Start The Clock: Obamacare enrollment explained - 99 days until rollout/"train wreck"

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blackascoal

The Force is With Me
Start The Clock: Obamacare enrollment explained - 99 days until rollout/"train wreck"

Obamacare enrollment explained ..

anatomy.png


That should be easy. :0)

'Obamacare' countdown gets under way

WASHINGTON (AP) - Fewer than 100 days before uninsured Americans can sign up for coverage, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday the administration is gearing up with new call centers, a revamped website - and a confab with the National Football League.

No deals yet, Sebelius told reporters. But she said the idea of partnering to publicize the benefits of health insurance has gotten an enthusiastic reception from the NFL and other pro sports leagues.

Health promotion is a goal for the leagues and "good for the country," Sebelius said.

Football season would be in full swing Oct. 1, when consumers can start shopping for coverage under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Benefits take effect Jan. 1, around the time of the playoffs.

Opponents are looking for a goal-line fumble by the Obama administration as the long-awaited expansion of coverage for the uninsured finally happens. But if Sebelius is nervous, she doesn't let on.

"It's a huge undertaking across the country, and I'm confident we're going to get it done," she said. Not only sports leagues, but community organizations, religious denominations and public health groups will be involved with outreach.

Starting Oct. 1, consumers will be able to access new online marketplaces through HealthCare.gov and shop for private insurance plans in their communities. The federal government site will be the main portal to the new law, since about half the states are letting Washington run the coverage expansion.

Middle-class people who don't have job-based coverage will use the marketplace to apply for tax credits to help pay their premiums — a process that's supposed to take place smoothly and in close to real time, though skeptics doubt it. Low-income people will be steered to an expanded version of Medicaid in states that accept it.

All told, it's the biggest expansion of the social safety net since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid nearly 50 years ago. With polls showing that the law remains unpopular, and even many uninsured don't think they'll be helped, things are likely to get off to a slow start.
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20130624&id=16631506
 
tekkychick said:
For Californians -
http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp
Click to expand...

Seems easier .. now all California will need is to convince young and healthy people to sign up in massive numbers.

Same source ..

Young Adults Will Make or Break Obamacare in California
excerpt

Young adults —18 to 34-year-olds — make up more than 40 percent of California’s uninsured, though they make up less than 30 percent of the population. And according to many health reform advocates, they’re the ones who could make or break Obamacare.

“If we get only sick people, and don’t get the young, healthy people into the insurance system, it’s going to mean premiums are much higher.”

“The success of this law really does depend on getting young people insured, and frankly getting everyone insured,” said Larry Levitt, a health policy and insurance expert for the Kaiser Family Foundation.

n less than five months, a key piece of Obamacare will go live: state-based insurance marketplaces, called Covered California here. That means millions of Californians looking for coverage for themselves or their families will be able to go online and enroll in qualified health plans regardless of their medical history. Many will get help from federal subsidies. But if the exchange doesn’t enroll enough young, healthy people, insurers will have to hike everyone’s premiums.

“Insurance premiums are set based on the pool of people who are buying coverage,” Levitt said. “If we get only sick people, and don’t get the young, healthy people into the insurance system, it’s going to mean premiums are much higher.”
http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/05/24/young-adults-key-to-obamacare-in-california/
 
I hope young people are smart enough to realize that they get sick too...if they aren't, their parents should convince them to sign up.
 
by the way - not expecting a "train wreck" in California because we're planning for it. Hope your state is if you aren't in California.
 
tekkychick said:
I hope young people are smart enough to realize that they get sick too...if they aren't, their parents should convince them to sign up.
Click to expand...

If you're talking about unemployed and under-employed young people, many of whom are also having a seriously difficult time trying to keep up with college costs .. there may be a problem.
 
tekkychick said:
by the way - not expecting a "train wreck" in California because we're planning for it. Hope your state is if you aren't in California.
Click to expand...

I live in Georgia .. and here the federal government will have to set up the exchanges because the state government won't .. none of which affects me. I already have insurance.

If enough young and healthy people don't sign up in California, whether you expect it or not, a train wreck of skyrocketing premiums is headed your way.
 
blackascoal said:
If you're talking about unemployed and under-employed young people, many of whom are also having a seriously difficult time trying to keep up with college costs .. there may be a problem.
Click to expand...

We'll wait to see what happens. They need to be educated on how much more expensive being sick is without insurance.

The penalty of course is a start -
Starting Jan. 1, 2014, most people must have health insurance or pay a fine. In the first year, that penalty is $95 per person or 1 percent of income, whichever is greater. The penalty rises to $695 per person or 2.5 percent of income in 2016. (Penalties for children are half the amount for adults.)
Click to expand...

and they have the option of health insurance or possibly qualifying under the expanded MediCal.

