Daily Kos author should send inflated health care premium bill to Daily Kos
Daily Kos helped push the bill through the House in 2010 despite having warned earlier that the bill would increase insurance rates.
In March 2010, the screws were being turned on Democrats in the House to pass the Obamacare bill the Senate had passed in December 2009.
Progressive Democrats in the House hated the Senate bill, which was viewed by many progressives as a giveaway to insurance and drug companies and did not contain a “public option.” House Democrats were being asked to swallow the Senate Bill whole because Scott Brown’s election in January 2010 deprived Senate Democrats of a filibuster proof majority, so the Senate could not make substantive changes.
Jane Hamsher at liberal Firedoglake predicted in December 2009, among other things, that insurance premiums would skyrocket under the Senate bill
The cost of medical care will continue to rise, and insurance premiums for a family of four will rise an average of $1,000 a year — meaning in 10 years, your family’s insurance premium will be $10,000 more annually than it is right now.
Markos Moulitsas, the head of DailyKos, also claimed to hate the bill, urging in December 2009 that the bill be killed unless the individual mandate was removed:
“Insurance companies win,” Markos Moulitsas tweeted last night. “Time to kill this monstrosity coming out of the Senate.”
Moulitsas also predicted premium price hikes, in a Kos editorial:
My take is that it’s unconscionable to force people to buy a product from a private insurer that enjoys sanctioned monopoly status….
Without any mechanisms to control costs, this is yet another bailout for yet another reviled industry. Subsidies? Insurance companies are free to raise their rates to absorb that cash. More money for subsidies? More rate increases, as well as more national debt. Don’t expect Lieberman and his ilk to care. They’re in it for their industry pals.
If you want a similar model, watch how universities increase tuition to absorb increased financial aid opportunities.
But after the Senate passed the bill, Markos switched his tune, became a loyal Obama soldier, and threatened to primary progressive lawmakers in the House who killed the Senate bill.
HuffPo reported on March 9, 2010 (see note at bottom as to date), Markos Moulitsas To Kucinich: You’ll Be Primaried If You Kill Reform:
Pressed by fill-in host Lawrence O’Donnell as to whether a Kucinich would get a Democratic challenger for his seat if he didn’t support health care legislation — and in the process kill it — Moulitsas replied, “Yeah, absolutely.”
“What he is doing is undermining this reform,” he added. “He is making common cause with Republicans. And I think that is a perfect excuse and a rational one for a primary challenge.”
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Now Obamacare Sticker Shock is hitting, just as Markos predicted, although for different reasons.
Whereas Markos expected evil insurance companies to price gouge, in fact premiums are spiking because people are forced to buy compliant policies which offer coverage they don’t need, and younger people subsidize older people. The sticker shock will hit the Kos Kids the hardest.
A Daily Kos “Diarist” is not happy, Obamacare will double my monthly premium (according to Kaiser)(emphasis added):
My wife and I just got our updates from Kaiser telling us what our 2014 rates will be. Her monthly has been $168 this year, mine $150. We have a high deductible. We are generally healthy people who don’t go to the doctor often. I barely ever go. The insurance is in case of a major catastrophe.
Well, now, because of Obamacare, my wife’s rate is gong to $302 per month and mine is jumping to $284.
I am canceling insurance for us and I am not paying any fucking penalty. What the hell kind of reform is this?
Oh, ok, if we qualify, we can get some government assistance. Great. So now I have to jump through another hoop to just chisel some of this off. And we don’t qualify, anyway, so what’s the point?
I never felt too good about how this was passed and what it entailed, but I figured if it saved Americans money, I could go along with it.
I don’t know what to think now. This appears, in my experience, to not be a reform for the people.
What am I missing?
I realize I will probably get screamed at for posting this, but I can’t imagine I am the only Californian who just received a rate increase from Kaiser based on these new laws.
While I sympathize with the Kos Diarist’s plight, he has no one to blame other than Democrats and some people in the progressive movement who put politics ahead of good policy and sold out for the sake of the Democratic Party and Obama.
While the Kos Diarist wasn’t expecting the price hike, Markos was. And Markos along with other “progressives” helped Democrats shove what Markos previously called an “unconscionable” mandate down everyone’s throat.
So if the Kos Diarist is upset, let me make a suggestion.
Send your inflated health care premium bill to Daily Kos.
[Note: The HuffPo article now is dated May 9, 2010, but it’s clear from the dates of the comments and the url as well as the context that it was March 9, 2010.]
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Comments
Schadenfreude-a-licious…!!!
Which is little enough comfort in the face of this monstrosity against all the is American.
People all over the political map are beginning to suggest that the roll-out should have a “drop-dead” date to become actually…you know…operational.
I think it should just have a “drop-dead” date before it does any more of the perfectly PREDICABLE damage we all said it would.
There is a certain satisfaction in having told the Captain of the Titanic – slow down or you are going to hit an iceberg. But, you still go down with the Ship!
Rising premiums and crummy healthcare is the least worst problem these poor folks will endure as a result of Obama’s presidency. In five years they won’t be able to see a doctor even if they’re paid up and need one.
