How is the Affordable Healthcare Act known as "Obamacare" actually raising healt

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   Sue B.posted 11 years ago

   How is the Affordable Healthcare Act known as "Obamacare" actually raising healthcare costs?
   
   I have been hearing those arguing against the Affordable Healthcare Act state over and over again that this act is raising healthcare costs.  I have not found how the act is directly increasing healthcare costs and would like to know if it is the case .  We have been in a crisis- Our healthcare costs in America and the number of uninsured have steadily risen each year.  Taxpayers and insured pay for the healthcare costs of the uninsured and private insurance companies make decision after decision to increase profit instead of increase care to the sickest and neediest Americans.

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   Superkevposted 11 years ago

   Here is one of thousands of stories: http://gopthedailydose.com/2013/10/06/v … gulations/
   
   All you have to do is check the Obamacare FB page and see that the overwhelming amount of comments are people who are angry about increased costs and higher deductibles. Oh, you thought this crap sandwich was free did you?? Bwhahahaha!!
   
   This is the train wreck we all warned you about and it's now picking up speed as people are seeing the actual effects of this law that was shoved down our throats by that small, petulant wannabe dictator in the White House.

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      Sue B.posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      While you are voicing a very common point of view, I would love to be able to read the letter he received regarding which new regulation.  I have watched insurance companies drop people year after year when their treatments have become too high.

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      Superkevposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This not a 'point of view' these are real people being very negatively affected by Obamacare. Add that to the people having their hours reduced from a normal 40 hours to below 30, the businesses not hiring that 50th person to avoid it. Real people.

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   LandmarkWealthposted 11 years ago

   Healthcare has consistently advanced in terms of treatments and technology.  And here in the US we have demonstrated the highest survival rates in the treatment of most every major diseases...cancer, HIV, heart disease. Healthcare has had an economic problem.  Increasing costs decrease availability.  The problem is the solutions proposed just build on the existing problems.
   
   According to the govt's own data from the BLS...between 1935-1935 CPI (general inflation) was about 2.8% annually. The cost of healthcare was about 3% annually. They moved largely in tandem. In 1965 the gov't entered the healthcare business no longer as a regulator, but as a participant.  Since then 1965-today the cost have risen at a pace of about 40% above CPI.  The problem is that there is no longer a healthcare market.  The Gov't is already the largest insurer in the industry.  They redirected massive amounts of price distortion towards the remaining insurers over the years. They buried Dr's in red tape and made it extremely expensive to operate a medical practice.  Prior to the gov't involving itself in the medical industry, Dr's accepted what you could afford to pay, and most people didn't use insurance for basic maintenance.  The govt's involvement has slowly destroyed any form of price discovery.  This newest legislation is an even larger  bureaucratic disaster made up of more than 20k pages of regulations and growing. 
   
   A recent trend is beginning to grow among medical practitioners, which I expect to accelerate.  They are opting out of all forms of insurance.  And not by coincidence, they are cutting cost in many cases by 50-60%. And the Dr's are able to make more money, while spending more time with patients. Some are back to making house calls.  Unfortunately, too many people still think it is possible for the gov't to participate in a market and not have an adverse affect on either cost, quality, availability or all three. That is because too many people are looking at the problem emotionally rather than a practical economic solution for an economic problem, that would improve things for the nation as a whole.  A look at some of the below examples demonstrates just how much fat has been added into the system unnecessarily.  And what can happen when we deal with Dr's direct.
   
   http://bangordailynews.com/2013/05/27/n … es-online/
   
   http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/11/news/ec … index.html

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   Larry Wallposted 11 years ago

   When you ask and use the phrase "raising health costs" are you asking if the actual cost of providing good health care increasing, or is the cost of purchasing insurance to provide that health care increasing. There is a substantial difference.
   
   I think Obamacare probably has some flaws--most laws do. I am going to purchase insurance through the program, because as of right now I cannot buy decent health insurance because of prior health conditions.
   
   I intend to get the best plan that is being offered. I am paying $550 for "wannabe" insurance for my wife and myself and a ton more out of pocket. I also have a $30,000 hospital bill hanging over my head.
   
   I do not know where the cries that the health costs are going up are coming from. The lower levels require a greater co-payment but allow a lower premium. For us old folks, we pay a higher premium but smaller co-pay, so we can budget our health care costs.
   
   Those that always used the hospital emergency room as their doctors are in for a shock. Everyone is going to pay--as they should.
   
   The argument against the Affordable Health Care Act is the result of two things.
   
   It was proposed by a Democrat, and opposed by the Republicans and upheld by the Supreme Court.
   
   Secondly, and I hate to say this, it was proposed by our first Black President, and I am fully convinced that there is a considerable amount of racial prejudice associated with the plan.
   
   There will be hitches. I tried using the site today, and the portion where you create an account kept generating errors. Now that AT&T has my home phone working (after waiting a week) I may call and try to get the ball rolling, as the saying goes.
   
   This plan will allow people like me who are too young for Medicare, but have prior health conditions from being turned down by the major insurance companies. In my opinion, we have taken a major step toward equality.

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      Larry Wallposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you. As an added note I was able to purchase a one month supply of seven prescriptions for a $5 co-pay for each or $15 for three months. Purchasing from a Canadian pharmacy without insurance would had been about $400 vs. the $75 will spend.

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