The Case For Obamacare

[Steinhauer]

Who cares about hearing aids? I'm not qualified for hearing aids since mid 90's after hearing got worse.

Many private insurance companies are traditionally not cover hearing aids but they do cover CI. I'm sure about ACA will cover CI because Medicare and Medicaid (limited, many states) cover those.

The VR could cover the HA but it is depending on state so check with VR if you need new HA. If not then check with charities if you could get help with HA.

VA/Tricare covered HA for me when I was baby because my father was in Marines.

Speaking about accessibility problem, I have no idea about what are you talking about blame on government. Don't blame on Obama for any changes with accessibility because it happened for many years after ADA passed during HW Bush Admin so continue into Clinton Admin, GW Bush Admin and Obama Admin.

In red ... so if a situation does not apply to you, you don't care?

Got it. I think that sums up the left in a nutshell.

When I was a kid, a brand new hearing aid cost between $200-$700

now, they start at $2,500 and they break often. Being in a family of hereditary hearing loss ..... that adds up.


(and yes, I blame Obama for massacring the intent of the ADA - making it even more hostile for businesses to operate means more hostility will be shown to individuals with disabilities).

 

[Jiro]

In red ... so if a situation does not apply to you, you don't care?

Got it. I think that sums up the left in a nutshell.

When I was a kid, a brand new hearing aid cost between $200-$700

now, they start at $2,500 and they break often. Being in a family of hereditary hearing loss ..... that adds up.

where exactly did it say that Obamacare won't be covering HA?

(and yes, I blame Obama for massacring the intent of the ADA - making it even more hostile for businesses to operate means more hostility will be shown to individuals with disabilities).

can you state some specific examples of how Obama massacred the intent of the ADA?

 

[ambrosia]

Have you not been reading the threads..... we have discussed this at length. Even people who supported these bills backed away from them...
And that was 19 years ago.

What? Because I'm new and you guys have already discussed this I'm not allowed to state my opinion about the irony of it all? They've been putting the individual mandate in all the reform bills since 1989, they put one in the ACA....if they thought it was unconstitutional why didn't they cut that part? They didn't walk away from them because they didn't like their own idea of an individual mandate. They walked away from them because they couldn't get enough support to get them passed.

Say whatever you want about Obama. But I have to give the man kudos for getting them to pass anything that has to do with health care reform. Many presidents have tried, they all failed because no one will ever agree to anything. So the insurance companies keep WINNING like Charlie Sheen and Americans keep losing.

Personally I don't think the republicans thought that Obama would actually sign off on it, so then they had to back pedal and come up with a reason for killing the bill, the one they helped write. This is basically the Heritage Foundations bill from 1992 reworked, and even the HF was squawking about how an individual mandate is "unconstitutional" when it was their idea in the first place. It's hypocritical.

 

[Foxrac]

In red ... so if a situation does not apply to you, you don't care?

Got it. I think that sums up the left in a nutshell.

When I was a kid, a brand new hearing aid cost between $200-$700

now, they start at $2,500 and they break often. Being in a family of hereditary hearing loss ..... that adds up.


(and yes, I blame Obama for massacring the intent of the ADA - making it even more hostile for businesses to operate means more hostility will be shown to individuals with disabilities).

Yes, I don't but there are some people lose the hearing to be no longer benefit from HA anymore. One of my friend was HoH when we were in high school and now, he became more severe hearing loss so HA won't work anymore. He use ASL 24/7 like I do.

The cost of HA has went up, it is normal for inflation and the cost of CI has went up too.

You are blaming on wrong person for massacring the intent of the ADA. It already happened under Clinton Admin and GW Bush Admin.

 

[Jiro]

What? Because I'm new and you guys have already discussed this I'm not allowed to state my opinion about the irony of it all? They've been putting the individual mandate in all the reform bills since 1989, they put one in the ACA....if they thought it was unconstitutional why didn't they cut that part? They didn't walk away from them because they didn't like their own idea of an individual mandate. They walked away from them because they couldn't get enough support to get them passed.

