As I have said before, the law, when fully implemented, will produce some unintended consequenses, which will be amended and improved over time. There are many moving parts in the law, and most are not fully understood, and probably won't be until the law actually takes full effect. There are some attempts to contain costs, but I never was aware of that being the primary thrust of the bill. I always saw the primary thrust to be making health care coverage available and affordable for all. Without question the final bill was the culmination of a piece here from dems, a piece there from repubs, and a piece out of the middle from the insurance lobby and special interests in the healthcare community. The "hidden tax" we all pay currently, is the cost of the uninsured recieving "free" healthcare, which is actually paid by the rest of us.

good point Wendy!! Everyone BETTER get in good shape now prior to their Doctors departure and those LONG waiting lists to try to get any medical procedure that may be needed.

Ho-hum, this is getting really tiresome reading the same garbage speculation over and over.

The same was said for HMO's. My personal experience with Kaiser Permanente HMO was excellent for 35 years before moving to Florida where they are not available. I had the same doctor for several years, did not have long waits for appointments, low co-pays, no problem seeing a specialist or having a special test or procedure.

You will probably find the Affordable Care Act will be excellent for you.
Doctors will not be changing professions (even though plumbers make more money) and there will NOT be government panels deciding who gets health care and who does not.

I accept all you say and you make good points.

My impression of what the bill was for came from the President...very very loud and very very clear as he was engaged in a primary..in 2008 he said..

"""A mandate means that in some fashion, everybody will be forced to buy health insurance." Instead of going that route, his plan, he said, "emphasizes lowering costs."

He carried this through all the way...to my knowledge he never ammended anything and we did not know that COST was not addressed until the very end.....and also TORT reform...he made quiet a noise about having that as well.

On the bill itself, not sure if the FEDERAL government should or can do what is now going to be expected AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, how in the world will this ever get paid for ?

Fair questions - We will see some of the answers ASSUMING it ever is fully implemented.

"unintended consequenses" - is that like collateral damage?

"There are many moving parts in the law, and most are not fully understood, and probably won't be until the law actually takes full effect." - i guess nancy pelosi was right!

"Without question the final bill was the culmination of ..." - i thought it was all based on romneycare in ma, no?

"...the cost of the uninsured recieving "free" healthcare..." - does that mean that my state budget will be able to remove the amount budgeted for the uncompensated care fund every year? i bet not. there will ALWAYS be the patient that applies for 'charity care' prices that the fund will have to pay for.

has anyone seen a decrease in their cost for health care since any of the provisions of obamacare took effect? i can respond with a big NO - have only seen my mthly payment increase. and soon i will have to go on medicare if i wish to continue heath ins - and pay for both a and b plans and a medco equivalent of plan d. will be paying scads more and hafta wonder how much less service will be available after medicare funds are drained away by obamacare.

First of all the Affordable Care Act doesn't take effect until 2014, so any increase you see in your health care is the result of your insurance company raising rates and has nothing to do with the ACA. The only aspects of the law that are in effect are the provision that young people under the age of 26 can stay on their parent's insurance plan; and the part that says your insurance company must spend 80% of their proceeds on healthcare and not on CEO pay and other operating costs or refund the difference to customers. That's why many people will be receiving a check in August.

Secondly, there is no charge for anyone to recieve Part A of Medicare. If you elect to participate in Part B, the cost is $99.60 per month. So for less than $100 per month you can have full coverage of Medicare Parts A and B. I'm just guessing that is probably less than what you pay now for private insurance.

If you lived in Florida full time, you could join a Medicare Advantage Plan which would cost you zero, not even the $99.60 per month, and would also pay for prescriptions, eye glasses, dental and health clubs. You can't get any cheaper than free.

This poster was informed of these circumstances in an earlier thread in which they alleged the same damages. Apparently they choose to ignore the facts.

i hope you're right, janmcn - but i doubt it :(

1] can't become a fl resident
2] have current ins thru employer self-insured plan with an admin services contract with reg ins provider - mthly premium is way under $100 for h/w covg; medicare estimate for single covg is $114/mo i believe. do ya think/know if self-insured employer plans will be offering checks in august? do ya know how i would find out?
3] cost for prescriptions increases under the prescriptio plan i hafta pick up - but cheaper than medicare plan d i think.
4] wonder if nj has a medicare advantage program - will hafta search.
5] personal ins cost and cost of prescriptions both increased in 2010 and again in 2011; haven't gotten a notice re 2012 yet - new budget year kicked on 7/1 - hoping i don't get that notice from div of pensions/benefits!
6] somehow i fear that the tax on investments and sale of a house is among the collateral damage to be feared.

since you posted about it - again - i figured i would, too - thought i might get better response! ;)

My post was based on my knowledge of Florida plans. You can google medicare advantage plans/NJ, but I don't think they would cover you when you're in Florida. Why don't you call your insurance company about the refund?

janmcn - will add the question to my list for the appt i have set up to do my medicare conversion. since i don't have an ins company to call i'll hope the rep from pensions/benefits will know - lol! ;)

A benefits specialist in the HR dept. should know what your options are. Medicare Advantage programs are often "free", but the copays may ultimately equal more than the premiums for a supplement. You also may not have the access to healthcare options that you would prefer. I had a very good Blue Cross/blue shield plan through my employer prior to retirement. My employer paid 100% of the premiums. I went on medicare A and B 18 months ago, bought a supplement through AARP for about $350/month for wife and I. I paid way less for health care costs, including premiums, in the last 12 months than I did even with my premiums paid, in the 12 months prior to going on medicare plus supplement. Medicare parts A and B, and my supplement pay 100% of our healthcare costs, and we have had some significant expenses, although nothing critical, in the last couple years. My part D drug expenses are about the same as prior to medicare.

ed - thanx for that info. i did find some medicare advantage info on our pensions/benefits website - but i hafta keep flipping to the plan provider's websites to gather info. ugh! also found the premium sheet for the different levels of care - from $0 to $167/mo for a premiere plan! yikes! gotta be sure that the plan will cover me where i happen to be at the time something might happen - we travel alot and often between maine and florida!

so far it looks like medicare a and b with my former covg plan as my supplement along with the employer's 'wrap around' rather than 'donut hole' prescription plan is gonna provide the best covg. am gonna print your post to keep handy as a guide when i am reading stuff.

to stay on topic with the thread, i want to ask the pensions/benefits rep if they have any info or suspicions re potential interactions of their offerings and the aca. probably too much to hope for. but i guess that's what open enrollment periods are for.

thanx again for your post.