Obamacare Just Made Americans Richer, Without Anyone Noticing..Huff Post

[Stuart G]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/obamacare-january-bea_n_4892267.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592


Huffington Post | by Kevin Short


Posted: 03/04/2014 4:04 pm EST Updated: 03/04/2014 4:59 pm EST

Glenn Beck once said Obamacare would mean "the end of prosperity in America forever." But so far, it turns out President Obama's 2010 health law is actually putting money in Americans' wallets.

To be exact, President Obama's 2010 health law was responsible for about three-quarters of a surprising January rise in U.S. consumer spending and American income growth, according to calculations by the Wall Street Journal.

While not exceptional, the gains were significant: a 0.4 percent rise in consumer spending ($45.2 billion) and a 0.3 percent rise in personal incomes (up $43.9 billion), according to new figures released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth came in spite of the expiration of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed and all that horrible winter weather.

So what exactly did the Obamacare rollout do to cause such a rise? For one, it expanded the Medicaid program, a critical and highly controversial aspect of the law, by adding up to a $19 billion in benefits in January. On top of that, health care enrollees additionally received another near $15 billion in the form of tax credits as a result of the rollout, according to the BEA.

[riqster]

1. K&R for exposure.

The "it's not perfect enough" crowd ought to be along, any minute now.

[Cha]

2. Yay Obamacare.. Thanks Obama!

Thanks StuartG

[tofuandbeer]

3. !!!

[SunSeeker]

4. K & R for exposure. nt

[freshwest]

5. Health is the greatest form of wealth. With it, one can change one's life for the better. n/t

[beerandjesus]

6. Good to hear. I was VERY skeptical, and I'm happy to be proven wrong.

I still hope for Medicare-for-all some day, but Obamacare is turning out to be a good thing for a lot of people!

[hue]

7. This OP describes the neg/parasitic effect private insurance companies have had all along!

[calimary]

8. Shared!

Needs to be Said, Read, and SPREAD!

[Doctor_J]

9. not this American

My premiums went up a little, and my annual deductible from 500 to 8300. But insurance executives and investors have a lot more to spend.

I am happy for those who finally got insurance, but the aca is not what America needs

[pnwmom]

10. Your individual out-of-pocket by law, cannot be more than $6300.

So either you are wrong or . . .

It's not too late for you to go on the Exchange and look for a different policy, if you're not happy with what you have.

But if you're talking about a group policy at work, that has nothing to do with the ACA.

[Doctor_J]

11. I have a group policy at work, and for my spouse and myself it most

certainly did go from 500 to 8300. Thanks for playing though

[pnwmom]

12. Then you aren't talking about the ACA at all,

and your maximum out of pocket is for two people, not one -- so it's less than the individual maximum for people who get insurance through ACA.

Poor you.

[noiretextatique]

15. ACA is not helping everyone...clearly

Why the callous attitude? A jump from 500 to 8300 is obscene.

[freebrew]

16. +10000

I just got off the phone after calling Anthem(30 minutes on the phone I'll never get back).

My wife has 'coverage' at the school she works for, my part costs about $400 out of her check, which is roughly now 30% of her pay. The monthly premium for a silver plan from Anthem is about $1300. The person on the phone assured me we were eligible for subsidy, but when I questioned her more thoroughly, found out that no, we aren't eligible because we have access to this shit for coverage.

We don't go to the doctor, as there's only 2 or 3 in the network around here. No co-pay, so a dr. visit costs about $100 every time we go and there are ALWAYS follow-ups.

It might be good for some, but the ACA is certainly NOT what we voted for and not what the US needs.

Too bad these rich bastards aren't being hunted...they deserve nothing less.

[merrily]

13. Did Beck cry when he said it?

[Turbineguy]

14. My premiums doubled!

From $782 to $309. (Fox News math skills help here). And as added punishment I have a better plan.