Solution to their problem? Get elected to congress and be exempt from the law.
In 5 more years of Obama, Obama will have put all the Daily Kos types in his new concentration camps – if they’re so lucky….
Snark Snark1
Liberalism has largely succeeded because it has been able to ignore reality and create an untethered narrative.
The problem is they are rapidly running out of ways to keep reality at bay.
Obamacare was sold as increasing health coverage, lowering rates to the customer, and enrolling tens of millions of more people onto the health insurance rolls for free.
Well, as one can note those three things are at odds. Suddenly Obamacare was no longer about lowering rates, and if your rates go up you deserve it you kulak you.
This is a case study in how the LIVs shouldn’t believe the pretty stories the left spins for them, but we will see if they will now believe their own lying eyes…as the bills come in…or what the State Media sells them…
Leftists.
I prefer to call them Leftists.
I am a classical liberal in the original sense of the word…
kind, giving….. as are all Tea Party members I have met.
But these “dictator-crats” are not classical liberals – they are fascist, leftists, anarchists, communists – they are anything but true liberals in my opinion.
I’ve made a habit of calling them the ‘Totalitarian Left’ to be precise.
Because there is nothing liberating or progress oriented about their pogrom driven thinking.
Nothing that is an extension of the Age of Enlightenment. Just a throwback and rehash of medieval economics, savage tribalism, mysticism and ancestral hatreds.
It’s as if their parents never left their villages in the Old World.
Forgive the lame “me too!” reply but… Yes.
Not sure all conservatives are classical liberals, and not sure *all* liberals are in fact (totalitarian) leftists – I now identify mostly as libertarian and they are a strange protean bird sometimes – but… Yes.
“Well, as one can note those three things are at odds.” — Just as it’s the same people usually demand: more affordable housing + more open spaces + sanctuary for anyone who sneaks across the border illegally.
younger people subsidize older people.
Professor, this statement is inaccurate due to its generality. I would remind you that Medicare is getting a $30 billion a year carve out to fund ObamaCare. The senior citizens (65 and older) are subsidizing others as well. The young (30 and younger) are NOT subsidizing senior citizens.
It would be more accurate to say that young people and senior citizens will be subsidizing pre-existing conditions along with the illegal aliens. If you have been paying attention but not quite connected the dots yet, Obama is already pushing for legalization of the 11 million plus illegals who don’t have health insurance who typically stiff the medical providers who in turn over charge the rest of us in the form of higher bills. It is currently illegal to give government benefits to illegals and so Democrats intend to make them eligible through so called immigration reform.
But neither young or seniors will be subsidizing the poor directly as they are on Medicaid or will be shortly due to the ObamaCare website signing them up for that coverage.
Young people, show some civil disobedience and sign up for non-ObamaCare health insurance, go to ehealthinsurance.com and not get clobbered like el stupido Daily Kos users. Those policies will be good for all of 2014 and potentially 2015 at cheaper rates than what O-care insurance zombies will offer. http://www.bizzyblog.com/2013/10/15/mind-boggling-incompetence/
Tell me about it. I just found out my Medicare and Medicare Advantage premiums are increasing more than 25%, and my benefits are being reduced. Color me pissed.
join the party ! Thank you Barry for being the worst and most Anti-American prez in history !!
While I sympathize with the Kos Diarist’s plight,
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I don’t.
A scathing analysis of 0bamaDontCare from the Heritage Foundation, including an eye-opening state-by-state rate comparison chart:
How Will You Fare in the Obamacare Exchanges?
By Drew Gonshorowski, Oct 16, 2013
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/10/enrollment-in-obamacare-exchanges-how-will-your-health-insurance-fare?
IAP
Virginia, USA
I don’t know why everyone is saying “throat”. Wrong orifice. Think other end, and think “shoved sideways, with rusty nails hanging out of it”.
My current health insurance is through the Illinois CHIP plan at $458/mo. with a $5200 annual deductible. It terminates at year’s end per letter from the state; all of us ‘CHIPpers’ are being punted over to Obamacare.
Like most others, I’ve been unable to apply for insurance on the Healthcare.gov site. However, I am able to obtain quotes from the eHealthInsurance site which shows the least expensive plan is the Blue PPO Bronze 006, for $432.22/mo. with a $6000 annual deductible.
At face value, the change in plans is a wash for me. However it’s beginning to look like the ‘wait and see’ approach is going
Just a week ago, eHealthInsurance listed just 5 plans to choose from, all from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Now there are 11; 6 new plans from Humana, who offers a “Platinum” plan for $785.30/mo.
While tinkering with the site late last night, I saw a notice that said:
“DID YOU KNOW? Individuals making more than $46,000 per year will not be eligible for a government subsidy.”
We’re both retired and living on pensions which amount to less than that, so I began playing with the ‘subsidy calculator’ at this link:
https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehi/resources/subsidy-calculator#subsidyEstimator
According to the calculator, for an annual taxable income of $40,000, with 2 deductions (husband and wife), I’m eligible for $216/mo. in subsidy. If my wife applies for subsidy too, we’re eligible for $738/mo. in subsidy.
