Looks like many folks in some states may not have bariatric coverage. Much of this won't go into effect for 6 months so now is the time to git er done?

Looks like the ACO's(accountable care organizations) will have the oversight to determine medical necessity per state?

http://www.bariatricnews.net/?q=news/111009/obamacare-denying-patients-access-bariatric-surgery

Missy, you are most likely then not seeing doctors/ hospitals that accept medicare assignment. If they agree to accept assignment they can only charge you the medicare deductible and coinsurance. I have been dealing with medicare for my parents for years now and they only see doctors who accept the medicare assignment or they would be bankrupt from medical bills.

I see the same doctors, at the same hospitals, I always have.

My medical bills are astronomical, btw. But my point is that Medicare isn't a "hand out". We pay for it just like anyone else pays for their insurance.

i understand

Sorry I brought it up!

Sorry I brought it up!

Nooo don't be! No one is upset or fighting, just talking!

Just an FYI. I think most U.S. citizens want all the things that the Affordable Care Act promised. The problem is our politicians rushed and crammed an ill conceived bill down the throats of the U.S. citizens. There are many unanswered questions with the bill and no one seems to have an answer. Don't want to argue with any of you folks who don't live here but instead of creating this in just a few short months, they should have taken many years to develop a rock solid plan to put this in place.

Instead, it's become a political football and with or without it, the country is suffering. Also, many here are distrustful of government and a government run healthcare system. And obviously, rightly so. Just sayin.

tmf

no worries. it's all in the interest of learning. we all have our opinions and life experiences to bring to the table. at the moment i am liking obamacare because it allows me to keep my son on my insurance until he's 26 so i have a couple years to think about it. hopefully, they will have most of the bugs worked out by then if it's still around. all i know is that we have an extremely dysfunctional congress who are playing ridiculous games at the country's expense.

Just an FYI. I think most U.S. citizens want all the things that the Affordable Care Act promised. The problem is our politicians rushed and crammed an ill conceived bill down the throats of the U.S. citizens. There are many unanswered questions with the bill and no one seems to have an answer. Don't want to argue with any of you folks who don't live here but instead of creating this in just a few short months, they should have taken many years to develop a rock solid plan to put this in place.

Instead, it's become a political football and with or without it, the country is suffering. Also, many here are distrustful of government and a government run healthcare system. And obviously, rightly so. Just sayin.

tmf

Yup - couldn't agree more.

Just to throw another point out there... Someone's post above mentioned that American's still have the choice of whether to enroll through an exchange or get a job with employer-offered plan.

Let me tell you, first-hand, as a small business owner with about 30 employees, my opinion. I just got through notifying my employees of their alternatives regarding health coverage. We were required -by law- to give them the information provided us by Oct 1. Basically, it was that they must have insurance next year or be fined, and where they could get it. There were no cost estimates, because the exchanges in CA weren't up and running until the next day. HA!

Then I received a packet of about 100 pages from our current provider offering all types of options: keep our employees on current "grandfathered" plan, which will increase 12% next year (and has increased 8% and 12% the two years prior) AND receive NO tax credit as a small business with less than 50 employees... Or enroll our employees in one of a number of exchange plans (at the same cost or higher and with far less coverage) AND get a tax credit for the business.

We decided to stay with our current plan for now. We may change later by necessity. Many big businesses are being forced to change their health benefit plans already; seriously, it is important to control costs when you run a business, and health care benefits are a huge cost right now.

I seriously believe that jobs offering healthcare will be faded out in the near future, as more and more transfer to the exchange. But that was the original plan everyone voted on anyway, right? Please realize that no, you may not have the choice to get a job with health care.

And to answer the poster who said we are repeating media snippets .. I would like to say, no, this is real-life experience I am sharing with you. Believe me, I'd much rather be tending to sales at work, than more government imposed regulation paperwork.

This is probably the longest post I've ever put on here. I'm sorry, I've been working a 60 hour week and I'm tired and I'm disgusted on a number of fronts. (But I am NOT stuffing my face, thank you band!)

But, like the Canada-man pointed out, we all get used to whatever we have access to sooner or later. Shoot, even folks in third-world countries make do with what they have available. It takes a while before hot Water begins to boil .. If you're sitting in it, you get used to it and don't even notice.

Just my 2 cents. It's been a long week.

