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My Experience with ObamaCare

21 Responses

1. Kitty, on December 30, 2013 at 11:12 PM said:

   Patients cram in medical tests before Obamacare starts

   Some top hospitals and experts are left out of 2014 plans under the Affordable Care Act.

   http://money.msn.com/health-and-life-insurance/article.aspx?post=fad16eb6-833b-4a89-b7e9-bf4ca2118755

   So, The Wall Street Journal just reported that thousands of people are cramming in tests, elective procedures and specialist visits before year’s end, seeking out top research hospitals and physician groups that will be left out of some 2014 insurance plans under the new health law.

   Kitty

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2. Ann Miller RN MHA, on January 2, 2014 at 4:53 PM said:

   Lots of Docs Running For Congress
   [Want Obamacare Repealed]

   One candidate’s website shows her wearing blue scrubs as she reviews X-rays. Another shows a candidate with a stethoscope over his white coat. A third displays a photo of the doctor’s bag he uses for house calls.

   http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/01/02/let-take-your-blood-pressure-and-your-party-registration-doctors-making-inroads-campaign-trail/F4lMbCyf897zkTYekyDrWP/story.html?utm_source=Copy+of+Copy+of+12.19.13&utm_campaign=11713&utm_medium=email

   There is no mistaking what these candidates for Congress are trying to convey: Trust me. I’m a doctor.
   
   Ann Miller RN MHA

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3. Ken Yeung MBA CMP™ candidate, on January 3, 2014 at 8:26 PM said:

   On Obamacare [PP-ACA]

   According to a recent public speech given by President Obama in Faneuil Hall, Boston on October 30th 2013, where he addressed the audience and said that the Romeycare was the foundation of a proven model that the ACA is built on.

   Is Obamacare truly modeled after Romeycare of Massachusetts? Well, similar in scope yet the size is almost 50 times larger.

   http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/11/13/romneycare-vs-obamacare-key-similarities-differences/

   Still, the Obamacare is slowly improving its experience rating in a recent poll; although 59% (according to the surveyed by CNS news) had expressed a negative experience after its’ website glitches were fixed.

   We can only hope that it can achieve all of its core goals as time will tell.

   http://cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-boland/59-negative-experience-obamacare-exchanges

   Ken Yeung MBA CMP™ candidate
   http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

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4. Ann Miller RN MHA, on January 8, 2014 at 4:20 PM said:

   My Journey Through Obamacare

   The Affordable Care Act changes everything. The good news is if you don’t like it, you don’t have to keep it.

   http://www.hhnmag.com/display/HHN-news-article.dhtml?dcrPath=/templatedata/HF_Common/NewsArticle/data/HHN/Daily/2014/Jan/010714-Affordable-Care-Act-Obamacare&utm_source=Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=general

   An essay by Ian Morrison.

   Ann Miller RN MHA

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5. Julie, on January 14, 2014 at 6:52 PM said:

   Health care signups
   [More older Americans so far]

   The elderly are flocking to the PP-ACA.

   http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20140114&id=17255843

   And, why not?

   Julie

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6. Tang, on January 15, 2014 at 2:08 PM said:

   March 2014

   Obamacare enrollment for 2015 to be delayed a month.

   http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obamacare-enrollment-for-2015-to-be-delayed-a-month/

   Tang

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7. Joe, on January 27, 2014 at 7:07 PM said:

   Consumers With Canceled Insurance Plans Shifted to New Ones Without Their Permission
   

   A California man says his insurer rolled him into a new plan and deducted money from his bank account without his approval.

   http://www.propublica.org/article/consumers-with-canceled-insurance-plans-shifted-to-new-ones-without-their-p?utm_source=et&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter

   Insurers have promised refunds, but he hasn’t received one yet.

   Joe

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8. Ann Miller RN MHA, on February 5, 2014 at 1:29 PM said:

   As the Media Gets Bored With Obamacare – Is the Public Starting to Get on Board?