Where I question the calculator is the “taxable income” comes from IRS form 1040 line 43 which ALREADY INCLUDES 2 ‘personal exemptions’ (2x$3800) for my wife and me. By asking the number of “dependents” (exemptions) on the next line I wonder if the ‘calculator’ is effectively subtracting the number of dependents twice?
Like most married couples who take a standard deduction, the difference between our ‘gross income’ and ‘taxable income’ is about $20,000 ($11,900 standard deduction, $7,600 individual deduction (2 x $3800)).
If I back our 2 personal exemptions ($7,600) out of the ‘taxable income’ figure, my subsidy goes down to $112 from $216; if my wife applies for the subsidy too, it goes down to $634 from $738.
So, are headaches caused by Obamacare covered by Obamacare?
I may just opt for the “apple a day” health plan.
You say you are both retired? I take it that you are not 65 yet so you don’t qualify for Medicare whose premiums are way lower than what you are currently paying.
I would counsel against the wait and see method by reminding you that you have the right to drop an insurance policy at any time and get a prorated refund of the balance. So in your situation before December 15th take the cheaper NON ObamaCare policy and you will be ahead for all of 2014. IF per chance an ObamaCare policy does work out to be financially better for you during 2014, you can drop the NON ObamaCare policy and get the one from them. Either way, you are still ahead.
However, given the fluidity of the politics right now, anyone on an ObamaCare policy is in for a rude awakening IF immigration reform is passed dumping 11 million illegals onto the system. All if not most of them are going to be fully subsidized meaning EVERYONE (even those with a significant subsidy) who currently has an ObamaCare policy will see a massive rate increase in 2015 since the subsidy is a subtraction from the base rate of the health insurance policy. Remember, subsidy money has to come from someone else and that is the premium rate payers in the case of ObamaCare.
Thanks for the note. I’ve applied for a dozen or so of the less expensive plans through eSurance.com (etc.) and was rejected for a preexisting condition which is laughable. My gallbladder was removed 16 mos. ago – if that’s a “preexisting condition” does that mean they think I might have it removed again? My only insurance options were going under my wife’s Teacher’s Retirement System of IL coverage ($800/mo.) or Illinois CHIP plan ($450/mo.) with $5200 annual ded. I went with the latter. IL is terminating the CHIP plan on 12/31, hence being punted by IL to Obamacare.
After 2 weeks of frustration with Healthcare.gov, which would not work with my GMAIL account registration, I re-registered with a different email for a domain I own. It registered quickly and I commenced the application process, which worked without a hitch.
There were a number of repetitive questions about my ethnicity I found funny. Are you Hispanic? No. What is your ethnicity? White. Are you American Indian? No. Are you Alaska Indian? No.
If the government weren’t so damn punitive any more, I’d have answered “all of the above” and I’m part St. Bernard, too – the part that drools all the time – in my sleep, at least.
Some of the stuff was confusing and may have effected the outcome. When it asked for income, I entered the gross monthly earning, which it calculated. Likewise my wife. There were NO help links/balloons to clarify whether to use gross or after tax amounts. Also, there was a question dealing with deductions. It asked if I was filing with Married Filing Jointly status, which is yes, but also asked about number of dependents to be claimed. I assume it credits me with 2 for my wife and me, and the question about dependents applies to other household members / children.
The lack of help links and embedded instructions in the online interactive questionnaire make the application process a kind of crap-shoot.
When done with the application, it presented me with a downloadable letter in PDF format, with a preliminary “eligibility” finding. It says:
“May be eligible for Illinois Family Care (Medicaid). You will receive a final decision from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. If you qualify for Illinois Family Care (Medicaid), you won’t qualify for a tax credit and lower copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles for Health Insurance Marketplace coverage.”
The application is shown as “In Process” in my Healthcare.gov account, with the status: “Initial enrollment to Illinois Family Care’s Medicaid Program”
I’m surprised about the Medicaid thing as I’ll turn 58 end of this year. I thought Medicaid was for old farts?
Long story short:
The state of Illinois punted me to Obamacare.
Obamacare punted me back to the state of Illinois.
[…] It’s hard not to get a chuckle out of this – Premium increases | Obamacare | Daily Kos | Markos Moulitsas#more#more. […]
Wait till Daily Kosmonauts learn that Cash For Clunkers actually hurt auto sales.
Heads up. Legal Insurrection may get a Rush mention.
Just a second ago as he was going to a commercial, Rush gave a tease about what he’s planning to talk about when he comes back from commercial. One of the things mentioned was how a Daily Kos guy is now learning about the true impact of Obamacare on him. Rush did not mention Legal Insurrection as part of the tease, but maybe he’ll give you credit when he talks about the Daily Kos post.
Good intentions and all that. Heh. Funny thing is, out of all the Democrats in Congress, Kucinich is the only one who isn’t corrupt. Guy’s crazy, but he’s ideologically pure.