Seriously, Can Someone Explain Obamacare??

obama cares

Buy insurance or pay a fine to the IRS

Insure all your full-time employees or reduce their hours to less than 30, or else pay a huge fine to the IRS

Medicare cuts. Doctor reimbursement rates significantly lowered. Taxes taxes taxes. Exemptions for companies Obama likes.


That's really about all there is to it.

50 dangers of Obamacare


[link to www.coachisright.com]

OK, so if you lose your job, or your employer cuts your hours, how long does a private citizen have to get his own coverage?

It seems it'll be a system wherein everyone has to get their own insurance, as companies will cut back. Or if you lose your job you'll still be insured. So basically, this will probably kill employee benefits that companies offer.

But as I asked, if you have insurance, but then lose it, is their a grace period to find new coverage, or do you pay per day of being uninsured??

What I don't understand is if you work for an employer and they provide health insurance to employees under obamacare...the employee still has to pay for the health benefits right?? I keep hearing about all the Papa Johns employees who are pissed about losing hours and are telling the CEO to raise prices on the pizzas to cover the health insurance but I don't think that means Papa Johns actually has to pay 100% for the employee's health insurance right?

Or am I wrong? I think there is a huge misconception that this is free healthcare.

You pay into health care from your paycheck, but the company also pays into it per employee, but that's usually for full-time employees (40 hours a week or more) only.

If you work less than 40 hours, depending on the insurance policy, the company you work for doesn't have to pay anything toward your coverage. Meaning that if you work less than 40 hrs, you're still eligible for your company's insurance plan, but YOU pay for everything.

And now you really can't chose to go without it, because then you'd have to pay the government for being uninsured.



Amen! You're absolutely correct. People think it's going to be like Canada or the UK where they have ONE insurance company run by the govt. that everyone belongs to....but it's not going to be that way.

So from what I gather, no one knows exactly. Wonderful.

People under a certain income level are exempt

Basically you now will owe the government another $2500 of your salary in one way or another....taxes....or punitive penalties for not having insurance.


In other words......

...and watch what that does to the economy as people work ONLY ENOUGH to stay under that level.

I don't think you're taxed if you already have insurance, the tax is for NOT having insurance. That was the gist of the supreme court ruling, that if there's a way to avoid the tax (in this case getting insured) then it doesn't violate the constitution...according to Supreme Court.

But what if you have coverage and then lose it? Do you have X days to get re-insured or do you pay for any day uninsured come tax time. No one seems to know.

good questions op. i think it was set up all fucked up and confusing so the masses will demand the gubment "fix" it and the end result will be a single payer system, they just didn't want to spring that on people from the beginning. just my 2 cents.

OK, but say you have it through an employer and then lose your job or become ineligible because they cut your hours...do they give you a grace period to find new coverage?

See, if you lose your job in October after having worked Jan-Sept, you'd most likely be over the limit, meaning you wouldn't be exempt for not earning enough.

Yet, you'd be without coverage from October on, would you have to pay Oct-Dec uninsured come tax season? This seems to be a key question no one is asking.

They treat it as ALWAYS insured vs. ALWAYS uninsured. In reality, people who are insured at one point may lose it...then what?

President Reagan explaining it,
lonelyconservative.com/2009/08/ronald-reagans-warning-about-s​ocialized-medicine-video-and-complete-transcript/

What concerns me is that I learned is that your employer will be required to put what you receive in health care benefit on your W-2. Say your employer pays 10 dollars per month, $520 will go in a separate box on your W-2. What I don't know is if they will be taxing you, calling it additional income. As far as I recall this will be going on your 2013 W-2.

Okay, explained like you're a five year-old (well, okay, maybe a bit older), without too much oversimplification, and (hopefully) without sounding too biased:

What people call "Obamacare" is actually the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (abbreviated to PPACA or ACA). However, people were calling it "Obamacare" before everyone even hammered out what it would be. It's a term that was, at first, mostly used by people who didn't like the PPACA, and it's become popularized in part because PPACA is a really long and awkward name, even when you turn it into an acronym like that. Barack Obama has since said that he actually likes the term "Obamacare" because, he says, "I do care".

