I've seen it go down for many I know, sometimes several hundreds of dollars monthly, as people with pre-existing conditions (e.g., all of us) were gouged sometimes having to pay more than a $1,000 in monthly premiums. Pre-existing is gone, Medicaid has been expanded in sensible states and young adults remain covered on their parents' plans until they turn 26.

It sure was needed. So the question now is not how to get rid of it but how to make it work better for Americans and legal residents.

Clay, there is ample evidence that suggests that a great many people have benefited hugely from these reforms. It is unfortunate that you seem to have been dealt a bum card, but I feel that in time, and with good governance, the system will iron itself out. As long as there are people who try to derail positive (to my mind) action to bring healthcare to all, for purely political reasons, little progress will be made, and then these people will point to the morass of confusion they have contributed to and will say "Look, it don't work!" As long as there are profit motives in healthcare, it will never be fair, and will only benefit those who might be a little 'more equal than others'.
Like you, my premium went up by a considerable amount, but in the grand scheme of things, I would rather that happen, and have many others get healthcare they need.

I'm am not saying that it should be derailed. I do like the pre existing clause. As I said in my original statement, I agree that we needed reform. But I do not want to pay for someone else's coverage. That is how they make this affordable. That is just not the so,union and let's not forget about the fines for those uninsured. How ludicrous.

Oh but with the 35 or 50 million previously uninsured, we all absorbed that I assure you. Our government has given billions over the last decades to hospitals to serve those uninsured and underinsured Americans. We've all been paying all along. What they haven't subsidized with our tax dollars has been added to the price of physician visits, procedures, pharmaceuticals and hospitalizations. If this I m certain.

I truly don't mind paying a little more for the good of the nation and to provide healthcare as a right to our citizens and residents. I believe mom-partisan committees have already shown that healthcare costs have been dropping. For one, people can get preventive and earlier care as opposed to waiting for a crisis and going for Primary Care through an Emergency Department (E.D.). That is a poor use of resources, makes for costly healthcare delivery and it has resulted in E.D. closures throughout the country as hospitals could no longer afford the losses. The Government has reduced the subsidies for the un and underfunded recently, as they should, now that people can access insurance.

Anyway I'm not targeting anybody in specific in my messages. I'm just trying to impart some of my knowledge but I have worked in healthcare for 19 years now. Trissa, I'd love to hear your input here if you see this thread. Just curious what you've seen.

I think we can up our QOL in the great ole US of A personally and I don't want anybody to go without tx for HCV or cancer for example. Sad that we've lost people to those and other diseases. We live we learn though.

mom-partisan? Lol

Thank you again Ernie. You are the voice of reason.
I got my daughter covered through the exchange at a very reasonable rate and since my state did not accept the Medicare expansion I pay every cent of her premium. It is worth it for her to have insurance.

Happy to hear. Yes nobody should be without health care coverage. Priorities!!

Do you know that when referring to healthcare as in an institution or regarding its delivery that it is spelled as one word? When speaking of my health care though in a personal sense it's spelled as two words. Crazy huh?

Well everybody gets coverage here now. Well legally present anyway. Honestly though, I was initially blown away at the conservative pushback when I joined here in 2012 against universal coverage. So many didn't have tx, some were on their way to dying a slow hepatic death and others were scrambling to leave their part of the state or state altogether to beg to get on a clinical trial for HCV. Desperate people without coverage still against universal healthcare. Mind blowing it was indeed. Some media network(s) was/were sure doing a great job at convincing the poor and the sick that they didn't need what they needed most. It was pure blasphemy if I may.

Anywhoo, moving right along . . . I just met a patient who lost his previous coverage and was able to get ACA coverage. He's very pleased with it. He has a gazillion medical issues including liver and kidney problems so good for him.

http://www.msnbc.com/politicsnation/charity-care-drops-states-expand-medicaid

My family is one for whom Obamacare, in its present incarnation, sucks. My husband was told to stop taking meds that have been working for him and switch to cheaper ones. "If they fail" (and he dies?) they will approve the old ones again. I was offered HCV TX only to find out I couldn't have it since my policy stopped Jan. 1 and I had to get an Obamacare one. With all that, I still support Obamacare because, overall, it is benefitting Americans. While I'm sad and angy about my own situation, life isn't all about ME . (I do hope they'll make some changes, or maybe force greedy drug cos. to lower their prices, but that's a different story.) There are individuals for whom every single law has had negative consequences. That doesn't make them bad laws.

it did put the screws to the middle class cause the rich can still get the medical care of their choice and don't feel the hike in cost like most of us. I kept good coverage even though it was quite pricy and it went up 20%, but with out the pre-existing clause I may have been denied coverage, at least for now until they put major limits on Sovaldi, and they will as soon as they can get it written in new policies. .

I think the most Americans got a raw deal, not to mention the untruths.

funding Obamacare for people who make bad choices and are not held accountable for those choices is what rubs me the wrong way, other folks I'm happy to chip in.

I will never forget Obama and all his yes men saying: you can keep your existing policy then the people lost the very policy he said they could keep. Fact is he didn't know what all was in the policy

Who are "people who make bad choices and are not accountable for those choices"? That sounds like how a lot of people think about folks with HCV.

@Bridgit13
you are correct, even though that's not true of us all.

Propaganda alert.

The conservative push back isn't about "Universal Healthcare"

The lie of course is: conservatives are cruel animals that would rather have people die than get the healthcare they need.

The conservative push back is about following bad idea after bad idea into the future with this president.

And that of course is an opinion dear ernesto not a judgement upon your indomitable spirit and expertise. Maybe just the media around you.

Well that's not how I see it exactly. I've been a proponent of universal healthcare since the mid 90s personally but due to a Public Health perspective for the betterment of the many. That was before I started working in the health care field and mental health field for that matter. I've been without insurance before and have seen people suffer without it prior to working in healthcare. Since my career, however, I've been covered with excellent insurance from my employer but have seen even more travesties professionally. For me it comes down to priorities. I'd much rather invest in human capital than corporate welfare and wars personally. I will always believe that that is money better spent and it is partially my tax dollars at work. I'm willing to pay more to help others that need some help. Our system is not a fair system and it's getting worse. The divide grows greater and greater and the reasons to blame are many. However, I'm first and foremost for a strong middle class. I believe they only good can come from that.

As for the "Conservative agenda," I understand the tents well. I don't agree with them or see the world in that perspective. I learned long ago that Liberals and Conservatives can love our Country and maybe even share many of the same ideals yet disagree on the way to get there. As for our Conservatives cold, callous and uncaring? I won't make such an erroneous blanket statement. People of any ideology can search what is in their own hearts and love with what they see in the mirror. Truly not my concern. I worry about my own morals and decisions, and as I mentioned, priorities.

I am fairly confident in my political and sociopolitical beliefs and values. I'm not fixed in them either honestly. But some things resonate with me more than others.