Obamacare: No Tweaks Or Repairs, No Alternative Plan, Only Dismantlement

It is annoying that Republicans and those who oppose the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) aka Obamacare want it repealed, defunded and dismantled; they simply want it gone no matter what. The Republicans say shut down government if we have to; we need to do whatever it takes. But I have heard no mention of tweaking the law to make it better or even an offer of something to take its place. Its also very annoying that so many of us lack compassion, are misinformed, or simply ignorant of what the law requires. The salient problem is a need to take the profit out of healthcare. The real healthcare problem boils down to that one big issue: A Healthy Bottom Line: Profits or People. Here are two excellent video animations developed by the Kaiser Family Foundation that explain PPACA: Health Reform Hits Main Street and The YouToons Get Ready for Obamacare: Health Insurance Changes Coming Your Way Under the Affordable Care Act. The videos combined are about 16 minutes long, not detailed and are only an overview. Additionally, there is an excellent discussion of the Impact of Health Care Law on Consumers. Its part of a three part program presented by CSpan. These presentations will be well worth your viewing and listening time if you need to know more or are not familiar with the law. There are 69 provisions in place through 2014 that PPACA, signed into law on March 23, 2010, currently requires or will require beginning January 1, 2014, that will be lost if Congress abolishes Obamacare. Here are just a few of the provisions: Insurance companies cannot deny coverage for preexisting conditions. Children are able to stay on their parents health plan until age 26. The law provides for prescription drug discounts for seniors who reach the coverage

gap/doughnut hole in Medicare Part D. By 2014, the law eliminates lifetime maximums for essential benefits such as long stays in the hospital because of an accident, cancer, or some other devastating medical disorder. If PPACA survives, no longer will people spend years paying health insurance premiums, only in the end to find that they are stuck with medical bills so excessive that they require selling everything worked for in life in order to pay the bills. In addition, an insurance company might decide to simply renege on their contract, but under Obamacare that is not allowed. The affected would be those who require expensive medical care but whose insurance company decides to drop their plans, leaving them stuck with what they believed would have been covered. It requires insurance companies to provide preventative services, such as free wellness visits for seniors, mammograms, and colonoscopies, without charging co-pays or deductibles. PPACA regulations prevent insurance companies from implementing large, unjustified rate hikes. PPACA controls an insurance companys administrative costs. The law limits insurance companies to 15-20 percent of premiums for Administrative costs. If they exceed this cost the company must provide rebates to consumers for the overpaid premiums. It gives tax credits to small businesses if they provide health insurance for their employees. Here is the 2010 to 2018 health reform provisions and there implementation timeline. Disappointingly, the latest CBS News poll indicates that 54 percent of Americans disapprove of Obamacare, 36 percent approve, and 10 percent say they don't know enough about it. Finally, just how do those who are opposed to PPACA justify supporting the worlds most expensive health care system with some of the poorest outcomes?