# ObamaCare Individual Mandate Fine Hit 8 Million People This Year



## Dudewho (Sep 20, 2016)

Good article on the headaches that Obamacare faces.                                                              


http://www.investors.com/news/obamacare-individual-mandate-fine-hit-8-million-people-in-2016/


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## Don M. (Sep 20, 2016)

The fines will continue to increase every year...and they are supposed to be reflecting the increase in inflation in 2017, and beyond...which should be about a 1.2% increase in the fines for not having insurance in 2017.  Many of the younger, and healthier people are still finding the fines to be less than the cost of insurance....which, by their refusal to buy insurance, is helping to drive the cost of insurance sky high.  

Within a couple of weeks, the insurance companies will be releasing their planned increases for 2017, and if the initial reports are any indicator, millions of people will get some serious "sticker shock".


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## Butterfly (Sep 20, 2016)

I keep hearing that insurance companies are losing money on the ACA plans, yet those plans are not cheap.  Are the insurance companies really LOSING money, or are they just not raking in the obscene profits they were before ACA?  Here, there are only one or two insurers on the exchange, and they are asking for big  premium increases for 2017.


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## mathjak107 (Sep 21, 2016)

my insurer ,the 2nd largest aca writer in new york went bankrupt and we were left with no insurance. we had to scramble to find insurance 2 months before the end of the year .


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## QuickSilver (Sep 21, 2016)

Butterfly said:


> I keep hearing that insurance companies are losing money on the ACA plans, yet those plans are not cheap.  Are the insurance companies really LOSING money, or are they just not raking in the obscene profits they were before ACA?  Here, there are only one or two insurers on the exchange, and they are asking for big  premium increases for 2017.



The ACA has mandated that they must spend 90% of the money taken in as premiums on ACTUAL healthcare for people.  They are no longer able to skim 30% or more off the top for CEO salaries and shareholder profits... SO... they are crying poor.   It's really disgusting.   Imagine having to actually give people the protection they are paying for..


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## Dudewho (Sep 21, 2016)

Butterfly,

With ACA Insurance companies have reported millions of dollars of losses and because of those losses many are pulling back or total dropping coverage this year. 
I have heard the arguments that it's a fallacy the insurance companies are losing money on this but if they weren't losing money would they be pulling out and cutting back. There were many productions that this is exactly what was gonna happen,  there just doesn't seem to be enough incentive to get enuff people paying to afford all the subsidies for those who get the insurance at a discount.  I personally have a hard time grasping the concept that another person is entitled to the fruits of someone else's labor. Americans are the most generous people in the world, We lasted over 200 years without the government taking over healthcare. I never understood the need for it it just seem like a power grab to me. 

There have been arguments regarding states not expanding Medicaid.  There again there's the money issue. Who pays for it? States are broke,  Federal government $19 trillion in debt.  Where is the breaking point?

The whole idea of Obama Care was sold to the American public on the promises of competition, lower costs and better access to healthcare.  What the American people receiving is skyrocketing premiums,  lower access to care with few doctors, higher costs (the deductibles are insane) and little or no competition in the marketplace. 

There no doubtable will be calls for single payer or at least a Government run marketplace compete with the insurance companies from those who do not pay full price or will exempt themselves all together from the marketplace. Is this situation really competition? Whenever you force a Government backed entity into the marketplace to compete with private companies it's a no-win situation for the companies. The government back solution can artificially drive down costs to the point where the private companies cannot compete. One side has to answer the stockholders and the other just gets to raise taxes. If you drive all competition of the marketplace then there's no set point for standard of care. You end up with the same horrible situations at the VA is going through or the fraud and abuse that plagues Medicare and Medicaid.

You will hear others tell you how great this all works here or there but not much about the true tax cost burden to the people. 50, 60, 70%. Again you end up with half of the population paying for the other halfs healthcare.

The ACA did have some good provisions. There's no reason some of them can have been worked into the old system. What we need is less mandates and more competition.

 This country will always need a safety net for those in need.  But we are becoming a country of "What about me" instead of "I've got this".


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## Don M. (Sep 21, 2016)

There is yet another looming problem, that Obamacare is accelerating.  Large numbers of doctors are getting fed up with the new rules and regulations, and are planning on retiring.  Couple that with fewer med students planning on becoming Primary Care doctors, and the day is fast approaching where a person may have a very hard time finding a doctor without going to a hospital emergency room.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceja...s-macra-and-value-based-pay-hit/#31afe1634261


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## mathjak107 (Sep 21, 2016)

the problem is the ACA plans are basically pay as you go . they don't cover a whole lot until big deductibles and out of pockets are met . they are also covering grown children and those with expensive pre-existing conditions they would have stayed away from .

that is why our insurer failed .


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## WhatInThe (Sep 22, 2016)

Too many issues involved with Obama Care. No one thing is the cause or cure. Mandates put more pressure on those living on the edge. Until costs are addressed and not just who or how a medical bill will be paid many programs will be rendered useless along with being costly.


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## Don M. (Sep 22, 2016)

I think all this current political nonsense is going to be pushed to the back burner, and Health Care Costs are going to be the Major issue in the final weeks of this Presidential election.  Most people will be getting their 2017 plans over the next couple of weeks, and force these candidates to concentrate on that issue.  The final weeks of this campaign should be Very interesting.


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## WhatInThe (Sep 22, 2016)

Don M. said:


> I think all this current political nonsense is going to be pushed to the back burner, and Health Care Costs are going to be the Major issue in the final weeks of this Presidential election.  Most people will be getting their 2017 plans over the next couple of weeks, and force these candidates to concentrate on that issue.  The final weeks of this campaign should be Very interesting.



Some deadlines were pushed back and exemptions made I think in 2012 and 2014 especially. I think the cadilac plan tax was supposed to have kicked in by now but fear of losing the union vote gave incentive to push that deadline back.


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## Don M. (Sep 22, 2016)

WhatInThe said:


> Some deadlines were pushed back and exemptions made I think in 2012 and 2014 especially. I think the cadilac plan tax was supposed to have kicked in by now but fear of losing the union vote gave incentive to push that deadline back.



It wouldn't surprise me to see the politicians trying to delay this issue, as much as possible, until after the elections.  However, given the number of insurers who are threatening to pull out of the ACA, and the number of States which are trying to close down their "exchanges", I don't see how this issue can be swept under the rug.  The 2017 plans have to be set up, for most people, during October and November, and if some of these price hike predictions come true, there is going to be quite an uproar.


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