Anyway, the PPACA made a bunch of new rules regarding health care, with the purpose of making health care more affordable for everyone. Opponents of the PPACA, on the other hand, feel that the rules it makes take away too many freedoms and force people (both individuals and businesses) to do things they shouldn't have to.

So what does it do? Well, here is everything, in the order of when it goes into effect (because some of it happens later than other parts of it):

(Note: Page numbers listed in citations are the page numbers within the PDF, not the page numbers of the document itself)

Already in effect:

It allows the Food and Drug Administration to approve more generic drugs (making for more competition in the market to drive down prices) ( Citation: An entire section of the bill, called Title VII, is devoted to this, starting on page 766 )

It increases the rebates on drugs people get through Medicare (so drugs cost less) ( Citation: Page 235, sec. 2501 )

It establishes a non-profit group, that the government doesn't directly control, PCORI, to study different kinds of treatments to see what works better and is the best use of money. ( Citation: Page 684, sec. 1181 )

It makes chain restaurants like McDonalds display how many calories are in all of their foods, so people can have an easier time making choices to eat healthy. ( Citation: Page 518, sec. 4205 )

It makes a "high-risk pool" for people with pre-existing conditions. Basically, this is a way to slowly ease into getting rid of "pre-existing conditions" altogether. For now, people who already have health issues that would be considered "pre-existing conditions" can still get insurance, but at different rates than people without them. ( Citation: Page 49, sec. 1101, Page 64, sec. 2704, and Page 65, sec. 2702 )

It forbids insurance companies from discriminating based on a disability, or because they were the victim of domestic abuse in the past (yes, insurers really did deny coverage for that) ( Citation: Page 66, sec. 2705 )

It renews some old policies, and calls for the appointment of various positions.

It creates a new 10% tax on indoor tanning booths. ( Citation: Page 942, sec. 5000B )

It says that health insurance companies can no longer tell customers that they won't get any more coverage because they have hit a "lifetime limit". Basically, if someone has paid for health insurance, that company can't tell that person that he's used that insurance too much throughout his life so they won't cover him any more. They can't do this for lifetime spending, and they're limited in how much they can do this for yearly spending. ( Citation: Page 33, sec. 2711 )

Kids can continue to be covered by their parents' health insurance until they're 26. ( Citation: Page 34, sec. 2714 )

No more "pre-existing conditions" for kids under the age of 19. ( Citation: Page 64, sec. 2704 and Page 76, sec. 1255 )

Insurers have less ability to change the amount customers have to pay for their plans. ( Citation: Page 66, sec. 2794 )

People in the "Medicare Part D Coverage Gap" (also referred to as the "Donut Hole") get a rebate to make up for the extra money they would otherwise have to spend. ( Citation: Page 398, sec. 3301 )

Insurers can't just drop customers once they get sick. ( Citation: Page 33, sec. 2712 )

Insurers have to tell customers what they're spending money on. (Instead of just "administrative fee", they have to be more specific).

Insurers need to have an appeals process for when they turn down a claim, so customers have some manner of recourse other than a lawsuit when they're turned down. ( Citation: Page 42, sec. 2719 )

Anti-fraud funding is increased and new ways to stop fraud are created. ( Citation: Page 718, sec. 6402 )

Medicare extends to smaller hospitals. ( Citation: Starting on page 363, the entire section "Part II" seems to deal with this )

Medicare patients with chronic illnesses must be monitored more thoroughly.

Reduces the costs for some companies that handle benefits for the elderly. ( Citation: Page 511, sec. 4202 )

A new website is made to give people insurance and health information. (I think this is it: [link to www.healthcare.gov] ). ( Citation: Page 55, sec. 1103 )

A credit program is made that will make it easier for business to invest in new ways to treat illness by paying half the cost of the investment. (Note - this program was temporary. It already ended) ( Citation: Page 849, sec. 9023 )

A limit is placed on just how much of a percentage of the money an insurer makes can be profit, to make sure they're not price-gouging customers. ( Citation: Page 41, sec. 1101 )

A limit is placed on what type of insurance accounts can be used to pay for over-the-counter drugs without a prescription. Basically, your insurer isn't paying for the Aspirin you bought for that hangover. ( Citation: Page 819, sec. 9003 )

Employers need to list the benefits they provided to employees on their tax forms. ( Citation: Page 819, sec. 9002 )

Any new health plans must provide preventive care (mammograms, colonoscopies, etc.) without requiring any sort of co-pay or charge. ( Citation: Page 33, sec. 2713 )

1/1/2013

If you make over $200,000 a year, your taxes go up a tiny bit (0.9%). Edit: To address those who take issue with the word "tiny", a change of 0.9% is relatively tiny. Any look at how taxes have fluctuated over the years will reveal that a change of less than one percent is miniscule, especially when we're talking about people in the top 5% of earners. ( Citation: Page 837, sec. 9015 )

1/1/2014

This is when a lot of the really big changes happen.

