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Is the Affordable Care Act Working?

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  • Is the Affordable Care Act Working?

    Is the Affordable Care Act Working?
    After a year fully in place, the Affordable Care Act has largely succeeded in delivering on President Obama’s main promises, an analysis by a team of reporters and data researchers shows. But it has also fallen short in some ways and given rise to a powerful conservative backlash.

    This is an interactive research piece from the NYTimes. It looks at seven questions in depth, with analysis, but here are the topline results:
    1. Has the percentage of uninsured people been reduced?
      Yes, the number of uninsured has fallen significantly.
    2. Has insurance under the law been affordable?
      For many, yes, but not for all.
    3. Did the Affordable Care Act improve health outcomes?
      Data remains sparse except for one group, the young.
    4. Will the online exchanges work better this year than last?
      Most experts expect they will, but they will be tested by new challenges.
    5. Has the health care industry been helped or hurt by the law?
      The law mostly helped, by providing new paying patients and insurance customers.
    6. How has the expansion of Medicaid fared?
      Twenty-three states have opposed expansion, though several of them are reconsidering.
    7. Has the law contributed to a slowdown in health care spending?
      Perhaps, but mainly around the edges.


    As ever, Jesse

  • #2
    has anyone been able to figure out how to use the stoopid website to get the right insurance yet?

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Sparko View Post
      has anyone been able to figure out how to use the stoopid website to get the right insurance yet?
      Some seven to eight million enrollees, yes.
      "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Sam View Post
        Some seven to eight million enrollees, yes.
        Spambots don't count.



        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Sam View Post
          Some seven to eight million enrollees, yes.
          1. Did they do it themselves or did they have to pay some insurance agent to help sign them up?
          2. Did they get the right insurance they need?

          I checked out the site a few months ago and pretty much couldn't figure out what would be the right choice for me if my company didn't already have health insurance. The choices are pretty confusing and if you are not familiar with insurance, you can easily get the wrong thing.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Cerebrum123 View Post
            Spambots don't count.
            "This website is too complex for a human to use. Any indication to the contrary is from a spambot."

            I think you have too much faith in spam technology, C123.
            "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Sparko View Post
              1. Did they do it themselves or did they have to pay some insurance agent to help sign them up?
              2. Did they get the right insurance they need?

              I checked out the site a few months ago and pretty much couldn't figure out what would be the right choice for me if my company didn't already have health insurance. The choices are pretty confusing and if you are not familiar with insurance, you can easily get the wrong thing.
              Considering that the majority of enrollees polled were satisfied with their insurance on the exchanges (including a majority of Republicans), I think it's safe to say that people got the insurance that they need.

              I don't recall reading a breakdown of self-enrollment vs. agent enrollment. When I was last on the web site, I didn't have any trouble understanding the plans — certainly no more trouble than I had shopping for non-group insurance prior to the ACA. I'm sure many people utilized agents, as many people who don't understand the nuances or don't have time to learn should. I'm sure a great many people self-enrolled, given how many were complaining about the site through December of last year.

              I remember the halcyon days when we were informed with great certainty that no one would even sign up. Then that Democrats would rush back to Washington in November and shut down the site for good. Then that the number of enrolled individuals wouldn't be anywhere close to five million, let alone seven. About a year later, we're quibbling over how many people utilize agents to enroll.
              "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

              Comment


              • #8
                I suspect the ACA should undergo numerous improvements, but in the meantime a whole host of abuses have been outlawed, eg, preexisting conditions, dropping people once they get sick, hugely expensive COBRA payments for those who lose their jobs. I would like to see realistic tort reform (ie, not the $100k/life limit endorsed by some Republicans) and some state-wide pilot programs to try out different payment and enforcement models. I think it might also be a good idea to increase the length of drug patents in return for parity pricing enforced in other countries. I am tired of subsidizing foreign health care prescription costs.
                βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι᾿ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον·
                ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην.

                אָכֵ֕ן אַתָּ֖ה אֵ֣ל מִסְתַּתֵּ֑ר אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Sam View Post
                  I remember the halcyon days when we were informed with great certainty that no one would even sign up. Then that Democrats would rush back to Washington in November and shut down the site for good. Then that the number of enrolled individuals wouldn't be anywhere close to five million, let alone seven. About a year later, we're quibbling over how many people utilize agents to enroll.
                  I remember the halcyon days when we were repeatedly informed with great certainty that "if you like your doctor/insurance, you can keep your doctor/insurance" and that the ACA would reduce healthcare costs across the board by $2500 per family. When Obama himself repeatedly and definitively said that the individual mandate was not a tax (shortly thereafter, the SC okayed it as a tax).

                  Edit: Sorry, I just couldn't resist.
                  Last edited by Zymologist; 10-27-2014, 12:24 PM.
                  I DENOUNCE DONALD J. TRUMP AND ALL HIS IMMORAL ACTS.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Zymologist View Post
                    I remember the halcyon days when we were repeatedly informed with great certainty that "if you like your doctor/insurance, you can keep your doctor/insurance PERIOD" and that the ACA would reduce healthcare costs across the board by $2500 per family. When Obama himself repeatedly and definitively said that the individual mandate was not a tax (shortly thereafter, the SC okayed it as a tax).

                    Edit: Sorry, I just couldn't resist.
                    FIFY n/c

                    I'm always still in trouble again

                    "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                    "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                    "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Sam View Post
                      "This website is too complex for a human to use. Any indication to the contrary is from a spambot."

                      I think you have too much faith in spam technology, C123.
                      Do you even have a sense of humor?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        And who can forget that great piece of legislative wisdom, "You have to pass it to find out what's in it?"
                        I DENOUNCE DONALD J. TRUMP AND ALL HIS IMMORAL ACTS.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Cerebrum123 View Post
                          Do you even have a sense of humor?
                          What is humor, if not truth spoken in jest?
                          "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Sam View Post
                            What is humor, if not truth spoken in jest?
                            humor
                            [hyoo-mer or, often, yoo-] Spell Syllables
                            Synonyms Examples Word Origin
                            noun
                            1.
                            a comic, absurd, or incongruous quality causing amusement:
                            the humor of a situation.
                            2.
                            the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical:
                            He is completely without humor.
                            3.
                            an instance of being or attempting to be comical or amusing; something humorous :
                            The humor in his joke eluded the audience.
                            4.
                            the faculty of expressing the amusing or comical:
                            The author's humor came across better in the book than in the movie.
                            5.
                            comical writing or talk in general; comical books, skits, plays, etc.
                            6.
                            humors, peculiar features; oddities; quirks:
                            humors of life.
                            7.
                            mental disposition or temperament.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Sam View Post
                              What is humor, if not truth spoken in jest?
                              I guess you don't have a sense of humor after all, Mr. Spock.

                              And as far as I can tell, when you force someone to use your product or face huge fines, that is isn't the definition of "success" in my book. So claiming how many people are using the ACA as a success story is pretty disingenuous.

                              Comment

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