We have price problems not care problems.
Yes, we have care problems. Our care coordination is bad, our information sharing is poor (though the move to electronic health records is a step in the right direction), medical errors remain disturbingly prevalent, and we have pretty wide variations in quality indicators. We have a great deal of room for improvement.
It's harder to find a state that hasn't done tort reform than one that has. That said, the ACA contains the same carrots for states to further reform their tort laws that Paul Ryan's health reform package did.
no buying across state lines
It's fairly clear that most folks don't know what they're asking for with this. Or at least, they're not aware of what those who pre-packaged this slogan are trying to sell them.
no competition in the market.
Bullshit. We're getting a larger number of sellers in a given market, including sellers operating in out-of-state markets. We're getting standardized quality and price indicators and actuarial numbers that allow sellers to send meaningful, readily understandable indicators to shoppers looking for plans. We're getting a level playing field that allows shoppers to choose the plan they like instead of being denied plan options by industry risk-shedding mechanisms. We're getting consumer-friendly IT interfaces that allow very easy, real-time side-by-side comparisons between plan offerings of different carriers in the market.
The individual health insurance market is on the verge of acting like a competitive market in a way it never has before.
The real problem is the amount of good americans uncovered by the current monopolized health care system.
If that were true then why didn't Obama target them with a program? Instead he put his boot on EVERY American.
He did. Hence the reason the most substantial private insurance market reforms in the ACA pertain to the individual market.
Except that those without money already have care available through the govt. So why force everyone?
No, they don't. Medicaid eligibility is generally categorical, meaning if you don't fit in a specific category (i.e. pregnant women, children, parents), even if you have a low enough income to qualify within those categories, often significantly below the poverty threshold for adults, you don't qualify. The ACA is, for the first time, what makes poverty sufficient condition to receive Medicaid benefits.
Private companies CAN NOT flourish in a market where the GOVT forces them to cover illnesses that break the bank without major increases to premiums across the board. Thus the private industry will collapse leaving no alternatives but the GOVT.
Someone should tell the insurance industry and their investors they've been disbanded because they've been doing pretty well.
Real stats would be broken down a little more than "Most people hate the law". Like I said, a good percentage of those "opposed" to the law want to see MORE gov't involvement. Back when the law was being debated, poll after poll showed that a CLEAR majority of Americans supported a gov't option. I know you cons like to ignore that little fact, but ignorance of the truth is no excuse.
