Do you understand how insurance works?

[goaded]

This guy doesn't!

Do you think you should get your insurance money back each year if you don't crash your car?

I went years, probably decades without seeing a doctor. Because I was healthy.

Eyes and teeth need regular checks, are they included in the ACA?

[loveslongnails]

Between 18 and 26 million Americans, possibly more, will no longer be able to afford their Obamacare premiums as of Jan. 2026 BECAUSE the Republishits refused to subsidize them as before. They need that money to pay for they tax breaks over the next 2 years, so they put the Dems in the position where SNAP benefits for 36 million Americans became the bargaining chip.

That's what happened, plain and simple, the rest is just noise. Are we great yet, America?

Please note: Steve Bannon came out and said plainly: "If we don't codify what we're doing, if we don't get the executive orders made into law, a lot of us are going to jail"

Tells you everything you need to know, doesn't it - if you're a decent individual, that is?

[Amy10223]

THANK YOU. Honest, truthful, and best answer right here. You are one of the few blessed ones here who knows what's happening.

[loveslongnails]

@Amy10223 Thank you for the kind words. There are many people on here who understand what's really happening, yourself included. The maga's are the loud minority, which is why they keep repeating the same old debunked shit over and over.

[exitseven]

Insurance spreads risk among a large pool of policy holders. I have been paying homeowners insurance for 30 years without ever making a claim. Last year a tree fell on my shed and crushed it. I was able to get it replaced. Maybe I have not recouped all the money I spent on premiums but what if the tree crushed my home instead?

[goaded]

Exactly, you get it. It's something you buy in the hope you'll never need it.

[exitseven]

@goaded Or if you are a landlord in New York City you make sure that all your premiums are paid up just in case you have a fire.

[loveslongnails]

Geez... it's like there's a spark of... well, whatever. If you understand what you just claim you understand, why are you so lame when it comes to insuring a larger pool of policy holders for health care? And WHY do you vote for people who DO NOT understand it? WHY?

[exitseven]

@loveslongnails I have health insurance myself. I would have no problem with others paying into the same system. I object to having taxpayers fund it. I pay for insurance for my family. i should not have to pay for everyone else's family.

[loveslongnails]

Depending on your policy, you may be in for quite a surprise. Many carriers would cover the damage to your home itself but NOT pay for removal of the tree itself! Yes, it's true, believe it or not. It's one of those things you need to ask about when you purchase the policy. Same is true of water line damage. Most policies do not cover damage from the street line into your house unless you get a rider on the policy. Some companies automatically include it, so be sure you check.

[exitseven]

@loveslongnails My insurance covered removing the tree and demolishing thr old shed. The last time I checked, the company I work for pays most of my health insurance as part of my compensation package. I pay extra for the deluxe plan out of my own pocket. Neither my employer or myself get a subsidy from the government. If I did maybe I would be more inclined to agree with you.

[loveslongnails]

You have a good policy on your home then. As for health insurance, do you understand how it works? The reason you personally don't get a subsidy obviously is that your employer pays your insurance. If they didn't, your cost would be based on your income level and the number of people in your household you're signing up.

For example: A family of 4 living in Maine with a household income of $60 -76k.
With Obamacare subsidies --- * $237 - $275 a month
Without Obamacare subsidies - * $ 2,122 a MONTH for a Silver Plan. Not even the best.

Any idea what those numbers represent? Your annual insurance bill would be $25,464, and that doesn't even cover your deductible or co-pay!! That's 41% of your net income !!
In other words, you can NO LONGER afford Health Insurance for your family.

This, Mr. Seven, is why 18 to 26 million Americans are going to lose their health insurance. ALL because the party of Trump refuses to renew them. This is not a debate. This is not a fucking hand-out. This is a reality for millions of Americans who unlike YOU, do not work for a company that provides insurance.

If you understand nothing else, you should LOATHE your party for doing this to Americans while they tax break the top 3%.

[exitseven]

@loveslongnails I happen to like getting the Trump middle class tax break. I also look forward to getting an additional $12,000 SALT deduction and the other tax cuts that Trump had passed. I am not in the 3%.

