Sunday, October 10, 2010

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Phase 2

Healthcare, phase 2


The healthcare law, called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, or PPAC has different phases which affects private coverages at different stages. The politicians passed the law without reading or understanding the 2500+ pages. 70% of the American public opposed the law but our leaders passed it anyway. To keep the anticipated costs below $1 trillion, they promised to cut $500 billion from Medicare. The $1 trillion is what they guessed would be politically acceptable to Americans.


Here are some provisions of the law:

1. Ban on annual and lifetime caps on claims.

2. Ban on underwriting (everyone who applies must be covered regardless of health)

3. Mandatory provision to allow children to remain on parents' policies.

4. Ban on cancellation of coverage due to sickness or accident.

5. Creation of an information exchange for comparison of different policies.

All of the above provisions will result in increased premiums for everyone. Of particular interest is the estimated 32 million uninsured people who will be given free (paid for by the government) insurance. This alone will tax the healthcare industry because we currently don't have enough doctors to service both  new and existing patients. When demand goes up for services and the supply remains the same, prices will rise.

As of September 23, there is "free" preventive care requirement for newly installed plans. Many plans will become "new" plans because they have to change substantially in order to meet other mandatory requirements. All plans must remove their lifetime and annual limits beginning with anniversary renewals starting on September 23. If you pay for your insurance yourself, you will see a big increase in premiums on your plan's anniversary date. If your employer pays for your premium, then many things could happen, including passing on the increase to you, terminating your health insurance plan or terminating your employment.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/businessnews/20101008_Dispute_threatens_health_care.html

The $500 billion in Medicare cuts will hurt our kupunas because no doctor would provide services without adequate payment. We have already seen them beginning to turn away Medicare patients because the reimbursements are already too low. With fewer healthcare professionals servicing 32 million more people, the aged, who need more services, will be denied medical attention. There has also been a huge increase in Medicaid (welfare) recipients because of the high unemployment rate and that puts a strain on the providers.

Now, there are some tax credits that will come into play in 2014 to help the lower income people pay for medical insurance. This goes back to the redistribution of wealth that's so popular among politicians. This should scare you unless, of course, you went to a private school.

To pay for this new law, the politician is sticking his hand into your pocket. When you say "NO", they demonize you as being selfish and not having alternative solutions to the problem. The problem is actually created by our very government.  Just the increase in the government bureaucrats required to police and regulate this new law will increase the cost of healthcare.

Let me explain it another way. If a man imposes himself on a woman in spite of the woman saying "NO!", can he then justify himself afterwards by claiming that " 'No' is not a solution"? What solution is he looking for? Better yet, what's the problem other than his desire to violate the woman?

Just so that our politicians understand what "no" means, let me be clear. "MY MONEY IS MINE AND DOESN'T BELONG TO THE GOVERNMENT! TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY MONEY!" There! I feel better. I not only don't trust my government, I fear them. They're bullies.

Yeah, I know. Our elected officials are going to do whatever they want regardless of how I feel, but what we can do is come together as a community and help each other by stepping up our volunteering. The life you save may be that of your neighbor's.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20101007_Woman_charged_in_stabbing_of_elderly_mother.html

Our elderly were promised certain benefits when Medicare was passed in 1965. Yes, the politicians made the promises in exchange for votes. The reality is that  the politician will not be around when the government breaks that promise when the costs get too high. For Medicare, that time is now.

Meanwhile, the elderly has already passed their productive lifespan and has no way of being able to produce an income to replace the promises that our government will not fulfill. We cannot change our politicians. But, we can all help if we get into the spirit of volunteering and help those who can no longer help themselves.

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