# Obamacare **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 6, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare/841364 "2019-10-06T19:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare/841364/81 "2019-10-17T15:25:20Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I didn’t appreciate being required to buy insurance that started off expensive and got multiples worse each year. But as flawed as the ACA was, at least it was an effort. Now that it’s been neutered I hope we can learn from it and move on with something better. Usually, large bills like the ACA get markups and updates to improve them. It’s always been understood that the first iteration isn’t perfect, and needs edits to remove unforeseen problems. That’s always been the case with any transformative legislation. But this bill never got that, due to scorched-Earth political opposition, unlike any bill previously. I say all this, because the “move on to something better” in the past meant to improve the existing framework of the aca. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare/841364/82 "2019-10-17T17:45:59Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Good riddance. Why are we keeping these dinosaurs around anyway? And worse, why are we acting like they are the only stakeholders in this debate? Why should I care about them when they never cared about me, and did everything in their power to avoid paying my bills despite that being the only “service” they ostensibly offer? They’re nothing but parasites, pure and simple. Gross, low, reprehensible parasites. > > Fuck 'em. That’s what I think about the insurance industry. And I’m far from the only one. Well, that’s all well and good, but right now, there’s no real alternative. So, if we force them to take people with existing conditions and some of them go under, rates will go up and competition will go down. It’s not like MFA is already in place or anything – right now, without insurance companies, most people wouldn’t have insurance. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare/841364/83 "2019-10-23T11:38:34Z")
Looks like in aggregate, premiums came down this year and more insurers are getting into the exchanges, according to the link. It’s amazing how well this law has held up after 9 years of a constant barrage of hatred and sabotage. Imagine what it could do if we were in different political times, and both parties were committed to its success. Oh well, I can dream, I guess… > **[Obamacare Premiums to Fall and Number of Insurers to Rise Next Year...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/us/politics/obamacare-trump.html)** > > Despite President Trump’s efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, premiums will fall for plans sold under the law, and the number of insurers offering policies will rise. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare/841364/84 "2019-10-30T20:18:23Z")
Here’s an interesting link from the Commonwealth Fund. They compare some reform options, building on the ACA, and a few single-payer options. In these reforms, they estimate the impact to cost and coverage. The “build on ACA” reforms in a nutshell are more subsidies, plugging some holes within Medicaid eligibility, restoring the madate, autoenrollment, and a public option. This gets us to universal coverage. Then, there are a few single payer options, too, that achieve universal. The cost estimates split by national costs and government funded costs…anyway, an interesting read. And of course, we know that the political situation won’t allow any - or hardly any - of this to occur anytime in the near future. > **[Comparing Health Insurance Reform Options: From “Building on the ACA” to...](https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2019/oct/comparing-health-insurance-reform-options-building-on-aca-to-single-payer)** > > This brief analyzes eight health care reform packages intended to address shortcomings of the current health insurance system, estimating their potential effects on health insurance coverage and spending by government, households, and employers. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare/841364/85 "2019-10-31T00:36:12Z")
A very informative link. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare/841364/86 "2019-10-31T03:30:27Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > It has been neutered from the start and Republicans have no clue how to institute a better plan. If you want it improved, you should vote for Democrats. I think a natural progression would be to add a public option. Include laws that mandate that it must be financially self-sufficient, and therefore can’t operate at a loss to undercut competition. But it can cut out the profit motive that makes private insurance so insidious - I truly don’t understand why people worry about government “death panels” when insurance companies are already motivated to ration medical care. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare/841364.md?page=4)