The Affordable Care Act is Coming Home to Roost

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "FIX" is here...........................

 

 

 

As if the web site failure was the biggest problem with the ACA.....................................lol

 

 

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[IDBillzFan]

As if the web site failure was the biggest problem with the ACA.....................................lol

 

 

Probably the most interesting part of this website issue right now is that once it's actually fixed, all it will do is give millions of Americans a chance to see how horribly bad their options are for overpriced insurance and ridiculously high deductibles.

[ExiledInIllinois]

http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Krugman-Obamacare-already-having-effect-on-5022395.php

 

"...Still, the facts are striking. Since 2010, when the act was passed, real health spending per capita - that is, total spending adjusted for overall inflation and population growth - has risen less than a third as rapidly as its long-term average. Real spending per Medicare recipient hasn't risen at all; real spending per Medicaid beneficiary has actually fallen slightly.

What could account for this good news? One obvious answer is the still-depressed economy, which might be causing people to forgo expensive medical care. But this explanation turns out to be problematic in multiple ways. For one thing, the economy had stabilized by 2010, even if the recovery was fairly weak, yet health costs continued to slow. For another, it's hard to see why a weak economy would have more effect in reducing the prices of health services than it has on overall inflation. Finally, Medicare spending shouldn't be affected by the weak economy, yet it has slowed even more dramatically than private spending.

A better story focuses on what appears to be a decline in some kinds of medical innovation - in particular, an absence of expensive new blockbuster drugs, even as existing drugs go off-patent and can be replaced with cheaper generic brands. This is a real phenomenon; it is, in fact, the main reason the Medicare drug program has ended up costing less than originally projected. But since drugs are only about 10 percent of health spending, it can only explain so much.

So what aspects of Obamacare might be causing health costs to slow? One clear answer is the act's reduction in Medicare "overpayments" - mainly a reduction in the subsidies to private insurers offering Medicare Advantage Plans, but also cuts in some provider payments. A less certain, but likely, source of savings involves changes in the way Medicare pays for services. The program now penalizes hospitals if many of their patients end up being readmitted soon after being released - an indicator of poor care - and readmission rates have, in fact, fallen substantially. Medicare is also encouraging a shift from fee-for-service, in which doctors and hospitals get paid by the procedure, to "accountable care," in which health organizations get rewarded for overall success in improving care while controlling costs..."

[B-Man]

Lol, still regurgitating Mr. Obama's (disproved) September claim, I see. Yes healthcare spending continues up (albeit at a slower rate)experts agree that the slowdown is largely due to the economy and a contraction of spending during the recession.

 

 

you can browse to any number of news and media websites today and see the one story that is at the top of the list.

 

Today is November 30th, the day President Obama said the ObamaCare website would be back up and running full steam.

 

Actually, that’s what he said originally, but he has backed off on that claim, somewhat. The story line we have heard all week is the website would be much improved by the end of the month (remember, that’s today), but bugs may still remain.

 

The most important thing to remember is ObamaCare is more than just a website.

 

The failures of the ObamaCare website have nothing to do with the millions of Americans who have received cancellation notices from their insurance companies.

 

Those failures have nothing to do with cancer patients losing their health insurance.

 

There is no correlation between the website crashing and the number of doctors who are leaving the field of medicine.

 

When many Americans are greeted with prices for health insurance that far surpass what they have previously paid for similar coverage, the website is only returning the information it has been fed.

 

The website failures have been the focal point, but the failures of ObamaCare are rooted in something worse than a multi-million dollar website that doesn’t work properly.

 

Even if the ObamaCare website is magically repaired, we are still faced with this one singular fact. ObamaCare is a plan by an overgrown federal government to take over the health care system of the United States of America.

 

It was designed to fail, with one purpose in mind. When it fails, and it surely will, the federal government will be in the perfect position to offer the solution the progressive liberals have wanted from the beginning.

 

.

[OCinBuffalo]

http://www.chron.com...-on-5022395.php

 

"...Still, the facts are striking. Since 2010, when the act was passed, real health spending per capita - that is, total spending adjusted for overall inflation and population growth - has risen less than a third as rapidly as its long-term average. Real spending per Medicare recipient hasn't risen at all; real spending per Medicaid beneficiary has actually fallen slightly.

