-
It's that time of year again - our ISP is asking for money. If you have some spare change, please click the Donate link... Thanks!
- About Us
- Search
- Need Help?
- Donate
- Login/Register
Latest Entries
Actions Menu
Blog Roll
- 4F Facebook Page
- Turn Up The Night with Kenny Pick
- Stephanie Miller Show
- The Tim Corrimal Show
- The Rachel Maddow Show
- Angry Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
- Thom Hartmann Program
- Turnips! Fans of Turn Up the Night Facebook Page
- Snopes.com
- Factcheck.org
- Official White House Page, if you must.
- The Brad Blog / Green News Report
- The Poorly Written Political Blog (Joe Santorsa)
The Media is Trolling You
Author: Raine
Date: 10/30/2013 13:02:10
I have been posting a number of articles the past few days that just didn't pass the ACA smell test. I've largely been documenting them here, waiting for more information to come out. Well, the information is now out.
The media is trolling, you -- hard.
From Think Progress: The problem is - NBC isn't telling the truth. CBS, Fox, CNN. USA Today, The Washington Times etc -- are not giving the complete story.
NOTHING was hidden from the public by the Administration. Now I cannot speak for private insurance companies, although I can say it was their responsibility to come into line with the new regulations -- or inform their customers a while ago about changes to their plans. So many people are griping about the "terrible" regulations of the ACA - this story in particular: The utter ignorance of this reporting is mind-boggling.
For some, new regulations might suck -- but I'm pretty glad that insurance companies are no longer allowed to sell policies for 54 bucks a month and only cover maybe 100 dollars worth of a hospital bill.
I had a policy like that -- and it was employee-sponsored. I had 8 bucks a week taken out of my paycheck for a job that paid me less than 9 bucks an hour. At the time, I was glad to get more than 25 hours a week which afforded me the luxury of not being able to pay my bills just a little less. I was trying to keep the lights on, I went a winter with no heating oil in the house. I would buy just enough gas to get to work -- before I lost the car. I was also terrified of having to use that insurance.
So, you'll have to forgive me if I think these shitty insurance policies should be cancelled. Insurance companies had 2 years to get in line with new federal regulations. Junk insurance needs to go away. That's what the ACA is doing and it's long overdue.
One more thing, nothing is perfect -- especially something as big as this program is. No matter how great or perfect a new system or roll-out might be, there is always going to be one person that will experience everything that can go wrong. It sucks to be that one person; that's just life. Instead of focusing on that one person, maybe we could work to make it easier for them by focusing on what is right and good about the program. The negativity and the focus 'on that one fail' is just another way the media is trolling you.
There is a reason why it's called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The media needs to stop acting like a troll on HuffPo and start giving people information they need -- as opposed to fear mongering the public.
& 
Raine
The media is trolling, you -- hard.
From Think Progress:
The NBC News investigations unit is reporting that “50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a ‘cancellation’ letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law” — a fact administration officials knew but kept from the public.
The cancellations are a result of so-called grandfather rules promulgated by President Obama’s Health and Human Services. The rule exempts health insurance plans in existence before March 23, 2010 — the day the Affordable Care Act became law — from many of the new regulations, benefits standards and consumer protections that new plans now have to abide by, but says that policies could lose their designation if they make major changes.
The goal of grandfather regulations is to allow a consumer to keep their existing policies, while also ensuring that there are some basic patient protections built into these plans. If insurers make changes that significantly burden enrollees with lower benefits and increased costs they have to come into compliance with all consumer protections. Therefore, policies lose their grandfathered status if insurers cancel coverage when a person becomes ill, impose lifetime limits on benefits, eliminate all benefits for a particular condition and reduce the cap for covered services each year, among other changes. (In fact, in November of 2010, the federal government loosened some of these standards.)
So yes, individuals can keep the plans they have if those plans remain largely the same.
NOTHING was hidden from the public by the Administration. Now I cannot speak for private insurance companies, although I can say it was their responsibility to come into line with the new regulations -- or inform their customers a while ago about changes to their plans. So many people are griping about the "terrible" regulations of the ACA - this story in particular:
That includes 56-year-old Dianne Barrette. Last month, she received a letter from Blue Cross Blue Shield informing her as of January 2014, she would lose her current plan. Barrette pays $54 a month. The new plan she's being offered would run $591 a month -- 10 times more than what she currently pays.
Barrette said, "What I have right now is what I am happy with and I just want to know why I can't keep what I have. Why do I have to be forced into something else?"
According to HealthCare.gov, Barrette is eligible for some subsidies, CBS News' Jan Crawford pointed out on "CBS This Morning." But Barrette told CBS News she has no idea what those subsidies would be because she cannot log on to the website -- an issue U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is sure to be asked about when she testifies on Capitol Hill Wednesday.
For some, new regulations might suck -- but I'm pretty glad that insurance companies are no longer allowed to sell policies for 54 bucks a month and only cover maybe 100 dollars worth of a hospital bill.
I had a policy like that -- and it was employee-sponsored. I had 8 bucks a week taken out of my paycheck for a job that paid me less than 9 bucks an hour. At the time, I was glad to get more than 25 hours a week which afforded me the luxury of not being able to pay my bills just a little less. I was trying to keep the lights on, I went a winter with no heating oil in the house. I would buy just enough gas to get to work -- before I lost the car. I was also terrified of having to use that insurance.
So, you'll have to forgive me if I think these shitty insurance policies should be cancelled. Insurance companies had 2 years to get in line with new federal regulations. Junk insurance needs to go away. That's what the ACA is doing and it's long overdue.
One more thing, nothing is perfect -- especially something as big as this program is. No matter how great or perfect a new system or roll-out might be, there is always going to be one person that will experience everything that can go wrong. It sucks to be that one person; that's just life. Instead of focusing on that one person, maybe we could work to make it easier for them by focusing on what is right and good about the program. The negativity and the focus 'on that one fail' is just another way the media is trolling you.
There is a reason why it's called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The media needs to stop acting like a troll on HuffPo and start giving people information they need -- as opposed to fear mongering the public.
& Raine
