Well the time is nearly upon us. Who is going to sign up for health insurance come October 1st or switch plans to something more decent and cheaper?

I found this handy dandy guide here with 20 things to know about ACA.

I wish media type people would stop calling it Obamacare but of course they won't because they rather have it called that so the average person reacts negatively to it.

There has been polling done recently where people oppose Obamacare but they hear the specifics of ACA and they agree with it and think it's a good thing.

A user's guide: 20 things to know about the Affordable Care Act

Not me. VA.

Also, I don't think calling it Obamacare is all that bad. The majority of people voted for Obama twice anyway, so it's safe to assume that having his name attached to the legislation isn't a negative association for the majority of people. It would only become one if it turns out to be a hugely problematic piece of legislation, in which case it would be--to some extent--deserved.

Ultimately though, anyone can look at what the ACA is "aiming to do" and it looks great. The real indicator is going to be how people's lives, finances and the medical system as a whole are affected by the mechanisms behind it, whether it's a positive or negative thing. At this point, we just won't know for sure until the gears start grinding away for long enough that the issues, if any, start bubbling up to the surface, or if we all find ourselves in medical Shangri La.

Yeah, I'm staying with the VA also.

I don't believe Obama's approval rating is as high as it was for the 2012 election so just saying that majority of people voted for him twice isn't a good reflection of how they feel about him now.


I agree with you though about the negatives related to this act. We need to have it in place and operating to find out if everything that's in the 20,000 page act covers all the unexpected problems that will crop up because of the act being in place.

Well, regardless of how many people have a lower approval rating of Obama, it doesn't really make much of a difference if his name is attached to a policy you can't opt out of.

I meant to talk about that. I feel it's necessary that young people opt into it to help fund it even if they aren't getting the benefits from it.

Also, you only get penalized if you make above like a certain amount per year and you don't opt into it.

This mindset perplexes me.

Think of it like a prototype. Trial, error, adjustments, perfection.

This isn't a prototype. It's a massive intervention into the economy by the state, at a time when the economy is still fragile overall and particularly so in those states (such as Illinois) that are still reeling from the consequences of such failed intervention into the economy. Further, entitlements aren't things you can "reform" away easily. There is no shortage of politicians whose campaigns are based on the notion of giving their constituents other peoples property - and once these voters receive the entitlement & become dependent upon it they will become an incessant, obnoxious political bloc.

I like calling it Obamacare. Barack likes calling it Obamacare.

It is awful as legislation but better than nothing. It is the best we can get under the circumstances.

As to those that wonder about racism, the whole Republican Tea Bagger movement is just the old John Birch Society. And the huge anti Obama feeling in the South (and the Republican Party is largely a southern party) is because we finally elected a black man. It doesn't really matter what he does. After all, the South used to be Democratic because of the policies of FDR. It became Republican as a response to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Heck, we still have confederate statues down here.

Keep in mind what we call Obamacare is just the old Heritage Foundation health plan and pretty much what Republicans have espoused in the past. Liberal ideas such as single payer were off the table before we even started. There isn't even a public option.

It was a prototype in Massachusetts.

frankly, I can't explain why he wanted to give the backwater, no-nothings of this country healthcare. I'd say if you're not clever enough to figure out that healthcare can't really work in a market-system, then maybe you deserve to have your premiums jump 30% while insurance companies kick people off (increasing income and decreasing costs).

Then again, the premise of a joint-risk venture is probably lost on you. I live in a state that found a working solution, and we're fairly healthy to begin with. If you want to live in Fatso-ville where no one cares about their neighbors, then that's fine by me. Feel free to die there.

Edit: "You" is not referring to HHBH but the royal "you"