[Amy10223]

Doesn’t that $12,000 get taxed the following year when you file taxes? It is income.

[loveslongnails]

@Amy10223 Yes it does, and Sshhh... don't tell him that inflation and the cost of goods increase which is already up well over 15% will go over 20% by 2027 and wipe out any tax gains. Sshhhhh.

[loveslongnails]

Once again, you emulate your narcissistic hero by thinking ONLY of yourself and how it affects YOUR situation. Millions, and do mean MILLIONS, of Americans who do NOT work for companies that pay for their insurance, or do not have the ASSETS to take advantage of certain deductions, will suffer in the long AND short run. It's a grift. Do the math, not just for yourself.

[loveslongnails]

By the way, I'd bet good money that your employer gets their plan from the exchange and not from private insurance. LOL And more news for you... as a member of a "society", you DO pay into a system that provides for those who are "less fortunate" than you. That's what we all do. You can object all you want.

The family of four whose household income is $20k less than yours send their kids to the same public school. They pay the same property rate as you do, but probably less in overall taxes due to their income. Because of that, they get a better subsidy on their insurance through Obamacare than the family making 20K or 25K more than they do. And YOU pay into it overall via your Federal Tax dollars. Don't like it? Go live off the grid and away from society.

[exitseven]

@loveslongnails I am sure that if my employer was not paying for my insurance I would not be getting any help from anybody. Being a middle aged white guy automatically disqualifies me for any form of assistance. I am sure I would be met with the usual blank stare and bunch of excuses.

[loveslongnails]

Dude... are you really this ignorant or do you just choose to be. You are not understanding how this works. Your race has nothing to do with the Insurance Exchange. You don't go to an office and apply for assistance. Sweet Jesus. You go here:
www.kff.org/.../

Or any other Obamacare calculator, and you plug in your numbers, and then you go to the health. gov web site and choose your plan according to state. If you don't like that, you go to a private insurer. Wtf, man?

[goaded]

@loveslongnails It's like listening to people say they pulled themselves out of poverty with nothing but hard work and food stamps. (ISTR there was a Republican politician who said something like that.)

[loveslongnails]

You gotta love that.

[DrPepper12]

I just can't with these morons & their red hat sheeple. So fucking stupid it's beyond words.

But he's a "leader" right?

[goaded]

I don't know, Trump has a potentially good idea with the federal government giving money for health care to the people instead of the insurance companies.

The government could hold on to the money for everyone and hand it out when people need it for medical treatment. They could negotiate with hospitals, doctors, and the pharma companies to keep the prices reasonable, with exceptions for under-served areas. It could even save money because healthy people won't make claims and they can use the money they would be given for later.

In fact, it's genius, and even I would support the Republicans if they structured it anything like that.

Anything's got to be better than socialised medicine, right?

[DrPepper12]

LMFAO!!!😂😂😂😂

[AviatorTom]

Insurance companies charge you a fee based on risk that they will have to pay out. That applies to life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance, etc.

You shouldn't get money back if you don't make a claim, but your rates should be lower if you are a lower risk than the insurance company originally calculated.

Unfortunately, insurance companies lump people and things together so that doesn't happen. A non-smoking 40 year old male who spent 2 weeks in hospital pays the same rates as a similar 40 year old male who never made a claim.

This is something that AI could help with, getting insurance companies to charge rates based on individual risk rather than group risk.

[DryGermanGuy]

An excellent overview of the state of health affairs, including the sabotage of the ACA:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q7my70plx4A

[goaded]

files.mastodon.online/.../87f87f424c2f6df7.mp4

[AngryCarl2]

Sure, everyone pays in so there's money there when someone needs it, plus a nice bit left over for the insurance company. That's the whole principle of medical insurance, which is what Republicans want. But they only want PRIVATE medical insurance.

However dumb you think you are, Republican politicians think you are dumber.

[OneViewpoint]

Commercial insurance is all about risk pooling.

Lots of people pay in via premiums and only a small number are paid out in claims at any given moment.

The difference between premiums paid in and claims paid out minus some regulatory mandated cash reserves and operating expenses are profits for the insurance company investors.

