annielaurie wrote:Hello boss! Now Thursday morning for me. It rained again last night, soaking everything. Dry today.
Just a note on Obamacare here in the USA! The great majority of Americans hate it, or parts of the law, because it has unintended consequences to those in the middle class income range (such as myself) by raising premium rates through the roof, and creating donut hole gaps in our Medicare Part D coverage (covers medications) so that now we have to pay huge out-of-pocket amounts for each drug, where we got them for free before Obamacare kicked in.
There is only one good thing about Obamacare, really, and that is the part of the law that prohibits insurance companies from turning away applicants with pre-existing medical illnesses and conditions, those who could not get insurance coverage before.
Almost everything else about the new law is bad, both for doctors, small business owners with employees, and most patients. There are thousands of doctors who are now opting out of accepting patients with insurance coverage, and will accept only cash-pay patients. There are many thousands of patients who now must change their doctors, who now must wait months to see someone new, who now have to start over with new teams of docs on networks in their area.
Contrary to the news on this that has reached Australia, the situation is generally worse for us than before Obamacare.
Many states have NOT expanded their Medicaid programs (supplemental insurance coverage for low income patients) and so therefore many thousands of poor people who could get coverage before, now cannot and are left with no way except to go to emergency rooms if they get sick.
The very rich don't need to worry. By very rich, I mean multi-millionaires.
We middle income patients are the ones who get the coverage easily enough, but whose premiums and out-of-pocket expenses have gone way UP!
My premium taken out of my Social Security cheque every month is now a hundred dollars more per month. My premium owed to my supplemental insurance company every four months are now over a hundred dollars higher than last year.
As for meds, I could get my ventolin and combivent inhalers for $0.00 before. Now the ventolin costs me $40.00 and the combivent costs $65.00, every month. My other pills now also cost me $65.00, every month.
My pain med used to cost me $0.00 dollars. Now costs me $17.00, and the strength is weaker, and the amount of a single prescription has been lowered from 180 tablets per bottle to 160 tablets, and must last a month before a refill is allowed.
Our country is in one mess after another. Obama tried to do the right thing, but his healthcare reform is basically a disaster.