And since their parents might feel like they are going to have to pay the bill if the young adult gets sick, the parents should also be seriously talking with them.

This IS the personal responsibility thing that conservatives talk about - people need to take responsibility for getting themselves covered by insurance.
 
tekkychick said:
I hope young people are smart enough to realize that they get sick too...if they aren't, their parents should convince them to sign up.
Click to expand...

I went three years in my '20's without insurance. A risk? Maybe. I'm 40 and I don't go to a doctor now. I sure as hell didn't go in my '20's.
 
cawacko said:
I went three years in my '20's without insurance. A risk? Maybe. I'm 40 and I don't go to a doctor now. I sure as hell didn't go in my '20's.
Click to expand...

You were lucky, my sons friend who plays soccer has learned the hard way about lack of insurance.
 
The Dude said:
I hope it devastates Cali knocking there real estate down to the national average.
A 75 percent fall should be good.
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We're working on an investment fund right now for Chinese buyers for about five high end condo buildings in San Francisco. Recent comps in these buildings have been between $1,200 - $1,500/sq.ft. which is 18% below peak pricing of Dec. 2005. Wealthy Chinese investors love high end property in NY, SF & LA. We're trying to raise money now and if it's a go we'll see how high these prices can go and how long they can last.
 
cawacko said:
We're working on an investment fund right now for Chinese buyers for about five high end condo buildings in San Francisco. Recent comps in these buildings have been between $1,200 - $1,500/sq.ft. which is 18% below peak pricing of Dec. 2005. Wealthy Chinese investors love high end property in NY, SF & LA. We're trying to raise money now and if it's a go we'll see how high these prices can go and how long they can last.
Click to expand...

Do you know the Fangs? They do a lot of business in Anchorage.
 
tekkychick said:
We'll wait to see what happens. They need to be educated on how much more expensive being sick is without insurance.

The penalty of course is a start -

and they have the option of health insurance or possibly qualifying under the expanded MediCal.

And since their parents might feel like they are going to have to pay the bill if the young adult gets sick, the parents should also be seriously talking with them.

This IS the personal responsibility thing that conservatives talk about - people need to take responsibility for getting themselves covered by insurance.
Click to expand...

Again .. and with respect .. we're talking about a class of people that is already struggling to make ends meet. It they are adults, their parents will not have to pay the fines for them .. they will be on the hook for it .. often for much less than the cost of insurance.

It's a real bizzaro way to do healthcare .. on the backs of the underclass.

I'm not a democrat, so far be it for me to tell democrats what to do .. but a lot of them are seriously worried about the national rollout of Mitt Romney's healthcare plan .. that isn't working that well in his own state.

Romneycare demonstrates what’s wrong with Obamacare
excerpt

There can no longer be any doubt that Romneycare was the model for Obamacare. That fact should be of grave concern to every American.

As Massachusetts treasurer, I have consistently voiced my concern about the affordability of Romneycare. No other program in our state has grown faster. Romneycare has ripped a gaping hole in the commonwealth’s budget and caused deep cuts to essential services like police, fire and education. Worse yet, it has placed a crushing burden on small businesses that are the lifeblood of our economy.

When universal coverage was sold to voters in 2006, they were told that it would cost about $88 million each year. What they were not told was the true cost of being taken care of. Consider: Massachusetts had only 7 percent uninsured when Romneycare was implemented in 2006.

The cost to cover a mere 4 percent more (or about 400,000 people) was more than $4 billion.

Now imagine the cost when the federal government tries to implement a similar plan in a place like California, with 20 percent uninsured.

I want every American to be able to access quality, affordable health care. But before that happens, we have to get serious about embracing fundamental reforms in the way basic health care service is delivered.

The only reason Romneycare has survived at all is that we have been propped up by the federal government over and over again. But this begs the question of who will bail out the federal government when Obamacare goes into effect.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfranci...hats-wrong-with-obamacare/Content?oid=2133291

Tim Cahill is treasurer of Massachusetts and a former Democrat

Romney's plan will be a lot tougher to implement nationwide.

The good news is that the wait is over. If implementation works .. good news for worried democrats .. if it doesn't, good news for a republican-controlled House and Senate .. which will immediately get to work to undo the ACA.
 
cawacko said:
I went three years in my '20's without insurance. A risk? Maybe. I'm 40 and I don't go to a doctor now. I sure as hell didn't go in my '20's.
Click to expand...

As Rana said, you're one of the lucky ones. My stepdaughter (on my insurance) had both kidney stones and e-coli within 10 months. With the e-coli she was hospitalized for at least four days, with heavy duty IV antibiotics. No idea what it all cost. Glad it was covered.

Re poor kids - EXPANDED MEDI-CAL. If their income is low enough they'll be on Medi-Cal they don't need to buy insurance.
 
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