This may come up again next year. I consider it a success, and while it’s not perfect preventing insurance companies for overcharging or rejecting someone for a Pre-Existing Condition was a good move—IMHO.

30 comments

  1. We need massive healthcare overhaul, and it was the best opportunity that could get pushed through at that time. Something is better than nothing.

  3. Think it could have done without the 650$ penalty. Not having healthcare is a punishment in and of itself

  6. It helped people get health coverage who were otherwise unable to… but the health insurance system is so fucked up to begin with. It was like changing the tires on a burning vehicle.

  7. In 2008 I dropped out of college and didn’t find a job quick enough so my parent’s insurance was going to drop me. I tried to sign up for a barebone emergency only plan, just in case. I got denied for having a pre-existing condition: a fairly benign skin condition that didn’t require active treatment or put me at higher risk for other health issues. Fortunately I got a job a 2 or 3 weeks later. And guess what? Their healthcare plan was a much better plan from the same company, for much less. And it was given to me no questions asked. That’s some bullshit! Fuck you, United Healthcare.

    Quite frankly I support replacing our Obamacare system with a universal model if only to force all these horrible health insurance and pharmacy benefit companies out of business.

  8. Without the requirements around pre-existing conditions I would be bankrupt. Without the exchanges my dad wouldn’t have healthcare (he’s self employed).

  9. I consider it a good start. It could be better and should be improved, but something finally got passed.

  11. Amazing. Obama does not get enough credit for the Affordable Care Act. It is by far the most impactful piece of legislation in my lifetime. I had a bout of unemployment last year and Cobra was too expensive. Quickly signed up for Obamacare and with zero income received a tax credit of $400/month which made my premium $50 a month for great coverage. Paid back premium credit to the taxpayers in my taxes the following year.

  12. It needs to be repaired not eliminated. It has problems.

    Premiums, deductibles and out of pocket maximums keep going up every year.

  13. I would have liked something more ambitious like a UHC plan that allows you to sign up for Medicare at any age (or keep your employer insurance but you must have one or the other).

    Having said that, it was successful in reducing the uninsured and offering options for coverage.

  14. In regards to addressing the COST of healthcare/medicine/insurance I would say it’s a failure. In regards expanding insurance coverage I would say it was a success. Unfortunately the second means almost nothing without the first.

  16. Before Obama care I had a reasonable premium low copay and no deductible after Obama care I have a $6000 deductible my premium has doubled and copays are doubled too.

    Obama care has failed me maybe it works for someone else?

  17. If you were poor it was great, made 120-180k/yr it almost certainly fucked you over, and rich it didn’t really affect you.

  19. I think it’s great. I wouldn’t be able to have my job without it. I’ve never had problems with cost or coverage. My state has a ton of different plans to choose from. I don’t see what the problem is.

  20. It was a step in the right direction, but it needs to be expanded until we reach universal healthcare.

  21. It was as much of a success as it could be, but it is not enough.

    We need to delink employment from insurance. We need to make sure that everyone can afford good health insurance. Our current system is just absolutely stupid.

    High deductible health insurance is a really bad idea, and that’s what the market is ending up with. Insurance with a $5K deductible isn’t health insurance, it’s catastrophic illness and injury insurance. And it increases healthcare costs because people are unwilling to go to the doctor until they are on death’s door because they don’t have $5K to pay for it.

    Also, I’m freaking sick and tired of people with Medicare telling the rest of us that government should never provide anyone with insurance…

  22. Pre Obamacare was better and cheaper for healthy young people, but much worse for older people or anyone with a health condition. I still remember my early 20s pre Obamacare and perfect health, paying $60 a month for full coverage insurance with a $500 deductible and $10 copays. That skyrocketed once Obamacare passed. Today I can’t dream of anything that cheap and I make far too much for a subsidy.

    Obamacare somewhat leveled things out. So now things suck for everyone, they just suck more than they did before for the young healthy people, and they suck way less for the older people or those with health conditions.

    I don’t think we should repeal it, I do think we should holistically fix American healthcare to be cheaper and with better outcomes.

  23. It’s deeply flawed. A couple examples that hit close to home for me:

    * ACA mandated 100% coverage for women’s birth control, which is fine, but should the same argument not have been applied for pregnancy which is far more expensive? Routine pregnancy care like ultrasounds only apply to your deductible, there is no requirement to cover it the same way as birth control which feels backwards for a country with a birth rate below replacement levels.

    * The way the marketplace subsidy/tax prebate works hurts married couples. Before my wife and I were married, I had employer sponsored insurance, and she had marketplace insurance. She works in daycare so her wages are quite low, so her personal insurance costs were very low. We got married late in the year and once we were she dropped her marketplace insurance and went on my insurance. Come tax season because I make considerably more than her, we owe tons of money because the marketplace tax prebate calculates as if we were married the whole year, so we had to essentially pay for 9+ months of health insurance all at once through our taxes. Not to mention because we’re married she doesn’t qualify for any tax prebate on marketplace insurance, so now we have to bear the full cost of her insurance despite her pay being unchanged.

  24. Individual elements have been very popular — eg, getting rid of the pre-existing condition bit or keeping your kids on your insurance longer. Overall, it did a fair job of getting some people who didn’t have health insurance coverage, but there are still many people who make too much for Medicaid but too little to afford one of these policies. And the policies largely suck. And many health care providers don’t take these policies. It’s a mess. I don’t know that it could be repealed, but it certainly needs to be improved upon.

  25. I think it helped people and I think it hurt people.

    I know folks who lost their former insurance and are paying more now than they did before for either the same level of coverage or less.

    I know other people who finally have affordable and decent healthcare.

    I think it’s been a mixed bag at best.

  26. Failure. Health care cost increases have gone up even faster since it was passed, and insurance companies are even more difficult to deal with and are making more and more of the critical decisions regarding treatment that ought to be left to doctors.

  29. Complete failure, as it enabled insurance companies to gouge customers, deny coverage, and guarantee massive profits for insurance companies due to it being required by law.

    Not one person in America has better and cheaper coverage than they did prior to Obamacare. Also, everyone’s taxes went up because of it (assuming you’re one of those that make less than $200k).

    Basically slapped a “guaranteed customers” sticker for every health insurance company, which is in an industry already riddled with corruption, waste, and insanely high drug costs.

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