Need some feedback to dispute cousin's claims on the ACA

[silverchair]

Hello everyone,

My cousin (who happens to live in Atlanta, GA and works as a nurse manager) posted this comment on Facebook.

"Another night learning about the Affordable Healthcare Act - AKA Obamacare. This is a nightmare! If anyone thought any person would benefit from this you are sadly mistaken. You should find out more about how it will actually work."

Can you tell me some background information as to why she would think it's a nightmare? I've been reading about it, but want to know from people who actually work in the medical field, insurance industry, or have a plan under the ACA. All I seem to hear is nothing but negativity. Thanks.

[WinkyDink]

1. Another "Help me dispute/refute/argue" post. Maybe you should ask more details from your "cousin"?

And read more?

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. I have a plan under the ACA in Texas, a state which opted out of expansion.

I've received my card (yay!)
My premium: $176 (1200 dollars less than the high-risk plan previously offered)
My son is covered (he was previously uncoverable on his own policy or under my own high-risk coverage)
I took him to the doctor (Yes! there ARE doctors who are happy/thrilled even to participate)
The copay was $25. That's it. That's all we paid. If he had needed a prescription, it would have been $11. I made the appointment on a Monday. They could have seen him Tuesday, but that didn't work out for me, so we went with a Wednesday appointment.

Tell your cousin, as a nurse manager, she has a responsibility to her patients... to help ensure they are well, or will soon be well. What she is doing goes against anything a nurse should stand for. Shame. On. Her.

[spanone]

3. ask your cousin that. posting on facebook is easy.

[Lex]

4. Ask her to give specifics as to what the heck she is talking about.

How can anyone refute anything that generalized?

[okaawhatever]

5. Anything that general can't really be disputed. I'm sure many in the medical field hear much more

negative than the consumer. Remember, they only answered to their insurance masters prior to this. Also, any major change like ACA in an industry will come with headaches. Implementing anything that large will. The point is, the ACA wasn't designed to make less work for nurse managers, it was done to help the uninsured, keep costs down, make it more fair for the average American (no pre-existing conditions, hospitals must disclose prices, etc). The ACA is about many things, including coming up with a health plan that is good for public policy, not the insurance companies.

Think about how many companies had headaches and complaints switching over to computers. Major change, major problems, major headaches. Long term? Improved productivity, reduced costs, fewer headaches.

[Journeyman]

6. She says it's a "nightmare." I say it's a "blessing." There ya go. Kind of a wash, wouldn't ya say?…

Here's my story:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024199559

Sorry. I had to give details and explanations and personal examples and cogent reasons. Couldn't get by with spewing word salad like your cousin.

[GeorgeGist]

7. With the plethora of details she's given ...

it'd be hard not to laugh in her face.

[arcane1]

8. Why not ask her for some details? What did she learn that night?

If someone isn't willing to share what they learned, then they are full of shit.

[seattledo]

9. Maybe she's just lazy?

My roommate is a nurse, and she is terrified that she is going to have to work harder because of the increase in the number of patients.

[Motown_Johnny]

10. ~9 million people now have health insurance who might not have otherwise

I am including the people aged 18-25 who are able to stay on their parent's plan.


Ask some of them if it helps anyone. Your cousin is nuts.

[Rozlee]

11. She hasn't walked in the shoes of someone that's never had insurance or was priced out of it.

Chances are that if she's an employee of the hospital, she already has good coverage. Question: is the hospital a publicly run one, like state or military? If it is, she has no room to complain. I'm a former military and civil service RN and you'd be surprised at how many fellow medical and nursing professionals I used to work with that would bitterly complain about the taxpayer having to foot other people's bills. They didn't seem to realize they were sucking from the same teat. Public health employees get paid using tax dollars. And new patients under the ACA mean more business and more hiring to keep up with that business. Projections by economic experts state that the ACA will create more jobs in healthcare and affiliated services. That's what gets to Republicans. They don't want a jobs economy tied to Obama. It's the same mentality of teabaggers on Medicare who complain about not wanting the government to run healthcare. Your cousin is just using talking points.

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. *So... this was basically a driveby posting.

Shame on you as well then.

[Jazzgirl]

13. Oh wait...... I left my

Carnack turban at work. Of course, if I had it I would know what she's talking about.

[kestrel91316]

14. She thinks it's a nightmare because Faux Nooz told her it was.

Feel free to ignore your cousin, who apparently thinks it's better to deny young adults and people with pre-existing conditions access to medical care.

[kestrel91316]

15. Gone so soon?? Careful, or we might figure out that you are a hit-and-run troll.

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. 2 posts in 90 days...

[CJCRANE]

16. "Please Explain".

Your cousin didn't say *why*. She merely posted an unsupported and vague opinion.

You cannot refute something which is devoid of facts or information.

[Heddi]

18. Why not ask her what her objections are

and then those can be presented here and the merits of those complaints can be argued.

But we're not your cousin. NO idea why she would think that. You'd have to ask her.


And I'm a nurse, and I have no objections to the ACA

[Yo_Mama]

19. You would have to ask her for details first.

You can't ask people to refute unstated claims, and refutations have to be specific.

So far it's been a procedural nightmare for all I know in the medical field. That's probably different from place to place, though. The plans being sold vary widely from place to place.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. Put the burden back on her. Ask her directly

what she thinks the problems are with the ACA, based on what she has personally observed and learned (not rumors, not BS from Fox News).

[Drew Richards]

21. Oh boo hoo poor baby shes actually going to have work harder at her job with so many more

People able to get much needed medical...tell her its that kind of attitude against her own people that makes her an ass, probably a shitty nurse and a worthless human she must be a republican.

[rustydog]

22. My stepdaughter, thanks to ACA now pays 350.00 a month to cover her son and husband

where it cost her 600.00 before ACA.

Obama care is only access to insurance, it doesn't dictate medical care, it doesn't tell doctors what to do, it pays the medical bill! How evil is that?

Oh and in the process, my step-daughter is saving 250.00 a month! Her premie son now does NOT have preexisting conditions! he does not have a lifetime limit...Evil Obama Care.

It is so horrible, over three million people have signed up....very evil