What exactly is "Obamacare"?

I ran across this fairly concise yet thorough overview of what exactly the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (affectionately known as ObamaCare) at the web site Reddit.com

Rather than completely republish the article, I will merely link to it below. It is presented in simple information points. I encourage you to browse the key points; whoever did prepared this did an excellent job.

What exactly is Obamacare and what did it change?

The underlying opposition to the Affordable Care Act come primarily from those who claim they don't want government making medical decisions about their health care. But just under half our population is already currently receiving government managed health through Medicare and Medicaid with few complaints and at administrative costs far under that of private sector insurance companies which have a profit incentive to reduce costs. Employees of government medical insurance providers do not earn multi-million dollar bonuses and salaries.

It is an established fact that the USA has the highest medical costs with the lowest outcomes of any developed country. The facts speak for themselves. If you don't like the Affordable Care act, what is your alternative in a system where these costs increase far greater then inflation every year? Opponents, I'm listening.

Medical (Insurance) Malpractice

I have gotten pretty tired of watching that Republican numb-skull Senator John Boehner yammer the party Mind-Speak in opposition to any type of medical insurance reform in this country. I was pretty much ambivalent regarding the increasing cost of health care until a recent incident with Regents Blue Cross Blue Shield pushed me over the edge.

To back up a bit – My wife and I are responsible for paying for our own group coverage through our retirement. Clearly, the health insurance industry as a whole needs to get an an eye exam; they seem to be rather blind regarding recognizing the parallels between what happened to the Housing Bubble and the ever expanding Medical Insurance Bubble.

Let me bring it more in focus with a very personal example -- Our own personal medical insurance premium costs:

• 2009 1,122.11 13.7% increase
• 2008 987.98 10.4% increase
• 2007 894.65
  

The annual percentage increase rate for medial insurance premiums is roughly what it was for the housing market. We all KNOW what happened when the housing bubble burst. As it stands now, just our medical insurance monthly premiums (not the additional co-pay and uncovered expenses), consumes 36% of our GROSS joint retirement income. And this is for coverage that covers less and less every year – I am paying a higher share of my co-pay for office visits as well as paying more for the insurance itself.

I pay more each year to get less coverage.

Do the CEO’s of Regents and other medical insurance companies really think this trend is sustainable? They’re not stupid – they are only looking out for their self-interest. They will unfurl their Golden Parachutes and bail when this bubble pops.

Recently Regents notified me that I can no longer take Lipitor to lower my cholesterol. I switched to the generic alternative which caused me to experience… uh, well symptoms akin to having eaten a Tijuana Taco. My request to go back to Lipitor (which had worked well for me for a decade) was refused. The ONLY reason Regents wants me to switch to the generic is to save THEM money! In turn they will charge me MORE in premiums and cover LESS of my visits and procedures.

In the mean time I watch Republican Senator John Boehner (yes, I will pronounce it “boner”) asking at a press conference “do Americans really want Washington-Run Medical?” YES, John – we do! We want the same Washington Run medical care that YOU get.

I am now personally motivated to do whatever I can to completely disassemble the current private medical care system in this country.

Turn your head and cough.

Much of my time now is spent in the the Medical Delivery System. The medical industry has become, well… an Industry! The friendly family doctor has been replaced with a “Doctor Factory” where your health issues are processed. The System consists of three interlocking components, the medical Provider branch, the Insurance branch, and the Pharmaceutical branch, which are tied together under a single unifying goal: amassing huge profits from your illness! Here’s how the system works:

Provider Branch – These are the factories where the doctors labor in indentured servitude in a hopeless attempt to pay back their huge medical school indebtedness. Here the Provider employs a mult-pronged security team of receptionists, physician-assistants and nurses dedicated to one goal: preventing the Patient from having any contact with the doctor. The Physician Assistants are employed by the Provider to remind the doctor that he/she can be replaced with a lower cost alternative at any time.

Insurance Branch – These entities thrive, much like a parasite, to suck money from the patient and dole it out to their co-conspirators, the Provider. Insurance companies have worked out an extremely complex monetary transfer system with the Provider whereby the Provider accepts a lower fee than the Insurance Company wants to pay them, under the threat of breaking the Provider’s kneecaps. By the way, the Insurance Companies get the reduced rate – you don’t.

Pharmaceutical Branch – Like its street smart brethren in the criminal underworld, the Pharmaceutical Branch gets the public hooked on drugs through incessant television advertising. For example, convincing middle-aged men that they need have “Cialis for Daily Use” so they can be ready to spring a boner at any moment. The Pharmaceutical Branch also visits the Provider Branch, offering golf junkets and vacations to Bermuda to motivate the doctor to push unnecessary drugs onto their patients.

The system works flawlessly. The following is a working example of a typical Medical Delivery System event:

1. Patient pays Insurance Branch a huge monthly premium.
2. Believing they are sick, Patient calls the Provider for an appointment.
3. Provider receptionist puts the Patient on hold hoping Patient will die in the interim.
4. Patient persists. Provider receptionist gives Patient an appointment time, scheduling it far enough in advance in the hope the Patient gets better (or dies) before showing for the appointment.
5. Patient shows up for appointment thinking they will be seeing a doctor. Patient is seen by a Physician’s Assistant instead.
6. Physician’s assistant, not being a doctor, (therefore unable to determine if Patient is sick) advises the patient to quit their job, take Tylenol, and drink lots of fluids. Patient is sent home.
7. Patient doesn’t improve, repeats steps 1 through 4.
8. Patient shows for appointment and is now allowed to see a doctor - not to exceed 15 minutes in length. Doctor is only allowed to touch the computer, but not the Patient.
9. Doctor asks what TV advertisements Patient has seen then prescribes the most expensive pharmaceutical. Doctor then plans his/her two week vacation in the Bahamas.
10. Patient takes the pharmaceutical prescription to the drug store, which contacts the Insurance Company for payment.
11. Insurance Company refuses payment for the expensive pharmaceutical suggesting instead, a more reasonably priced generic knock-off manufactured by a lead toy factory in China.
12. Patient ingests the pharmaceutical which either, A) Does no good, or B) Side effects make the Patient sick.
13. Patient repeats steps 1 through 11.
14. Patient is now starting to irritate the Provider, so Provider, A) Refers Patient to a more costly specialist, in an attempt to intimidate them out of being sick, B) Sends Patient to a Lab to be poked with needles, in an attempt to annoy them out of being sick, or C) Convinces the Patient that they are fine and sends them home.
15. Patient receives multiple separate bills for each individual contacted during Provider visit, and a statement from the Insurance Company explaining why it will not pay the bills.
16. Patient pays Insurance Branch a huge monthly premium.

What’s the best part of the American system of health care delivery? It’s not considered "Socialism".