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Hello, groovy freedomist. Last week, our newest episode of Talking Trash was supposed to be about our lack of gratefulness for Obamacare. But I totally screwed up. Instead of uploading our Obamacare episode, I uploaded our poop-on-New-York-and-Long-Island episode.
Damn, no one ever said being a content creator was going to be easy!
Well, fear not, groovy freedomist. Here is the Obamacare episode I promised. Enjoy.
Interesting that you introduced this by saying last week you uploaded your poop on NY and Long Island episode, and yet your comment to me in that post was :
I don’t think I’m pooping on NYC and Long Island. I think I’m just being upfront about their respective flaws.
Great episode. I personally look at obamacare subsides as me getting back some of the taxes the government took from me at gunpoint to spend on stuff I do not support. If you don’t think this is true trying not paying property taxes for a year or two and eventually they are going to send the sheriff out to your house to let you know that you don’t own it anymore.
Some food for thought on future talks or post that I think could be helpful to others. What has your experience on obamacare been like so far? Have you had a problem finding a primary care doctor? Did you have trouble signing up after initially leaving work? Was their any gap in coverage between leaving work and getting on obamacare? Anything that you wish you knew before but know now through experience would be very helpful and appreciated.
Love the way your mind works, Mr. D. Started a post on the ins and outs of Obamacare yesterday. It should be ready for the first week in March. Thanks for the suggestion. It’s a great idea for a post. Cheers.
Nice episode. I listened to your episode last week and I almost mentioned the mix-up in the comments, but I hate to be critical. Wait, I take that back. I love to be critical, but unusually about things like taxes or the government. That’s why I came back so I could hear this episode (although I should note that a poop-on New York episode is nearly as good as a poop-on Obamacare).
We also had a catastrophic plan prior to Obamacare and it was reasonably priced. We too get a subsidy that is upwards of $2000/mo. That is such a sham. There is no way the premium would be that high with a product like this if the government wasn’t involved. Plus, that doesn’t even begin to cover our deductible or copays. But who asked me anyway?
Susan @ FI Ideas recently posted…Maybe It’s Time to Stop Your WINE-ing
Amen, Susan. Like you, I prefer freedom to Leviathan. Now, all we need is for the government to allow the two diametrically opposed options to compete. Let people buy into Medicare with no subsidies and let people experience an unfettered free-market in healthcare and healthcare insurance. I’d love to see that competition. And if Medicare would win such a competition, I would be the first one to admit I was wrong. But something tells me the private sector would be considerably more affordable, more innovated, and more responsive. You’re a peach, Susan. Thanks for stopping by.
So dumb question…. you say people wouldn’t want to pay into the system for your insurance, but how many people like paying for insurance to the private company?
But then if you don’t pay in, and can’t afford it do you die?
Also we currently have death panels, they’re disguised as corporate boards.
Besides… you can pay the full price if you really want to… no one is stopping you 😉
Haha, I like Mr. WoW’s points. I do wish Obamacare were means-tested when it came to subsidies, but for your sakes I’m glad it isn’t.
That being said, I’m a knee-jerk liberal, so I think we should just move to let people buy into Medicare if they so choose. It gets a bad rap, but I’ve had literally one instance in 10 years on it (since I’m disabled) where something I needed was barely covered. I was able to find a workaround in that case so… Yeah. But I suppose that’s still the government interfering in healthcare so Mrs. Groovy wouldn’t approve. 😉
Mr. WoW is freakin’ annoying. He’s way too smart and has a knack for pointing out the flaws in my reasoning. But, of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I need people like Mr. WoW, and yourself, to keep me honest. And despite you being a knee-jerk liberal, I agree with you a lot. Obamacare should be means-tested just like Medicaid. And I have no problem with someone of any age buying into Medicare. As long as no subsidies are involved, let the competition begin. If the federal government plays by the same rules and can manage healthcare insurance better than the private sector, I’ll be the first one to hail the federal government and welcome the natural demise of private healthcare insurance. Thanks for stopping by, Abigail. Knee-jerk liberals are always welcome here. Cheers.
Hey, Mr. WoW. Sorry for the late reply. I’ve been working on a blockbuster post for Wednesday. Over 8,000 words! And I even shout you out in the post as well!! Anyway, as always, great freakin’ comment. Here’s my pathetic response.
1) “[Y]you say people wouldn’t want to pay into the system for your insurance, but how many people like paying for insurance to the private company?”
