My objection is that I like my insurance, therefore I wish to keep my insurance, period. My objection is I like my doctor(s), therefore I wish to keep my doctor(s), period. My objection lies in the fact that a massive, intrusive, unwieldy, poorly conceived law was literally crammed down the throats of an unwilling American people. And only through deception and legislative chicanery was this accomplished. My objection lies in the fact that i do not want Obama, Pelosi, or any of the pin-headed liberal architects telling me what coverage I must have and where I must buy it. My objective lies in the fact that this law flies in the face of the long standing American values of freedom of choice (that phrase should ring a bell with the liberal audience of this forum). My objection stems from a belief that confiscated money from working people, when said money then gets filtered through many layers of federal and state bureaucracy to help uninsured people is not cost effective. We all would be exponentially better off to simply give those people money to buy insurance in the open market. My objection is triggered by the negative effect that this law has had, and will continue to have on the economy of this country. Allow me to interject that the the average American's income is down 8% since Mr. CHANGE WE NEED assumed office. What exactly is it that you like about Obamacare, oops, sorry, the ACA?
I have a feeling you didn't lose your insurance plan or your doctor since this happens to very few people.
One of the things I really, really like is the fact that every Obamacare horror story the wingnuts came up with were so quickly and thoroughly debunked as outright lies that Conservatives were forced to give up trying to invent new ones.
I like the fact people can't be turned down for pre-existing conditions.
I like the fact that insurance companies are no longer allowed to sell junk policies. I know Conservatives never feel more patriotic than when they are paying big corporations money for substandard services or products, but under Obamacare there are now minimum coverage requirements for all policies.
Maybe my last sentence wasn't exactly correct. Conservatives probably never feel more patriotic than when they are denying services or basic human rights to people living in poverty. I have to say I am very happy those who previously couldn't afford healthcare for their families are now able to thanks to Obamacare.
Here are seven quick points about why I like Obamacare. As LOTB said "Mission Accomplished!"
1. More people have healthcare, the number of people without insurance fell by something like 10 to 12 million, once you add in the young adult who got coverage because of the law's under-26 provision. Meanwhile, hospitals
are reporting that they are seeing fewer and fewer uninsured patients.
2. People who are getting health insurance are almost certainly better off. It seems that people who have insurance are better off than those without. People who get health insurance from the program are significantly less likely to experience financial distress and significantly more likely to report better mental health.
3. “Winners” probably outnumbered “losers” in the new marketplaces. The law also provides tax credits, which offset part or all of the increase for most people, and it actually reduces the price of coverage for people who once higher rates because they were relatively old or in poor health. As a result, many people paid
less for their insurance in 2014 than they had in 2013. And we all know how much Republicans love tax credits. Some of the best evidence I've seen comes from a survey, by the Kaiser Foundation, of people who had previously bought their own, individual insurance policies and had to switch plans because those old plans were not compliant with Obamacare regulations. Of those people, 46 percent of respondents said they ended up paying less, while just 39 percent said they were paying more and 15 percent said they were paying the same. Throw in the fact that most of these people were also getting more comprehensive benefits—and that the survey didn’t even include people who, because of their low incomes, were able to qualify for Medicaid—it seems very likely that there were more winners than losers.
Oh, and don't forget that, in Commonwealth Fund surveys, 68 percent of the people buying marketplace plans rated them as either "good," "very good," or "excellent."
4. Premiums in the marketplaces aren't rising quickly, and more insurers are jumping in to compete. Once the websites were working and enrollment in the new marketplaces increased dramatically, some of the law’s critics fell back on a different argument: Only older and sicker people were signing up for coverage. Carriers would jack up premiums or abandon the marketplaces altogether. Both predictions have proven spectacularly untrue. Multiple studies have shown that, between 2013 and 2014, premiums inside the marketplaces are barely rising.
5. Employer premiums also aren't rising quickly. With all of the attention on the marketplaces, it’s easy to forget that the vast majority of people don’t use them. Most working-age Americans get health insurance through their employers. The law’s critics had predicted Obamacare would disrupt their coverage, too, by causing premiums to skyrocket. Once again, that prediction turned out to be dead wrong.
7. The net effect on the budget has been to reduce the deficit. Say what you will about Obamacare’s architects, but they took their fiscal responsibilities seriously. The law calls for new spending, since the government now has to underwrite the costs of both an expanded Medicaid program and all those subsidies for people buying health insurance. But for every dollar in new spending, there is at least one dollar in either new revenue or new spending cuts. The net effect, according to the CBO, is to reduce the deficit.
