dagblog - Comments for "Inside the Making of Obamacare"

Just wanted an excuse to link

jollyroger — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 03:43:49 +0000

Just wanted an excuse to link to the Onion...

edit to add: I gotta complaint: As soon as you mention Medicare, (even if you are getting it at age 19 because of a clerical screw up), people (Tmac, I'm talkin" to you) start viewing you as some kinda geezer...

Dude, I'm not

Peter Schwartz — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 02:02:24 +0000

In reply to Before you complain about

Dude, I'm not complaining...at all.

Before you complain about

jollyroger — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:44:28 +0000

In reply to What they like about Medicare

Before you complain about medicare, carefully consider the alternative...

Ever wonder who benefits from

artappraiser — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:30:13 +0000

In reply to You're right. There are ways

Ever wonder who benefits from that tidal wave of red ink?

I think of such things when you point them out. Otherwise, I might not. That's one of the main reasons why I like following what you have to say!

I've always assumed that the

Peter Schwartz — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:29:16 +0000

In reply to What if there were a public

I've always assumed that the payment would be sort of an add-on to your FICA. What do they call that? Mostly "a deduction," yes?

As I recall, your employer pays half of your FICA and you pay the other half. As a self-employed person, I pay both halves.

But yes, Grover et al would demagogue it as a tax.

That little exchange is what we're experiencing now in spades.

You're right. There are ways

EmmaZahn — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:19:28 +0000

In reply to The actual Emmanuel/Fuchs

You're right. There are ways that will I ever fully recover from the experience. And no way would I have survived ten years at all. My mother who was kind of borderline to begin with was prescribed very high doses of Prednisone. The recurring episodes of 'roid rage were devastating for the whole family's relationships.

Back to topic: Ever wonder who benefits from that tidal wave of red ink? Who exactly are we borrowing from. Sure some people point to China or the TBTF banks and they are right but a significant portion of it is held by insurance companies. It is their preferred investment for its safety and liquidity even though the yield is less than they could get elsewhere.

Now think about the premiums they will receive from ACA subsidies. They will be lending those back to us, at least short-term, for which we pay them interest.

Nice work if you can get it, eh?

What if there were a public

EmmaZahn — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:18:32 +0000

In reply to What to do with all those

What if there were a public option, a government-sponsored single-payer plan. What would you call the payment you were required to pay to participate? a tax or a premium? You can bet that Grover and friends would demagogue it as a tax possibly even a tax increase since the employer-paid portion in the present system is obscured. But in the end, the money comes out of your pocket no matter what you call it.

Oh, and whether by consolidation or automation, shrinking the role of labor will shrink the economy, as observed by someone else over half a century ago:

In 1955, Walter Reuther, head of the US car workers’ union, told of a visit to a new automatically operated Ford plant. Pointing to all the robots, his host asked: “How are you going to collect union dues from those guys?” Mr Reuther replied: “And how are you going to get them to buy Fords?

No income = no tax and/or no premiums.

Truth be told, what folks

Peter Schwartz — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:04:50 +0000

In reply to What they like about Medicare

Truth be told, what folks really like about Medicare is that you get protection in the same way, sort of, that you get your SS benefits.

You've paid in. You have your card. You get your benefits out. You don't have to hassle with an insurance company or getting a policy. If you've paid your FICA, you have your "policy."

I don't know what most people know about Medicare, since they seem to know so little about a lot of things, but I think most people have heard that not every doctor will accept Medicare and Medicare won't pay for your every medical whim.

That's why, on those ads for motorized wheelchairs, they make a point of saying that Medicare will pay for it. It's not a given.

Here's wikipedia's entry on

artappraiser — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 00:36:18 +0000

In reply to Right away when I saw Peter

Here's wikipedia's entry on Hillarycare, anyone wants a refresher. This summary line: It proposed the establishment of corporate "regional alliances" of health providers to be subject to a fee-for-service schedule.suggests to me a situation starting out like regulated utilities, where few would have lost jobs right away. And there's the fee-for-service thing which makes Harry & Louise out to be liars. But I don't know for sure and I'm not that interested in reading up on it. I'm more interested in spending my time delving more into the reality of what we have now and how it's going to change our system, whether intended change or not. (I notice wikipedia requesting someone do expansion, so there are others out there who feel like me and don't want to do homework on it! )

What to do with all those

Peter Schwartz — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 00:30:07 +0000

In reply to What to do with all those

What to do with all those clerks and middle level folks who crank out work all day long? Depends on what type of work they are doing. Likely resolving disputes and reconciling accounts. But there will always be disputes to resolve and accounts to reconcile even with a public option.

But isn't a good bit of the savings supposed to come from consolidating functions? Sort of like a mega merger where duplicate functions are eliminated and people let go.

Not sure I understand the point you're making in the third paragraph...tax v premium.