Doc. I don't think your GF SHOULD have to buy maternity coverage. That should be up to the purchaser. There SHOULD be plans for women who want maternity and plans for those that don't (need or want it.).

There should be LOTS of choices in available policies AND it should be the purchaser of the insurance decision!

And yes, we are a for profit capitalistic society. And YES, Doctors should be paid BASED on the value of their services, they've earned it with years of expensive education! BUT, there need NOT be profit at every freakin' level of medical service.
It's obscene and it's what has caused the unbelievable expenses of medical procedures in the USA.
Virtually ANY medical procedure you have here is more expensive to the consumer than in almost ANY other developed Country.
There IS a role for Gov't in our society and IF it isn't in the basic human requirement of medical care, where would you say Gov't should be involved?
In most States, the Gov't requires you to carry automobile insurance.(liability!) You don't have any choice! You want to drive, you purchase auto insurance.
Why can't the Gov't step in and demand less profits for the middlemen. There is NO excuse for a plastic water pitcher at a Hospital in the U.S. costing the patient 100 bucks! Such is the case now........... for a water pitcher you could buy at the Dollar store for 50 cents!!
What DO you want Gov't to do?......... just sit back and let the users be ripped off!
That's the status quo we have now!

I refrain from attacking you. I try to point out issues where I think you could at least consider an alternative viewpoint. Perhaps I overestimate you. Please prove me wrong. I will stay here if we can stay on subject and discuss ways to improve...otherwise i will find no difficulty finding something worthwhile to occupy my time.

Posted by dino27 on 2/17/2020 4:13:00 PM (view original):
a lot of things are not written into the constitution
and there should be more then 10 commandments.

most of the people not favoring obamacare are trump supporters....
and most are not using it and dont care about the people that use it and thrive because of it.

Nobody thrives because of it.

I was on free healthcare for a little while a few years ago. When I was in my last semester at grad school I was on filing fee status, which means no tuition, my boss only had to pay my fees, but I couldn't do any actual work. I also didn't get paid or get insurance. So I went on state insurance.

The deductibles were all thousands of dollars. People who otherwise wouldn't have insurance can't afford thousands on deductibles. No coverage for a variety of bloodwork and basic preventative care. It was basically crap.

Which explains why the poorest 25% of Americans have had markedly worse health outcomes since the passage of the ACA. Worst period of decline in morbidity and mortality states in the US in decades, concentrated amongst the people it is ostensibly helping.

It's kind of unbelievable. The ACA somehow caused selective amnesia amongst a majority of the American public. Everyone forgot what healthcare systems are supposed to do. Healthcare systems are supposed to help people live longer, healthier lives. Nobody discussing healthcare in the US in the past decade has EVER talked about actual healthcare outcomes. All anyone wants to talk about is coverage. The purpose of a healthcare system is NOT to provide "coverage." If it's not helping people live longer, healthier lives, and it is costing the taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, how is not an unmitigated failure?

Aca is only for people with a steady income not a panacea in all scenarios. That’s why Medicare for all is a big topic must meet criteria to get aca great for those who get it

There are folks (non-wealthy folks) who are alive today BECAUSE of the US taxpayers funding of the ACA. I'm one of them. I reckon the ACA helped at least one guy to live a longer healthier life. I thank EVERY taxpayer who gladly pays their fair share of taxes for the privilege of Living in the USA!

And I definitely Thank President Barack Obama who (while NOT perfect) at least had the courage to take on a problem that had beset our populace forever-------------citizens unable to attain basic health insurance!!

Personally, I think he was way too EZ on the health insurance Corporations. IMO, THEY are still raping the public!

You're falling right into the trap I just mentioned.

Should the healthcare objective of the country be to "help tens of millions get good real insurance?"

It is an absolute objective fact that morbidity and mortality rates amongst the bottom 25% of Americans increased (got worse) following the passage of the ACA. This was because of the opioid crisis, not the ACA. But trends since then are clearly no better than pre-ACA. It's absolutely not keeping people alive or healthy any more effectively than the preceding healthcare system. And it increased total healthcare spending, largely by introducing lots of new administrative overhead. What's good about that?

Coverage is not an inherent good. The popular defense of the ACA based on numbers of people covered is an obvious fallacy.

i said aca is great for people that have it.
universal insurance must be the goal.....must.
but it is a tough goal in this country , unfortunately....esp with the trump cut...a choice was made.
so we do the hokey pokey and thats what its all about.

tens of millions have good coverage now that didnt have it before and getting good healthcare.
sorry - i dont agree with your premise or facts

thats right brother.

"It's absolutely not keeping people alive or healthy any more effectively than the preceding healthcare system."

Dah's. Your statement is just completely untrue. In simple terms it's BULLSHIT!!
Prior to the ACA I was unable to purchase Health Insurance at all and NOT because of ANY pre-existing condition!
Had I not been able to purchase ACA I'd be dead of a heart attack. Would have died without any doubt long ago.
Because I was insured within the ACA (for all of 9 months) I was diagnosed following a heart attack, hospitalized and two stents were installed in major arteries feeding blood to my heart. The "widowmaker" artery was 98% closed off!

