Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

I do. I paid for my family's policy out of pocket for a period of time, pre-ACA.

It was impossibly complex and expensive. There were options, but none that gave you even 75% of the coverage you wanted. This was the moment I concluded actual health insurance would be preferable to this TPA thing we instead have acquired.

But that's a third rail argument. No direct purchase system can even be discussed as an option.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

There's a different exchange for each state. Some are in better shape than others. And the word "exploding" suggests a problem that can't be solved, a triumph of hyperbole over reality.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Of what are you skeptical? You seem to be suggesting that it's just too expensive to provide health care because lots of people are old.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

What's the main driver of insurer exits? The pools are sicker than anticipated, translating to losses.

What happens to people more as they get older? Medicare doesn't kick in until one is 65. The Diabetes Belt alone could render that 25% increase a yearly thing.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Well, for Aetna it was wanting to merge with Humana. http://ktla.com/2017/01/24/federal-j...-of-obamacare/

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

You know what's (relatively) simple and covers pretty much everything you want? Medicare.

But we can't have that for everyone because it would mean no profits for insurance companies and providers get paid less...

More discussion about nothing
 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/...-strong-part-2

TM

Re: More discussion about nothing
 

I loved John Dean's rant, when you said, pretty much "People! I've seen what a cover-up looks like. I was in the middle of it! This is it!"

Aca
 

Seems like if Obamacare fails it will be because this administration refuses to enforce the mandate.

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact...-death-spiral/

TM

Re: Alt-facts uber alles!
 

You liberals with your facts.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

You know what's even cheaper than that, and gets insurers entirely out of the loop in terms of preventative and elective care decisions, while driving the costs down for those services? Actual insurance.

"Wait, that's crazy talk," you say. Well, yes -- yes it is. But as we currently live in a Bizarro Universe in which health care is tied to employment and our "insurers" are actually horribly run TPAs, this might just be the "lunacy" we're looking for. Really, considering what we have, any proposal judged absurd is probably far more fundamentally sound than fixes preserving anything close to the status quo.

But you're right. Our perceptions and expectations are so warped, and the systems in place to handle health care so fucked up, no normal fix could ever be implemented. Instead, the best suggestion is Medicare for all. (And seriously, that probably is the best suggestion.) How lazy, stupid, and fucked are we?

Re: Alt-facts uber alles!
 

Let's see what the 2018 and 2019 cost increases will be. If that 25% 2017 increase drops, you may have a case to be smug. If it remains static or climbs, well, "You liberals with your lack of math..."

Re: Aca
 

Actually, given 80% of plans are subsidized, if the premium increases significantly outstrip the new taxes used to cover the subsidies, and the GOP refuses to increase those taxes to adjust for those increases, doesn't that also put pressure on the program?

Re: Aca
 

Which will mean that enrollees are sicker than expected??

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

There is no such thing for health care. There's preventable death for people who can't afford to pay for the care they need or there's cost sharing - what we call health insurance.

It should be obvious that the best way to share costs is universally, with the lowest possible administrative costs - Medicare - but it's not because we prefer to pretend that markets are always best.

I don't think there's anything fucked up about it.