The article below is the most comprehensive analysis available of "Obamacare" -- the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The author, a knowledgeable person who wishes to remain anonymous, explains how Obamacare works for the insurance companies but not for you.
Obamacare was formulated on the concept of health care as a commercial commodity and was cloaked in ideological slogans such as "shared responsibility," "no free riders" and "ownership society." These slogans dress the insurance industry's raid on public resources in the cloak of a "free market" health-care system.
You will learn how to purchase a subsidized plan at the Exchange, what will happen when income and family circumstances change during the year or from one year to the next, and other perils brought to you by Obamacare. Americans will be shocked to learn the extent to which they have been deceived. The legislation neither protects the patient nor are the plans affordable.
The author shows that for those Americans whose income places them between 138% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Level, the out-of-pocket cost for one of the least expensive (lower coverage) subsidized policies ranges from 2% to 9.5% of Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), a tax base larger than the Adjusted Gross Income used for calculating federal income tax.
What this means is that those Americans with the least or no disposable income are faced in effect with a substantial pay cut. The author provides an example of a 35-year-old with a MAGI of $27,925. The out-of-pocket cost to this person of a Silver level plan (second least expensive) is $187.33 per month. This cost is based on pre-tax income; that is, before income is reduced by payroll and income taxes. There goes the car payment or utility bill. The lives of millions of Americans will change drastically as they struggle with a new, large expense -- particularly in an era of no jobs, low-paying jobs and rising cost of living.
The author also points out that the cost of using the mandated policies will be prohibitive because of the large deductibles and co-pays. Many Americans will find themselves not only with a policy they can't afford, but also with one they cannot afford to use. Those who cannot afford the insurance, even with a subsidy, will be faced with a costly penalty, and in many cases, this, too, will be difficult, if not impossible, to pay. As each year's subsidy is based on last year's income, there will be a substantial year-end tax liability for those who must repay the subsidy in whole or in part because their income increased during the year. The stress alone from such a regressive scheme is, without a doubt, not conducive to good health and well-being.
Diets will worsen for millions of Americans as they struggle with a new large expense. Thus, the effect of Obamacare will be to worsen the health of millions. Indeed, a "glitch" in the legislation allows millions to be priced out of coverage.
Alternatively, Americans might be able to acquire health insurance coverage but have no doctors willing to treat them.
The demand that Obamacare places on household budgets in which there is no slack makes me wonder where the president's economists were while the insurance lobby crafted the product that serves the profits of insurance companies. Two well-known economic facts are that real family income has been stagnant or declining for a number of years and Americans are over their heads in debt.
How does Obama preside over a recovery when consumer purchasing power is redirected to insurance company profits?
Obamacare not only rations health care by what a person or family can afford, but also has implications for Medicare patients. Hundreds of billions of dollars are siphoned from Medicare to help pay the cost of Obamacare. The health care provided to Medicare patients will decline with the reduced payments to care providers. Health care seems destined to be rationed according to the age and illnesses of Medicare patients. Those judged too old and too ill could be denied expensive treatments or procedures that would prolong their lives.
Obama will rue the day that his name was put on this special interest legislation, and most Americans, once they realize what has been done to them, will be angry that special interests again prevailed over the health of the nation.
OBAMACARE: DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, commonly referred to as the ACA or Obamacare, will go into full effect in 2014. This decree mandates that all Americans must purchase and maintain government-approved health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS. Touted as a plan to provide all Americans with access to medical care, in reality, this compulsory shakedown commands everyone to purchase insurance that for many will be too expensive, even with government subsidies -- or unaffordable to use -- or both.
The ACA was not selflessly designed with the intent of providing affordable and equitable medical services to those in need, but rather to acquire taxpayer money for the private insurance companies under the seemingly helpful guise of health care and the ideological excuse of personal responsibility. It takes money from ordinary people and gives it to a medical insurance industry that profits handsomely from this legally-enforced corporate welfare -- all while keeping Americans locked in the same broken system that puts profit before patients. The law was essentially written by business executives from the industry so that special interests would not be upset and profits assured.
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