this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2025
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Interesting, it's no wonder that so many Americans have a difficult time with medical bills. I was also under the impression that the Affordable Care Act had been dismantled, it's a bit tough to catch all of the headlines with so much going on all the time.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Affordable Care Act is mostly still there, but

  • the tax penalty for choosing no coverage was struck down in court, so more people are making this choice
  • several states refused federal money to cover lower income
  • republicans re-opened the door to junk policies that don’t provide meaningful coverage

Also the current administration is trying to

  • replace support for state Medicaid programs with block grants that can be used to squeeze the state’s, who will reduce coverage
  • repeal important features of ACA, like no refusal of treatment for pre-existing conditions, 100% coverage of routine care including immunizations
[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (2 children)

It's still counter-intuitive to me, the thought that any country/state would try to save money by rolling back coverage for immunizations. The total loss to GDP from chronic and acute health problems is nothing to shake a stick at, denying coverage for immunization is like a country shooting itself in the foot (assuming that they can cover the cost to begin with).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, I don’t understand it either. Immunization has always been such a huge benefit, such a huge return on investment, such a huge positive, that I just don’t understand how even the most self-serving, manipulative liar with no morals would try to cut it

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

So far as I can gather, it all comes down to vaccine hesitancy. The (dis)information coming down the line has led to some people calling themselves "Pure Bloods" in recognition of their common unvaccinated status, with the belief that there's some kind of high-handed conspiracy to monkey with people's DNA via immunization shots. It's a bit of a headfull, and makes for weird reading, but they've really dug their heels in about the issue, believing that their lives are on the line ironically enough. This is going to be one complicated ball of yarn to untangle...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Have you met Republicans? They like shooting themselves in the foot. They love guns.

And it is mostly the red states doing these counterintuitive measures. Unintended consequences going to catch up real fast.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

I've been hearing that for a while (and it was said for a long time before my time), but they're still keeping afloat somehow, despite several generations of getting railed by the conservative politicians, lawmakers & industry that they love. The math just doesn't check out, how long can people hang onto a ledge by their fingertips while cheering for someone who spits in their face?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

A lot of people think that it was gutted, but it's actually the reason we have a health insurance marketplace and why you can no longer get denied for preexisting conditions. Before it existed, you were just SOL.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act

Not that it's cheap, but my employer charges about the same rate for a high deductible plan. If you are low income, you can get cheaper plans.

Healthcare in America isn't that BAD if you are relatively healthy, but it is nearly impossible to navigate... by design. Now, if you are actually sick, YMMV.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago

Damn, good to know that the bit about pre-existing conditions hasn't been struck down yet. I had to look up YMMV :(