So how much is your insurance going up due to Obamacare?

[ApatheticNoMore]

By the way the lovely Dem representative that I'm supposed to vote for because representative democracy ... and because well they aren't a Republican ... removed their phone number from their web page. They don't even want you to contact them on issues or only use email please. :\ I'm sure the number can be gotten otherwise, but they certainly are in no rush to hear from the unwashed masses.

Soon it will be" press 1 if you would like to oppose war with Iran, press 2 if you would like to support war with Iran, press 3 if you think we need a stimulus bill ... and they wonder why their approval rating is single digits.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Vote them out. EVery last one of them. At the national level and at the state and local level. Anyone who self identifies as a republican should be voted out, period. As nasty and partisan and nutty as the party has become, if you say you are republican you are condoning every bit of it. The voter suppression, the attack on women's rights, the push for establishing their religious theocracy, the fight against marriage equality, all of it. Vote republican, at any level, is a vote for all of these. Vote republican, at any level, and you vote to 'privatize' Social Security, shrink Medicare/medicaid, shrink and/or eliminate welfare, eliminate science in the classrooms and replace it with the bible, allow churches to dictate public policy, and a host of other items, none of which they are hiding. They are, in fact, pretty up front with their agenda.
I'm tired of people saying "Oh I don't agree with THAT, but I'm voting republican anyway."
BS! If you vote republican, on any level, you ARE agreeing with that!

If I were a moderate republican (are there any left?) I would immediately switch political parties. I would register independant, immediately. And vote green, or something like that if I was too timid to vote democrat.

Anyone who voted against Medicaid expansion in Arizona that I can vote for I will automatically vote against - it's what I can do to show love and respect for other human beings. And I agree that this is a good idea, Peggy. Rob

[Spartana]

Anyone who voted against Medicaid expansion in Arizona that I can vote for I will automatically vote against - it's what I can do to show love and respect for other human beings. And I agree that this is a good idea, Peggy. Rob

I personally think that if they had changed the requirements for who can get Medicaid - i.e. make assets counted towards qualifying for Medicaid (besides a principle residence and personal vehicle and belongings) as well as income. Then there might have been a better response by the states to expand Medicaid. As it was written (based on taxable income alone) many states felt it would allow too many people with high asset and non-taxable income levels onto Medicaid rather than just the poor. So while the previous Medicaid asset limits were ridiculously low, I think some level of assets should be counted. For example if a veteran want to use the VA hospital for treatment of a non-service connected illness/injury, the VA allows you free coverage if your gross income from all sources (not just taxable) is below $16K and your assets (from all assets except primary residence, personal vehicle and belongings like clothes, furnishings, etc...) is under $80K. If you are above that level then you can stuill get treatment but you'll have to pay a co-payment and/or a share of the costs. I think republican led states would be more on board with expanded Medicaid of they had something like that.

[iris lilies]

I personally think that if they had changed the requirements for who can get Medicaid - i.e. make assets counted towards qualifying for Medicaid (besides a principle residence and personal vehicle and belongings) as well as income. Then there might have been a better response by the states to expand Medicaid. As it was written (based on taxable income alone) many states felt it would allow too many people with high asset and non-taxable income levels onto Medicaid rather than just the poor. So while the previous Medicaid asset limits were ridiculously low, I think some level of assets should be counted. For example if a veteran want to use the VA hospital for treatment of a non-service connected illness/injury, the VA allows you free coverage if your gross income from all sources (not just taxable) is below $16K and your assets (from all assets except primary residence, personal vehicle and belongings like clothes, furnishings, etc...) is under $80K. If you are above that level then you can stuill get treatment but you'll have to pay a co-payment and/or a share of the costs. I think republican led states would be more on board with expanded Medicaid of they had something like that.

This is entirely too sensible. DC will never go for it.

[CeciliaW]

Random posting about new things under ACA

I went to get my prescriptions refilled. They had all expired at 12/31/13. Every single one of them.

No problem says the Pharmacist says she, "We'll just call your Doctor and have new ones faxed over. "

Three days later they let me know I have prescriptions ready to pick up.

I go and there are 2 of at least 5 that I usually get. The others I have to go and actually SEE the Doctor. You know the same one that's been prescribing the same things for going on 5 years now.

The other two? One is $0. Interesting, but it's only a 30 day supply. The other one is $27 for 90 days (generics and all) but it used to $11, or I could get a 30 day supply for Free. Hunh?

This is going to take some getting used to. Thank whatever power you believe in (there should be an acronym for that) that I still have some of the other meds in my cabinet.

*rabbit hole anyone*

[ApatheticNoMore]

Family member signed up. So the plan is $50 cheaper a month than the non-ACA plan (that includes like a $10 a month subsidy) but in my opinion this is in part because it's an inferior plan. The prior plan was a PPO, this is an silver level EPO. EPOs have no out of network maximums or coverage pretty much (go out of network = go bankrupt). However the out of pocket maximum if you stay in network is less. So it's more risky but I can't tell people who aren't rich to spend all their money on stupid healthcare premiums either and you get healthcare with the lousy healthcare system we have not the one you wish we had. It costs $5 more to see a doctor.

2 times when asking questions they were dropped from the website queue (to ask a question) and had to start back at the beginning of the line. 3rd time was the charm. So therefor enrollment took an entire day. So big surprise here but the websites is buggy. The doctor lookup was finally working (wasn't a few weeks ago) but the hospital lookup was not. And I am thankful to have employer provided insurance where I can get a good PPO, wonder how unaffordable it will be this year, it it keeps going up it's going to drive me to the exchange :\.

[Simply Divine]

I hope, I really, really, really hope that Rick Perry is forced to budge from his position. I also think the only way to change things in Texas is to get someone new in the governor's chair next time around. I pray it won't be Perry again and I take comfort in the fact that his presidential bid was quickly derailed. Rob

Perry is not running for governor again. The contenders are Greg Abbott (R) and Wendy Davis (D).

[try2bfrugal]

Perry is not running for governor again. The contenders are Greg Abbott (R) and Wendy Davis (D).

Abbott is against Medicaid expansion. If you live in Texas vote your conscience.

[ApatheticNoMore]

About $12 a paycheck or $24 a month or $288 a year, that's how much they are going up this year. I'm relieved. I expected much worse. Of coures out of pocket max has probably gone up like $1500. And of course it means I'll be paying around $350 a month for health insurance - which is really ridiculous, but not that much more ridiculous this year than last. $288 won't force me to take a second job quite yet

[iris lilies]

By the way the lovely Dem representative that I'm supposed to vote for because representative democracy ... and because well they aren't a Republican ... removed their phone number from their web page. They don't even want you to contact them on issues or only use email please. :\ I'm sure the number can be gotten otherwise, but they certainly are in no rush to hear from the unwashed masses.

Soon it will be "press 1 if you would like to oppose war with Iran, press 2 if you would like to support war with Iran, press 3 if you think we need a stimulus bill ... and they wonder why their approval rating is single digits.

Yep, I encountered the "no phone number" issue when I was last contacting the turds in Congress about something. And it was amusing that one form said "please give us your email so that we can contact you with an answer" and they never did. The other Congressman aske dif I wanted a response and I marked the "no response needed" box. I didn't want an answer I just wanted my voice to be heard on a particular issue.