Had I remained uninsured I would have remained undiagnosed and would have DIED of a major Heart attack the next time I engaged in physical activity with my wife (no matter the "position"). I would have been UNDER 60 years old!

As I said earlier, and which you seemed to just ignore because it doesn't fit your premise, the ACA DEFINITELY is keeping folks alive and healthier longer than our healthcare system before the ACA.
For many of us the system before didn't even exist for US!!

It certainly isn't perfect BUT its a MAJOR improvement for millions of citizens.
HOW DARE you minimize our lives. I deserve as good access to healthcare as ANY other citizen.
I've paid my taxes for 5 decades. Which helped provide all sorts of Gov't assistance to scores of folks!
Thus, my life is as valid as yours!
You may think you're right all the time, and I've seen your debating skills and zeal. But on this one, you're completely and hopelessly F'd up!
The ACA IS saving lives.
Whether you recognize it or not. That failure is on YOU!!

I thank EVERY taxpayer who gladly pays their fair share of taxes for the privilege of Living in the USA!

your welcome, even if it isn't a "gladly" process because of the wasteful spending.
now if everyone would pay their fair share that'd be a great step forward

Posted by laramiebob on 2/18/2020 5:13:00 PM (view original):
"It's absolutely not keeping people alive or healthy any more effectively than the preceding healthcare system."

Dah's. Your statement is just completely untrue. In simple terms it's BULLSHIT!!
Prior to the ACA I was unable to purchase Health Insurance at all and NOT because of ANY pre-existing condition!
Had I not been able to purchase ACA I'd be dead of a heart attack. Would have died without any doubt long ago.
Because I was insured within the ACA (for all of 9 months) I was diagnosed following a heart attack, hospitalized and two stents were installed in major arteries feeding blood to my heart. The "widowmaker" artery was 98% closed off!

Had I remained uninsured I would have remained undiagnosed and would have DIED of a major Heart attack the next time I engaged in physical activity with my wife (no matter the "position"). I would have been UNDER 60 years old!

As I said earlier, and which you seemed to just ignore because it doesn't fit your premise, the ACA DEFINITELY is keeping folks alive and healthier longer than our healthcare system before the ACA.
For many of us the system before didn't even exist for US!!

It certainly isn't perfect BUT its a MAJOR improvement for millions of citizens.
HOW DARE you minimize our lives. I deserve as good access to healthcare as ANY other citizen.
I've paid my taxes for 5 decades. Which helped provide all sorts of Gov't assistance to scores of folks!
Thus, my life is as valid as yours!
You may think you're right all the time, and I've seen your debating skills and zeal. But on this one, you're completely and hopelessly F'd up!
The ACA IS saving lives.
Whether you recognize it or not. That failure is on YOU!!

im glad you are doing better...very very glad.
i think the nost important thing you said about his comments was the minimizing of lives and quality of life.

Posted by laramiebob on 2/18/2020 5:13:00 PM (view original):
"It's absolutely not keeping people alive or healthy any more effectively than the preceding healthcare system."

Dah's. Your statement is just completely untrue. In simple terms it's BULLSHIT!!
Prior to the ACA I was unable to purchase Health Insurance at all and NOT because of ANY pre-existing condition!
Had I not been able to purchase ACA I'd be dead of a heart attack. Would have died without any doubt long ago.
Because I was insured within the ACA (for all of 9 months) I was diagnosed following a heart attack, hospitalized and two stents were installed in major arteries feeding blood to my heart. The "widowmaker" artery was 98% closed off!

Had I remained uninsured I would have remained undiagnosed and would have DIED of a major Heart attack the next time I engaged in physical activity with my wife (no matter the "position"). I would have been UNDER 60 years old!

As I said earlier, and which you seemed to just ignore because it doesn't fit your premise, the ACA DEFINITELY is keeping folks alive and healthier longer than our healthcare system before the ACA.
For many of us the system before didn't even exist for US!!

It certainly isn't perfect BUT its a MAJOR improvement for millions of citizens.
HOW DARE you minimize our lives. I deserve as good access to healthcare as ANY other citizen.
I've paid my taxes for 5 decades. Which helped provide all sorts of Gov't assistance to scores of folks!
Thus, my life is as valid as yours!
You may think you're right all the time, and I've seen your debating skills and zeal. But on this one, you're completely and hopelessly F'd up!
The ACA IS saving lives.
Whether you recognize it or not. That failure is on YOU!!

I'm not trying to minimize your experience. Believe me, I'm glad the system is working for you. I'm glad it's helping some people. I'm not trying to ignore your personal experience. None of this changes the fact that, in the aggregate, the ACA is not improving healthcare outcomes. I'm glad it worked for you. But here are the US mortality rates since 1900. It's a little hard to see because the default scales on the CDC website are kinda stupid, but if you look closely you'll see consistent decrease in mortality rates from 1970 to 2010, followed by a clear plateau and even a slight increase.

If I had your experience I imagine I would always support the ACA, and rightly so. Anecdotal evidence is crucial when it directly applies to your life. That was not my experience. I couldn't get my cholesterol tested when I was on subsidized healthcare. Neither of these are relevant to my broader point. The statistical trend is obvious. After 40+ years of consistently improving at keeping people alive, the United States has failed to make any gains in this area since the ACA was passed in 2010.