How to respond? My HS-friend-turned-tparty supporter, whom I debate

[woodsprite]

frequently, just posted the following. I haven't responded because I don't know how. In my job, my existing insurance had no change and we were told we did not need to re-enroll, but then mine is a family of 4, not 10. Is it something they're doing (like should they switch, and they refuse to?). I have another "friend" who says the same type of thing (she's single mom of a toddler living in PA says hers doubled). The guy below lives in DE, same as me.

Is there anything I can say that can point them in a direction to get some help with this or should I just not go there? Here's the note from the tparty guy.

"Just finished my re-enrollment in my company health care plan.
My premiums for the same coverage I've always had have increased 132%.
I'd like for my President - who promised me that my premiums would decrease by $2500 - to explain this increase to me."

[Roland99]

1. for starters....

I seriously doubt he was promised a $2500 decrease in premiums. I'm sure he's misconstruing what Obama said at one point

Also, point him to healthcare.gov (or his state's exchange site) or the Kaiser Family Foundation calculator for premiums. If his new premiums amount to more than 9.5% of his annual salary, he's eligible for tax credits for purchasing off the exchange.

[DireStrike]

4. But he said it was a company health plan

isn't it not possible to purchase off the exchange if you're already covered?

[Roland99]

7. You still can get off the exchange

if your premiums from your employer are 9.5% or more of your household income, then you can purchase off the exchange.

The employer can then be dinged a $2,000 fine, though.


http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

[LiberalLoner]

5. I am seeing the same being posted by right wingers all over facebook and

Twitter. My guess is they heard it on Faux news and have never looked anything up, they are just repeating the lies they hear from right wing pukesteratti. They just want to spread lies in hopes of riling up people against obamacare.

Your friend is a liar, pure and simple. No use debating with a liar.

[maryellen99]

10. too bad they don't know that their premiums increase

Not because of the ACA but because of people going to the ER and then not paying the bill.

[DireStrike]

2. Mild thread hijack

I'd also like to cross-post this (now that a debunking thread has been created in GD... thank you, it's a very scary thing to do!):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1022586

The short of it: people claiming plans have been changed or cancelled when Obama said they wouldn't. Got some answers in the thread which are pretty good but I need to know more.

Members of the party in power tend to be less knowledgeable on specifics than the other party's members. I feel like I'm gonna be getting into arguments about Obamacare pretty soon.

[grantcart]

3. Search the internet and find 10 examples (many already posted here) of substantial savings

Send it to him with this

Please read the attached.


After you read it there are only two possible conclusions:

1) Either your company sucks at procuring benefits

or

2) The facts are not as stated.


or

3) Both 1 and 2 are true.

[Roland99]

9. Yeah...could be a small employer who had one person with big-time claims

happened to me before.

[Niceguy1]

11. or a non profit plan

That had to raise premiums to cover for the increased coverage.

[JHB]

6. Do you really need to respond?

I tend to just roll my eyes and go onto the next thing. But then, I don't argue politics on FB.

Though if you must: If his rates haven't gone up before, well, welcome to the rest of the world, where insurance companies needed no outside prompting to squeeze their customers. For years.

Past that, I don't know his circumstances enough to comment. Teabaggers have an everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink approach to complaining about Obama.

[woodsprite]

14. No, I don't need to reply, but if he was mislead or misinformed by his employer

I wanted to at least point him someplace that shows him different. It would be seen by a wider swath of TPers. I've even seen people on DU lamenting a price increase or something changing with their plan. I'm assuming its either the companies or the insurance companies that are trying to make it worse. For now, my family's BC/BS is staying steady, but we are part of the state BC/BS plan. I didn't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

[kevinbgoode1]

8. Since much of the private insurance industry is profit-driven (meaning, expecting increasing profits

why is he surprised that his premiums would go up so much? And why isn't he willing to go to that insurance carrier and ask WHY? (Not that he'd get an honest explanation). The tone of his statement seems to reflect some fantasy that his private carrier has never increased premiums (or certainly not dramatically, and if that's the case, I'd like to know why his company didn't follow the lead of so many others over the past 20 years).

He clearly doesn't understand WHY health care and insurance has become such a national problem - and even more clearly, doesn't realize that this scam started back in the joyous Reagan administration. Yes, back then, when suddenly people were astounded to discover that their "insurance" carriers were not only questioning their doctor's diagnosis and prognosis for care, but often demanding it be altered to please the insurance company's medical specialists - or not get paid. From that point onward, the American people were increasingly held hostage by both the health care and insurance industries, who also, by the way, increasingly treat the patient as little more than a lab rat to milk into the poor house.

Sometimes I think the only purpose of the health care industry/insurance industry relationship is to see who gets what part of our life savings and any assets we possess.

[xfundy]

12. I had a friend in HS

who told me he was a TParty idiot a couple of years ago. He railed against gays and their "so-called rights."

He knows I'm gay. He knows his mother was finally able to come out and get into a lesbian relationship.

I told the asshole to never contact me again. I don't know if his mother did the same.

[alarimer]

13. Mine tripled as well.

I'm not sure why exactly. My portion of the costs will decrease in the end, if I jump through a few hoops.

[Barack_America]

15. He might want to check his employers' contribution. Nt

[RobertEarl]

16. Simple

Only ask questions that you already have an answer too.

Everything else; just listen or change the subject.