We all insure each other and the insurance company administers the paperwork, the cash, and takes a profit. This shit ain't rocket science.

[RandomGirl42]

Can I get my money back even if I did crash a car? I mean, it didn't make much sense to me since neither me or the deer I hit got any money and I had to drive around with the jeep grill held on with chicken wire and a dented fender for awhile.

[purplepoppy]

You pay a premium every year then when you get a tiny dent they write your car off and give you a fraction of what it's worth.

[goaded]

Don't claim for tiny dents, then.

I'm not saying insurance companies are great, but when I had an accident, I didn't have to pay for the wreaked car.

[Cal4576]

I'd suggest a better insurer. My car got written off a couple of months ago. I challenged the initial valuation and got exactly what it would cost to replace my car like for like

[emeraldsaphire]

dang, that guy is an idiot. Still not as dumb as this guy tho

https://www.youtube.com/embed/cesSRfXqS1Q

[Shiprex]

I understand it's there for when it's needed. Unlike unearned profits

[slatyb]

No, you shouldn't. That's not how insurance works. You pay to cover the possibility of a collision and doing harm to others.

[Friendlybro79]

Yeah you pay just in case shit happens.

When shit happens they try not to uphold their end of the bargain and say nothing is covered.

[Mike_Whocheese_Harry]

The point is they shouldn't be forced to have insurance if they don't use it. Hope this helps clear things up for your brain.

[goaded]

It's not that guy's point.

[Mike_Whocheese_Harry]

well yeah it is. They're only in Obama's marketplace because they're forced to.

[goaded]

You know the individual mandate was essentially cancelled in 2019, right? Where's the force?

[Mike_Whocheese_Harry]

states still have mandates.

[midnightmoon05]

Sure…

just in case. You know what I mean… buy their stock.

[hafinjun]

Maybe though not entirely. I do know i lived in LA around turn of century and lived in Inglewood my car insurance was nearly 500 month. When I moved to Manhattan Beach same insurance was 300.

[Jamie05rhs]

Why are you carrying water for the insurance companies?

[goaded]

I'm not. I'm saying if everybody claims, they won't exist.

[Jamie05rhs]

Yes, they will. Because they charge too much in the first place. That's the point. They have plenty of extra money to work with; they just give it all to the executives.

[goaded]

Strangely, the health care system in Germany is more or less the same as in the US, with private clinics, hospitals, etc. and insurance companies. The difference is that it works.

Ambulances have to be able to get to you within tens of minutes, a ride to the hospital costs 15Euros, a night in the hospital costs you 10Euros...

Your problem is that you've allowed the insurance companies to own the hospitals; if the hospitals charge more, the insurance companies can, too.

[Jamie05rhs]

@goaded Which insurance companies own hospitals? (Besides Kaiser Permanente, of course.)

[goaded]

insuranceinformant.com/...anies-own-hospitals.html

"The “big five” of UnitedHealth Group, Anthem (now Elevance), Aetna, Cigna, and Humana, cover over half of the 300 million insured Americans. Private equity, physician groups, and health insurers have acquired the majority of physician practices during the last five years. Between 2019 and 2024, more than 44, 000 medical practices were acquired. Health insurers are also opening their own primary care clinics, as described in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. For the first time, more medical practices were owned by corporate entities than hospitals as of January 2024." etc.

[Jamie05rhs]

@goaded But that's not what you said. You said the insurance companies owned the hospitals.
This article is talking about doctor's offices.

[goaded]

I might have been wrong (although you already gave an example that apparently we should ignore?), by mixing up hospitals and medical practices.

The positive feedback on prices is still a valid concern. If hospitals charge more, insurance companies can charge more and their limited slice of the pie gets bigger; both win, patients lose.

[goaded]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeDOQpfaUc8

[RedInnocent69]

I like to think that I do, but rebates in the insurance industry are not unheard of

[Jennz6]

Not really sure?

[noohair]

Concern yourself with Germany.

[goaded]

I might, if I ever have to pay more than $20 for ambulance to the hospital. Or the price to me of a night in hospital exceeds the same amount. In the meantime, I'm happy to educate you that health care can be both excellent and affordable.