I suppose most people don’t like paying a private company for healthcare insurance. But in all honesty, private sector healthcare insurance really isn’t insurance at all. It’s groups of people pre-paying for whatever medicare care or drugs they will be using in the upcoming year. To show what I mean, consider car insurance. If car insurance were like healthcare insurance, car insurance would cover fill-ups and oil changes. Insurance is supposed to be the pooling of risk. It’s not supposed to be the pooling of everyday bills and known expenses. If healthcare insurance was really insurance–if it only covered rare and catastrophic injuries or ailments–it would be much more affordable than it is now. And if we had a competitive healthcare market with price transparency and incentives for consumers to be mindful of their healthcare spending, healthcare insurance would be even more affordable. So, yes, it’s safe to say that people don’t like handing money over to a private healthcare insurance company. But it’s also safe to say that people would probably mind it a lot less if they were handing over money for actual insurance. I don’t mind handing over money to a private insurance company for my car insurance and homeowner’s insurance. Could it be because the costs of those insurances are quite reasonable, $381 and $613 respectively?
Quick aside: Of course, if we allowed healthcare insurance to be real insurance, there would be millions of people who would be uninsurable (e.g., the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions). And this where the government should step in. Medicare for the elderly, and Medicaid Part Whatever for those with pre-existing conditions.
2) “Also we currently have death panels, they’re disguised as corporate boards.”
Agreed. But the corporate board death panels aren’t personal. They’re denying care to save money and increase profits. They aren’t denying care to punish people with certain racial characteristics or political views. Imagine if the federal government were in charge of healthcare during the 1950s. Would its death panels treat members of the Communist Party USA the same way it treated red-blooded non-communist Americans? Would its death panels treat black Americans the same way it treated white Americans?
And don’t forget this. If the government didn’t create onerous barriers to entry, there would be several healthcare insurance companies to choose from. If I didn’t like the actions of one corporate board’s death panel, I could try another corporate board’s death panel. Would I have that option with the federal government’s death panel? Call me nuts, but I’ll take corporate board death panels over government death panels any day.
3) “Besides… you can pay the full price if you really want to… no one is stopping you 😉”
Believe me, I’m torn on this one. In one sense, I’m being a low-down rotten hypocrite. No one is forcing me to use Obamacare. If I’m really so against big intrusive government, I can forego Obamacare and pay for healthcare insurance with my own money. On the other hand, however, the government has so screwed up the healthcare and insurance industries with crony capitalistic laws and regulations, it leaves with nothing but a Faustian choice–be a hypocrite and take government subsidies or be a martyr and pay for healthcare and insurance that government avarice and stupidity has made overly expensive. I choose to be a hypocrite for the time being. It’s lame, and I certainly deserve all the mockery I get.
Okay, Mr. WoW. That’s my pathetic reply to your great comment. Thanks for making me think, my friend. You’re the best.
Alright, Just seeing this after my marathon comment on the other one. HAHA… Let the battle spill over to another post!! HA
Alright…. #1 – you have a point. catastrophic insurance is NOT what we currently have in what pertains to health insurance and maybe that’s a bit of the issue. I think part of the issue of comparing Health to Car insurance, eventually car insurance can total a car and call it a total loss. That gets a little tricky with health insurance.
But yes, we need to concentrate on prevention rather than treatment, unfortunately one of these is considerably more profitable.
#2 – Government interference is quite an issue. And maybe the free market could take it’s proper roll with transparency that is desperately needed in the US. The idea that I can walk into two hospitals across the street from each other, neither can tell me exactly what the same procedure will cost, with a wild variation between them, is completely unethical.
And now you’re pretending that private companies are unable to discriminate? What happens when the actuary decides a certain race is less profitable?
#3 – No mockery needed… You’re behaving as part of the system and you’re playing by the rules. If the rules aren’t accomplishing the intended behavior… change the rules. That’s the responsibility of the governing body.
I pay $16,000 a year for catastrophic only health insurance for my wife and myself. I only work a day a week on average but still make too much to qualify for a subsidy. But since I’m just working for fun I don’t mind spending some of it on health insurance. I don’t mind others who qualify using the benefit but I do think it should be means tested like Medicaid is. I’m not crazy about my tax money going to subsidize my fellow millionaires.
Wow! $16,000 is an awful lot of money for catastrophic health insurance. What’s the deductible? When we relocated to Charlotte in 2006, I got a catastrophic health insurance policy to cover me until I got a job. I had the policy for a couple of months and it cost around $150 per month. I think it had a $2,500 deductible. But I was 45 and had no pre-existing conditions. Also, it was just for me. Mrs. Groovy kept her New York job so she never had a break in coverage. I wonder what a similar policy would cost me today. Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Steveark. Always a pleasure hearing from you, my friend.