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ORIGINAL: eyesopened

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ORIGINAL: Thadius
As of right now I still have what coverage the VA offers (after means testing), along with an HSA and a high deductible major medical policy. I may be incorrect about the way they are restructuring things, but from my understanding my setup will not be considered "adequate coverage", and I may have to get rid of the setup as is. If that is the case I am prepared to suffer the wrath of the judicial system while fighting for my right to choose to have or not have coverage.

Thadius,
My experience was with the Medicare Modernization Act.  I will admit I don't know enough about the nuts and bolts of the healthcare bill but I can tell you, some of the same concerns were voiced regarding the addition of Medicare Part D.

There is also a penalty for not having "creditable coverage" under Part D but I assure you, VA benefits are considered creditable coverage and I cannot imagine how that would change under the new healthcare bill.

What a lot of people complained about under Part D was that they were being forced to take prescription drug coverage.  I had many seniors tell me they weren't taking any medications at all, so why should they be forced by the government to sign on to Part D.

The way I explained it is this.  It is insurance.  Just like you are required by law to have insurance on your car, not because you had an accident or are likely to have an accident, you have insurance to cover "what if" you have an accident.  I would then ask the group how many would drop their auto coverage if the law were repealled.  I never got an affirmative answer.  A person is much more likely to need a drug prescirption one day (or health care) than they are likely to get into an auto accident. 

There was a little but very little hubbub about MMA and Part D.  Could be because it was enacted in 2003 when the Republicans had power, I don't know.  But I don't hear anyone, 7 years later, complaining on how it is bankrupting the country.

That is why I'm not going to change what I am doing now. 

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ORIGINAL: came4U

I hope to God they have it veryyy clear in writing so that this all goes as smoothly as possible. Sounds like a huge headache of them making shit up as they go along.

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

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We won't be returning to CA either.

Thanks for your post, BC.

You know, in the other thread, I was wondering about this too. California's referendum system allows people to simultaneously say they want things while saying they'll refuse to increase revenue. As an outside observer, and since governing is making choices, that seems a recipe for disaster--including forcing the kind of changes you had been talking about, whether they make sense or not.

In short, I can see leaving CA as a long term strategy. But then, as a resident of another state with complex political problems, I know outsiders can't really grasp the depth of what's going on. Besides--I like it here!

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ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

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ORIGINAL: thornhappy

Did you run into any pre-existing condition issues with your insurance gap?

No.  That certainly might have been a consideration if I had health issues (but then, I wouldn't have been able to perform my old job with health issues).   I went back to the very same provider and primary care doctor after the gap as well.  Funny thing though; the new job covers my family as well as myself, and as soon as the coverage kicked in, she had some corrective surgery performed to address a very old injury.  A $15 co-pay on the the hospital trip, and $10 each on the post-op prescriptions was our total out-of-pocket.

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ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou
Oh, like they are now wanting to force everyone to pay taxes on ebay (or any online sale) purchases, and the seller will have to send every buyer a tax form, unless you collect it for every state, and then mail them the taxes.

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Purchased stock in health insurance companies, drug companies, and health care providers; especially the 'emergency treatment' centers which, based upon the results in MA, will see a boom in business when people have access to 'free' medical services.

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ORIGINAL: thornhappy

This has been true since the late '90s, I believe.  I've heard about it for years.

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ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou
Oh, like they are now wanting to force everyone to pay taxes on ebay (or any online sale) purchases, and the seller will have to send every buyer a tax form, unless you collect it for every state, and then mail them the taxes.

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ORIGINAL: truckinslave

I began liquidating my little company in Feb of last year (trucking gets hit hard in any recession, and small fleet owners get hit first and hardest); I have two more trucks to sell and I'm done. Regardless of whether this passes, I'm moving on, at least for a while.
It may be as much as a year still before I get to Oz; until then I plan to agitate for repeal.

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ORIGINAL: Sanity


One prediction, plucked straight out of the headlines -

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Caterpillar: Health care bill would cost it $100M

Dow Jones Newswires | Caterpillar Inc. said the health-care overhaul legislation being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives would increase the company's health-care costs by more than $100 million in the first year alone.


In a letter Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio, Caterpillar urged lawmakers to vote against the plan "because of the substantial cost burdens it would place on our shareholders, employees and retirees." Caterpillar, the world's largest construction machinery manufacturer by sales, said it's particularly opposed to provisions in the bill that would expand Medicare taxes and mandate insurance coverage. The legislation would require nearly all companies to provide health insurance for their employees or face large fines.


The Peoria-based company said these provisions would increase its insurance costs by at least 20 percent, or more than $100 million, just in the first year of the health-care overhaul program.

"We can ill-afford cost increases that place us at a disadvantage versus our global competitors," said the letter signed by Gregory Folley, vice president and chief human resources officer of Caterpillar. "We are disappointed that efforts at reform have not addressed the cost concerns we've raised throughout the year."


Business executives have long complained that the options offered for covering 32 million uninsured Americans would result in higher insurance costs for those employers that already provide coverage. Opponents have stepped up their attacks in recent days as the House moves closer toward a vote on the Senate version of the health-care legislation.


A letter Thursday to President Barack Obama and members of Congress signed by more than 130 economists predicted the legislation would discourage companies from hiring more workers and would cause reduced hours and wages for those already employed.


Full article at: http://www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/03/caterpillar-health-care-bill-would-cost-it-100m.html

My personal prediction? With the above article as evidence I am sure that if the current bill passes we should expect to see a lot more American companies go bankrupt, and a lot of jobs sent overseas.