http://rutlandherald.com/article/20141018/OPINION02/710189965
The failings of Obamacare
October 18,2014
My friend David had a physical last week and found out he has a heart murmur and needs tests run. Lucky we have Obamacare now, right? Wrong. In David’s case the plan he could afford through the Vermont Health Connect exchange would carry a $7,000-a-year deductible. He was asking me what he could do, buy insurance and pay the first $7,000 in testing himself or just pay the entire cost himself because after all, he would be making monthly insurance payments that would be putting the overall costs higher. After thinking about it a few days, he decided he would forgo testing and hope it isn’t something that could kill him.
Peter Welch is happy with Obamacare and said that it is doing what was expected. Leaving people like David in such a situation is expected?
Mark Donka, who is challenging Peter Welch, has an effective plan on the table. David would be able to buy a plan that is affordable for him, maybe one that pays to a limit of $10,000. Anything above that would be covered by the federal government. No subsidizing of policies with huge deductibles, this plan would be practical and cost effective. Not a dime of taxpayer money would pay for David’s health care until a critical situation arose.
Nov. 4 you can vote for David’s health by voting for Mark Donka and his plan. A vote for Peter Welch could mean a vote to let David die from a treatable condition. I hope you vote with your head and your heart and not based on party affiliation or ideology.
KEITH STERN
North Springfield
I do not believe there is a plan with a $7000.00 deductible.
ReplyDeleteThe Vermont Health Connect's "bronze plan" has, I have been told, the cheapest monthly premium and $6,000 deductible. That is, effectively, you have to add $500 a month to your premium to understand its true cost.
ReplyDeleteThe bronze plan is most likely to be chosen by the young, who are at the start (if they are lucky) of their climb up the income ladder. They are also the healthiest among us, in general, and compelled by law to purchase health insurance. Since their premiums go to a privately-run insurer, it means that insurer is going to make pure profit from almost everyone who buys a bronze plan. Those who actually exceed the deductible and start benefiting from it are very likely to find themselves already en route to bankruptcy; nobody in Vermont who has $6,000 in liquid assets is going to buy a bronze plan, and almost nobody who buys a bronze plan and then gets gravely ill is going to have $6,000.
Keep in mind that Obamacare was written to keep the insurance companies mollified. The "public option," a look at a Medicare-for-all type of system (in Vermont, single-payer, which our legislature will be working on starting next January), was NEVER an option. This came from the lips of President Obama himself.
And only when the insurance companies were satisfied with keeping 15% of all Obamacare revenues for "administrative costs," did they finally mute their $1.5 million per day lobbying campaign. The pharmas were bought off with a promise of $80 billion in guaranteed profits over the next decade. Medicare Part B assures they will never have to sell medicines to the elderly at less than full price and that AARP will continue to make a hefty part of their $600 million (in insurance policy brokering) via the sale of "Medicare doughnut hole" policies.
Vermont's own non-profit (required by law) insurer, BCBS, spends $3.2 million a year on executive compensation and trustee reimbursements. I don't know the figures for MVP or CIGNA.
All of this is a strong argument for Vermont to set up a single-payer system to show the rest of the states how to get smart.
To sign up for obama care. It would have raised my cost 250 month.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in knowing what benefits your present plan provides. Maybe others would as well.
DeleteGregory can't help himself by trying to indict the insurance companies or big pharma as the culprits in this fiasco, when it reality it was the anything but democratic DEMONCRAT PARTY THAT HAS SCREWED AMERICA quality of healthcare for generations to come.
ReplyDeleteIf you like your ebola, you can keep your ebola. In fact, the Demoncrat party will deliver some more to America's doorstep just so you have a better chance to do so!
Insurance companies ARE the problem. Further, they contribute NOTHING to the quality of health care in this country.
DeleteYou're worried about Ebola???????
ReplyDeleteI'm worried about your health insurance.