   The president of the Commonwealth Fund says the implementation of the act is going pretty well, all things considered.

   http://www.propublica.org/article/as-the-media-gets-bored-with-obamacare-is-the-public-starting-to-get-on-boa?utm_source=et&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter

   In this essay, he said it will be a success if 5 million people enroll in private exchanges by March 31st, 2014.

   But, the 2016 election will be the “ultimate and probably final judgment on the law”.

   What do you think?

   Ann Miller RN MHA

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9. D. Kellus Pruitt DDS, on February 9, 2014 at 1:25 PM said:

   If physicians revolt against the plans of insurers and HHS, how long before dentists follow?

   “Texas Doctor Writes Epic Letter Breaking Up With Insurance Company: I Will Not Comply”

   http://www.ijreview.com/2014/02/112693-teas-doctor-writes-epic-letter-breaking-insurance-company-will-comply/

   Author Emily Hulsey’s article features Kristin S. Held, MD’s rejection letter to Aetna:

   ——————————-

   Dear Mr. Bertolini,

   With a deep sense of sadness, I must inform you that I will no longer serve as a physician for Aetna patients under the terms of our contractual agreement, which you most recently unilaterally changed.

   I have been privileged and honored to care for thousands of patients covered by Aetna policies since the 1990’s. I have devoted my life to providing the very best, state-of-the-art care to these individuals. We have formed a patient-doctor relationship, which I hope many will chose to continue in spite of my severing ties with Aetna. You see, health insurance has evolved such that insurers and government have inserted themselves smack-dab in the middle of the once sacred patient-doctor relationship. I am called a provider- not a doctor. My patient is now yours- not mine. What I can do as a physician now has strangulating strings and nonsensical numbers attached- to you and government and money-not the best interests of the patients.

   Obamacare, the “law of the land”, contains ever-changing-at-the-whim-of-HHS, politically-expedient mandates, rewards, penalties, rules and regulations with which I cannot rationally or morally treat my patients and run a practice, much-less interpret, implement, or comply.

   Millions of Americans have lost coverage because of the healthcare law and must now shop on a defective, insecure government website and sign up for more expensive policies through Federal and State exchanges. Only by logging in as a prospective patient did my office manager and I discover that Aetna was selling plans for which I am a provider-effectively selling my services without even asking, much less informing me that my services would be sold on such a site, under the auspices of new terms with which I will not comply.

   Then, after the fact, I received a form letter informing me of Aetna’s “new allowables”. I will not sell my services under such terms. While treated as such, patients and doctors are not commodities worthy of such impersonal, inconsiderate, and cavalier treatment. We choose dignity and personal service over disrespect and form letters.

   So here we are, you are getting new business offering health insurance plans featuring my services without my consent under terms which are unacceptable to me. Accept this as my official written notice that the changes that you have unilaterally made to our contract are unacceptable to me and make our contract null and void. You must explain this to your patients. You must tell them that they have purchased a product that was misrepresented to them and that you cannot deliver. It saddens me to think of the decreased access to care from actual physicians and the shockingly increased costs Aetna patients will now experience because of your choice to collude with big government rather than collaborate with patients and physicians.

   Kristin S. Held, MD

   —————————

   So what can dentists learn from this?

   As the President’s affordable fantasy matures into another huge underfunded entitlement, sit back and watch under-represented, beleaguered doctors like Dr. Held reject unfair pressure to provide quality care for financial loss.

   Author Emily Hulsey: “The next day, Held tweeted that Aetna said she doesn’t have the option to ‘break up’ with them, because she is contractually bound to provide services to their patients for another year. However, as Right Wing News pointed out, a doctor who is forced to provide services she doesn’t agree with is probably going to end up providing a lower quality of care. Of course, as long as the website works, what does it matter? Right?”

   As Hulsey suggests, it is always the clueless, trusting patients who get hurt the most when unaccountable bureaucrats from government and/or insurance demand too much for too little.

