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posted by LaminatorX on Friday October 31 2014, @07:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the take-your-medicine dept.

We know that about 10 million more people have insurance coverage this year as a result of the Affordable Care Act but until now it has been difficult to say much about who was getting that Obamacare coverage — where they live, their age, their income and other such details. Now Kevin Quealy and Margot Sanger-Katz report in the NYT that a new data set is providing a clearer picture of which people gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The data is the output of a statistical model based on a large survey of adults and shows that the law has done something rather unusual in the American economy this century: It has pushed back against inequality, essentially redistributing income — in the form of health insurance or insurance subsidies — to many of the groups that have fared poorly over the last few decades. The biggest winners from the law include people between the ages of 18 and 34; blacks; Hispanics; and people who live in rural areas. The areas with the largest increases in the health insurance rate, for example, include rural Arkansas and Nevada; southern Texas; large swaths of New Mexico, Kentucky and West Virginia; and much of inland California and Oregon.

Despite many Republican voters’ disdain for the Affordable Care Act, parts of the country that lean the most heavily Republican (according to 2012 presidential election results) showed significantly more insurance gains than places where voters lean strongly Democratic. That partly reflects underlying rates of insurance. In liberal places, like Massachusetts and Hawaii, previous state policies had made insurance coverage much more widespread, leaving less room for improvement. But the correlation also reflects trends in wealth and poverty. Many of the poorest and most rural states in the country tend to favor Republican politicians.

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 31 2014, @01:57PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 31 2014, @01:57PM (#111903)

    "Obmamacare" is not free healthcare. It is insurance. You pay for insurance.

    It is not even 'cheap' healthcare. As 'insurance' covers everything. So even if you didnt want to use insurance it is in your best interest to use it. Now it is 'must carry' even if you do not really need it. To put it in perspective I probably will start really needed healthcare in my 60s. I am in my 40s. My employer pays about 12k a year as they are in a decent group. I have heard of plans costing as much as 3k a month. If I just saved the money and put it into a simple market matched fund I would probably have 1.1 million in that 20 years. Easy enough to pay for most procedures. Instead I have to give money to pay for others who need it now because we have jacked the price so high they can not afford it anymore.

    What used to cost maybe 100 bucks now costs 10k. Far outstripping inflation.

    We do not have the healthcare system you have. We have an insurance system. Having recently had to pick another dentist (old guy wanted to retire at 70 weird...). I can tell you the quality vs cost you get is wildly different depending on what group insurance plan you are in. Went into one place and it was 'omg you have the worst teeth I have ever seen I cant help you' (in plan). Next dude 'oh you just need a little work but it will cost you 10k' (in plan). Next guy it was 150 for the exact same procedure (out of plan). I paid cash. Because I got better quality than want offered by my insurance.

    We have picked a path where we are on our way to extremely higher costs. None of the providers want to deal with the insurance companies. Many will give you a substantial discount if you pay cash up front. Most nurses I get the reaction of 'oh thank god I do not have to call them want 20% off?'. All you have to do is ask. Involve the insurance company though? Oh they charge the max rate they can.