Society Magazine
Every article that comes out, showing how states and the people of the country are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act, aka, "Obamacare" warm my heart and give my hope, both. There was another one Sunday in The New York Times :
Million-Anecdote Baby I won't bore you with much of the article but just a few of the good things that are coming from that much-needed legislation are:
The early indications are that most Americans will be pleasantly surprised. Millions of people, shopping and comparing prices on the exchanges set up by the states, are likely to get far better coverage for the same — or less — money than they pay now. The law, as honest conservatives predicted, before they orphaned their own idea, is injecting competition into a market dominated by a few big names...
In Washington State, nine companies have filed paperwork to offer policies in a region that has long been controlled by three big entities.
“The surprise is that, for many in the individual market, the premiums will be lower and the benefits so much richer,” said Mike Kreidler, the state insurance commissioner in Washington. “Eventually, I can see the Affordable Care Act being embraced like Medicare, because once people get used to this kind of coverage, it’s going to be a pretty abhorrent thing to try and take it away.”
In Oregon, brisk competition will mean real choice for consumers. Starting in October, a 40-year-old resident of Portland can choose between one insurer charging $169 a month or another asking $422 for the same plan. When these rates were first posted not long ago, some of the companies requested a do-over so they could submit lower rates. Yes, lower rates. So much for a government takeover.
In California, 13 companies will compete for the business of 5.3 million or so people expected to purchase insurance through the new exchanges. Officials say the average monthly premium will be $321 — that is, $110 less than the national average predicted by the Congressional Budget Office.
And one of the odd, ironic, possibly even hypocritical things about all this is that the Republicans and Conservatives and Right Wingers and Libertarians and all the Obama haters out there are likely deeply FOR "competition in the marketplace" but against this, which is bringing just that--competition for health care insurance premiums and so, lower prices.
I love the smell of Republican hypocrisy in the morning, don't you?
