• superglue@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 days ago

      I am too young to have experienced what it was like Pre Obamacare. But as I understand it, insurance companies used to be able to drop you if you cost too much. What is the point of their existence then? What is the point of buying insurance if they can just drop you if you cost too much.

    • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      It’s only saving graces were the payment assistance and blocking the insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Though the insurance companies found other ways to deny coverage.

    • Spaceballstheusername@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      How so. I always thought the things like forcing them to keep children till they’re 26 and not being able to drop people for pre existing conditions were good for consumers.

      • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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        6 days ago

        It also mandated people buy coverage and let them have 20% overhead which is absurdly high. Marketplaces added subsidies for buying insurance, which is ultimately a benefit to the insurance company. It also expanded Medicaid, which pays out tons to insurance companies through HMO plans. It also gave them justification to raise rates, as they now had to cover more things.

        Covering kids until 26 is nice, but it’s basically free from the insurance company perspective. Covering pre-existing conditions is a negative, but there’s still room to increase premiums from it. The overall affect of the bill was positive for insurance companies.

        • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          5 days ago

          It also mandated people buy coverage

          Which got dropped fast, which I think is good, myself, for the reason you stated next:

          and let them have 20% overhead

    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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      6 days ago

      Yeah, the only good thing about Trump possibly destroying the ACA is that I may provide the impetus to replace it with something better. I somewhat doubt that, but there’s a chance, especially if we start seeing a lot more hate towards health insurance companies.

      • prof_wafflez@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        No - I’m not letting this logic fester or gain traction. Trump and republicans do not want to replace the ACA. That’s a complete and total fantasy. Democrats took decades to get the ACA enacted, so once it’s gone it’s probably gone for decades. If republicans gave a damn they would’ve helped fix what is wrong with the ACA, but they’d rather full repeal with no plan to replace. Listen to what any of them say or do, they wear it as a badge of honor.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          5 days ago

          I meant after they destroy it and democrats, or whoever, take back power. Obviously Republicans aren’t going to replace it with anything good.

          • supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz
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            5 days ago

            They had zero actual plan to replace it with anything last time they took it away, they didn’t even really pretend to even have one.