you can change it! People in this country always pointing their fingers at someone else to take the blame for all of broken systems in this country. He’s NOT responsible! He is one man with weight of the world on his shoulders and I do mean the whole world. Give the guy a break!
Joja86 Says:
oh yeah and it fuuny how people word things..making it look liek medicare is suffering. Only the medicare supplemental programs like “medicare advantage” are getting cut. Both doctors in my office and even Medicare patients agree those were a waste and a big ripoff–THEY’RE SAVING! And trust insurance companies are profiting (no layoffs really)…they’re big winners in this
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The insurance companies are the winners because, oops, Obama and the Dems forgot to put a cap on how much the insurance companies can gauge us with premiums. Expect to pay very high premiums real soon. BCBS just announced it’s raising premiums effective April. What will Obama do for an encore? Force people to buy cars?
Im just getting back to read the rest of the comments (I was hoping Sandra would’ve responded back cause I really am interested to hear her opinion on the matter using a more personal example) but @dopedillema are you serious? I take it you know a half dead crackhead alcoholic on a respirator? The problem is that too many are looking at this bill as only benefitting the typical welfare abusing lazy minority portion of society but those people are already receiving healthcare at the taxpayers expense for free they dont contribute a dime. This bill is allowing those who work hard yet cant afford or can not be approved for private health insurance the opportunity to have this. It should have been done long ago. So many people have lost homes, ruined their credit and even worse died from being unable to afford medical care and it should be mandatory for all citizens of this country. just one of my rxs is $165 for a 2 week supply and that’s just one who can afford that? The drug companies, hospitals and drs in this country have been jacking up prices for years with no oversight, this bill is a first step in regulating that and protecting the health and finances of people in this country. Sometimes you have to put yourself in someone elses shoes and think what you would want if you were in that type of position
And Sandra I hope you know I mean no disrespect but you were a nurse you had to have seen the amount of people in hospitals daily dying for things that could’ve been prevented with proper medical care if they had insurance to see a dr regularly. I know the bills not perfect but its a start which is more than we had before. The insurance companies raise rates yearly this is nothing new. 5 years ago I was paying $400 monthly on an employees plan plus $30 copays so these rate hikes will happen regardless until someone steps in and begins to properly regulate the insurance and pharmaceutical companies, unfortunately they donate so much money to the politicians in office that true reform may never happen but again we have to start somewhere and this is a start
I can’t believe some of the people on this board. I have worked in healthcare for 8 years and it’s sad that some employers won’t provide health insurance to some of their employees. I was one of those employees until I was blessed to get the job that I have now. I was denied insurance by one of the biggest insurance underwritters because I have sickle cell disease. That ish isn’t fair. I went uninsured for years because I wasn’t 100% disabled (didn’t qualify for Medicare), I was a full time student, and worked 2 jobs (made too much to qualify for Medicaid)so this is long over due. I have many stories of young and older people who didn’t have insurance or the money to pay for services so they died or were forced to have an amputation. BTW, NEWS FLASH…this will drive the cost of healthcare down, not up!! Women will finally not be penalized for being able to have children and forced to pay higher premiums as a result.
FYI: You are still paying a portion of the healthcare bill for uninsured patients because tiny portion of federal taxes (not Medicare but FICA) go to state hospitals that accept unisured patients…a lot of us in the health care field have discussed this for a while because the prices are sad!! 2 Tyelonal in the hospital are like $25 when you can get a whole daggum bottle for like $6!!
Wake up please!! Think of other people and not just yourselves!!
Ms.Everything
I think a lot of the problem is that people are believing the negative things that the republicans have been spreading in the media. I’m on 80mg oxycontin and it costs $760 a month!! If it were not for my prescription plan through my employer, I’d be assed out!!