Thread Drift

[shootingstar]

Affordable Care Act -- Since I am Canadian, am curious to know generally if the ACA helped you/your family.

Another question: The confusion right now that exists in the U.S. with new prez-elect, gets down to understand and how to trace trail of evidence to truth. That is the crux: What is truth? How will you verify with long term evidence (that doesn't get wiped off)?

Trump and some of his Cabinet appointees could actually prompt war very fast. It wouldn't take much.

[ny biker]

Affordable Care Act -- Since I am Canadian, am curious to know generally if the ACA helped you/your family.

Another question: The confusion right now that exists in the U.S. with new prez-elect, gets down to understand and how to trace trail of evidence to truth. That is the crux: What is truth? How will you verify with long term evidence (that doesn't get wiped off)?

Trump and some of his Cabinet appointees could actually prompt war very fast. It wouldn't take much.

I truly think something disastrous is going to happen. War, economic collapse, something. The man is such an insecure narcissist, and it guides his behavior.

The ACA has not affected me directly, but only because I been lucky enough to not need it. It has provisions to eliminate lifetime coverage caps and exceptions for pre-existing conditions, which are important for everyone whether they realize it or not. I do know people who have gotten insurance from an exchange. Unfortunately their premiums have gone up a lot, because there are aspects of the law that need to be changed so that relatively healthy people get coverage while they are still healthy. I've read that the provision to allow parents to keep their children on their plans up to the age of 26 if the children are still students has been very popular.

I'm trying to decide how to spend next weekend. Choices are: bike ride if the weather is good, go to the women's march on Saturday, or get drunk. Or maybe a combination.

[Blueberry]

DH and I have always made choices that meant we had health insurance. The ACA has meant that many people won't have to make those choices - which gives them so much freedom. It makes sense. My mom has coverage through it - and is careful not to earn too much money so she would have to pay more for her insurance. It creates some interesting incentives to minimize income - but it has definitely helped many, many people. It has also helped financially struggling hospitals - they now get paid for more of their emergency room work (and subsequent admissions).

I'm a medical student. I will have to choose a specialty under a Trump presidency. I don't know whether to zig, zag, or try to move to Europe. What I do know is I'll have a boat-load of loans to pay off. Just tuition at a state school will be over $100k in loans (no living expenses, books, etc) - at an interest rate that is (imo) criminally high. I could borrow money for a house, car, etc. for less interest than the federal government is charging. It's scary to make that kind of investment with so much uncertainty.

[Crankin]

I have not had to access the Affordable Care Act, but since I am in a medical field, I know a lot of people who have. When DH was on sabbatical from work this summer, we did a comparison between the ACA and paying for Cobra (extending the insurance plan from his former company, which you can do for 18 months, at your cost). The ACA was 400.00 a month more for comparable coverage (it was a premium plan). So, we went with that. However, for a single person, ACA was much cheaper. My issue with insurance a family is construed of 2 or more people, so no matter if you are a couple or a family with 10 kids, the cost is the same. If ACA is still around, DH might access it if he wants to retire before 65, since he is younger than me and can't access Medicare when I can.
Massachusetts has had health care for all since 2006. My clients who have policies through the Connector (our exchange for ACA coverage) have had premiums rise a lot. My son used it in his first job, as he had no benefits. On the other hand, truly needy people have very good coverage. I have friends who have kept their kids on their policies from work until 26 and it was a big help.
DH has a a different Blue Cross policy at his new job. It is good, but it's Blue Cross HMO, so we need referrals. Ugh. I have had never had to do this. I am used to just calling my PT for an appt. when I need it. So, I have my physical coming up and I guess I'll ask for 12 sessions, so I can access him over the next couple of months. It was cheaper for the company to do this policy and pay for everyone's deductible than offer the premium plan we had before.

[emily_in_nc]

My DH and I have had an ACA plan since 2014, and for us, it has been a godsend. We are early retired, and as such, don't yet qualify for Medicare. If we had to buy the equivalent plan that we have through the healthcare.gov exchange, through Florida Blue, it would be priced at over $1100/mo. It is a "silver" plan with lower deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses than most. As it is, we do qualify for a subsidy as our income is low right now, and we are paying just over $300/mo for our plan. We really only use it for preventive care now, as we've had no medical issues since we got it, but it is nice to know it is there if we had an accident or a serious illness. It pays in full for our yearly checkups, mammograms for me, and screening colonoscopies. We also only have to pay a copay when we visit our dermatologists for mole checks, and my DH had to have a few lesions frozen off -- all covered in full.

I love my Obamacare and am sure I will miss it when it's gone. Just like I will miss the man who gave it his name!

[ny biker]

Blueberry, the situation in this country regarding student loans is appalling.

I have to confess, I don't want to go to the women's march. Inertia I guess. But I feel like I have to go. It may not accomplish anything. But as a certain German bike racer once said, if you try to to win, you might lose. But if you don't try, you lose for sure.

So now I have to get my hands on a clear backpack -- regular ones aren't allowed for security reasons.

[shootingstar]

Appreciate the health care insurance/coverages stories. In Alberta, local residents and citizens don't have to pay the govn't any monthly premium. In British Columbia, yes everyone pays a minimum regardless of whether or not you see a doctor that year. It's pretty low cost.

I have to confess, I don't want to go to the women's march. Inertia I guess. But I feel like I have to go. It may not accomplish anything. But as a certain German bike racer once said, if you try to to win, you might lose. But if you don't try, you lose for sure.

So now I have to get my hands on a clear backpack -- regular ones aren't allowed for security reasons.

Let us know how the march goes. Stay safe, NY. It isn't about "winning": It is about sending a clear public signal and mobilizing next generations to stay committed to listen, act positively, think clearly, and be unafraid to speak out, after our generation.

Blueberry, the major CAnadian universities, have gotten a significant number of American student applications this upcoming year. International student tuituion fees are a lot higher for all CAnadian university programs...it's been that way for decades and will not change.