<p>Wait, are the 4 people on the boat going to eat the 5th guy? I will pass. But, I do prefer not to be anyone’s dinner.</p>
<p>Flossy, lol.</p>
<p>There are many other questions too. Where is your allegance? To your family? Friends? Town? State? Country?
World? Religion?</p>
<p>Would you send your kid to war?
Would you rat on a friend?
What would make you rat on a friend?</p>
<p>Do you believe in equal opportinity ? Most, but not all say yes. These are Harvard students now .</p>
<p>The students are asked, “Do you believe your success was due to you?”</p>
<p>Most students say yes. Then the professor asks, "How many students here are first born? </p>
<p>And most of the hands are raised . :)</p>
<p>On that note, the first time I heard the question, “Is this the hill you’re willing to die on?,” a lot instantly came into perspective. The context/discussion at that moment wasn’t really about death, but our willingness to stand up for our values- when we will go to bat for what is central to our personal ethics. And that, for me, was empowering. Maybe the same happened when you first saw those questions, ds. And I think it bears on this discussion of health care. Many people will find they do have access to medical care, when they most need it. I like that. </p>
<p>Talk is cheap. When a family member gets cancer and you’re told that the best care is at that expensive research hospital which you’re plan doesn’t cover, you’ll be screaming bloody murder.</p>
<p>Sort of like certain politicians who make their constituents go to public schools while their kids are in the best private schools.</p>
<p>I am a long time American expat. Not only do I have to pay US taxes, now I have to worry about health insurance as a plan which is appropriate for an expat does not meet the MINIMUM requirements of AFCA. I pay 10,000/year for a plan that works for me and provides me with all the US coverage I need. There are loopholes, but clearly there are lots of issues to be resolved, yet… </p>
<p>TheThirdTime, my cursory Googling seems to show that most expats are not required to buy insurance that satisfies the ACA. Do you have a good page that shows how the ACA affects expats?</p>
<p>After months of indecision, I finally canned my grandfathered plan in favor of an HMO/HSA plan. I decided to go with a high deductible plan so my insurance bill is going from $592 to $298 a month. Talked to my new primary care doctor yesterday so I’m good to go. </p>
<p>Cartera45, nice. :)</p>
<p>The numbers are important because the numbers show demand and the pools will likely have less risk. This means lower costs. I know it varies by state.</p>
<p>It is kind of diffucult to argue that the individual market is worse off now when the size of the market is doubling in a year. For some people the individual market is worse. But overall…</p>
<p>The same people that were telling us nobody is going to sign up are telling us the individual market is worse off. Lol</p>
<p>Friday…
"Surge of consumers shopping before 3/31 deadline. 1.5m visits to HealthCare.gov and 500k+ calls Friday. 2 days to #GetCoveredNow</p>
<p>Today…
“High call center volume now. System now allows consumers to leave their info to be contacted later when we can serve them.”</p>
<p>This is amazing.</p>
<p>"“The Covered California exchange said sign-ups have been building throughout the week with about 80,000 people picking a health plan Monday through Thursday. An additional 150,000 households created an online account and started the shopping process in the last three days, officials said.”</p>
<p>150,000 households creating accounts while 20,000 people ( a very high number) sign up a day? </p>
<p>Looks like a little too much demand. ;)</p>
<p>cartera, I don’t know why you had any indecision. Your plan had a $500 annual cap for prescription drugs, which even you admitted was just plain crazy for a person your age. </p>
<p>Your old plan also had a $500 deductible and a $2,000 out-of-pocket maximum for everything else. That would be a very expensive plan in any state. The cost difference can be partially explained because you went from a very low deductible plan to a very high one. You are also in a manged cared plan, so you will need permission from your primary doctor to see a specialist and you will be restricted in who you can go to.</p>
<p>You indicated in an earlier thread that the bronze plan in Maryland would be $354 a month, so either you found a cheaper one or maybe you qualify for subsidies.</p>
<p>Cartera, yay! Glad you found something that suited you, and at half the price.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s amazing. Earlier in the process, we could figure that curious people might just create an account to find out how the system works. But now, you’ve got to figure that those households created accounts because they were in the market to buy insurance. Some of them won’t follow through, for one reason or another, but that’s 50,000 households (not people, households) per DAY. In California, people who create accounts have until April 15th to finalize purchase of insurance.</p>
<p>Catera, great that you found a plan which works for you. Nice yearly savings, too! </p>
<p>CF, I agree. </p>
<p>2pm our time from twitter…</p>
<p>“Consumers continue to rush in. 600k+ visits to HealthCare.gov and 200k+ calls so far today. 2 days to #GetCoveredNow”</p>
<p>I think that matches last Saturday’s total already. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.news10.net/story/news/health/affordable-care-act/2014/03/29/covered-california-deadline-draws-near/7057959/”>http://www.news10.net/story/news/health/affordable-care-act/2014/03/29/covered-california-deadline-draws-near/7057959/</a></p>
<p>"An estimated 87 percent who sign up are eligible for some amount of subsidy.</p>
<p>“We’ve heard of cases where people are paying 5, 10, 15 dollars for their insurance. It’s good coverage,” Lopez said.</p>
<p>Ortez has some advice for those who still have to sign up.</p>
<p>“Block out time to wait on the phone for hours on hold,” Ortez said. Prepare dinner or something while (you’re) on hold."</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Just like this guy’s family?</p>
<p>
<a href=“"I'm a Republican, and You Should Get Covered" | whitehouse.gov”>http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/03/28/im-republican-and-you-should-get-covered</a></p>
<p>^I was trying to resist that post. At this point, it’s fear-mongering. </p>
<p>LF, there are always going to be people that hate Obamacare.</p>
<p>People use what they have. Fear sells. People that use fear are very afraid themselves. ;)</p>
<p>ACA is going to exceed sign up expectations. Did not happen with social security, the first year. Medicare part D … Talk about extensions. :)</p>
<p>Texaspg, an owner of a small business is visiting me. </p>
<p>How did you get around the issue of paying for the employees health care the first month and then the employees dont pay the rest of the year?</p>
<p>I thought texaspg’s employees paid for the first month themselves?</p>
<p>Just to expand on dstark’s comment about Medicare Part D: The original enrollment deadline was May 15, 2006, but due to a launch which was “hampered by technical glitches, setbacks, and mass confusion,” President Bush extended the deadline. By two weeks? Nope. Until the end of the year. This was considered to be a common-sense measure, and was not controversial.</p>
<p>So a rocky rollout is nothing new. Deadline extensions are nothing new. Neither one portends the collapse of the program. Sorry.</p>
<p>[Channeling</a> Bush, Obama Extends Deadline for Health Insurance Enrollment](<a href=“http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/26/3419068/flashback-the-bush-administration-extended-the-enrollment-period-for-medicare-part-d/]Channeling”>http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/26/3419068/flashback-the-bush-administration-extended-the-enrollment-period-for-medicare-part-d/)</p>