Thursday, November 7, 2013
Good News for the A.C.A.
Despite all the doomsday naysaying, the glitches, and the GOP governors who refused to cooperate, the A.C.A. is gaining support and doing what it was intended to do: Allow uninsured Americans the chance to buy affordable health care.
I've maintained that despite the rocky roll-out and the vehement opposition from the TeaPublicans, the A.C.A. will be successful.
The TeaPublicans have bellowed the loudest on the bumpy beginning, but never have they proposed an alternative that addressed the shameful and catastrophic state of the under-insured and the uninsured in this country, claiming that anyone can get health care--he or she has only to go to the emergency room of any hospital. That's the TeaPublicans' universal health care plan for a country of 300+ million citizens.
See this article by Reuters:
Uninsured Americans are showing more interest in the coverage offered under President Barack Obama's healthcare law despite technical problems that have hindered enrollment through a government website, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The glitches have crippled HealthCare.gov, the new online insurance marketplace meant to serve people in 36 states, frustrating millions of would-be applicants since it opened for enrollment on October 1.
The poll's findings are good news for Obamacare supporters who worry the problems and bad press could dissuade people from signing up, particularly the young and healthy who are crucial to diversifying the pool of insured and keeping premiums down.
The uninsured view the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, more favorably since online marketplaces opened - 44 percent compared with 37 percent in September, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll. It found that 56 percent oppose the program compared with 63 percent in September.
A higher proportion of the uninsured also said they are interested in buying insurance on the exchanges, with 42 percent in October, saying they were likely to enroll compared with 37 percent in September. The results have a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
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The online poll of nearly 12,000 people was conducted in October. Some 1,100 of the respondents identified themselves as uninsured.
Among the general public, support for the law rose from nearly 44 percent to 47 percent, with a credibility interval of 1 percentage point, according to the poll. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that up to 7 million people are likely to sign up for coverage on the private exchanges for 2014, but that number has been called into question due to HealthCare.gov's problems.
The Obama administration has said it is working around the clock to fix the website by the end of November.
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
The results showed that the rise in both the law's popularity and in the uninsured's willingness to buy was much greater in the 14 states that chose to run their own exchanges and whose sites have generally operated more smoothly than HealthCare.gov, which serves the other 36 states.
More than half of respondents in state-run exchanges now favor the law compared with about four in 10 elsewhere.
To the uninsured the faulty website is "a technical barrier that is being repaired and it pales to barriers they've faced in the past," said Sara Collins, vice president at the Commonwealth Fund, a private healthcare research foundation.
Ezra Klein:
So Obamacare almost lost the election for the Democrats despite being almost exactly as popular as it was in 2012? That's hard to believe. If anything, the surprise of the Virginia election is that Obamacare's approval was as high as 45 percent. This has been a persistent finding of the polls on Obamacare: It's basically been exactly as popular -- and unpopular -- since it passed. The problems of its first month have had basically no effect on its standing in the polls. In fact, if anything, there's been a slight uptick in its popularity.
The biggest fear that the naysayers have is that the A.C.A. will succeed and that Americans will grow to like it.
Exactly what this Reuters report is confirming.
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23 comments:
"President Barack Obama was in Dallas on Wednesday, but a certain Texas senator didn't exactly roll out the welcome mat.
With Obama in the Lone Star State to promote the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said he should take his show somewhere else.
“President Obama’s trip to Texas brings nothing with it but broken promises,” Cruz said in a statement, according to Politico. “He promised that Americans could keep their health care plans. We were told premiums would go down, that jobs would be created. And we now know these are all false promises.”
Cruz added, “President Obama should take his broken promises tour elsewhere so Texans can continue focusing on the solutions that have allowed our state to become and remain the nation’s economic and job creation powerhouse."
Said the senator from the state that has the highest rates of uninsured Americans.
Not all Texans agree with Crude Cruz. The state will turn purple then blue in the near future, then Crude Cruz can take his act somewhere else...maybe Mississippi, where they love people like him.
It is likely easy to grow to like it when you have no insurance currently, B) Have a choice between something or nothing, or C your coverage from your current provide sends you a cancellation notice, and, if you are in the $50,000 + a year wage bracket you'll likely see an increase in premiums and or deductibles for the same or similar plan.
It is a real deal if you fall into #1 and are low income. That I suppose is the benefit, and the point.
I know some people in the state I live in that are quite happy with the coverage and deductibles in their plan under Romney Care. Commonwealth Care will be changing on Jan. 1 and I'm anxious to hear from them on the changes if any. In fact when I get around to it I'll be going on line to see what MA Health Connector has up their sleeve fr 2014.
Have to agree with your statement that the uninsured are excited to get obamacare. I doubt the remaining 90% who either have or don't want insurance are as excited.
This is a great program to further increase the number of people relying on the government. Ever hear of Greece or Detroit.
//claiming that anyone can get health care--he or she has only to go to the emergency room of any hospital.// that is totally false. ER's do not provide 'Health Care'. No, you will not be turned away if there is a life threatening occurance or accident.... but they do not provide Health Care...which MAY keep you from having a life threatening condition. Quite a difference.
