ACA (Obamacare) updates for 2014

Until THIS year, I have not been in the Medicare Maze....I elected KP for Senior Advantage
because of it's OVERALL excellent score....HOWEVER, the Medicare Advantage plans will be
CHANGING in 2015 and April is when I will get an understanding of just how ALTERED the plan
will be.....I will NOT be in a plan that continues to "fight me" on what is appropriate for my
body/treatment......United HealthCare was a default selection (under my DH's plan)for Medicare
I opted for KP instead.....just wondering if United HealtheCare has SAME problems as BC/BS?

The BC/BS medical supplement plans are excellent, it's a whole different game when you are on medicare. Medicare makes the rules, the insurance companies must follow those rules. We switched from the medicare advantage plans to straight Medicare and a supplement plan with BC/BS. Much better coverage, but more expensive. If medicare covers a procedure then the supplement plan must pay its portion. For plan D AARP has the best prices and we have been happy with them. The advantage plan my hubby had drove us nuts, more often than not we ended up with higher co-pays than we would have had with straight Medicare, it seemed like both the seniors and Medicare were getting ripped off by them. Or boat issue with the advantage plans was getting routine care in 2 different states, now that is not an issue at all, we can go anywher.

Another lie from the Liar In Chief...

“We’ve got close to 7 million Americans who have access to health care for the first time because of Medicaid expansion.”

– President Obama, remarks during dinner with the Democratic Governors Association, Feb. 20, 2014

The Fact Checker has written several times about the fuzziness of the Medicaid numbers issued by the Obama administration. But it is like playing whack-a-mole. Every time we rap someone for getting it wrong, the same problem pops up someplace else.

But here is the ultimate authority — the president of the United States — making the problematic claim that everyone counted under the administration’s Medicaid math is getting “access to health care for the first time.” Time for a refresher course!

---

What does this mean in terms of evaluating the president’s statement? He seems to be falling into the same trap as other Democrats, and some reporters, by assuming that everyone in the Medicaid list is getting health insurance for the first time because of the Affordable Care Act. But that number is nowhere close to 7 million. It could be as low as 1.1 million (Avalere) or as high as 2.6 million (Gaba.) If one wanted to be generous, one could include people coming out of the woodwork, even though they would have been covered under the old law, but no one is really sure what that figure is.

In any case, no matter how you slice it, it does not add up to 7 million. It is dismaying that given all of the attention to this issue, the president apparently does not realize that the administration’s data are woefully inadequate for boastful assertions of this type.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fac ... expansion/

Reverend Revelant wrote: Another lie from the Liar In Chief...

“We’ve got close to 7 million Americans who have access to health care for the first time because of Medicaid expansion.”

– President Obama, remarks during dinner with the Democratic Governors Association, Feb. 20, 2014

The Fact Checker has written several times about the fuzziness of the Medicaid numbers issued by the Obama administration. But it is like playing whack-a-mole. Every time we rap someone for getting it wrong, the same problem pops up someplace else.

But here is the ultimate authority — the president of the United States — making the problematic claim that everyone counted under the administration’s Medicaid math is getting “access to health care for the first time.” Time for a refresher course!

---

What does this mean in terms of evaluating the president’s statement? He seems to be falling into the same trap as other Democrats, and some reporters, by assuming that everyone in the Medicaid list is getting health insurance for the first time because of the Affordable Care Act. But that number is nowhere close to 7 million. It could be as low as 1.1 million (Avalere) or as high as 2.6 million (Gaba.) If one wanted to be generous, one could include people coming out of the woodwork, even though they would have been covered under the old law, but no one is really sure what that figure is.

In any case, no matter how you slice it, it does not add up to 7 million. It is dismaying that given all of the attention to this issue, the president apparently does not realize that the administration’s data are woefully inadequate for boastful assertions of this type.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fac ... expansion/

Obama realizes that most of the media still shields him, even when these lies are easily provable. I'm still waiting on the important numbers:

1. How many "enrolled" have actually paid.
2. How many "enrolled" did not have insurance prior to the ACA
3. How many "enrolled" are the young healthy ones who will be subsidizing the sick and old
4. How many "enrolled" who had policies cancelled due to the ACA
5. How many "enrolled" in Medicare who would have done so anyway without the ACA

They have these numbers, but they don't want to share them. Transparency my ass.

Plan to Limit Some Drugs in Medicare Is Criticized

An alliance of drug companies and patient advocates, joined by Democrats and Republicans in Congress, is fiercely opposing an Obama administration proposal that would allow insurers to limit Medicare coverage for certain classes of drugs, including those used to treat depression and schizophrenia.

Opponents warn that the proposal, if enacted, could harm patients. Federal officials say it would lower costs and reduce overuse of the drugs.

The proposed rule, which would lift a requirement that insurers cover “all or substantially all” drugs in certain treatment areas, is just one of a series of changes to the drug program that are being opposed by the unlikely alliance. Even insurers and drug benefit managers, who have previously supported added limits on drug coverage, oppose the rule. They object to provisions including changes to so-called preferred pharmacy networks, where consumers are steered toward a limited network of pharmacies, and to reducing the number of plans that insurers can offer in any one region...

www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/business/plan...l?rref=business&_r=1

I'm personally ok with whatever drug my wise and all-knowing Gubbermint officially approves for me and my standard metal level dumbed down one-size plan, just send a memo to:

LOL
Loyal Subject of the USSA
@MMT

Thank you!

(Hint: please approve micro-brews and school-funding MMJ. thx)

cc (TO the NSA HHS and IRS J/K )

It's a good thing that Obamacare was passed so we could read it and find out what's in it...

Thinking about grabbing a pizza for your next meal? Not so fast! Chances are good that your local pizza place has menus that are not compliant with Obamacare.



Tucked deep in the Affordable Care Act is language requiring all restaurants with at least 20 locations to list nutritional information alongside each and every item on their menu.

That edict is now creating headaches for small business owners across the country, particularly pizza chains.

Take Domino's. There are 34 million different pizza combinations available at the chain, when all crusts and cheeses and toppings are factored in.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/25/obamacare-menu-headache/

Domino's already has nutrition and caloric info on everything they sell, what's the big deal? Most every restaurant I have been to has nutrition information available, and yes I am one of those who had to check what is in the food before I order it....

Oh, nooooooo..... Another FauxNews outrage-of-the-day that has no basis in Obamacare? Whatever shall we do...

By the way, the number of enrollees is up to 4million now... But I'm sure that won't keep the GoTP from attempting to vote it down for the 47th time...

LadyJazzer wrote: Oh, nooooooo..... Another FauxNews outrage-of-the-day that has no basis in Obamacare? Whatever shall we do...

By the way, the number of enrollees is up to 4million now... But I'm sure that won't keep the GoTP from attempting to vote it down for the 47th time...

Obviously you don't read The Washington Post. The 4 million number is certainly phony.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fac ... expansion/

Try getting your head out of the Huffington Post for a few minutes, it's causing your thinking abilities to turn to mush.