What could account for this good news? One obvious answer is the still-depressed economy, which might be causing people to forgo expensive medical care. But this explanation turns out to be problematic in multiple ways. For one thing, the economy had stabilized by 2010, even if the recovery was fairly weak, yet health costs continued to slow. For another, it's hard to see why a weak economy would have more effect in reducing the prices of health services than it has on overall inflation. Finally, Medicare spending shouldn't be affected by the weak economy, yet it has slowed even more dramatically than private spending.

A better story focuses on what appears to be a decline in some kinds of medical innovation - in particular, an absence of expensive new blockbuster drugs, even as existing drugs go off-patent and can be replaced with cheaper generic brands. This is a real phenomenon; it is, in fact, the main reason the Medicare drug program has ended up costing less than originally projected. But since drugs are only about 10 percent of health spending, it can only explain so much.

So what aspects of Obamacare might be causing health costs to slow? One clear answer is the act's reduction in Medicare "overpayments" - mainly a reduction in the subsidies to private insurers offering Medicare Advantage Plans, but also cuts in some provider payments. A less certain, but likely, source of savings involves changes in the way Medicare pays for services. The program now penalizes hospitals if many of their patients end up being readmitted soon after being released - an indicator of poor care - and readmission rates have, in fact, fallen substantially. Medicare is also encouraging a shift from fee-for-service, in which doctors and hospitals get paid by the procedure, to "accountable care," in which health organizations get rewarded for overall success in improving care while controlling costs..."

Holy Black Box Batman! Mr. Krugman? We don't do "stories that focus on what appears to be" in BPR/BPM. We do processes, rules, and, properly collected data.

 

That whole article = black box thinking. "Let's put something in one end of the black box, and see what comes out the other side, while never looking into the box, or understanding what is actually happening inside it".

 

The medicare readmit problem...was a problem. But, "bad care" had little to do with it. Again, bad process was the culprit. Paul Krugman doesn't have a clue. I'd love to debate this clown. He is so far removed from what it takes to actually understand what is happening, and the tactics we use to really find out...that reading his "work" just makes me laugh.

 

I can tell you why it was the process, in excruciating detail, as I run into this constantly. Or, I can tell you that it was bad process, that would have been fixed with or without Obamcare, and be done.

 

Thus, the inference that Obamcare "fixed" this is patently retarded. That is correlation = causation, a "favorite" here at PPP.

 

I was running into the causes of this long before Obamcare, in many industries, not just health care, and I will be running into it long after it's gone. Meanwhile, Krugman was black boxing his way through the Tech Bubble long before Obamacare, and he will be black boxing his way through whatever is next.

 

Paul Krugman : health care :: Drupal "consultant" : programming.

Edited November 30, 2013 by OCinBuffalo

[B-Man]

ObamaCare's Plans Are Worse: How the Affordable Care Act raises prices and limits medical choices.

Nov. 29, 2013

 

Even as President Obama reluctantly granted Americans thrown off their health plans quasi-permission to possibly keep them, he called them "the folks who, over time, I think, are going to find that the marketplaces are better." He means the ObamaCare exchanges that are replacing the private insurance market, adding that "it's important that we don't pretend that somehow that's a place worth going back to."

 

Easy for him to say. The reason this furor will continue even if the website is fixed is that the public is learning that ObamaCare's insurance costs more in return for worse coverage.

 

Mr. Obama and his liberal allies call the old plans "substandard," but he doesn't mean from the perspective of the consumers who bought them. He means people were free to choose insurance that wasn't designed to serve his social equity and income redistribution goals. In his view, many people must pay first-class fares for coach seats so others can pay less and receive extra benefits.

 

Liberals justify these coercive cross-subsidies as necessary to finance coverage for the uninsured and those with pre-existing conditions. But government usually helps the less fortunate honestly by raising taxes to fund programs. In summer 2009, Senate Democrats put out such a bill, and the $1.6 trillion sticker shock led them to hide the transfers by forcing people to buy overpriced products.