No more "pre-existing conditions". At all. People will be charged the same regardless of their medical history. ( Citation: Page 64, sec. 2704, Page 65, sec. 2701, and Page 76, sec. 1255 )

If you can afford insurance but do not get it, you will be charged a fee. This is the "mandate" that people are talking about. Basically, it's a trade-off for the "pre-existing conditions" bit, saying that since insurers now have to cover you regardless of what you have, you can't just wait to buy insurance until you get sick. Otherwise no one would buy insurance until they needed it. You can opt not to get insurance, but you'll have to pay the fee instead, unless of course you're not buying insurance because you just can't afford it. (Note: On 6/28/12, the Supreme Court ruled that this is Constitutional, as long as it's considered a tax on the uninsured and not a penalty for not buying insurance... nitpicking about wording, mostly, but the long and short of it is, it looks like this is accepted by the courts) ( Citation: Page 164, sec. 5000A, and here is the actual court ruling for those who wish to read it. )

Question: What determines whether or not I can afford the mandate? Will I be forced to pay for insurance I can't afford?

Answer: There are all kinds of checks in place to keep you from getting screwed. Kaiser actually has a webpage with a pretty good rundown on it, if you're worried about it. You can see it here.

Okay, have we got that settled? Okay, moving on...

Medicaid can now be used by everyone up to 133% of the poverty line (basically, a lot more poor people can get insurance) ( Citation: Page 198, sec. 2001 ) (Note: The recent court ruling says that states can opt out of this and that the Federal government cannot penalize them by withholding Medicaid funding, but as far as I can tell, nothing is stopping the Federal government from simply just offering incentives to those who do opt to do it, instead)

Small businesses get some tax credits for two years. (It looks like this is specifically for businesses with 25 or fewer employees) ( Citation: Page 157, sec. 1421 )

Businesses with over 50 employees must offer health insurance to full-time employees, or pay a penalty. ( Citation: Page 174, sec. 4980H )

Question: Can't businesses just fire employees or make them work part-time to get around this requirement? Also, what about businesses with multiple locations?

Answer: Switching to part-time only won't help, as the Affordable Care Act counts the hours worked, not the number of full-time employees you have. So if your employees worked an equivalent of 50 full-time employees' hours, the requirement kicks in. Really, the only plausible way a business could reasonably utilize this strategy is if they currently operate with just over the 50-employee number, and could still operate with under 50 employees, and have no intention to expand. Also, regarding the questions about multiple locations, this legal website analyzed the law and claims that multiple locations in one chain all count as a part of the same business (meaning employers like Wal-Mart can't get around this by being under 50 employees in one store - they'd have to be under that for the entire chain, which just ain't happening). Independently-owned franchises are different, however, as they have a separate owner and as such aren't included under the same net as the parent company. However, any individual franchise with over 50 employees will have to meet the requirement.

Insurers now can't do annual spending caps. Their customers can get as much health care in a given year as they need. ( Citation: Page 33, sec. 2711 )

Limits how high of an annual deductible insurers can charge customers. ( Citation: Page 81, sec. 1302 )

Health insurance cannot discriminate against women on pricing or plan availability ( [Citation: Page 185, sec. 1557( [link to housedocs.house.gov] )

Reduce costs for some Medicare spending, which in turn are put right back into Medicare to increase its solvency. Most notably, this bill reduces the amount that Medicare Advantage pays to be more in line with other areas of Medicare ( Citation: Page 384, Sec. 3201 and Page 389, Sec. 3202 ), and reduces the growth of Medicare payments in the future ( Citation: Page 426, Sec. 3402 ). The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that between 2012 and 2022, this will amount to $716 Billion in reduced spending ( Citation: CBO Estimate ). Also being cut is $22 Billion from the Medicare Improvement Fund, most likely because the PPACA does a lot of the same stuff, so that spending would be redundant ( Citation: Page 361, Sec. 3112 ).