Missy is right.. I am not getting Medicare for free. I paid for it for years and am now paying a monthly premium plus I have to have Medicare D that I pay for and my supplement has increased already and will go up again .. people who are on fixed incomes will not be able to afford a supplement so do they have to go on Obamacare? so far no one has an answer to that question...As for some of the so called benefits.. I think we were sold a bill of goods.. then when we didn't like it they shoved it down our throats.. I also am self employed and will not be able to deduct my health care premiums.. it's really not about healthcare it's about control... Socialized medicine is not what I want....

Like I said we have our issues nothing is perfect. I too have had severe back issues and have not encountered the issues you have sorry ! But I will not go bankrupt because I got sick or put my family's future at risk because of it. I will take that any day. Obviously you have really good insurance and can afford it, can you say the same for all Americans I would say probably not. So why would you deny them access if they cannot afford it. And even though you are an American you will not get a bill for the services you did receive even if you were not happy with them here in canada.

Chris no one in America is denied medical care.. We have thousands upon thousands of clinics and if someone goes to an ER they cannot be denied medical care.. Canada does not have illegals flowing through their borders everyday.. They do not have to pay for their care like we do. I know you pay high taxes for the so called "free" healthcare.. I personally do not want to wait in line and wait a year for a surgery or any other of the socialized medical practices.. I like my personal physician and have always had a choice.. Most Dr's here are going to stop seeing Medicare Patients because of Obamacare.. Some have already closed their practices.. so what is good for Canada is not so great for America....

What I don't understand is people who whine,complain,etc about not being ABLE to afford healthcare insurance while they are talking on their smartphone,watching cable tv, driving around in one or two $30-40,000 vehicles. ... and going to McD's for dinner everyday. I'm tired of paying for those people's ride. ..... I'm all for helping people in NEED, but not freeloaders.

And I also don't understand why such a huge difference in billed charges vs negotiated rates? I once got a "bill" for my son having an ingrown toenail removed for $9,995 !! Unbelievable...

Just to throw another point out there... Someone's post above mentioned that American's still have the choice of whether to enroll through an exchange or get a job with employer-offered plan.

Let me tell you, first-hand, as a small business owner with about 30 employees, my opinion. I just got through notifying my employees of their alternatives regarding health coverage. We were required -by law- to give them the information provided us by Oct 1. Basically, it was that they must have insurance next year or be fined, and where they could get it. There were no cost estimates, because the exchanges in CA weren't up and running until the next day. HA!

Then I received a packet of about 100 pages from our current provider offering all types of options: keep our employees on current "grandfathered" plan, which will increase 12% next year (and has increased 8% and 12% the two years prior) AND receive NO tax credit as a small business with less than 50 employees... Or enroll our employees in one of a number of exchange plans (at the same cost or higher and with far less coverage) AND get a tax credit for the business.

We decided to stay with our current plan for now. We may change later by necessity. Many big businesses are being forced to change their health benefit plans already; seriously, it is important to control costs when you run a business, and health care benefits are a huge cost right now.

I seriously believe that jobs offering healthcare will be faded out in the near future, as more and more transfer to the exchange. But that was the original plan everyone voted on anyway, right? Please realize that no, you may not have the choice to get a job with health care.

And to answer the poster who said we are repeating media snippets .. I would like to say, no, this is real-life experience I am sharing with you. Believe me, I'd much rather be tending to sales at work, than more government imposed regulation paperwork.

This is probably the longest post I've ever put on here. I'm sorry, I've been working a 60 hour week and I'm tired and I'm disgusted on a number of fronts. (But I am NOT stuffing my face, thank you band!)

But, like the Canada-man pointed out, we all get used to whatever we have access to sooner or later. Shoot, even folks in third-world countries make do with what they have available. It takes a while before hot Water begins to boil .. If you're sitting in it, you get used to it and don't even notice.

Just my 2 cents. It's been a long week.

Between higher taxes on the rich, and healthcare, there are absolutely no incentives for businesses to grow. This administration's model of taking from the rich to give to the poor, will have negative effects that we won't soon recover from. Big businesses create jobs. If there is no incentive for them to grow, there goes the jobs AND the economy. It's not like our economy is in a position to take that kind of a hit! It seems that liberals make decisions on how they "feel", instead of hard black & white facts. I'm really scared for where we are headed. My husband and I say all the time, that we're glad that we're in our later years, and hope that we live the last few out without a catastrophic event. I would hate to have young children in this world right now. Nothing looks very promising.