Thoughts on ObamaCare?

[TheWalrus]

I work with high-end surgeons and with hospital executives at my current job... they consult with me regarding the state of the job market, reimbursements, etc and I assist them in finding a new position or in adding to a hospital's staff if necessary.

The surgeons are frightened by this bill because they are going to be the ones who end up taking the brunt of the costs. I am already noticing a steady migration away from private practice and into a hospital-employed or hospital-owned group situation because of this.

From my point of view, this bill is going to reduce healthcare costs by reducing the amount of emergency surgeries that need to be done and, as mentioned in the post above, come out of the pockets of the surgeons and the major healthcare systems via reduced reimbursement levels. This demand should be offset somewhat by an increased demand for primary care doctors and mid-level practitioners as more people get regular check ups and will probably not really effect specialists such as cardiologists, neurologists, etc.

Most of the surgeons dislike Obamacare but, to be honest, most of them are completely clueless in regards to business, healthcare administration, and politics. Healthcare administrators all seem to be neutral on the bill... usually citing specific concerns such as the lack of malpractice reform but they are generally happy that we are building a framework to help corral the out-of-control costs.

This is what I hear from the people who are most effected by this... do with this knowledge what you will.

Good post.

[LouPhinFan]

To be honest none of this is really going to matter unless the people of this country start taking better care of themselves. Obesity and it's related diseases are this country's "global warming". Insurance rates will go up and bankrupt you or having with a public option it will bankrupt the government, inturn bankrupting you. If you think Medicare costs are skyrocketing, wait until there's a national public plan like Canada's or Britain's and see how much of an eventual chunk that takes out of the national budget...all because people refuse to give up their 5000 calorie dinners at Chili's and their video game playing slothful life style.

[trojanma]

Good Point LouPhin

[Buddy]

CBO shows a net savings for the government by having Obamacare in place. Tax payers end up footing the bill when people don't pay their hospital bills as is, so how exactly is Obamacare any different? In fact, this makes it cheaper for some families, because they can keep their kids on their insurance plan until they're 25. It also means insurance companies can't refuse to cover anyone. I'd prefer if it wasn't privatized, but it's a step in the right direction. Eventually we'll have true socialized healthcare, and when we do, I can guarantee everyone is going to wonder why the hell they were so against it in the first place...

Locke, I know that you are a smart kid and very well educated. However, the only people that will ever receive better or cheaper healthcare under any type of socialized medicine is the one's who couldn't afford it in the first place but made too much to be on medicaid. That is a very, very small sliver of the population. I earned an MBA and work for an outstanding company that includes excellent health care coverage from Aetna as part of my benefits package. I have seen nothing but reduced coverage and/or higher costs as a result of Obamacare, there are no benefits for people like me which comprises the "middle class" that everyone is supposed to be protecting. Additionally, my FIL, who is a retired mail carrier, has seen his costs go up significantly for his Medicare, NALC Supplement, and his prescriptions...particularly his breathing treatments which increased from $55/90 day supply to $298. He is doing OK and not suprisingly voted a straight Democrat ticket, again, because he is up to his neck in the Postal Workers Union. I do attribute some of this mess to GWB and his Medicare Part D debocle so it isn't all Obama's fault. However, our country is trying to fix a problem by going in the exact wrong direction. The answer is to remove the barriers to coverage and provide a reasonable framework of regulation to work within, not to socialize everything. I have lived in a country with socialized medicine and although it is convenient, the quality of care is far inferior to our own. If more people were employed and available workforce was scarce instead of the jobs being scarce, then more companies could and would offer health care coverage to their employees. I don't even have a problem with a public option, necessarily, as long as they play by the same rules as everyone else instead of the bully pulpit that Medicare enjoys.

[JackFinfan]

