Policy

Want a few tips for surviving Obamacare Thanksgiving debates?

My family is so spread out that it’s rare that we’re all assembled under one […]

My family is so spread out that it’s rare that we’re all assembled under one roof. But when we are, politics is something most of us try to avoid. There’s just too much room for confrontation and with my parents in their 80s, they’re just too worried about sending one particular relative’s blood pressure into orbit. Thankfully, Wonkblog has put together a guide to hash out Obamacare pros and cons. It navigates the disparate opinions that Obamacare invokes from relentless critics to pollyanna supporters and all the folks in between.  Here a few highlights.

The inevitable older brother who chimes ‘I told you so’:  This isn’t a scenario title but I’m sure it’s widely applicable. It has to be said the administration makes it easy to stay topical on this issue with the drip, drip, drip of bad news. Fewer people have been able to subscribe because of the problems dogging the HealthCare.gov portal. States, on the other hand, have been much more successful at getting residents to use public health insurance exchanges.

Your grandfather concerned about death panels: The only panel called for in the Affordable Care Act is the Independent Payment Advisory Board. It can recommend cuts to reimbursement rates for doctors who serve Medicare patients. But that won’t happen until healthcare costs are growing faster than the rest of the economy.

The aunt who thinks a single payer approach would fix everything: Vermont has the same idea, but a recent report estimated that it will cost $2 billion in taxes to implement. The chaos it would unleash sends a chill down my spine.

A sister got notice that her insurance plan is being canceled and she’s pissed: I’d be, too. It’s a mess with 7 million to 12 million people expected to lose their plans because they do not comply with the minimum standards outlined in Obamacare. After all the assurances that Obama gave, how could he not have known this would happen? Any explanation he gives feels downright disingenuous. Now he’s stepping back a bit and trying to get insurance companies to agree to reinstate plans for another year.  Still, the final say rests with each state insurance commissioner and the state government. Here’s a breakdown on where they stand:

Allowing late renewals: Hawaii, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Texas.

Not allowing late renewals: California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state.

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