The Annoyed Man wrote:Well, whatever bull they are selling us, we not only could not keep the plans we liked before Obamacare, we can't keep the one we picked under Obamacare. We are going to have to drop the Obamacare plan we chose, and go for one with fewer benefits, worse coverage, and higher out of pocket costs because we cannot afford it. Eventually, we will be forced onto Medicare......which is of course what the democrats really wanted in the first place, because that is eventually EVERYBODY's premature fate unless this abomination is overturned.
OTH, I'm no longer convinced that republicans, majority notwithstanding, have all the answers either......or the ones they have are not much better than the democrats. I no longer trust their talk. Now, they'll have to walk the walk if they want my support.
Realistically, pre-Obamacare, that's the way things were going too, at least for me.. Heath care costs were going up every year (for employers, who often passed the expense to employees). In order to counter, every year or two we lost slight benefits, had our providers changed, and had deductibles raised.
Obama really got it wrong by indicating that you could keep your own plan. That's absolutely true.. Not a good call, for sure.. I don't believe it was a "lie" as that implies an intentional falsehood.. I do believe that he got it wrong. And I think that point isn't the real problem.
Costs are still increasing. It's easy to blame Obamacare. Course, costs were increasing pre-Obamacare too, but at least now we've got someone to point a finger at as it works well for political function. The real question, to me, is are costs increasing more or less than they were before? I'd like to see that answered by a neutral 3rd party using real math.
There are other fundamentals driving the costs of healthcare... And mark my words, when we get a Republican president, if those fundamentals aren't changed - which means more than just "abolishing Obamacare" - then the Democrats are going to use the same strategy and point out the failure of the Republican party. I'd be very wary if I was a Republican running on an "abolish Obamacare" platform, as that celebration is only going to last long enough for the next round of health care cost increases.
Reversing Obamacare won't change it... It may give back high deductible plans with relatively low benefits, which DO cost less... But you can always buy less with less.. That's not a solution.
Removing Obamacare won't won't solve the implosion that will eventually occur with our heathcare system if things continue.
I don't trust the talk of either party. Being a politician is perhaps a good career and you get elected by promising the cut taxes and increase benefits, it's a pretty well established way of doing business. The political party differences simply seem to be which priorities and by how much you're going to spend or cut. Neither party has shown any capability of real fiscal restraint or ability to actually do the basic math required to keep this country solvent long term. Make promises, get elected, pass the debt on to future politicians and generations...