Obama Care Part II

[NC_Skins]

Company Behind Troubled Obamacare Website Donated Heavily To Republicans In 2012

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

Company Behind Troubled Obamacare Website Donated Heavily To Republicans In 2012

I haven't seen Rep. saying that the company got the deal because of ties to Obama. Why would they need to? All they have to do is show (which they have done) Obama knew there was issues with the system long before it rolled out and that's what has been brought into question. To me the roll out is to par with everything else done by Obama.

[BaltimoreSkins]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I haven't seen Rep. saying that the company got the deal because of ties to Obama. Why would they need to? All they have to do is show (which they have done) Obama knew there was issues with the system long before it rolled out and that's what has been brought into question. To me the roll out is to par with everything else done by Obama.

I do think the roll out was embarassing and mishandled. I heard an interview with a representative (not sure of affiliation) and he said the biggest problem was that the government couldn't afford the quality of workers required for a site of that magnitude. They are all working for google, yahoo or facebook and not interested in a 40K a year job.

[Daseal]

I have a few quick things to input into the conversation.

1) The website debacle. When speaking to the availability of the site, this is a tough topic. They could have taken precautions to ensure the load didn't crash the site, however the hardware costs for the project would be through the roof. A good analogy for the launch of this site is a brand new video game. When a brand new video game launches, it typically crashes a lot. The reason for this typically isn't technical ignorance, it's hardware. Very rarely will your game (or site) see the amount of traffic it will see the first couple weeks. The decision you make is if you invest in a ton of hardware that keeps you up during the huge spike in demand early, or have plenty of resources to maintain down the road and deal with some up front issues with availability. Many games/sites that have to make this decision opt to save money on hardware and deal with some customer inconvenience. As a tax payer, I'm okay with them not wasting thousands upon thousands on unnecessary hardware. Perhaps a system only allowing people with certain info registering at certain times would have helped, but I don't have enough information to make that recommendation.

2) My company has sent some e-mails barely disguising their hate for ACA and the massive impact it has on the company. After comparing the exact same plan between last year and this year the total paid went up 10 dollars a pay period. Here's the fun part. The company pays 4 dollars a check LESS this year and the employee pays $14 dollars more this year. Either way, a fairly small jump all things considered, but it's better for the business than before.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Not sure how you can say that both of your policies are staying the same unless you have received your 2014 renewal.

That is just it, you don't know .You believe what you want to and damn everyone else .No you don't know anything about my one policy I do and I know what I pay for(it is a self funded plain) and what I get and I know it's not changing , as for my daughters policy she has had it a year and was just there 2 weeks ago and no nothing has change .

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Daseal

I have a few quick things to input into the conversation.

1) The website debacle. When speaking to the availability of the site, this is a tough topic. They could have taken precautions to ensure the load didn't crash the site, however the hardware costs for the project would be through the roof. A good analogy for the launch of this site is a brand new video game. When a brand new video game launches, it typically crashes a lot. The reason for this typically isn't technical ignorance, it's hardware. Very rarely will your game (or site) see the amount of traffic it will see the first couple weeks. The decision you make is if you invest in a ton of hardware that keeps you up during the huge spike in demand early, or have plenty of resources to maintain down the road and deal with some up front issues with availability. Many games/sites that have to make this decision opt to save money on hardware and deal with some customer inconvenience. As a tax payer, I'm okay with them not wasting thousands upon thousands on unnecessary hardware. Perhaps a system only allowing people with certain info registering at certain times would have helped, but I don't have enough information to make that recommendation.

2) My company has sent some e-mails barely disguising their hate for ACA and the massive impact it has on the company. After comparing the exact same plan between last year and this year the total paid went up 10 dollars a pay period. Here's the fun part. The company pays 4 dollars a check LESS this year and the employee pays $14 dollars more this year. Either way, a fairly small jump all things considered, but it's better for the business than before.

You do know the employer mandate was postponed for a year.

Obamacare employer mandate implementation postponed | The Daily Caller

[Giantone]

Care to get another more credible link ?

[mlmpetert]

Originally Posted by firstdown

So we had the debate if Obama Care would work and if it was good for the country. Well now its here and starting to go into effect I thought it would be a good time for part two. I'd like to here people experiences good or bad with how its affecting their coverage and premiums. Also any news about Obama Care.

I was sent a letter about a month and a half ago that my plan will no longer be available in 2014 (a HSA plan). As of right now I have no idea what type of insurance I will be offered through work. I hope as much as the next guy that obamacare fails, but at the end of the day I don't really care and don't want to waste my time worrying about it.

