Tax refunds will be cut for ACA recipients - Polidicks

[QUOTE]A significant benefit of the Affordable Care Act is the opportunity to receive money-saving tax credits up front to cut the overall cost of health insurance, but now hundreds of thousands of consumers could owe back some of that money next April. Those affected took advance payments of the premium tax credit for health insurance. Some married couples could owe $600 or $1,500 or $2,500 or even more. It might feel like a raw deal for some who are already suffocating under the escalating costs of health insurance.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/tompor/2014/09/21/susan-tompor-tax-refunds-will-be-cut-for-some-who-get-health-credits/15958211/[/url]

The American healthcare and tax systems are complete jokes.

[QUOTE=Antdawg;46043173]The American healthcare and tax systems are complete jokes.[/QUOTE] talk about a good idea plagued by poor execution. for instance, i just got word that my dream job is basically getting gutted as soon as the employer mandate comes into effect because of the new regulations on hours and benefited positions. basically, im in a non-benefited position where i earn a huge premium on my hourly wage as compensation for the lack of "full time benefited" status. so i dont have a guaranteed 40 hour week and i dont have benefits, but i make really good money in exchange for the "uncertainty". it works out perfect for me because despite no guaranteed hours i am able to work 60 hour weeks and get 20 hours of overtime on top of full time pay at a premium rate b/c no benefits. now the law is changing and if you are employed more than 30 hours a week your employer HAS to give you benefits. so as a result my employer is telling me to either take a massive pay reduction in exchange for benefits and a 30 hour work week, or simply cut my hours to less than 30 a week, and working 12 hour shifts i cant even get that (it comes out to 24 hours a week). so an idea that sounds nice on paper (full time employees deserve benefits!) ends up totally fucking me over because now im going to be making a pittance compared to my old wage AND ill be losing hours. but at least i have mediocre health care! thanks!

[QUOTE=bbddi;46043206]talk about a good idea plagued by poor execution. for instance, i just got word that my dream job is basically getting gutted as soon as the employer mandate comes into effect because of the new regulations on hours and benefited positions. basically, im in a non-benefited position where i earn a huge premium on my hourly wage as compensation for the lack of "full time benefited" status. so i dont have a guaranteed 40 hour week and i dont have benefits, but i make really good money in exchange for the "uncertainty". it works out perfect for me because despite no guaranteed hours i am able to work 60 hour weeks and get 20 hours of overtime on top of full time pay at a premium rate b/c no benefits. now the law is changing and if you are employed more than 30 hours a week your employer HAS to give you benefits. so as a result my employer is telling me to either take a massive pay reduction in exchange for benefits and a 30 hour work week, or simply cut my hours to less than 30 a week, and working 12 hour shifts i cant even get that (it comes out to 24 hours a week). so an idea that sounds nice on paper (full time employees deserve benefits!) ends up totally fucking me over because now im going to be making a pittance compared to my old wage AND ill be losing hours. but at least i have mediocre health care! thanks![/QUOTE] The problem with the ACA is that it's so unnecessarily complicated. What we do here is that you pay a 2% levy on your personal income above $x per week (x varies on some circumstances) and then when you or your family receive health services you present your Medicare card and a proportion of the costs are billed to the government instead (I think 100% in some cases). Medicare is also opt-out so that you can get private health insurance and not pay the levy (some wealthier people would actually be better off in that case).

[QUOTE=Antdawg;46043258]The problem with the ACA is that it's so unnecessarily complicated. What we do here is that you pay a 2% levy on your personal income above $350 per week (I think $350, might be somewhere else) and then when you or your family receive health services you present your Medicare card and a proportion of the costs are billed to the government instead (I think 100% in some cases). But the American system is just so damn confusing.[/QUOTE] i wish we could have just gone for actual socialized healthcare instead of a bunch of nonsense "you are now legally required to suck a corporate dick". i guess its fittingly american that even our "socialized" policies are piped into the pockets of private corporations. wasn't it originally intended to be actually socialized medicine and then the republicans kept filibustering until obama 'compromised' it into the bastardization we have today? can someone give me a quick rundown of the ACA?

why can't they just get Australia's Medicare or the UK's NHS and copy paste

[QUOTE=bbddi;46043268]wasn't it originally intended to be actually socialized medicine and then the republicans kept filibustering until obama 'compromised' it into the bastardization we have today? can someone give me a quick rundown of the ACA?[/QUOTE] No, but there was a public option that was scrapped early on.

[QUOTE=bbddi;46043268]i wish we could have just gone for actual socialized healthcare instead of a bunch of nonsense "you are now legally required to suck a corporate dick". i guess its fittingly american that even our "socialized" policies are piped into the pockets of private corporations. wasn't it originally intended to be actually socialized medicine and then the republicans kept filibustering until obama 'compromised' it into the bastardization we have today? can someone give me a quick rundown of the ACA?[/QUOTE] Republicans didn't even matter. The final bill passed without a single Republican vote. Some Democrats threatened to vote no on it if it was single payer, so we got the "compromise" that you are now required to buy shitty health insurance from a company that will gouge the crap out of you. In exchange, pre-existing conditions are sometimes covered and all men now have pre-natal care in case they get pregnant.

