Medea
The Shadow Queen
It's almost time for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (labeled "Obamacare" by the right wing media). There is so much bullplops going around about it I thought it was time to discuss the facts, instead of speculation and corporatist propaganda.
Here are a few facts about the ACA:
1) It does NOT replace private insurance, medicare, or medicaid. You can keep whatever health insurance plan you have. They just won't be a able to screw you as much....bottom line.
2) It stops insurance companies from dropping your coverage when you get sick, and requires them to cover people with pre-existing conditions. It also stops them from not insuring customers due to gender discrimination.
3) It requires most americans to get health insurance by 2014, get an exemption, or pay a fee. This fee is equal to 1% of your yearly income per uninsured person in your household, or 95 dollars, whichever is higher. It jumps to 2.5% of your yearly income per person in 2016. Even after paying this fee you are still required to pay for the FULL cost of any medical care you need, if you are not insured.
4) It will make around 80% of the 16 million people uninsured people in the U.S. eligible for medicaid assistance.
5) The ACA is projected to cut the deficit by over a trillion dollars over the next two decades...NOT increase the deficit.
6) By 2014, U.S. employers with less than 25 full time employees may receive tax breaks of up to 50% of their employees insurance premiums.
7) Employers with more than 50 full time employees must pay a tax if they do not insure their workers.
Of course, there are several more small details that can be mentioned/discussed, but this is what the ACA does in a nutshell.
So, does this look like socialism to you, or more of a check on out-of-control free market capitalism? Of course, there are things about it many people won't like, especially in that third part, but are we going to continue to let poor people die just because they are poor, in the name of the ALMIGHTY free market?
And what is the republicans in Congress answer? Fix the things that don't work about it? Nah....just shut the government down and call the democrats Nazis again.
Here are a few facts about the ACA:
1) It does NOT replace private insurance, medicare, or medicaid. You can keep whatever health insurance plan you have. They just won't be a able to screw you as much....bottom line.
2) It stops insurance companies from dropping your coverage when you get sick, and requires them to cover people with pre-existing conditions. It also stops them from not insuring customers due to gender discrimination.
3) It requires most americans to get health insurance by 2014, get an exemption, or pay a fee. This fee is equal to 1% of your yearly income per uninsured person in your household, or 95 dollars, whichever is higher. It jumps to 2.5% of your yearly income per person in 2016. Even after paying this fee you are still required to pay for the FULL cost of any medical care you need, if you are not insured.
4) It will make around 80% of the 16 million people uninsured people in the U.S. eligible for medicaid assistance.
5) The ACA is projected to cut the deficit by over a trillion dollars over the next two decades...NOT increase the deficit.
6) By 2014, U.S. employers with less than 25 full time employees may receive tax breaks of up to 50% of their employees insurance premiums.
7) Employers with more than 50 full time employees must pay a tax if they do not insure their workers.
Of course, there are several more small details that can be mentioned/discussed, but this is what the ACA does in a nutshell.
So, does this look like socialism to you, or more of a check on out-of-control free market capitalism? Of course, there are things about it many people won't like, especially in that third part, but are we going to continue to let poor people die just because they are poor, in the name of the ALMIGHTY free market?
And what is the republicans in Congress answer? Fix the things that don't work about it? Nah....just shut the government down and call the democrats Nazis again.