This is part one of a three part series, that will be published today (Friday), then on Monday and Tuesday of next week.
First Things First: No matter what the other side says, life will go on! – If you are a fan and see this as a victory, you will end up thinking it was not good enough and did not go far enough. – If you are depressed, believing that, in one fell swoop, the Supreme Court eviscerated the constitution (an opinion I am somewhat sympathetic to); This is a great country and a few bad decisions will not crush the nation. Even the Supreme Court has reversed itself over time. Life will go on and America will continue to be a great country and a great place to live. It will, ultimately, take years to fully understand the impact on senior housing but here is my initial analysis for whatever it’s worth.
Winners
1. Hospitals – At least in the short-term, hospitals are the first or second biggest winners. They will go from having many non paying patients to having very few indigents overnight. No one seems to be suggesting that payment rates to hospitals should be modified to reflect this new standard. That being said, over the long term, their prospects may not be so bright. They consume lots of dollars and so will become a natural target for cuts.
2. Many Uninsured – In truth this is the one bright spot in the whole sorry mess. There are a bunch of people who did not have insurance who will have coverage. No matter how you slice it, this is a good thing for them and for society. Clearly people with no access to basic health-care can end up becoming very ill and requiring hugely expensive indigent care.
3. Government Workers – The plan will require more government workers; those who administer and regulate the system and the IRS who will enforce the plan.
4. Fraudsters – Today the government healthcare plans are a favorite playground for fraudsters. This plan will increase the size of that playground. It will increase the opportunities to steal the people’s money.
5. Some Employers – It appears the health plan will in effect provide incentives for employers to eliminate private health plans in favor the government “healthcare exchanges”.
6. Health Plans – At least in the short term they will be big winners. The current thinking seems to be that it is more efficient to hand big buckets of money to private health plans and make them responsible for the healthcare of corresponding groups of people.
Recapping the Winners
While there are, in my view, at least six groups that will see huge benefits from the health plan, this does not mean it is good for society as a whole. Still to come, the losers and how it will impact senior housing. Did I miss some winners, do I have some of the winners wrong?
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Finally: If you know anyone who is looking at emergency call systems I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with them about Vigil Health Solutions.
Obama care is a win win solution no matter how slice and dice it!!!!!!
My personal opinion is that we did not have a healthcare crisis that needed fixing. We did have a health insurance crisis that needed to be addressed. Those with no insurance or those with preexisting conditions needed affordable, decent coverage. I don’t have the solution but thought we should approach it that way. I believe way it is currently passed will be a giant fiscal drain on the nation, much like Medicare has balooned in cost from the original promised amount.
Giant fiscal drain is right – and un-Constitutional on top of it, tyranny.
Thing is, they’re not telling the whole story and you Can’t Expect the Federal Govt to do Anything more efficiently or cost-effectively than the Free Market.
Never has, never will.
On balance, I have to say that I see the Supreme Court’s decision as a net positive. I believe that healthcare should be a RIGHT, not a privilege in the most powerful and successful nation in history. This opinion is, not incidentally, shared by most of the other developed nations of the world as well. It’s simply the right thing to do.
Even the President acknowledges that the ACA isn’t a perfect solution and I have concerns about specific details (or the lack thereof) in the law. However, the HC/Health Insurance system as it existed was failing and unsustainable. Better to take an imperfect step forward and readdress those imperfect details after the fact, than to continue to fiddle while Rome burns around us. The historic nature of the Affordable Care Act is significant. The Obama Administration accomplished more to bring healthcare to all Americans through this law than has been accomplished in the last 50 years!
My wife who is British and I have some very interesting discussions on the comparisons of their National Health system and our mish mosh of private and government subsidized care. Doctors and nurses still make house calls in the UK to seriously ill patients, and unlike here, people are not forced to sell their home or liquidate everything in order to pay for treatment of serious illness. According to the link below, the average life expectancy in the UK is 80 compared to US at 78 years old. Hopefully the new Obama law will give (some but not all) people access to health care and opportunities to improve their health.
http://www.nationalledger.com/lifestyle-home-family/life-expectancy-by-country-201-185296.shtml#.T_JNKvWqbCI
It hurts my heart when I see the venom that emerges when we discuss healthcare. I don’t understand how we can as a society in good conscience support a system that denies and/or bankrupts people in order to pay for healthcare, a service we all need at some point in our lives.
The free market has brought us the unsustainable and continuous rise in healthcare costs as well the financial meltdown/recession and historic job losses. The government isn’t perfect but at least it is intended to promote the broad public interest. It is not in anyone’s interest for children and young families (our national workforce) to have no sustainable access to healthcare. Oh and by the way who thought that employer provided health insurance (subject to the free market boom and bust cycles) was a sustainable system. What is being called for is compassion and collaboration to evolve the Affordable Care Act so that it actually achieves universal access to health care for everyone no matter their employment status.
After reading the article and all 0f these comments my thoughts are…There was/is no insurance industry bust. The unsustainable part was and is that we can not pay as a whole for everyone to have insurance for the rest of their lives. The bust part stems from goverment agencies and private industry making promises to employees to provide for them for the rest of their lives…not possible. In addition people who don’t have insurance don’t for a reason…they can’t afford it! So now where is the money coming from for them to have insurance…TAXES! I agree with the idea that the insurance industry needs revision. I have been on all sides, uninsured, self-employed and paying our own insurance and employer insurance benefits. The medical industry does not understand when you go in and ask if the test they are suggesting is really necessary or what is the cost. I actually asked this of a doctor one time and her snide response was…Is there a cost to big for your child. I said well no but it just depends on if you want paid or not!!! In addition the insurance companies bring self-employed people in at “low” rates and then each year double the monthly fees even if you have no claims or just use the insurance as a well plan. As self employed, we went from paying approx. $400/month to $1100/month in a matter of 2yrs. Long story short I too don’t know exactly what the answer is but expecting a nation to pay for the masses will not be sustainable and maintain any quality of care.
Does ObamaCare have anything to do with senior housing?