Locke, I know that you are a smart kid and very well educated. However, the only people that will ever receive better or cheaper healthcare under any type of socialized medicine is the one's who couldn't afford it in the first place but made too much to be on medicaid. That is a very, very small sliver of the population. I earned an MBA and work for an outstanding company that includes excellent health care coverage from Aetna as part of my benefits package. I have seen nothing but reduced coverage and/or higher costs as a result of Obamacare, there are no benefits for people like me which comprises the "middle class" that everyone is supposed to be protecting. Additionally, my FIL, who is a retired mail carrier, has seen his costs go up significantly for his Medicare, NALC Supplement, and his prescriptions...particularly his breathing treatments which increased from $55/90 day supply to $298. He is doing OK and not suprisingly voted a straight Democrat ticket, again, because he is up to his neck in the Postal Workers Union. I do attribute some of this mess to GWB and his Medicare Part D debocle so it isn't all Obama's fault. However, our country is trying to fix a problem by going in the exact wrong direction. The answer is to remove the barriers to coverage and provide a reasonable framework of regulation to work within, not to socialize everything. I have lived in a country with socialized medicine and although it is convenient, the quality of care is far inferior to our own. If more people were employed and available workforce was scarce instead of the jobs being scarce, then more companies could and would offer health care coverage to their employees. I don't even have a problem with a public option, necessarily, as long as they play by the same rules as everyone else instead of the bully pulpit that Medicare enjoys.

I have a good amount of in-laws that live in Canada. A portion of them used to live in the U.S. I make it a point anytime I go up there to ask about their single payer system. Every single one of them loves their system, and the ones that came from the U.S. say they didn't realize how f'd up the U.S.'s system was until now. My in-laws range from pretty damn wealthy to middle class, so they're paying their fair share of taxes. The three common responses I hear when I ask them about their single payer system are:

1) Patient wait time can be a problem in rural areas, but for the most part it is exaggerated.
2) Getting procedures done & going to see a Doctor are much less stressful up there. It is so nice not having to worry about deductibles, copays, & whether or not things are covered.
3) (For the people that never lived in the U.S) they cannot believe that we allow people to be uninsured. There's a general consensus that health care is right up there with food, shelter, & water.

[TheWalrus]

To be honest none of this is really going to matter unless the people of this country start taking better care of themselves. Obesity and it's related diseases are this country's "global warming". Insurance rates will go up and bankrupt you or having with a public option it will bankrupt the government, inturn bankrupting you. If you think Medicare costs are skyrocketing, wait until there's a national public plan like Canada's or Britain's and see how much of an eventual chunk that takes out of the national budget...all because people refuse to give up their 5000 calorie dinners at Chili's and their video game playing slothful life style.

Well, therein lies the rub. If forcing people to buy insurance is too intrusive, how are you going to make sure people eat better and exercise more?

I agree that obesity is an issue, but any attempt to "manage" the problem (like the ban on sodas more than a certain size in New York City) just becomes a poster boy for the worst kind of liberal authoritarianism.

[LouPhinFan]

Well, therein lies the rub. If forcing people to buy insurance is too intrusive, how are you going to make sure people eat better and exercise more?

I agree that obesity is an issue, but any attempt to "manage" the problem (like the ban on sodas more than a certain size in New York City) just becomes a poster boy for the worst kind of liberal authoritarianism.

No doubt. The only thing that can do this is trying to get healthy food costs down and somehow get people an incentive to exercise more.

[Buddy]

I have a good amount of in-laws that live in Canada. A portion of them used to live in the U.S. I make it a point anytime I go up there to ask about their single payer system. Every single one of them loves their system, and the ones that came from the U.S. say they didn't realize how f'd up the U.S.'s system was until now. My in-laws range from pretty damn wealthy to middle class, so they're paying their fair share of taxes. The three common responses I hear when I ask them about their single payer system are:

1) Patient wait time can be a problem in rural areas, but for the most part it is exaggerated.
2) Getting procedures done & going to see a Doctor are much less stressful up there. It is so nice not having to worry about deductibles, copays, & whether or not things are covered.
3) (For the people that never lived in the U.S) they cannot believe that we allow people to be uninsured. There's a general consensus that health care is right up there with food, shelter, & water.

I have visited Canada several times but never lived or worked there so I don't have any experience with their healthcare system. I did live in Jamaica and their healthcare is adequate but that is about it. I realize that they at third-world but are modeled closely on the British system.

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[Eshlemon]

Its an unnecessarily convoluted healthcare reform. Especially on the revenue side of guesswork of projections of cost probabilities and a 'mandate' that only matters if you are where going to get a tax refund as thats the only way the IRS collects on those who don't buy insurance. Should have went with the occam's razor of let the tax cuts expire, you get a tax break for purchasing health insurance.

[Buddy]

What are y'alls thoughts on some hybrid system where the government provides maybe the first $1,000 of coverage per year and anything over $250,000. Everything in the middle is covered by commercial insurance that you buy or get through work. Just a thought.

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