Questions about Obamacare

[question everything]

Not related to the primaries but may be locked on GD..

Back to Jon Oliver who claimed that with current system employees are afraid to leave their jobs and lose their private insurance.

The ACA was supposed to have taken care of that. When enacted, a former co-worker decided that it was time to find another job and found one with a small business owner with no benefits, so she signed with the exchange.

Is this no longer true? Did R governors and the thug in the White House chopped so much away that the exchanges are not a viable option?

And a related question: I have seen recently, perhaps here, that there are currently 37 million uninsured. I thought that this was the amount when the ACA was enacted and that as the years passed, it dropped to like 26 million, perhaps less.

So, again did the number rise because of cuts and restrictions?

Please do not use this to promote the alternative that some want, just refer to the ACA. Thank you.

[Demsrule86]

1. Trump and the GOP caused premiums to rise.

[question everything]

2. Thanks. That was one way to harm the ACA

[Freddie]

3. Unless you qualify for a subsidy

It may not be really “affordable”; not THAT much cheaper than COBRA, which is the true price your employer paid for your coverage when you were working (plus a handling fee no higher than 2%). Plus the exchange plans usually have way higher out-of-pockets than most employer plans. Unfortunately many employer plans are getting worse in that regard.

[question everything]

4. Thanks. One more reason why we need to flip the Senate

[Hoyt]

5. People are still purchasing insurance on the Exchanges, and premium increases have been relatively

small in recent years (probably because the policies were priced higher in early years when the risk was unknown).

Premiums did increase after the Mandate was removed, because those who kept policies were likely more likely to need care.

The Mandate repeal likely caused some folks to forgo insurance, although the penalty was never that much to start with.

[ret5hd]

6. (Many*) current system employees ARE afraid to leave their jobs...

and lose their private insurance.

*God I hate the way this is phrased. It so much depends on circumstances:

Many are happy in their jobs and don't want to leave.

Many would like to do what your former co-worker did...but what if the new job doesn't work out?

Many would like to start their own business, but the healthcare system we have now is one big obstacle (among potentially many obstacles) to do that. That big dream might not pay what was planned.

At the risk of violating your closing mandate...we know what is needed, we just don't want to.

[question everything]

7. Ah, but this was the beauty of going on the exchange

If the new job did not work out - and it did not, but she ended up much better - health insurance would not be a factor.

Yes, we know what we need, to go back to Obamacare and put back what the Rs took away and, either way, it could use some improvements like adding the public option.

[ret5hd]

8. What was the beauty? I am unsure of what you are saying.

The beauty of the uncertainty of leaving a lousy job with health insurance to a job that may or may not work out that definitely did not have health insurance so you have to gamble that you can afford at least some insurance even if the job doesn't work out?

The phrasing of the first part of your reply leaves me confused. Would you please rephrase it.

[question everything]

10. I meant that the beauty of the ACA and the exchange is (was?)

That one is not tied to a job to have coverage. Based on earlier responses it appears that such is no longer a valid alternative.

[MichMan]

9. The expected number of younger people never signed up

The analysis was that a significant number of healthy younger people would sign up thus spreading out the costs.

That never happened in the amounts expected because the fines for going without were not high enough, and they elected to take their chances and go to the ER if necessary.

That meant the premiums for those in the ACA exchange had to rise to cover a higher % of sicker people than originally planned.

[question everything]

11. Penalty should be higher, and enforced

And choosing the ER should be penalized.