RN...yupper...some folks are getting their insurance canceled....BECAUSE...well, you read the article, from a FOX report, of all places.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/11/05/insurance-cancelled-dont-blame-obama-or-aca-blame-america-insurance-companies/
there is also a bit of documentation in the story that I must include:
******
The Hartford Courant newspaper reports that the CEO of Aetna insurance made $36 million last year plus several millions more in stock options.
They also report that the CEO of Cigna cleared a cool $12.5 Million plus stock options.
*****
both of those individuals have never never never.... made anyone well, cured a disease, or mended a broken bone. or, bought me a beer, for that matter.
Skud, yours and the comments from other conservatives about people relying on the government are patently offensive.
I work hard and in the course of my job, serve others. People have food on their tables, have regular medical care and are in a good spiritual place because of the I personally do.
My wife teaches part time for the University of Nevada, helping low income mothers teach their kids how to read.
Neither of our employers offers us a health plan.
Because of some preexisting conditions, which date back over 20 years, neither of us can get affordable health insurance that would include the prescriptions my wife needs to survive.
Because of the changes in the system, due to the ACA, on January 1, we will have insurance for the first time in years.
And we will be able to tend to some long neglected medical issues. As an FYI, emergency rooms do not repair torn MCL's.
I might be willing to support a move to repeal and replace the ACA, but can you give me the name of one Republican who has formally proposed anything to replace it?
Will my wife and I be relying on the government? Yes we will, just as you will be when you reach 65.
The industry, and the GOP brought this on themselves. The way both have treated low income and previously sick Americans is disgusting.
And yet all of us who need not a hand out, but a hand up hear from the GOP/Conservatives/Tea Party folks is that we are losers, slackers and gold bricks.
Until you guys choose to offer even a hint of a solution to the problem facing millions of Americans, keep it to your self.
Is the ACA perfect? So join the crowd, roll up your sleeves and help make it better.
That's what this country used to with new laws and programs... not spend countless hours and dollars trying to repeal them.
And conservatives call libs UnAmerican...
ohohoh... what Dave said....!!!!!
I second what Dave wrote. Two family members who were not able to afford or to buy health insurance because of either being laid off a job or having a pre-existing condition (stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma) are now able to afford health care. My experience with my relatives is not unique.
The GOP has made it a major talking point to blame the victims of the insurance corporations that fatten their bottom lines off of people's bad luck and misery. That's immoral.
The A.C.A. is far from perfect. And it takes a special sort of chutzpah from the right wingers to cackle like self-satisfied old fowls over the stumbles and crack-ups on the roll-out of the A.C.A. They contributed nothing, did nothing to solve the problems, and are first to point fingers and gloat over the problems the A.C.A. is experiencing, and hoped for massive failure while millions of Americans struggled to keep their families together while battling expensive health issues.
A government that offers people a chance TO BUY affordable health insurance, is a government that understands that healthy citizens, freed from the real fear of losing everything they worked for because of being uninsured or under-insured, is a responsible government.
"Republicans are convinced that the Affordable Care Act will sink Democrats, but there's little evidence that the law's bumpy rollout has caused a shift in public opinion.
Quite simply, polling looks virtually the same as it did before the law's glitch-filled launch became the subject of congressional hearings and the butt of late night and country music jokes.
Consider Gallup's findings released last week. In a poll conducted Oct. 26-28 -- weeks after the troubled website HealthCare.gov went live on Oct. 1 -- 44 percent of Americans said they approved of the law while 47 percent said they disapproved.
Those numbers differ only slightly from Gallup's poll conducted Oct. 18-20, which found 45 percent approving of the law and 50 percent disapproving.
Both polls actually indicated a minor bump in support since August, when Gallup showed 41 percent approving of the law and 49 percent disapproving."
Yeah, let'em just keep whipping that horse . . .
The evidence, as I see it, is that the public is pretty solidly behind the 'fix it and move on' position. The question is how many people would agree with the "appeal and replace" approach that the repubs have been pushing for three years. I think support for that idea is waning even among republicans. My sense is that if the repubs try to make this their centerpiece issue in 2014, the public is going to be saying "enough, already!"
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Vicious in victory, deplorable in defeat. It's the RepublicanT way.
"The biggest fear that the naysayers have is that the A.C.A. will succeed and that Americans will grow to like it."
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Some L.O.S.E.R. said, 'This is a great program to further increase the number of people relying on the government.'
As it should be. People rely on government to maintain law and order, along with other essential social services. USA is after all by the people, for the people, and of the people.
USA governments serve the people. Always have, always will.
Ema Nymton
~@:o?
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this is making the rounds... not surprising.... don't know how true, but very plausible
http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/11/new-denial-of-service-attack-aimed-directly-at-healthcare-gov/
Not surprised, okjimm. The TeaPublicans will stop at nothing to sabotage the A.C.A.
Fortunately, the new health care law will be implemented and work out just fine.
dave,
Opinions will differ based on an individuals circumstances. You get government supported health insurance while millions lose their non government supported health insurance for a more expensive plan with benefits they don't want nor need.
