YES! Voters need and want access to affordable health care.
75%
NO! GOP will overshadow with Anti-Obamacare rhetoric.
25%

Comments

William King's picture
William King 12 years 22 weeks ago

I happen to be a recipient of Medicaid, for the first time as a result of the new rule and as a result probably know more about it that 99% of the population. First off, the only people who will benefit from the expansion are those making less than 11000 income (poverty level) a year (here in Illinois) and are single with no kids. That demographic is so small it should not be considered as a talking point. Another reason is because half the States said no to it. I will no longer be eligible for the Medicaid soon, since I will soon have an income, but from what I have gathered the Medicaid expansion is so limited it will only cover people that would normally go to free clinics anyway. The conservatives have a very valid way of badmouthing Obamacare and that is the enormous deductibles. these deductibles, which run into the several thousands, have to be paid before the insurance pays a dime. Then the co-pays are 40% 30% and 20% and on top of that are the monthly premiums. The medicaid for those at or below the poverty line is good, but then the cost of coverage is prohibitive. There should be a sliding scale for medicaid after the poverty line, because the way things are set up, you really do need to double your income from the poverty line level just to break even on health care.

malaha64 12 years 22 weeks ago

The ACA was written by the Health INSURERS..............so no wonder it has turned out as a SWEETHEART Deal.

I bet they also gave the line: " You can keep your plan if you like it " as a MISINFORMATION trick to damage the President. Obviously someone must have suggested that line.

You wonder why the ENTOURAGE of the President were so ASLEEP as NOT to CORRECT him after having said it once or twice. How come RAHM's Emaanuel brother the Dr did not CORRECT the President./???

WELL , because NO ONE really Cares about helping the President.

As for your comment Mr King, some of the things you have written are true. But you see , the Health Insurers gave themselves a GREAT DEAL the DEDUCTIBLES are HORRENDOUS.

It is sad that the SMALL BUSINESSes ofUSA did not have the INTELLIGENCE and FORESIGHT to actually ask the DEMS to put either a PUBLIC OPTION , or better still GO MEDICARE for ALL,or SINGLE Payer .

Unfortunately , BIZ community could not OVERCOME their hatred of GOV to see how the GOV could have taken away the BURDEN of HEALTH Benefits for employees.

All the rest of the great countries in the World take care of the Health care of Citizens so that BUSINESS is FREE from this burden.

Perhaps someitmes People ofUSA should realize all that ALL the PROGRAMS Democratic Party has to help People , are really PRO BIZ ........because when People are better off , Businesses are Better off too.

GM would not have been bankrupt if their CEOs had supported HILLARY in 1993 ......instead of all ganging up on her.

So, Now we are at the same spot...........iunstead of KILLING ACA ..........let us FIX it for the sake of ALL by ADDING a PUBLIC OPTION so to rein in the Health Insurers HIGH deductibles.

William King's picture
William King 12 years 22 weeks ago

I may have misunderstood the question on this poll.

My answer was no the expansion of Medicaid in the affodable health care act is far too small to make it a viable talking poit.

HOWEVER... if by expansion you mean expanding it further to the public that are just above the poverty level, then absolutely it should be trumpeted loudly. As I mentioned above you have to make double the poverty level to afford the same level of health care enjoyed by Medicaid recipients. If you take the deductible (8000) add on 12 monthly premiums (40x12=4800) then factor in the copays (10,000x20%=2000) you have 15,000 dollars! then figure the higher taxes you pay and it is easy to see why many people will choose to not work or stay under the poverty level to keep Medicaid. The easiest way to fix this is to add medicaid to the options availible to the public making more than poverty level at a reasonable price.

I can already see the insurance companies beginning to froth at the mouth.

Thom's Blog Is On the Move

Hello All

Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.

Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.

From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a creative thinker and committed small-d democrat. He has dealt with a wide range of topics throughout his life, and this book provides an excellent cross section. The Thom Hartmann Reader will make people both angry and motivated to act."
Dean Baker, economist and author of Plunder and Blunder, False Profits, and Taking Economics Seriously
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Never one to shy away from the truth, Thom Hartmann’s collected works are inspiring, wise, and compelling. His work lights the way to a better America."
Van Jones, cofounder of RebuildTheDream.com and author of The Green Collar Economy
From Screwed:
"If we are going to live in a Democracy, we need to have a healthy middle class. Thom Hartmann shows us how the ‘cons’ have wronged this country, and tells us what needs to be done to reclaim what it is to be American."
Eric Utne, Founder, Utne magazine