Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[smeags]

I have witnessed people being sent from the er several times. Granted it wasnt for anyting serious.

[ice grillin you]

I've got a way out of this problem:  allow people to opt out of the requirement to have health insurance. 

Here's how it would work.  There would be an Obamacare type system involving for profit companies, or a single payer system that offers health insurance, it doesn't matter which.  You either join it or you don't.  Limited, defined open enrollment periods to keep people from hopping on board just when they get sick, etc.  Now, you're free to opt out.  BUT....if you opt out, you will not receive ANY care you cannot afford.  If you have the coin, great, you get served.  If not...we aren't going to pay for your slacker ass and good luck with that bad ticker, exploding boil, or metastatizing cancer.  You wanted freedom and you got it.

provided insurance becomes "affordable" which in theory this act should do then im all for this

[Diomedes]

Yes, of course.

[Rome]

I have witnessed people being sent from the er several times. Granted it wasnt for anyting serious.

We have hospital districts here.  There are three of them in the county.  There are three hospitals that have open door policies because they're publicly funded.  The last fiscal year the public paid over 40 million dollars in property tax money to subsidize indigent care just in my local district.  All totaled the figure was over 100 million dollars.   Think about that for a second.  100 million dollars just for people who either can't afford insurance or refuse to purchase it.  I'm sure there's still going to be thousands of people who say farg it and don't pony up for insurance but the bottom line is the ACA is at least an attempt to get Americans the health care coverage they need.   Yet the Republicans, who claim to love America sooooooooo much, think this is a horrible idea.  They'd rather just let fargers die on the street.   They're an unconscionable collection of money-loving mongrels.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Continuing with the ramblings of my Tea Party Extremist buddy;

Sent to me the other night...

I assume you are blaming the republicans for this shut down? Nothing could be further from the truth.This lays t the feet completely under the communists of your ilk.ObamaCare is off to a phenomenal start! This is the government health care that you support!

[SunMo]

these are the people who have it so wrong that you can't possibly even begin to have a discussion with them.

there literally isn't one thing in that text that is close to being right.

how can you NOT blame the republicans when they said they proudly crowed about how they would do this months ago, did what they threatened, and then try to blame it on everyone else.

btw, Tea Party and fundamentalist republicans want zero federal government, so why are they complaining about the shutdown?  they have their wish.

[phillycrew]

I've got a way out of this problem:  allow people to opt out of the requirement to have health insurance. 

Here's how it would work.  There would be an Obamacare type system involving for profit companies, or a single payer system that offers health insurance, it doesn't matter which.  You either join it or you don't.  Limited, defined open enrollment periods to keep people from hopping on board just when they get sick, etc.  Now, you're free to opt out.  BUT....if you opt out, you will not receive ANY care you cannot afford.  If you have the coin, great, you get served.  If not...we aren't going to pay for your slacker ass and good luck with that bad ticker, exploding boil, or metastatizing cancer.  You wanted freedom and you got it.

This would never work.  Hospitals have to take you in the E.R., and if they do not treat you and you die or serious injury, they get sued.  In addition, they may lose their accreditation and any public money.

LOL at Rome's $100 million.  All health insurers are going to have to pay Obamacare fees of $8 billion next year and goes up to $14 billion in four years and is then indexed.  So who is going to pay those fees?  Businesses will write it off on their taxes and just pass the cost along to the consumer (or fire a few more workers).  The fees will be spread out on your health insurance so there is no income based adjustment.  The poor are going to get subsidies and are certainly not going to pay it (appropriately, since they are the ones least able to pay).  So yep, the middle class is going to get stuck with a large bill that the rich can pay easily but is a bigger percentage of middle class income.  Yeah big government.

[ice grillin you]

the best part of the message j posted is his budding calling him a communist

[phillycrew]

I should note that when I say business that I mean big business.  They are having record profits and can easily absorb the costs or pass them on.  Small business is going to suffer and I know many are making their employees work part-time so they do not have to comply and they are giving them a lump sum and telling them to go get on the exchange.  One good outcome is that maybe workers won't be tied to their employers for healthcare and we will see more mobility and more opportunities for the poor.  You guys do know that Obamacare came from a right wing think tank right back in the 80's right?  They argued for personal responsibility (similar to Dio) and didn't want freeloaders costing taxpayers and responsible folks who purchased insurance to have to subsidize the uninsured care.

You can call people extremists, terrorists and fundamentalists all you want.  Usually the side that doesn't have the facts has to resort to mudslinging.

[smeags]

Both sides have been mudslinging on this subject.

So by your logic.

[phillycrew]

Both sides have been mudslinging from both sides on this subject.

So by your logic.

By my logic they both need to grow up and do what is right for the country and not what is right for the next election.  The administration is making sure there is maximum pain to the public so they can win in 2014.  The republicans are creating a crisis in order to get media coverage (did they really think it would be favorable coverage?).

[Rome]

Obama admin is ensuring maximum pain by shutting the govt.

Even though the executive branch has nothing to do with it.
Hilarious.

[phillycrew]

Obama admin is ensuring maximum pain by shutting the govt.

Even though the executive branch has nothing to do with it.
Hilarious.

Not exactly hilarious for those who aren't getting a paycheck.  Obama has said he will veto any small funding (even though he has already done it for the military).  Enjoy no national parks (how many park rangers are working to make sure no one approaches the parks or monuments?).

[Munson]

He should. All those bills are are the Republicans wanting to shut down the parts of government they don't like, while trying to fund other parts so their move won't be as unpopular with the masses as it should be.

[SunMo]

phillycrew, just remind me where in the constitution (which repubs claim to love, adore, and cherish) it says you can not fund the federal budget because you don't like a law that went through all proper channels, was attempted to be repealed 40+ times, and was upheld by the Supreme Court?  i can't find that part