The Politics Thread

[ReddFoxx]

And it's also important to note that a lot of people with market rate coverage pre-ACA saw rate increases, but that was only because the insurance companies were offering discount coverage plans that were crappy and once ACA came around those companies had to offer people better overall coverage that ended up being more expensive.

[Juliajms]

Healthcare is going to spiral out of control, no doubt. People who are healthy will go to plans that have high deductibles. Young people without families will go back to not buying insurance, which leads to high premiums as the healthy bow out of the system until they need emergency care. There will be a lot less of the kind of preventative care that cuts healthcare costs overall. I'm really sad for the poor and the chronically ill.

[DRW50]

On the one hand I'm dreading everything after the inauguration because it means Obama has gone and we're in deep [!@#$%^&*], but I'll be glad when it's over. I think all the focus from some people on strongarming acts into canceling was a waste of time and energy and just fed into a lazy narrative that distracted from how many bad things are going on with this Congress and with Trump and with state legislatures. If there was one lesson I thought people had learned after the election it was that pop culture isn't a tenth as important or relevant as it thinks it is and that it's time to reassess their role in society and how they communicate. Sadly, it just hasn't happened, and I guess it never will. You've had genuine attempts (that of course got the usual Faux News outrage), like the Hamilton cast speaking to Pence, but for the most part you still get the same old tedium, like SNL, which actually used to help shape public opinion many years ago, now settling for grade school "pee-pee" jokes and Alec Baldwin screwing up his face for cheap chuckles.

 

The cable comedy shows are doing more, but they're always going to have a limited audience who already agree with what's being said. 

 

This used to be something that people took seriously - pop culture would talk about responsibility, there would be classes about the right way for civil disobedience and speaking out. Now you have dumbasses like those men on the plane where one tweeted about the other going to berate Ivanka Trump in front of her kids. Good for you - who does that help? 

Edited January 17, 2017 by DRW50

[Soapsuds]

It's already happening. My cousin has no insurance. She can not afford it.

[Khan]

Well, I'll say this much: before the ACA was enacted, it was...somewhat difficult to obtain affordable insurance thanks to my pre-existing conditions (namely, hypertension and clinical depression).  But now, thanks to Trump's Insurance for Everybody(tm), I won't need to worry about finding insurance again, because with the pre-existing conditions protection out the window, it'll be virtually impossible.

 

I won't ever again have medical insurance -- but hey, I won't be hassled looking for any either.  So, yeah, silver living, lol.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Khan

[marceline]

 

One of the reasons I'm staying away from protests and marches now is that people don't bother to learn the most effective ways to protest. I've actually undergone civil disobedience training when I was younger in preparation for Operation Rescue coming to town. A lot of these folks seem to think they are going to a party. I was looking in one FB group where people were talking about the Bikers for Trump showing up and saying that they'll probably get arrested. They haven't figured out yet that the cops aren't going to be there to protect them. The cops will be more than happy to arrest them, throw 30 of them in a jail cell so they can barely sit down then crank up the heat. This is fascism. The rules have changed.

[DRW50]

 

I suppose it's about privilege (especially white privilege). I guess if some haven't learned yet they will soon.

[marceline]

 

Another Kent State is inevitable at this point. It may not come this week but it's coming.

[GMac]

 

True story.  As it is now, I've opted for the cheapest coverage HSA "bronze" because I simply can't afford the Silver and Gold options.  High deductibles.  The next step after this will be the "safety net" plan - it's as bad as it sounds.

 

But you hit the nail on the head IRT the healthy dropping out of the system.  It will be one big azz nasty slimy snow ball effect.

 

 

Lord help us.