[QUOTE=bbddi;46043268]i wish we could have just gone for actual socialized healthcare instead of a bunch of nonsense "you are now legally required to suck a corporate dick". i guess its fittingly american that even our "socialized" policies are piped into the pockets of private corporations. wasn't it originally intended to be actually socialized medicine and then the republicans kept filibustering until obama 'compromised' it into the bastardization we have today? can someone give me a quick rundown of the ACA?[/QUOTE] I wish ppl would actually research a bit instead of ignorantly blaming republicans.... Here's what happened- democrats held a majority in the house and senate. They alone could have passed any version of health care law they wanted. They passed the law aca instead.... Not one republican voted for it. There was never any chance of a fillabuster- democrats had a clear majority. Not one republican voted for the aca law. If you look up nothing else do a quick google search to confirm this bit.

[QUOTE=H8Entitlement;46043408]I wish ppl would actually research a bit instead of ignorantly blaming republicans.... Here's what happened- democrats held a majority in the house and senate. They alone could have passed any version of health care law they wanted. They passed the law aca instead.... Not one republican voted for it. There was never any chance of a fillabuster- democrats had a clear majority. Not one republican voted for the aca law. If you look up nothing else do a quick google search to confirm this bit.[/QUOTE] iirc despite democrats having a majority in the house and senate they still didn't have the 60 votes necessary to pass the legislation nor to break up the filibuster brought on by republicans, due to one senator being seriously ill and not participating in any votes and another being stuck in a state of limbo as a result of a recount in his local election.

[QUOTE=H8Entitlement;46043408]I wish ppl would actually research a bit instead of ignorantly blaming republicans.... Here's what happened- democrats held a majority in the house and senate. They alone could have passed any version of health care law they wanted. They passed the law aca instead.... Not one republican voted for it. There was never any chance of a fillabuster- democrats had a clear majority. Not one republican voted for the aca law. If you look up nothing else do a quick google search to confirm this bit.[/QUOTE] The morale of the story is not only is the entire GOP retarded, a lot of the democrats are too because congress is a bunch of fucktards

[QUOTE=bbddi;46043268]i wish we could have just gone for actual socialized healthcare instead of a bunch of nonsense "you are now legally required to suck a corporate dick". i guess its fittingly american that even our "socialized" policies are piped into the pockets of private corporations. wasn't it originally intended to be actually socialized medicine and then the republicans kept filibustering until obama 'compromised' it into the bastardization we have today? can someone give me a quick rundown of the ACA?[/QUOTE] You've pretty much got the jist of it, honestly. We [i]need[/i] proper socialized healthcare but in order to do that we need a left leaning majority in both houses on Capitol Hill. And the problem with that is that they'll abuse their majority to fuck over those of us who enjoy hobbies like target shooting or performance/antique autos. So GG.

how america solves its "difficult" problems 1) bomb it/ declair war on it 2) make it illegal: in this case, illegal not to have health insurance we managed to make a health and insurance system thats barely working to cover people now, just wait till its been running for a few more years, we should just go to a national healthcare system like...every other first world country

[QUOTE=mokkan;46043306]why can't they just get Australia's Medicare or the UK's NHS and copy paste[/QUOTE] Because that might make sense.

I can only imagine how badly the Republicans would sabotage/fuck up the public option in heavily red states (like the ones that are refusing to expand medicare). Oh the horror stories we would hear. Even if the public option passed, it wouldn't work in a lot of places because a large percentage of Americans are simply fucking morons that elect fucking morons.

So, it basically sounds like a lot of people took out advance tax credits for insurance, then something changed in their income/employment status and the information doesn't match up anymore. Therefore, if the IRS thinks you got more tax credits than you were entitled to, it gets deducted from your tax refund. From the sound if it, this can be resolved for most people by simply submitting updated information. Not that big of a deal... But still, though, tax credits are a shit way to pay for healthcare. Expand Medicare to everyone, raise taxes to cover it, and tell the insurance companies to shove it up their asses. They are the reason we have simultaneously the most expensive and shittiest healthcare system in the developed world.

The ACA is a terrible idea why can't America get actual universal healthcare If Botswana can afford it so can the USA

[QUOTE=Daniel Smith;46044724]The ACA is a terrible idea why can't America get actual universal healthcare If Botswana can afford it so can the USA[/QUOTE] Cause America is completely in the hands of their corporate masters.

[QUOTE=bbddi;46043455]iirc despite democrats having a majority in the house and senate they still didn't have the 60 votes necessary to pass the legislation nor to break up the filibuster brought on by republicans, due to one senator being seriously ill and not participating in any votes and another being stuck in a state of limbo as a result of a recount in his local election.[/QUOTE] There never was a fillabuster...

How do all of you feel about Germany's healthcare system?

[QUOTE=Explosions;46045320]How do all of you feel about Germany's healthcare system?[/QUOTE] I don't really know anything about it, except that it has flaws which I know because a friend got sick and said he wasn't covered.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;46045750]I don't really know anything about it, except that it has flaws which I know because a friend got sick and said he wasn't covered.[/QUOTE] If it's been around since Bismarck's time, which is indeed the case, since his social reforms in the 1880s, it must have some good ideas. I don't know a ton about it otherwise, except that it has both public and private plans available. But it must be good. Definitely better than the shit we Americans have now or have ever had. I'd settle for better.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;46045750]I don't really know anything about it, except that it has flaws which I know because a friend got sick and said he wasn't covered.[/QUOTE] It's almost identical to the ACA.

[QUOTE=mokkan;46043306]why can't they just get Australia's Medicare or the UK's NHS and copy paste[/QUOTE] Because the pharmaceutical and medical supply companies + insurance companies have such a fucking massive hold on EVERYTHING medical these days that they reap billions in profit off things that cost pennies or dollars to make. Our system will never change. It's too deeply rooted in a system of: Pharmaceutical/Medical Supply industries fuck Doctors fuck Insurance Companies fuck their customers.