What Have We Gained (And Lost) In The Two Years Since Obamacare Was Enacted?

[Playinghardball]

Oh, they’ll have a huge wake-up call come November


Found on Think Progress’ Facebook page

[Proud Liberal Dem]

1. My message to SCOTUS/Republican Party:

Strike all this (and the birth control coverage mandate), I DARE you!!!! No, I TRIPLE-DOG-DARE you!!!

[Kennah]

5. Isn't that a breach of etiquette to go straight to the Triple Dog Dare?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. Maybe

I was just feeling "daring"!

[sad sally]

2. Not worth much to anybody, but I have one complaint with these facts.

As a full-fledged senior married to another one, the idea that we (seniors) can now get more and more drugs is not necessarily a good thing.

When you think of drug addiction, seniors are not the first age group that comes to mind. But one quarter of the prescription drugs sold in the United States are used by the elderly, often for problems such as chronic pain, insomnia, and anxiety, according to Modern Medicine.com. According to the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, as many as 17% of adults age 60 and over abuse prescription drugs. Narcotic pain killers, sleeping pills and tranquillizers are common medications of abuse.

When drugs come from a doctor's prescription pad, misuse is harder to identify. We assume pharmaceutical drugs are only used for treating medical conditions. But many older adults take mood-altering medications for non-medical reasons. Over time, they develop a tolerance to the drug. Achieving the same effect requires more and more of the drug.

I'm not convinced we are the group that "needs drugs the most," and upping the profits of big pharmaceuticals is not where I want either the government or me to invest billions in.

[vaberella]

4. I agree with you SS.

But what I think that needs to be done is for the US to co-opt bit of French intiative here. Push, promote and have all doctors give options of alternative medical care. Shit the key thing I have always said is for the government to provide or even force the hand of health insurance companies to automatically give people a 25%-30% discount at gyms and other outlets. All Community Centers should also be providing these sorts of options. I think a lot of our seniors are given too many drugs or access to them. My mum is a senior and she's popping close to 20 pills a day. She goes back home to Haiti and she's off most of the meds--actually she forgets about them and is like this whole new person. It's weird. I keep telling her it's the environment that's her problem that's why she's on all these meds more so than a real health issue. I think things like gyms and spas and chiropractors and alternative practitioners with other means of physical and mental health programs are in order.

[underpants]

3. The 50% discount ("paid" for by the manufacturers) in the donut hole has made a HUGE difference

I deal with it everyday and it saves people tons of money.

[eridani]

6. What people notice is that they are still paying more to insurance companies and getting less.

Rate increases under 10% get no regulatory review at all. At a legal 9.9% a year increase, if you are paying $700/month now, you will be paying$1490/month in ten years.

Medical bankruptcy rates are still 50% of total bankruptcies in MA years after reform.