   Poorly-represented physicians and dentists are taking advantage of their Constitutional Right to walk away from tyranny. Increasing numbers of weary, experienced professionals whose native language is English cannot retire soon enough. What’s more, we’re losing future doctors daily. Who can blame talented kids for choosing other careers which not only are cheaper to enter, but offer freedom from oppression found in the free world outside the healthcare industry?

   Doc, you are your patients’ ONLY natural advocate in dentistry, and what is good for our patients is good for us. Get it?

   Don’t sit on your hands. Use them.

   D. Kellus Pruitt DDS

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10. Ann Miller RN MHA, on March 6, 2014 at 4:13 PM said:

    What Extending the Obamacare Cancelled Policy Moratorium Really Means

    The administration has confirmed that the individual policies that were supposed to be cancelled because of Obamacare can now remain in force another two years.

    http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2014/03/06/what-extending-the-obamacare-cancelled-policy-moratorium-really-means/

    Ann Miller RN MHA

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11. Raleigh, on March 26, 2014 at 11:33 AM said:

    Job-Lock

    Older adults aren’t the only ones considering health insurance options when making labor force participation decisions. I am seeing younger adults do so, as well.

    And, it should not be terribly surprising that spouses’ access to coverage can affect those decisions, too. A wife or husband may be less likely to work or work less if her or his spouse has secured coverage for the family.

    And, an unhealthy worker who has a greater relative need for coverage than a healthy worker may be more likely to work if her retention of health benefits depends on it.

    Raleigh

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12. Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™, on May 27, 2014 at 4:59 PM said:

    Docs Surveyed on First Quarter with Obamacare

    Last week the Medical Group Management Association published the results of their recent survey of 728 clinical practices in treating new Obamacare patients. The intent was to capture the practice perspective on seeing new Obamacare exchange patients over the course of the first 120 days (January 1 through April 30) of coverage.

    Close to 80% of the practices surveyed said they were committed to providing services to those covered under Obamacare and almost 94% of the survey respondents have already seen patients with Obamacare coverage.
    
    Key findings from the report include:

    •56% reported no change in their practice’s patient population size through April
    •24% reported a slight increase
    •30% projected no change to their practice population size by the end of 2014
    •44% predicted a slight increase
    •62% reported moderate to extreme difficulty identifying patients with Obamacare “exchange” coverage (compared to traditional commercial coverage)
    •60% reported that things like eligibility, cost-sharing and network coverage were somewhat or much more difficult to determine
    •75% reported that patients were very or extremely likely to have high-deductible health plans
    •For those practices that didn’t accept Obamacare patients, most reported that payment risk (typically associated with a high-deductible) was the primary reason for declining service.

    Source: Physicians News Digest 5/27/20014

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13. Ann Miller RN MHA, on July 1, 2014 at 12:06 PM said:

    Average Premium After Tax Credits for Individuals Who Selected Plans with Tax Credits Through The 2014 Federally – Facilitated Marketplace

    1. Bronze – $68
    2. Silver – $69
    3. Gold – $208
    4. Platinum – $220
    5. All Metal Levels – $82

    Source: ASPE Office of Health Policy

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14. Ann Miller RN MHA, on August 4, 2014 at 5:57 PM said:

    A Doctor’s Perspective on Obamacare

    On a recent afternoon at his office in Hartford, Conn., Dr. Doug Gerard examines a patient complaining of joint pain. Gerard, an internist, checks her out, asks her a few questions about her symptoms and then orders a few tests before sending her on her way.

    http://www.physiciansnews.com/2014/08/04/a-doctors-perspective-on-obamacare-plans/?utm_source=8.4.14&utm_campaign=11713&utm_medium=email

    Now, this is what he thinks about Obamacare.

    Ann Miller RN MHA

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15. Ann Miller RN MHA, on October 19, 2014 at 10:36 PM said:

    VA Podiatrist Comments on ACA

    Guest speakers podiatrist Dr. Stanley Idiculla and Community Care Clinic Chief Executive Arlene Jacovelli highlighted the weaknesses of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and recommended significant improvements at a healthcare educational gathering hosted by Virginians for Quality Healthcare (VQH).

