So, um, Obamacare.

[Death Mage]

Here's the part that has always bothered me about this, and maybe I'm just being a relic of the past here. But insurance SHOULD be optional. Always. It should never have been a mandate in the first place. The entire POINT of insurance was added protection in case something goes wrong, but an OPTIONAL protection. Yea, you can buy it, and probably should, but if you're confident that you're in a good neighborhood/a safe driver/young and healthy, you can skip it to save some money, and if something DOES come up, you've opted to take personal responsibility to pay for it. You OUGHT to be able to cover the charges yourself, without the NEED of insurance backing you up. In fact, a good number of those "uninsured" that people kept pointing out weren't uninsured because they couldn't afford it, they were, like myself, OPTING OUT, choosing not to, becuase they were young and were more interested in saving money rather than getting insurance. I'm getting a bit older now, my situation is changing, and I'm looking into getting health insurance through work, changing my policy. This is how things should operate. We shouldn't be forced to buy something or they'll take our money away anyway.
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[Termital]

[Zag]

[Quailman]

[Jedo the Jedi]

I still have some issues with this. (I jotted these down a month ago, so they are a little disconnected from the original process. Bear with me as I hash them out.)

1) What does the Affordable Care Act do other than require free-market participation in the health insurance sector? As I've mentioned, I'm not opposed to this notion, but it seems they wouldn't need such a big piece of legislation for just that. Considering the government's recent crack-downs on credit card companies and banks, I imagine there are some regulations on the insurance providers.

2) If they are making every citizen purchase health insurance like they do with car insurance, will they be offering "healthy living" discounts or something similar to "safe driver" discounts? I mean, if we have to participate, there should still be things to make one option more attractive than another.

3) If the purpose of this Act is to lower costs of insurance and health care by avoiding the tax burden of uninsured people coming to the hospital, will they be regulating hospitals and their pricing? I mean, is the Tylenol given at the hospital really any more special than the Tylenol at the drugstore? It seems like this sort of thing is also part of the problem.

And now a story of my own...

A few years ago, I went to the hospital because of a urethral blockage. I had had the problem years before, but there was no real resurgence warranting a doctor visit. I had been told as long as nothing seemed amiss, not to worry about it. Well, at this event, I could pass my water one drop at a time, but it was agony. After waiting five hours in the emergency room (in the middle of the night), the doctor concluded that, since I could empty my bladder, nothing was wrong.

Not eight hours later, I returned to the emergency room with complete blockage. I waited another four hours in the emergency room before I was attended to. (It was apparently a very busy day at this hospital.) This time it took three attendants three different catheters to empty my bladder. (When they showed me the one that hooks on the end, I nearly jumped off the bed.) They concluded I needed to see a specialist and have surgery.

A few months later, I received a bill from the hospital for nearly $2,000--$1,000 for each visit. The bulk of the expense was "the room" in which I spent less than an hour each time. I received almost no medical attention during the first stay except a short visit by the doctor to question me about my experience--I'm pretty sure he was an intern no less--and the second was just an emptying of my bladder and the doctor deciding I needed to see a specialist.

Why is this acceptable? It seems to me if there needs to be legislation in this area, it should at least be comprehensive of the entire problem. I acknowledge that the insurance system is in need of an overhaul and that it is contributing to higher hospital costs incurred from covering the uninsured people the hospital cares for pro bono, but I think they need to address those costs as well. Maybe I'm missing something in the ACA.
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[Jack_Ian]

It is anticipated that insurance companies, in competition with each-other, will keep a closer watch on their payouts and therefore control what hospitals charge.

You will find that not all hospitals will be covered by your policy as some are deemed to be too expensive.
If hospitals want to survive, then they will have to provide treatment within a budget set by the insurance company.

Of course, the more expensive hospitals with state-of-the-art equipment will then be supported by more expensive policies that only the rich can afford.