 

[dragonflies]

 

[JaneAusten]

While I agree with you to a great extent, I think many of them just don't know what to do. THey look at MLK's history and think that everything was changed due to marches and think well I'll march now. And we know the marches didn't change anything. It was their tenaciousness, the boycotts, voter drives, fighting voter intimidation tactics, etc that mattered. I think the marches and gatherings are great to generate attention and enthusiasm but the question becomes where to go from there. And honestly most don't know. THey need to be led. In fact they crave to be led. I was at a Suit Up meeting last week where the room was overflowing and people were begging for direction. One woman stood up and literally said to talk to people. And that's it. And while I understood what she was saying, it's not a very effective motivational tactic. Talk to them exactly about what. The organizer got control and the group was finally divided up into subgroups with people leading them who have experience.

 

I was at the ACA meeting/demonstration on Sunday in Chicago and we had a table setup asking people to help and giving them information on how to best protest including phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses to write to, scripts to help them when they call, and followup actions. We got a ton of people signing up so we'll see if that translates to real help.

 

I do think the ACA pressure is getting attention. Will it change anything at this point? Maybe not but maybe so.

[Juliajms]

For sure, because none of us know when we are going to come down with a catastrophic or chronic illness.  I guess all we can do is hope that people will get fed up and vote differently next time.

[JaneAusten]

And that's the key is getting people registered and getting them to vote. EVERY YEAR. Because there are elections every year not just every 2 years or 4 years. Frankly not teaching civics in school anymore has been a big detriment to a generation of people who only care about reality TV.

[Khan]

 

What was so grand about the free market before the ACA?  For starters, I HAD insurance.  Because of my pre-existing conditions, it probably wasn't the best -- as a matter of fact, the "crappy" coverage plans that ReddFoxx describes upthread comes pretty close to describing what I had -- but at least I had it, which I can't say now (or ever again, thanks to Repealgate).

 

Before the ACA, my monthly premiums never rose above $200/mo.  Also, I never had to re-apply every year for coverage.  In fact, between the age of 25 and the first year of Obamacare, I had only one coverage plan.  I can't recall offhand how many years I've had to apply through the marketplace, but I do know that I've never been able to keep either my previous plan (despite Obama's claims when they passed the ACA that I could -- my insurance company had to cancel my plan because the coverage wasn't adequate by the ACA's criteria, even though it satisfied my personal needs) or any plans acquired via the marketplace for more than one year.

 

I'm not saying my experience mirrors the average American's.  Nor do I disagree with your argument, Jane, or with anyone else's here.  I agree 1000% with everything you all say and have said once I factor myself out of it.  Moreover, I consider myself blessed next to the millions who, before ACA, were up the metaphorical creek and now will be again.  I'm just saying that I cannot be the only one in this country who has yet to benefit from anyone on either side fooling around with something that should have been left alone.

 

IMO, instead of trying to get everyone health insurance, the government -- and that includes the Republicans as well as the Democrats; AFAIC, neither party is off the hook in this situation -- but the government should focus (and should have focused) instead on more aggressive reforms for the entire health care industry -- physicians, hospitals and clinics, insurance companies, pharmaceutical corporations, you name it.  At the risk of sounding like one of the Evanses on "Good Times," something is wrong with the system when one aspirin at the hospital costs more than the same capsule purchased at a drugstore; and because costs are high and getting higher, people who cannot afford these services to begin with have to default on bills and such -- which translates, of course, into higher premiums for those who can still afford them (until they can't anymore, which results in their dropping out, and the vicious cycle continues).

 

Everyone in Washington -- and yes, I do mean everyone, from the president on down -- should have concentrated on reforming the health care industry FIRST, ridding us of these exorbitant costs that necessitate higher insurance premiums, before doing anything else, because -- again, IMO -- once that was under control, then they could have tackled the issue of getting everyone in the country more affordable health care.  However, as things are now, this (higher costs leading to higher premiums) is an issue that's just gonna keep recurring no matter which panacea that either party offers.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Khan

[ReddFoxx]

Calling members of Congress really does help. The more opposition, the better. They will back off if enough people make a fuss, because they are all about keeping their seats. No one wants to lose a huge salary plus benefits, which is what members of Congress get and plenty of them need it badly.