Smokers Pay Big Under Obamacare

Under Obamacare, everyone must be covered, however they can charge big bucks for people with issues. Is this what was sold to us when the program was being discussed. Of course, not.  They lied to us. They lied about death panels as this is the only way to control the major health care end-of-life expenses. They lied to us about people having to pay more for their coverage.  They lied about the cost of care. They lied about everything because this program is not about health care. It is about control.

The more details that come out, the worse Obamacare really becomes.  Naive, uniformed people will read the following article and blame the insurance companies for these higher than normal costs.  It is in the law. It is what has been allowed by the law. Additionally, insurance is all about managing the expected costs. A person who smokes or is over weight or has high cholesterol, or has diabetes, (on the average) will all have higher medical costs, so why should they not be expected to pay higher premiums. The risk to the insurance company (or Obamacare) is higher, therefore, the cost to the individual must be increased. This is the rule of insurance since it began many centuries ago.  Why would anyone expect that Obamacare could overrule the law of expected outcomes?

Obamacare can't avoid economics regardless of the amount of regulation that it promulgates. The costs are the costs and wishing they were less via regulation will not stop the facts of the situation.

Obamacare is all about control. Control of your body by the state. If you want an operation, it must be approved and if you are too old, sorry Charlie. If you have damaged your health due to drugs, smoking, eating too much, or whatever else they decide hurts your body, sorry Charlie. The answer will be "we have to spend money on healthy people who can see a better outcome."  Isn't that warm and cheery?

Americans have always thought their healthcare system was one of the best. We can discuss the statistics, however, you ask ten people and most will tell you that on the whole, our care is great. People around the world also seem to agree. Canadians regularly pay  money out of their own pockets to get bypass operations, MRIs and other services rather than waiting in their native country. When leaders around the world come here for their medical treatment rather than staying home, that also speaks volumes.

We are about to lose this care and it is sad. Obamacare will ruin our care. It will unionize doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners. It will stop innovation in medical care. It will stifle research into new drug treatments and potential cures. It will change the system to which we have become accustomed to one that 
would most closely look like Soviet Care. Where doctors are surly, where medicine is rare and people die before treatment. 

We are becoming Soviet Russia.  This is not pretty and we must stop funding of Obamacare.

Conservative Tom

Obamacare Will Cost Aging Smokers Big Bucks

January 28, 2013 by Sam Rolley 

PHOTOS.COM

A little-discussed provision of President Barack Obama’s healthcare bill could allow insurers to charge American smokers premiums up to 50 percent higher than those paid by nonsmokers.

According to The Associated Press, beginning Jan. 1, insurers will have the option of charging older smokers additional insurance fees that would add thousands to their yearly health insurance costs. A 50-year-old smoker would likely pay nearly $4,250 in additional fees each year. At 60, the cost would rise to $5,100.

Younger smokers would also be subject to the additional costs but face less harsh penalties.

Workers who are covered under an employer health plan could avoid the penalties. But those who must purchase health insurance because of Obama’s individual mandate would be subject to the abusive penalties from insurers.

Obamacare disallows insurance companies to turn away people for being obese or having previously existing health problems. Some watchdog groups say that the high premiums for smokers will lead to many people in need of health insurance the most opting out because of budget constraints.

“If you are an insurer and there is a group of smokers you don’t want in your pool, the ones you really don’t want are the ones who have been smoking for 20 or 30 years,” Karen Pollitz, an expert on individual health insurance markets with the Kaiser Family Foundation told AP. “You would have the flexibility to discourage them.”

Some States are working on legislation to limit how much insurers are allowed to penalize aging smokers.