Is the new Affordable Health Care plan really affordable and
how does it affect us?
I honestly don’t know enough about this health care plan
yet. From what I understand it is supposed to be affordable for everyone, low
income families/individuals, middle income families/individuals, etc. I wonder whether it really is because yes, it’s
great this plan is supposed to be affordable. Does that mean there will be
packed medical/doctor’s offices? If this is the case, then more people will have
to go to the emergency room to get in, which in the end will result in higher
payments. I think this could be an interesting process, but I don’t think we
will really see the results for a couple years.
I think other people would agree and disagree with me. I don’t
think enough people know exactly what this is either so I don’t know how much
they can argue whether I am right or wrong. I think other people would agree with me that
it's great there's this new plan affordable health care for everyone, but in the end is
it a good thing if people can’t get in to see their doctor because the doctors are
overbooked. I think it depends who I talk to as well. For example, I would
really love to talk to a health care professional to see if it has affected them.
It would be interesting to see if they are starting to feel overwhelmed or
accomplished because more visits mean more money for them. It is interesting.
I want to find out how busy doctors’ offices are and how it
affects them. I also want to find out if this is a better plan mainly for
individuals or families. I would like to know if it is really going to be
affordable in the long run or is it going to cost us more money by going to
emergency rooms rather than a family doctor. One question I would like to find
out too is why does the government want all of us citizens to have this “affordable
healthcare” when none of them have to? I’m hoping my research will answer all
of my questions about this confusing topic.
I really don't know a lot about Obamacare either. My understanding is that it is kind of like car insurance. It is required for everyone to have it, whether it be just the bare minimum or if you want more benefits. I heard that you are able to pick a plan that matches how often you tend to go to the doctor. If you rarely go to the doctor, then you could pick one that would be mainly for emergencies. If you have many medical problems, you would probably want a plan that covers the well checks and different specialists. I don't think that would make sense for people who don't have the money to go to the emergency room for minor things instead of waiting to see their doctor. I wonder if more small, walk in clinics will open up to help relieve some of that extra business. I bet there will be specified clinics in the insurance plan that a person can go to for things like physicals, immunizations etc. I think the costs for insurance and medication is ridiculous. We have insurance and we had a couple of emergencies this summer with my husband and daughter. I think the bill was like $ 70,000. Since we had insurance, I think we had to pay around $ 5,000. This did not cover all the copays for all the doctors that were seen after the incidents, medications that were prescribed or emergency room visits. Something needs to be done because there is no way that 8 hours in the emergency room combined between the two of them, medications given in the emergency room, and testing could add up to $ 70,000. I look forward to following your blog because I don't know how this affects individuals and the smaller businesses. I think that it is a good idea for everyone to have health care. The problem is that most people can't afford it and if they do get sick, and even if they do have insurance, they are going to go into debt trying to pay for all these expenses if something major happens. How are they supposed to pay if they can't work? There has to be some kind of control or regulation on how much they can charge for things such as care and cost of medications.
ReplyDeleteOk so I think I can help answer some of these questions you both have since I work for Social Services. I am an eligibility specialist who determines if you qualify for Medicaid or CHP+. With the Obama Care starting in January of 2014 everyone is going to be mandated to have medical insurance. This does not effect the normal Family Medicaid or CHP+ that is still being offered through the county. If a person or family still qualifies for these services they are still able to get their medical paid for through the county. Obama Care is only for individuals/families that are over the income guidelines for the county medical programs and will have to go to what they are now calling "The Marker Place" or "Health Care Colorado". This is a website that you can visit to apply for some type of affordable medical insurance. At this point in time we are still not sure what the prices are set to be at for these types of services since as you may know.. the system is still not working correctly when it was to rollout on October 1, 2013. As a social worker we don't even know what is going on with the Obama care still so I know it has to be way more confusing for the public to understand. I have mixed emotions on this whole thing in general such as like you mentioned in the comment prior to mine "What do the people do if they have no jobs to pay for their medical?" well that is where the county still plays their part. You are still able to applying for Family Medicaid or CHP+ if your income is considered low-income to qualify. Again Obama Care is only for those individuals/families income is higher then the county guidelines which makes them ineligible for benefits we can provide. This in all reality only affects those that are offered insurance through their employer or have no insurance because that is their choice because now they have no choice. They will have to purchase medical insurance either way now and it is no longer their own choice. I hope this helped a little bit to better understand what is going on with the Obama Care.
ReplyDeleteAs an American I feel like I should know at least a bit about the laws being passed, but sadly I know just the bare minimum about Obamacare, so I'm actually really excited to see what information you find out. Most of what I know is just told to me second hand but one of the things that I have heard about affordability is from my best friend. She was born with massive heart complications and has had to have multiple heart surgeries throughout her childhood, and will need more in the future. Due to this, she has had difficulties getting her own health insurance and was basically going to be out of luck once she could no longer stay on her parent's insurance. So from her I've heard that Obamacare is a really good thing because it will allow her to get insured on her own without having to pay an arm and a leg. On the opposite side of the coin though, my aunt and uncle own a bunch of franchise fast food stores and they are very worried about what it is going to do to their businesses. They said that once the whole plan comes into effect they will essentially be breaking even to cover all of their employees health care plans.
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteThis was actually a good read for me. I will be honest I have not looked in to Obama-care mostly because I already have medical insurance through my husband’s company. I'm not quite sure how it will work or how or if it will affect me. In your first source you mention that our health care premiums can increase because of Obama-care and that is a huge concern for me. Our insurance cost for my husband and I is $250 a month that's just medical and RX cost, with a $1000.00 deductible and 100% preventative care coverage. So compared to other plan I feel like we are luck. However if the cost goes up it would be unaffordable for us. Just yesterday I looked in to Obama-care for my father a 54 years old moderate health disabled man and they quoted him $234.00. 0 deductible and 100% preventative care so as you can see that is close to the same plan as I currently pay for. Except for its only for one adult. Also in you source there is mention of the over load doctors’ offices will be faced with I don't think this is going to help. Stressed out over work doctors are not going to help with the health of the patients. Yes the bills may be paid but what is the side effect going to be. I look forward to seeing the rest of your research on this topic. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.