    Idiculla explained the challenges of keeping a medical practice solvent with all the law changes – primarily additional paperwork requirements and expenses required to satisfy them. The time doctors and medical staff spend on administrative record-keeping often comes at the expense of spending time with patients. Administrative correctness threatens actual patient care, which is not right.

    In order to establish and maintain electronic patient records, as required by the ACA starting in October 2015, medical practices have to revamp their record-keeping to accommodate a new approach to diagnosis coding. The ICD-10 coding will include a total of 65,000 codes, tens of thousand more than existed before the ACA was enacted. He and other physicians have to spend 60-70 thousand dollars for the software to set up electronic medical records (EMR) to work and document the codes properly.

    The result is that 60-70% of Dr. Idiculla’s costs are overhead – administrative costs – rather than the actual costs of seeing patients and providing care.

    Source: Maureen Cooney
    [Fairfax Free Citizen 10/17/14]
    via Ann Miller RN MHA

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16. Darrell K. Pruitt DDS, on December 2, 2014 at 10:55 PM said:

    Stressed Doctors?

    “Healthcare or Hellcare?- Physicians are experiencing high levels of stress from the overflow of patients, the responsibility of keeping excessive amounts of patient paperwork and delivering insufficient healthcare due to time constraints. This is a situation I would like to refer to as hell-care.”

    By Joseph Vu for New University, December 2, 2014.

    http://www.newuniversity.org/2014/12/opinion/39925/

    Vu adds:

    “Bruce Landon, a professor and medical doctor at Harvard Medical School, conducted a study that shows over a third of the physicians whom participate in his survey would not go back into medicine again knowing the current situation physicians experience.”

    Darrell K. Pruitt DDS

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17. Hope R. Hetico RN MHA, on December 5, 2014 at 11:29 PM said:

    More large US companies drop retirees from health plans

    Large US companies are limiting or ending company-sponsored health care plans for retirees eligible for Medicare. In 1988, 66 percent of companies employing over 200 workers offered retiree health benefits to active workers.

    This figure declined dramatically last year to 28 percent. Among businesses employing more than 5,000 employees, fewer than half offered these benefits to workers in 2013.

    Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

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18. Julie, on July 21, 2015 at 8:52 AM said:

    IRS: More paid Obamacare fine than expected

    About 7.5 million taxpayers so far have paid a penalty on their taxes for failing to have health insurance last year, as required for the first time by the Affordable Care Act.

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/irs-more-paid-obamacare-fine-than-expected/ar-AAdfZox?ocid=iehp

    That number is well in excess of original projections by officials.

    Julie

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19. D. Kellus Pruitt DDS, on January 17, 2016 at 12:34 PM said:

    Obamacare, sign me up!

    “ACA grace period could affect dental practices – Has your practice received calls asking for the return of third-party payments?”
    By Jennifer Garvin for ADA News, January 8, 2016.

    http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2016-archive/january/aca-grace-period-could-affect-dental-practices

    “Insurers are required to pay claims for the first month of the grace period but they are permitted to delay paying claims for services rendered during the second and third months, if the consumer stops making premium payments. This potentially leaves dentists vulnerable for services furnished between days 31 to 90 of the grace period.”

    That sounds like fun.

    D. Kellus Pruitt DDS

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20. Reva, on May 11, 2017 at 10:52 PM said:

    ACA IMPLOSION

    Obamacare’s crushing cost to some families: 49-percent price hike since 2014, premiums of $14,300

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/obamacares-crushing-cost-to-some-families-49-percent-price-hike-since-2014-premiums-of-dollar14300/ar-BBB22sq?li=BBnbfcN

    Reva

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21. Editor, on July 25, 2018 at 8:47 PM said:

    TrumpCare Beats ObamaCare

    An encouraging expansion in private insurance coverage.
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumpcare-beats-obamacare-1532370778?mod=djcm_OBV1_092216&utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral

    Dr. David E. Marcinko MBA

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