Place a $2500 limit on tax-free spending on FSAs (accounts for medical spending). Basically, people using these accounts now have to pay taxes on any money over $2500 they put into them. ( Citation: Page 820, sec. 9005 )

Establish health insurance exchanges and rebates for the lower and middle-class, basically making it so they have an easier time getting affordable medical coverage. ( Citation: Page 107, sec. 1311 )

Congress and Congressional staff will only be offered the same insurance offered to people in the insurance exchanges, rather than Federal Insurance. Basically, we won't be footing their health care bills any more than any other American citizen. ( Citation: Page 100, sec. 1312 )

A new tax on pharmaceutical companies.

A new tax on the purchase of medical devices.

A new tax on insurance companies based on their market share. Basically, the more of the market they control, the more they'll get taxed.

Raises the bar for how much your medical expenses must cost before you can start deducting them from your taxes

CARE? Like UNICEF?

Must be a Kennedy thing. Csori they didn't all go extinct, can't blame a girl for trying. (LOL)

Oh its easy. We OZONE treat your water and neutron bomb you for the Vaticanski becauseski weski careski.

1/1/2015

Doctors' pay will be determined by the quality of their care, not how many people they treat. Edit: a_real_MD addresses questions regarding this one in far more detail and with far more expertise than I can offer in this post. If you're looking for a more in-depth explanation of this one (as many of you are), I highly recommend you give his post a read.

1/1/2017

If any state can come up with their own plan, one which gives citizens the same level of care at the same price as the PPACA, they can ask the Secretary of Health and Human Resources for permission to do their plan instead of the PPACA. So if they can get the same results without, say, the mandate, they can be allowed to do so. Vermont, for example, has expressed a desire to just go straight to single-payer (in simple terms, everyone is covered, and medical expenses are paid by taxpayers). ( Citation: Page 117, sec. 1332 )

2018

All health care plans must now cover preventive care (not just the new ones).

A new tax on "Cadillac" health care plans (more expensive plans for rich people who want fancier coverage).

2020

The elimination of the "Medicare gap"

I've seen this list before, but it still doesn't really answer the questions I had.

It's easy to post links and copy-paste long lines of text, but if you read my questions, which mostly revolve around loss of coverage from termination of a job or reduction in hours, none of that is addressed in what you posted.

Legislation developed by Bill Ayres to destroy this country.

The goal is to stop tax refund checks to people who do not pay taxes. They know they will not get insurance.

-private army for obongo

-huge tax hikes

-dr. offices will now resemble DMV's in inner cities

-Politics will now dictate what kind of treatment you receive, it will be limited and rationed

I guess the idea is that the money they'd get back would go to cover the fine for not being insured.

But I still don't understand how it works if you have insurance then lose it. Will COBRA become mandatory?

Obamacare is the government takeover of 1/7th of the US economy. They are coming for energy next.

I would imagine if your Company dropped your insurance you would be required to go on the Exchange and buy it. Most insurance is paid on a monthly basis so you would probably have until the following month to apply. As this plan rolls out there will be changes and adjustments as problems will no doubt arise in a system this complex.

5 years after implementation of O-Care the taxes on business are going to rise so high ( by design ) Companies will no longer be able to afford it and therefore people will have to go on the "Exchange" or Govment plan.

2) Gummint have access to your bank account
3) RFID Chip implanted by March 2013
4) DR's to go over how you want to die if your over 50 ( Death panels )
5) Illegals will be covered under this plan
6) when selling your home over 200K you will now pay a capital gains tax, same with land
7) Goverment tells you what care you will get
8) Goverment tells you what dR to see
9) Gummint will put a cap on how much they spend on your sickness

And much much more............. don't beleive me, look it up for yourself. I read most of it

C'mon man you have to pass the legislation to find out what's in it.

USSA, the next COMMUNIST country. Never thought I would live to see this happen with my own eyes.

It took 200+ Years to build this greatest nation we live in and about 4 years to tear it all down.

Obama = Hitler