On another note, im a financial planner and something we have taken notice of is how obamacare can benefit our clients. A lot of people wait until 65 to retire because that's when Medicare starts. Before Obamacare it was very costly to secure insurance as a 55-64 year old, because old people cost a lot to insure. Now that the oldest age group will be subsidized by the younger groups the most a 55-65yo can pay is 3x what the youngest demographic pays.

We have already started bringing it up with some of our clients as something advisors are starting to talk and think about. Obviously if the younger guys don't sign up it wont help those that want to retire early, but its something everyone is starting to pay attention to as the financial service industry is driven by baby boomers. And the first baby boomer hit 65 in 2011, so its great if you can help the millions of boomers retire before reaching traditional full retirement.

[Chico23231]

My only comment is this is quite frankly unacceptable. I supported the health care act, but looking back it might be a mistake. This adiministration is on a huge losing streak. Very disappointing presidency imo. The only thing that will overshadow it, will be the GOP's antics and lack of leadership on the otherside aisle. Its a pathetic government folks.

The thing that pisses me off as well is the countless government workers/contrators who participated in this (fraud) set up, sit around collecting the tax payer's money. Im sure they will be no consequences and they will enjoy their highly overpaid jobs.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Giantone

Care to get another more credible link ?

Obamacare delay emboldens repealers, makes it 2014 issue - CNN.com

You really didn't know they postponed the employer mandate? That was half of the battle with the goverment shut down. The Rep. said if they postponed that part of the ACA then they should also postpone the individual mandate. If you notice the employer mandate was postponed until after the next election. Also people questioned how Obama could pick and choose what part of the law he wants to inforce.

[MTK]

Nobody said change is easy.

People freak and can't even handle it when Facebook makes changes.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Obamacare delay emboldens repealers, makes it 2014 issue - CNN.com

You really didn't know they postponed the employer mandate? That was half of the battle with the goverment shut down. The Rep. said if they postponed that part of the ACA then they should also postpone the individual mandate. If you notice the employer mandate was postponed until after the next election. Also people questioned how Obama could pick and choose what part of the law he wants to inforce.

I was under the impression that it was for a few months ,that is on me not the President .

[Daseal]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

My only comment is this is quite frankly unacceptable. I supported the health care act, but looking back it might be a mistake. This adiministration is on a huge losing streak. Very disappointing presidency imo. The only thing that will overshadow it, will be the GOP's antics and lack of leadership on the otherside aisle. Its a pathetic government folks.

The thing that pisses me off as well is the countless government workers/contrators who participated in this (fraud) set up, sit around collecting the tax payer's money. Im sure they will be no consequences and they will enjoy their highly overpaid jobs.

Keep in mind most of those contractors did not get back pay. They were allowed to go negative in regards to vacation time. Depends on contract vehicle and the contracting company. Pretty complex.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Keep in mind most of those contractors did not get back pay. They were allowed to go negative in regards to vacation time. Depends on contract vehicle and the contracting company. Pretty complex.

sounds like it and I would know zero bout that. What do you think about the Gov bringing in some big private companies to solve the issue?

[Daseal]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

sounds like it and I would know zero bout that. What do you think about the Gov bringing in some big private companies to solve the issue?

So you would rather hire hundreds of thousands more government employees? There is an important place for contractors in government work. It allows the government to expand and contract as necessary. It puts the stress on the contractors rather than the federal government.

There was a reason those big companies were called the beltway bandits. They made obscene profits on government work. That has since changed. They do make money, but it is competitive and prices are going way down. However, as prices go down, so does the quality of the talent you can attract. Thus leading to a worse overall product for the government.

There are a few other issues. First, contracts. It really depends. The scope of what we do here goes far beyond what our contract stipulates, but we give it the best effort we can based on current staff and expertise. Other contracts are an amazing value to the government, but have started pulling out the contract and telling the government "No, we will not do that. It is not part of our contract." Secondly, the requirements put forward often require a bachelors degree minimum and the ability to obtain certain clearance levels. Cleared personnel typically are able to demand more money because it's something that is difficult to get and necessary to even walk through the doors of most facilities.

There are issues with contractors, but don't act like every person drives a Porsche to work and cleans up. My charge rate the the government is pretty high, but in that it is expected my benefits and salary will be taken out along with a cut for my company to make a profit. That money goes into things such as R&D for other Government work. It's a complex exosystem and it's difficult to say it's good or bad.