George Bush Jr shot this country in the foot, leg, ass, and anywhere else he could point at for 8 long years. The Tea Party is gangrene setting in. They actually made some sense and brought up some legitimate issues for all of 3 days when they first formed. Then they were taken over by extremists and corporate interests and now they're downright dangerous.
I mention this now, because if they have their way I don't have to work tomorrow or the day after or the day after. They'd rather see the government shut down than see people getting affordable health care. Much of the government already takes every Friday off because of their economic sabotage. Now they want to get rid of it all together. And even if they get their way and defund Obamacare 85% of it will still be in place.
Allowing people to stay on their parents' health insurance into their 20's lets more people got to grad school or take a risk and start a business.
Getting rid of pre-existing conditions allows people to change providers and change jobs without fear of losing what little health insurance they have.
If someone with insurance gets sick the insurance company can't drop them.
And only 20% of what you pay can go to administration costs like executive salaries and corporate jets.
These laws alone actually make health insurance worth having. But, this is the sort of thing that the Republicans and the Tea Party in particular are against. At least so long as Obama is pushing it. Funny how many of those opposed to this stuff included it in their own reform ideas years ago.
So great is their hatred for the President and so poor is their understanding of economics that they make the double mistake of trying to kill one of the most important bills of my life time while trying to cut spending when the economy needs more stimulus. I'm all for a balanced budget and reducing the national debt. But you do that when the economy is good and spend more when the economy is bad.
Luckily, most of the Republican party realizes that the government shut down is a bad idea and will vote against the shutdown.
What goes into effect tomorrow (Oct 1) is the groups that will help people pick their plans or help them afford their health plans. So what Republican politician and news organizations have been saying about job losses and closing businesses is nonsense. Because it hasn't taken effect yet. Oh, sure, there have been threats. You may recall the Republican leadership asking companies to make those threats before the last election. And there is a problem with companies cutting people to part time, but that has nothing to do with health insurance other than it being one of the many benefits they no longer want to pay for. No jobs have been lost to Obamacare, but an estimated 3/4 of a million jobs have been lost due to the sequester.
But watch, in a few years nobody is going to be calling it Obamacare. By calling it Obamacare they'll be giving credit to Obama for what will be a rather popular program.
If the government does shut down tomorrow you can blame me for not planning a trip to Seattle. The last few times we were promised a shut down I was packing to leave town when they announced that they wanted me in the office instead. This time it seems they don't have the votes to shut things down so I've got no plans. So naturally we're gonna get some time off.
If you have questions about the new marketplaces, national or state, you can go to https://www.healthcare.gov/ to get answers. Not just an FAQ, but actual people you can chat with who will give you answers and clear up misconceptions brought on by wild and reckless accusations.
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