 

This political mugging is especially unfair to the people whose plans on the current individual market are being taken away. The majority of these consumers are self-employed or small-business owners. They're middle class, rarely affluent. They took responsibility for their care without government aid, and unlike people in the job-based system, they paid with after-tax dollars.

 

more at link: http://online.wsj.co...192081764514664

Edited November 30, 2013 by B-Man

[ExiledInIllinois]

Holy Black Box Batman! Mr. Krugman? We don't do "stories that focus on what appears to be" in BPR/BPM. We do processes, rules, and, properly collected data.

 

That whole article = black box thinking. "Let's put something in one end of the black box, and see what comes out the other side, while never looking into the box, or understanding what is actually happening inside it".

 

The medicare readmit problem...was a problem. But, "bad care" had little to do with it. Again, bad process was the culprit. Paul Krugman doesn't have a clue. I'd love to debate this clown. He is so far removed from what it takes to actually understand what is happening, and the tactics we use to really find out...that reading his "work" just makes me laugh.

 

I can tell you why it was the process, in excruciating detail, as I run into this constantly. Or, I can tell you that it was bad process, that would have been fixed with or without Obamcare, and be done.

 

Thus, the inference that Obamcare "fixed" this is patently retarded. That is correlation = causation, a "favorite" here at PPP.

 

I was running into the causes of this long before Obamcare, in many industries, not just health care, and I will be running into it long after it's gone. Meanwhile, Krugman was black boxing his way through the Tech Bubble long before Obamacare, and he will be black boxing his way through whatever is next.

 

Paul Krugman : health care :: Drupal "consultant" : programming.

 

And someone like Paul Krugman developed a huge resume while Cap't Smiley (OC) is still posting for the conservative retards on The Two Bills Drive/Stadium Wall PPP forum!

 

ROFLMAO... You are on the fast track OC! Hey Cappy Emoticon, when is your delusions of grandeur train due in @ the station? 2049?

 

Pick up the horn, Nate Silver is giving you are jingle!

Edited November 30, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois

[OCinBuffalo]

Yeah...you're on target.

 

Show me how this isn't "black box" nonsense....or STFU.

 

I doubt you are even capable of understanding that abstraction.

 

But, prove me wrong. Let's see you try....

[ExiledInIllinois]

Yeah...you're on target.

 

Show me how this isn't "black box" nonsense....or STFU.

 

I doubt you are even capable of understanding that abstraction.

 

But, prove me wrong. Let's see you try....

 

No. It is you, crazy nobody dude vs. against Krugman. You are the one that needs to STFU... You are a nobody. A loser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "FIX" is here...........................

 

 

 

As if the web site failure was the biggest problem with the ACA.....................................lol

 

 

.

 

Funny how with anything, people feel they are being thrown off the cliff and that things are broken. Such is life and such is life especially w/change. People hate change. Especially, if that change is worse off for some.

 

Yet, we ALL keep looking for the perfect solution.

[B-Man]

No. It is you, crazy nobody dude vs. against Krugman. You are the one that needs to STFU... You are a nobody. A loser.

 

 

 

Funny how with anything, people feel they are being thrown off the cliff and that things are broken. Such is life and such is life especially w/change. People hate change. Especially, if that change is worse off for some.

 

Yet, we ALL keep looking for the perfect solution.

 

Sorry sir.

 

I have been a Registered Nurse from 1979

 

I have more experience with grieving families and the care delivery problems than most of the posters on the board.............combined.

 

 

 

Change was needed.

 

Pointing out that this "affordable" plan is garbage and will make matters worse is not your short-sighted "fear of change"

 

 

It is experience.

 

it is knowledge.

 

 

it is common sense.............................

 

 

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Edited November 30, 2013 by B-Man

[IDBillzFan]

Revised website is up with a new home page.

 

 

 

[B-Man]

As I posted yesterday.................."THE FIX" is in.......................

