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Today's Poll: Will the coming health insurance exchange benefit you?

By Howard B. Owens
mike nixon

My insurance under the exchange will be 9.5% of my gross earnings. It will be more expensive than my private insurance. However, the talk is, that my current premiums will go up almost $80.00 per week. That's $4000.00 dollars a year more!!!!!! Although still less than exchange, not by much, but still less.

Ok Ok Ok..... Where is my lower insurance premiums with the same coverage? This is what they promised? Right? Now I have to go with less coverage to make it affordable.

What a bunch of CRAP this whole thing is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aug 13, 2013, 10:38am Permalink
Mark Brudz

This entire Health Care act is a Bomb Waiting to explode. From everything that I have been seeing and reading, the Naysayers were dead on accurate.

We are now up to 30,000 new regulations, 16 waivers of the law (Which arguably are illegal)

Choices are being eliminated in lieu of mandated coverage's

It is entirely dependent on young people signing on board yet when a meeting was held to recruit young people last month only ONE person showed up.

And the Department Of Health services exempted congress and congressional aides from the mandates (Don't blame the current congress, they are vocally opposed to this)

And the Administration, who is pushing everyone to sign on board, exempted themselves.

Aug 13, 2013, 12:06pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

Haven't really studied it to be honest. I voted don't know. But the exemptions tell the tale, don't they?

For public knowledge, Mark stood me up last night, the yogurt was very tasty

Aug 13, 2013, 1:22pm Permalink
Mark Brudz

I didn't forget the appointment, for some reason I thought Monday was today. (Brain must be protein deprived, I think I'll buy me a yogurt}

In any event Dave, consider the wager paid, glad you enjoyed it.

Aug 13, 2013, 3:38pm Permalink
SABRINA BRINKMAN

Congress did NOT grant themselves an exemption. What they did was clarify the law for the congressional staffers and aids. Obama did an executive order that granted congress the SUBSIDIES for their health care. Right now the government kicks in 70% of the cost for health care under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP). Private employers do the same. Most pay a certain percentage and the employee pays a percentage. What Obama did was do an executive order that these subsidies would still be paid. However, congressional staffers and aides will still have to buy on the Obama exchanges. It's a loophole in the law. Obamacare was never meant to replace all private/employer sponsored health insurance. It was meant to provide health insurance for those that couldn't get it through their employers.

However, unintended consequences are that employers are cutting back to 29 hours a week to avoid paying for health insurance for part time employees as it is required for 30 + hours a week or face a fine. In addition, employers are letting people go because they don't have the funds to cover it. The costs for the insurance are also increased. It depends on YOUNG HEALTHY people signing up for these exchanges to pay for those that will sign up and can't get insurance (such as people with chronic diseases, etc).

I was reading up on this tonight because of reports of congress trying to railroad all federal employees into these exchanges. I do not agree with that as I am a federal employee. I take less pay for my job compared to private sector with the same experience, credentials, education, in exchange for better health care benefits, flexibility, and job security. However, if insurance goes away, job security has certainly gone away with federal furloughs (which my husband a service connected disabled veteran got the pleasure of partaking in as he is a federal employee), then a brain drain will occur. Especially with pay freezes for several years, furloughs, cuts in health insurance. Cut my health insurance - that is a deal breaker period.

Oh and taxes already went up as I was one of the ones that put money into flex spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care. The most you could put in this year was $2500. I did find out after it closed I could have opened one in my husband's name for the other $2500. It used to be $5,000 for the individual before this year. So that is already an automatic tax increase when you reduced it to $2500.

I am not happy about this obamacare plan. He promised a lot of things that he did not deliver on. My taxes are already increased. Now he is trying to force me into the exchanges when I already had good insurance and was happy with them. That was not what he promised. What happened to your private healthcare coverage won't be touched? Is he going to fufill the civilian pay gap which is like 20% (a law that was passed that civilians would be paid in accordance with the increases of the cost of living indexes. It has NEVER been done or funded.). Doesn't look like it with the furloughs, pay freezes and pay cuts.

Time for this crazy congress to go. Get real people in there with real ideas that can work. Not this half baked plan.

Aug 13, 2013, 11:45pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

"unintended consequences" ... when I worked for an assembly member in California, he always was harping about "unintended consequences."

He and I would discuss bills and try to suss out "unintended consequences."

It's one reason I oppose passing laws just to pass laws. There are ALWAYS unintended consequences. And the bigger the law, the bigger the unintended consequences.

it's why fewer laws and more freedom are the best intended consequences for us all.

Aug 13, 2013, 11:55pm Permalink
SABRINA BRINKMAN

Oh and I forgot to say, one of the exemptions that was written into the bill's passage was that those on a congressional committee and leadership positions would be exempt..

There is something really wrong with that. Because the American people are assuming that it is the actual senators that will lose their health care. However, I think I read an article tonight that there were 45 in the senate and 115 in the house that already have medicare. Many senators and congressman serve on various committees. What committee is exempt and which isn't? How many more committees will be formed to make sure that congressman are on these exemptions... Anyway, getting back to my other point. It's the low paid staffers and aides that will lose in this deal. The senators and representatives will just get onto a committee for their exemption. The same can't be said for their low paid staffers and aides. Most Americans don't realize the numbers of low paid staffers are the ones that will lose in the deal. Not the senators that get their exemption that was written into the law.

Aug 14, 2013, 12:14am Permalink
Mark Brudz

I would MUCH, MUCH rather have this congress, then the one that forced this boondoggle of a healthcare plan through in the first place. The unfortunate problem Sabrina is the entrenched system of two parties having a lock on the system, and there is no quick fix for that.

The Democrats are going to push for broad expensive programs, then the Republicans will push for fiscal prudence, only to become pseudo-Democrats after a few terms in office and spend almost as much as the Democrats..

It is all about buying votes with tax dollars, plain and simple.

Government for the most part should be heavy on the local side, and as light as possible on the Federal side, otherwise it is only going to get worse.

Aug 14, 2013, 12:43am Permalink

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