Affordable Care Act: Fact vs. Fiction on the Peoria.com Forums

I read this article, and now am grateful I won't necessarily have to comb through 2,700 pages of the Act. Perhaps the Tea Drinkers, some of the elephants and other right-wing media nuts need to take a good look at this. Especially where the so-called "Death Panel" part actually exists now in a law...signed in 2003 by President George W. Bush. Here is the link:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/8-biggest-mix-ups-abou

After a recent hospital stay, I see one way to eliminate a lot of waste and cost. Billing. The hospital (not the doctors, labs, etc) have billed (so far) my insurance company five separate times. Three from pathologists. Several from the same lab. Each time, BCBS sends me this six page document with the explanation of benefits and my rights, how to refute, blah, blah, blah. How much paper, postage, labor, etc. does it cost to do this every time? So far, I've received 14 of these letters as every time they get a separate billing they send one. This has gone on over a month. Now multiply this by every person who spends time in the hospital. Gee, I'd hate to see the amount of paperwork spent on someone who is critical for several months. How about one billing per patient per month per business? Obviously, they aren't hurting for money because after 5 weeks, I've only received 2 bills, so time, like the one month, isn't going to bother them.

We can thank the big money Institutional financing of medical schools (AMA) for Americas health service debacle. Everyone profits but the patients themselves as data prooves modern medicine kills and mames many more than it heals.

I should have practiced Law, see them on the tele. From hips to blips, $$$$$$



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Test your knowledge, take the quiz:

http://healthreform.kff.org/quizzes/health-reform-qu

Chef you can stop the endless waste of paper from BCBS with signing up to get your EOB's (Explanation of Benefit's) electronically. As for the people it takes to processes all the bills - most of the process is electronic now thanks to the Affortable Care Act. Humans don't get involved unless there is a problem.

thx, Terri. I have BC also and receive some EOBs in the mail... only when I have a portion to pay. But, since I check online all the time, it's completely not necessary to received H/C. I'm going to nix them.

"Private researchers have found that only a very small percentage of Americans will be subject to the individual mandate penalty, maintains Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy for the health care consumer group Families USA."

I find this statement biased at best. While true on the surface, what constitutes a small percentage? 8%? That's fairly small, right? Yeah, that's only 2.4 million people.

I spent $488 yesterday to have my kids obligatory dental screenings for school. Is that covered in the Affordable Care Act? Didn't think so....

No Dental Insurance?

@1ITGuy:

that is outrageous. This damn state charges us ridiculously high property taxes, a good portion of which fund the schools. On top of that, they charge a registration fee, and then demand that parents buy all manner of supplies, $100+ calculators, etc for their children.

Now dental exams? Why is the state of my child's teeth ANY business of the school? Has tartar and plaque become a communicable disease? Is halitosis contagious?

Frankly I'd like a rebate of the money spent to send administrators on not one, but two all expense paid workdays golfing this summer. It is time taxpayers stage a revolt. Governor Walker was exactly correct in what he did in Wisconsin.

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@AV8R:

Not that I think $488 for dental exams is awesome by any means, but tooth decay actually is communicable/transferable. The bacteria that causes can be passed to another person and there is very little hope of reversing it.

In any case, I'm sure it was the union teachers that demanded dental exams, right? What exactly did Walker do to the non-union administrators in WI?

I'm more concerned with what he did for taxpayers in Wisconsin, and what he did to the state budget deficit.

I left my my companies health plan in May after being enrolled for four years. Recently due to the Affordable Healthcare Act Everyone who was currently enrolled received a letter stating that they would be entitled to a rebate. When I asked my HR Rep if I was eligible for the rebate she said the law states that only currently enrolled employees are eligible. Is this true? I paid my share of the premiums for the entire fiscal year of 2011.

The refunds are for anyone who was enrolled in the plan in the calendar year 2011. Your HR dept is wrong.