To accommodate a small minority of Americans the federalists are penalizing the majority.
Should everyone have access to affordable healthcare, of course but obamacare is a bad program filled with lies and misdirection. It does however meet an objective of this administration, penalize success and small business.
There has to be a better way only we have a totally dysfunctional government who couldn't care less about the American public.
Skid, can you point to one way this is impacting small businesses negatively?
Also, I am still waiting for anything that any conservative has officially proposed on either the house or senate floor... anything that makes health care more accessible and affordable...
SKUD: "To accommodate a small minority of Americans the federalists are penalizing the majority."
Please back that statement up with facts.
skud: "It does however meet an objective of this administration, penalize success and small business."
And this, too.
Shaw, I'd love to see how anyone can claim a negative impact on small business.
There is not one requirement on any company with less than 50 employees.
I think by definition, any business with over 50 employees is not small. Not big either, but not small.
Besides, I am struggling to understand how we can have any true impact yet as we are still waiting for jan 1st.
For me, the proof is in the pudding. Are there any fixes the GOP is proposing short of repeal it? I've not seen any.
Was there any plan advanced by the GOP to increase coverage for all Americans? I've never seen one advanced legislatively.
Did the GOP ever offer help on preexisting conditions? I've never seen anything from them on this.
And I never saw anything on extending the amount of time kids can stay on their parents policy.
We must ask why.
It is not because they are, or ever were truly interested in making health care more affordable to Americans.
I think it is safe to assume that their view of limited government, especially when it is limited to their interests, does not include health care.
For the GOP to cry socialism and federal involvement in private industry, while at the same time cutting SNAP subsidies and boosting farm and agra business subsidies speaks volumes.
According to what I've read, the policies that THE INSURANCE COMPANIES are cancelling didn't have to be cancelled. The Obama Administration said these policies could be grandfathered in... they don't meet minimum requirements under the ACA, but the administration said they would be OK so long as they were not significantly changed since the ACA was passed. So the HC insurers significantly changed them... likely ON PURPOSE in my opinion, exactly so they could cancel them and push people (who can no longer say "no thanks" and go without anymore) into significantly more expensive policies. That is the purpose of these cancellations... do a hard sell on a more expensive policy (more expensive than through the exchange) and get people locked in and paying more. Should the President be blamed for the greed and dishonesty of the HC insurers (aside from the fact that he took single payer off the table before the negotiating began)? I say no.
From the Juan Williams article that Okjimm linked to... The government did not "force" insurance companies to cancel their own substandard policies.The insurance companies chose to do that rather than do what is right and bring the policies up to code. This would be like saying the government "forces" chemical companies to dispose of toxic waste safely rather than dumping it in the river.
okjimm: //claiming that anyone can get health care--he or she has only to go to the emergency room of any hospital.// that is totally false... you will not be turned away if there is a life threatening occurrence or accident...
The hospital will also send you a bill. Mitt Romney said (lied) that "[Uninsured people] can go to the emergency room and get entirely free care for which they have no responsibility". But I looked into it and (at least in TN) If someone has no insurance and shows up at an emergency room, what happens is that "we're going to make sure the patient understands that there is an obligation for the service that they incur". So they're going to send you a bill... after that you may be able to get out of paying the bill (by declaring bankruptcy or by being homeless and having no assets), but you are going to get a bill, and unless you have absolutely nothing you are going to end up paying something (so you can't get any care for free).
Dervish, from Andrew Sullivan's blog:
"...the odds of the core of this law surviving – particularly the principle of universal coverage and the end of denials of insurance for pre-existing conditions – are solid. It may well need further reform, but it has created a framework for both Republican reform (if they can get out of their ideological mania) and even, perhaps, a single-payer system, if the Democrats want to move left. It’s messy, its future could go in several directions, but it’s now entrenched. The president can take the hit for the problems in the next three years, and he should. Because he’s not up for re-election and can veto any attempts to destroy it."
David,
The amount of regulations enacted by this administration is very cumbersome, therefore expensive,to small business.
So far three of my employees have had their affordable, adequate insurance cancelled because it does not meet the one size fits all obamacare. Pregnancy benefits for a 53 year old female and a 28 year old gay male. They pay for it but it is very unlikely they will use it.
160K in California alone have had their insurance company drop them, that is only one state. Obama support for big business continues to grow while the middle class pays for it.
With more than 40 million documented Americans currently without health care, we should all be hoping for an improved federal Affordable Care Act website. The main reason for the Act is to increase the number of Americans who have health care insurance. That is the best way to improve our overall American health care system. The goal of the ACA is for 30 million more Americans to join the health insurance rolls over the next ten years.
But any new computer-based system can have problems. Comparisons between the ACA and Amazon fail to acknowledge that it took about 10 years for the Amazon business model and computer-based system to really become effective. It is now, of course, a profitable company. It was far from that at first.
The ACA is being criticized because of issues that affect less than 1% of the 260 million Americans covered by health care insurance. The ACA national computer system will be fixed and improved, and it will serve as a basis of a greatly improved American health care system.
Thanks for your comment.
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