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I believe statistics say that expanding Medicaid added 8 million covered folks, about 15% of uninsured Americans, and otherwise Obamacare has only gotten an add

I believe statistics say that expanding Medicaid added 8 million covered folks, about 15% of uninsured Americans, and otherwise Obamacare has only gotten an additional few percent of uninsured Americans to become insured. I don't think the norm is that everyone should have access to health insurance any more than it was before due to Obamacare's negligible increases in coverage. [http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/10/obamacares-enrollment-increase-mainly-due-to-medicaid-expansion http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/10/obamacares-...]

Frondo 10y ago
Oh, I'd agree completely that, as an implementation of universal health care, Obamacare falls far short. I always say, it's better than what preceded it, but that is a pretty low bar to achieve. (My own story: I had my gallbladder out in 2004, and from that time on was denied personal health insurance for BS "pre-existing condition" reasons...until Obamacare.) But while the implementation is pretty poor, the idea behind it is significant: everyone should have access to health care. Not just tied to a job, not just if you've got lots of money. It isn't working great, but that's the goal at least. I know there are still lots of people who come back with opposition to that idea (even in these comments a few people are trotting out the whole "universal health care is slavery" junk), but whatever, there are people who oppose all kinds of things. Obama shifted the playing field of expectations, and good things will come as a result of that. That's all I'm trying to say.
- harryh 10y ago
  (My own story: I had my gallbladder out in 2004, and from that time on was denied personal health insurance for BS "pre-existing condition" reasons...until Obamacare.) Probably you were denied personal health insurance not for BS reasons, but because the insurance companies knew they would (probabilistically) lose money insuring you. But now under Obamacare, if they participate on the exchanges, they are obligated to sell to you. So, shockingly, we see that most companies operating on the exchanges lose money doing so. Your inability to get coverage before and the problems that Aetna is having today are very closely related.
  - eecc 10y ago
    you're suggesting the guy should throw himself off a cliff?
    - harryh 10y ago
      I'm not suggesting he do anything. In fact, I think his story is a great example of what makes the economics of health care so challenging. I was merely pointing out a connection from his personal story to the general topic of conversation that a lot of people don't seem to realize.
      - seanp2k2 10y ago
        When the marker they use to draw a dot on where they need to cut you during surgery costs $50, it's hard for me to believe that the problem with health care is insurance companies not making enough money. Why does all this stuff cost so much in the first place? Medical equipment prices seem so far separated from reality that it's seriously laughable, and it'd be funny if it wasn't everyone who had to find a way to afford this junk. Go look at some prices for medical equipment (where you can even find prices) and see if those prices seem reasonable to you for the equipment. Let's find a way to fix that? This doesn't even touch how some hospitals / networks must buy from a specific vendor, or how vendors sell packages which include things the buyer doesn't need (at the same exorbitant prices).
        wtbob 10y ago
        > When the marker they use to draw a dot on where they need to cut you during surgery costs $50, it's hard for me to believe that the problem with health care is insurance companies not making enough money. The insurance companies are the ones paying for that $50 dot. Well, after their discounts it's probably a $10 dot. It was either Time or Newsweek a few years back which had an excellent long-form article on where health-care spending goes. As I recall, it's not the insurance companies: it's the hospitals, physicians, nurses, other staff and an army of hangers-on and middlemen.
- lemmsjid 10y ago
  Same exact scenario here, except a kidney problem. It was a nightmare to get back into coverage and required ultimately working for a large company. Since that happened I've always thought the lack of universal healthcare was a major cultural lever against entrepreneurship and small business ownership, because stable healthcare coverage is probably the number one draw of working a corporate job. It seems so culturally odd to me that employment and healthcare are so linked in the U.S. Unfortunately I think some people don't understand how existentially frightening it is to get a bunch of rejection letters from insurance companies until it happens to them.

Frondo 10y ago

Oh, I'd agree completely that, as an implementation of universal health care, Obamacare falls far short. I always say, it's better than what preceded it, but that is a pretty low bar to achieve. (My own story: I had my gallbladder out in 2004, and from that time on was denied personal health insurance for BS "pre-existing condition" reasons...until Obamacare.) But while the implementation is pretty poor, the idea behind it is significant: everyone should have access to health care. Not just tied to a job, not just if you've got lots of money. It isn't working great, but that's the goal at least. I know there are still lots of people who come back with opposition to that idea (even in these comments a few people are trotting out the whole "universal health care is slavery" junk), but whatever, there are people who oppose all kinds of things. Obama shifted the playing field of expectations, and good things will come as a result of that. That's all I'm trying to say.

harryh 10y ago
(My own story: I had my gallbladder out in 2004, and from that time on was denied personal health insurance for BS "pre-existing condition" reasons...until Obamacare.) Probably you were denied personal health insurance not for BS reasons, but because the insurance companies knew they would (probabilistically) lose money insuring you. But now under Obamacare, if they participate on the exchanges, they are obligated to sell to you. So, shockingly, we see that most companies operating on the exchanges lose money doing so. Your inability to get coverage before and the problems that Aetna is having today are very closely related.
- eecc 10y ago
  you're suggesting the guy should throw himself off a cliff?
  - harryh 10y ago
    I'm not suggesting he do anything. In fact, I think his story is a great example of what makes the economics of health care so challenging. I was merely pointing out a connection from his personal story to the general topic of conversation that a lot of people don't seem to realize.
    - seanp2k2 10y ago
      When the marker they use to draw a dot on where they need to cut you during surgery costs $50, it's hard for me to believe that the problem with health care is insurance companies not making enough money. Why does all this stuff cost so much in the first place? Medical equipment prices seem so far separated from reality that it's seriously laughable, and it'd be funny if it wasn't everyone who had to find a way to afford this junk. Go look at some prices for medical equipment (where you can even find prices) and see if those prices seem reasonable to you for the equipment. Let's find a way to fix that? This doesn't even touch how some hospitals / networks must buy from a specific vendor, or how vendors sell packages which include things the buyer doesn't need (at the same exorbitant prices).
      - wtbob 10y ago
        > When the marker they use to draw a dot on where they need to cut you during surgery costs $50, it's hard for me to believe that the problem with health care is insurance companies not making enough money. The insurance companies are the ones paying for that $50 dot. Well, after their discounts it's probably a $10 dot. It was either Time or Newsweek a few years back which had an excellent long-form article on where health-care spending goes. As I recall, it's not the insurance companies: it's the hospitals, physicians, nurses, other staff and an army of hangers-on and middlemen.
lemmsjid 10y ago
Same exact scenario here, except a kidney problem. It was a nightmare to get back into coverage and required ultimately working for a large company. Since that happened I've always thought the lack of universal healthcare was a major cultural lever against entrepreneurship and small business ownership, because stable healthcare coverage is probably the number one draw of working a corporate job. It seems so culturally odd to me that employment and healthcare are so linked in the U.S. Unfortunately I think some people don't understand how existentially frightening it is to get a bunch of rejection letters from insurance companies until it happens to them.