 

 

 

9:00 a.m. Sunday Morning Press Conference to release more data on ObamaCare site´s progress

 

Washington Post: Administration will announce web site is fixed. WaPo also says that is nowhere near true

 

 

NPR Reporter Frustrated by WH’s Transparency: ‘Have to Take Their Word’ on Obamacare Site Fixes

 

http://www.mediaite....are-site-fixes/

 

 

 

Inside the Race to Rescue a Health Care Site, and Obama

 

http://www.nytimes.c..._20131201&_r=1

 

 

 

Let's Talk Turkey

 

By Clarice Feldman

 

Elect a Chicago community organizer (twice) as your president and you should not be surprised to find that all he is capable of is spewing propaganda and dividing us by personalizing attacks on those who oppose his grandiose, wildly impractical efforts at reshaping our lives to suit his sophomoric view of the good life.

 

As the obvious failure of ObamaCare has become evident to all but his most blinkered cultists, Obama fell back this week on upping the propagandizing and deflecting attention from his failures with even more lies.

Read more: http://www.americant...l#ixzz2mENvMx6d

 

 

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Edited December 1, 2013 by B-Man

[B-Man]

Repeat after me: The disastrous website launch was a metaphor for the problem. It was not the problem.

 

 

 

 

WILL OBAMACARE destroy the home health care industry? “The clear conclusion is that saving money is more important to CMS than serving those who are so sick they cannot leave home without assistance. . . . It is obvious that they turned a deaf ear to our pleas on behalf of aged, infirm, disabled, and dying Americans.”

 

 

 

 

 

[Joe Miner]

So is it actually secure now, or does it just load up when you enter the url?

 

What does "fixed" mean?

[TheMadCap]

So is it actually secure now, or does it just load up when you enter the url?

 

What does "fixed" mean?

 

It means that when you log in, you go to a fake exchange they built to "estimate" your premiums and subsidies that the Insurance companies would be crazy to accept since they don't know what they are responsible for, so the blame can be placed on them, and the WH can say, See, it works!

[boyst]

 

 

It means that when you log in, you go to a fake exchange they built to "estimate" your premiums and subsidies that the Insurance companies would be crazy to accept since they don't know what they are responsible for, so the blame can be placed on them, and the WH can say, See, it works!

so, it works, right?

[keepthefaith]

I just had an employee walk into my office and say he wants to discontinue his health insurance because he's eligible for about $250 per month in a subsidy. He'll save money by doing this. Looks like Obamacare is working. He gets part of his premium paid for and he'll keep voting for the guys and gals that provide that for him.

[3rdnlng]

I just had an employee walk into my office and say he wants to discontinue his health insurance because he's eligible for about $250 per month in a subsidy. He'll save money by doing this. Looks like Obamacare is working. He gets part of his premium paid for and he'll keep voting for the guys and gals that provide that for him.

 

Won't he be surprised if the site isn't accurately quoting his monthly premium?

[DC Tom]

I just had an employee walk into my office and say he wants to discontinue his health insurance because he's eligible for about $250 per month in a subsidy. He'll save money by doing this. Looks like Obamacare is working. He gets part of his premium paid for and he'll keep voting for the guys and gals that provide that for him.

 

Isn't the exchange for people that don't have employer-provided insurance available? Not for people that have it but simply don't want it?

[TheMadCap]

Isn't the exchange for people that don't have employer-provided insurance available? Not for people that have it but simply don't want it?

 

Not always. Some employer plans are "junk" plans that don't pay for anything, according to the F-In-L.

 

All in all, he was fairly well behaved this holiday. As much as an Obama bot can be. Some of the few gems from this holiday:

 

"The website failed because they had to dumb it down for the illiterate Americans to be able to use it, have you seen how big the fonts are"?

 

"One party is this country is against healthcare"

 

However, his older brother came by on Saturday. BTW, no one likes him at all, not even his family, because he's a douche. Brother says that he had a good Thanksgiving, but was informed by HIS in laws not to startu up with the usual BS political discussion and specifically not Obamacare, whom his 90 year old father in law was very upset about because his insurance was cancelled. He proudly relayed to us how he "broke it down for the old guy, why he's better off now". Yeah, pick on a 90 year old when they asked you nicely not to. This is what I'm dealing with...

Edited December 2, 2013 by TheMadCap