Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Wild Hoss]

Every country benchmarks itself against another one or group, except the US. They all look around and do comparative policy reviews. Americans just aren't minded to do this. That's resulted in some great stuff, because it allows people to think big, but it's also resulted in some enduring problems for which there is an obvious solution that all others with the means to do so have adopted.

This is about the metric system, isn't it? Fess up.

I think there is truth in there, but if we're talking about a failure of balancing competing interests then exceptionalism doesn't really apply. Where the idea gestates is secondary to whether one party can blow the other off the ball to the degree necessary to implement policy.

[iam416]

Do you think it is good or do you think it is a bad bill?

It's not a binary choice. As you acknowledge, and I agree, it was fairly incremental. Returning to the dark, horrid days of 2008 healthcare would be, by definition, fairly incremental. I'm quite honestly agnostic on it. There are things I like and things I don't, but I don't think it makes a tremendous difference other than either bringing us closer to single payer or moving us further away.

I certainly don't share your apparent outrage over the bill, outrage that you feel should be the focus of discussion on this day. And I'm certainly not discussing the number of lives or folks affected WITHOUT also discussing cost.

[froot loops]

What are the things you like about it and what are the things you dislike about it?

[iam416]

Alright. We're done here. This is a one-way street and it's going to involve continually answering questions for a guy who doesn't give a flying fuck what I think. Some of the questions I've already answered.

Let's just cut to the chase and you can say whatever you are eventually going to say about me now.

[Wild Hoss]

Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries.

[iam416]

Correct on one count.

[froot loops]

I actually do care what you think talent, it's why I'm asking the questions. I would put you on ignore if I didn't. When you say it isn't a binary choice, it clearly is a binary choice, yes or no.

[THE_WIZARD_]

:::in Rodney King voice:::

Can't we all just get along?

[iam416]

It's a binary choice in terms of yes or no. It's not a binary choice in terms of "good" or "bad". As I said, I'm agnostic on it. If I were a representative then I'd vote against it because I don't think the incremental changes are worth the political cost.

So, in terms of yes/no, I'd say no. In terms of good or bad I'd say some of both, as I'm sure even Obamacare supporters would say about Obamacare. I lean toward thinking it's probably a slight net bad, but I haven't thought about it with any real purpose.

In any event, we'll see if it gets past the Senate and what it looks like if it does. I'm not overly inclined to think to deeply about a bill that I, perhaps incorrectly, think doesn't stand a good chance of enactment.

[froot loops]

The Senate will pass it with small modifications that the House will swallow. You'll notice that the noisy Senators that were criticizing it in March are silent now.

[froot loops]

When I say incremental it was a pretty big increment that helped 30 million people. But if it doesn't affect you, it's probably not a big deal, if you are extremely rich, you have to be ecstatic.

[Da Geezer]

Oracle:

Hip replacement would be a pre-existing condition so good luck with that getting done period.

Has anyone seen a readable definition of "pre-existing condition"? I haven't. I would view hip replacement as similar to cataract surgery, and I wouldn't view either as a pre-existing condition. That is normal wear and tear on the body that, with today's technology, can be repaired. This is exactly the kind of debate that happens when I am spending your money on my health care.

One of many flaws in the ACA is the requirement that all be covered even for pre-existing conditions. That means a person can wait to pay actuarially accurate premiums until he has a diagnosis of cancer (or need of a hip replacement for that matter). Then he can buy insurance and the insurance must pay. To correct this problem is where the individual and employer mandates come in. Those mandates were supposed to expand the pool of insured so the rule of large numbers would obtain. But, the trivial penalties for not buying insurance resulted in people paying premiums only when they have a health worry upon them.

Froot, did the ACA raise the cost of health insurance for you? What are the costs and coverages of your policy? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'd actually like to know, mostly because you view the ACA favorably.

[THE_WIZARD_]

All I know is because of the fuckin' ACA my premiums doubled whilst my deductible went up 250%. Affordable my ass. Fucking joke.

Basically now unless I accumulate $25,000 of medical expenses in a year I lose. Basically just a catastrophic plan. It's a fucking drain on the economy.

[CGVT]

Single Payer solves that.

[froot loops]

Da Geezer, I can't give you a good answer on how much the ACA has raised it. I've been on a company health plan for a long time. Every year it rose in the deductible and the premium. When I started, I probably paid 2,000 dollars a year, I think it now up to 9,000 a year. But I've also had kids in the meantime, so I can't tell you how much more the specific ACA raised it. I'm sure it has raised it.

After I graduated from college, I didn't have a job with health care insurance for 3 years and I couldn't afford to buy any.