Should an American encounter an illness without health care, they either don't get the care they need or bankrupt themselves doing so.
'Obamacare' MANDATES that 80% of the premiums go to care.
Some folks are getting refunds.
'Obamacare' provides choices for Americans they would not otherwise have had.
Several health care statistics rank the U.S. with Third World Nations....something for Republicans to be proud of?
If Republicans can wage wars around the globe and build hospitals for other nations, how can they deny health care for Americans?
Let's stop following like Goose-Stepping Koch Puppets and work for solutions that make sense for us all.
Maryland Touts Low Obamacare Health Insurance Premiums
Posted: 07/26/2013
Health coverage sold on Obamacare's health insurance exchange in Maryland will be among the cheapest in the country, state officials said Friday.
A 21-year-old nonsmoker will be able to buy health insurance that costs as little as $93 a month on the Maryland Health Connection, the state's health insurance exchange, starting Oct. 1 for coverage that takes effect Jan 1, the Maryland Insurance Division revealed in a press release. Rates for insurance with richer benefits and lower deductibles will be higher and premiums will vary by age, residence location, tobacco use and whether family members enroll.
Maryland is the latest state to disclose how much health insurance actually will cost under President Barack Obama's health care reform law. The state joins California, New York and elsewhere in achieving monthly premiums below estimates by the Congressional Budget Office and others.
Officials in states including Indiana have released preliminary findings suggesting health insurance costs will skyrocket as a result of the law.
Younger, healthier people who buy inexpensive, bare-bones insurance on today's market may see higher prices for more comprehensive coverage on the exchanges, while older people are expected to see lower rates. People with pre-existing conditions can't be turned down or be charged higher premiums because of their medical histories. The law also prohibits women being charged more than men.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and his administration have wholeheartedly embraced Obamacare implementation, in stark contrast to the the 34 states, mostly with Republican governors, that left the federal government to erect the health insurance exchanges that will be used by residents who don't get health benefits at work or are employed by small businesses. Maryland also exercised its regulatory authority to force health plans to curb rate increases for next year, such as the 25 percent hike initially requested by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in April.
In the Baltimore metropolitan area, a 25-year-old nonsmoker will have access to "bronze" level coverage -- the second-least generous of four tiers of benefits -- for $124 to $237 a month. A 50-year-old nonsmoker will see monthly prices for a "silver" plan ranging from $267 to $470, according to a Maryland Insurance Administration analysis.
By contrast, the median cost of an individual health insurance plan for a 30-year-old, nonsmoking man in Maryland this year is $190 a a month and the cheapest is $62, according to a report issued by the Government Accountability Office this week. An exact comparison can't be made because current plans aren't subject to Obamacare's minimum benefit standards and the least expensive policy has a $10,000 deductible -- far higher than will be allowed on the health insurance exchanges.
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Paul Krugman: "The prospect that such a plan might succeed is anathema to a party whose whole philosophy is built around doing just the opposite, of taking from the “takers” and giving to the “job creators,” known to the rest of us as the “rich.” Hence the brinkmanship."
Republican Health Care Panic
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: July 25, 2013
Leading Republicans appear to be nerving themselves up for another round of attempted fiscal blackmail. With the end of the fiscal year looming, they aren’t offering the kinds of compromises that might produce a deal and avoid a government shutdown; instead, they’re drafting extremist legislation — bills that would, for example, cut clean-water grants by 83 percent — that has no chance of becoming law. Furthermore, they’re threatening, once again, to block any rise in the debt ceiling, a move that would damage the U.S. economy and possibly provoke a world financial crisis.
Read the rest here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/opinion/krugman-republican-health-care-panic.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130726&_r=3&