Say whatever you want about Obama. But I have to give the man kudos for getting them to pass anything that has to do with health care reform. Many presidents have tried, they all failed because no one will ever agree to anything. So the insurance companies keep WINNING like Charlie Sheen and Americans keep losing.

Personally I don't think the republicans thought that Obama would actually sign off on it, so then they had to back pedal and come up with a reason for killing the bill, the one they helped write. This is basically the Heritage Foundations bill from 1992 reworked, and even the HF was squawking about how an individual mandate is "unconstitutional" when it was their idea in the first place. It's hypocritical.

oh snap, TXGolfer. good luck back-pedaling this!

 

[saywhatkid]

In red ... so if a situation does not apply to you, you don't care?

Got it. I think that sums up the left in a nutshell.

Oh? I think it sums up the right. Perfectly.

No job? Get off the sofa and get a degree. Plan to work 80+ hours a week to keep above water, unless you inherit.
No insurance? That is your problem.
Want an education? Good luck.
Kids in public schools? Not me, there are Liberals in there. Want me to help pay for it? Sorry brother, I got expenses.

 

[Jiro]

Oh? I think it sums up the right. Perfectly.

No job? Get off the sofa and get a degree. Plan to work 80+ hours a week to keep above water, unless you inherit.
No insurance? That is your problem.
Want an education? Good luck.
Kids in public schools? Not me, there are Liberals in there. Want me to help pay for it? Sorry brother, I got expenses.

gimme gimme gimme!

 

[Foxrac]

oh snap, TXGolfer. good luck back-pedaling this!

 

[TXgolfer]

What? Because I'm new and you guys have already discussed this I'm not allowed to state my opinion about the irony of it all? They've been putting the individual mandate in all the reform bills since 1989, they put one in the ACA....if they thought it was unconstitutional why didn't they cut that part? They didn't walk away from them because they didn't like their own idea of an individual mandate. They walked away from them because they couldn't get enough support to get them passed.

Say whatever you want about Obama. But I have to give the man kudos for getting them to pass anything that has to do with health care reform. Many presidents have tried, they all failed because no one will ever agree to anything. So the insurance companies keep WINNING like Charlie Sheen and Americans keep losing.

Personally I don't think the republicans thought that Obama would actually sign off on it, so then they had to back pedal and come up with a reason for killing the bill, the one they helped write. This is basically the Heritage Foundations bill from 1992 reworked, and even the HF was squawking about how an individual mandate is "unconstitutional" when it was their idea in the first place. It's hypocritical.

It has been mentioned even in this thread. oh well.

As mentioned earlier "Republicans" didn't write it.... "some Republicans" wrote it. And many of those backed off once the numbers were done. As for Obamacare it had no support from Republicans.... *shrug*

 

[TXgolfer]

oh snap, TXGolfer. good luck back-pedaling this!

What is there to back pedal?

 

[DeafBadger]

Do you know how hard it is to find a health/medical insurance company that will cover the cost of hearing aids?

Now get this. Obamacare has absolutely no provisions for the hearing impaired.

None.

If the Federal Government, under Obamacare, will not have any provisions covering the cost of hearing aids, or audiological visits, what makes you think a private insurance company will do the same?

Vocational Rehabilitation (state agencies) cover hearing aids.

I even told an aging baby boomer slowly losing his hearing about VR.

He worked with me in a job that he took. He's also a real estate agent on the side. He's also a landlord with at least 15 houses (in my area, that's a monthly revenue of at least $15,000 a month. $180,000 a year before expenses. Probably more. He told me he was getting rents of $1,200 on one of his houses. He saw me wearing my hearing aids and complained he couldn't hear as well anymore. I told him about VR.

VR gave him new hearing aids on the justification that he needed them to keep working. They had no income disqualification limits; at least none that applied to him.

Oh, he's also a Rush Limbaugh, FOX-news watching, Bush II-fawning Republican.

He was working the job with me for the insurance. He didn't need the money. Now with ACA, he could quit the job and get decent insurance at a lower cost.

 

[saywhatkid]

Vocational Rehabilitation (state agencies) cover hearing aids.

I even told an aging baby boomer slowly losing his hearing about VR.

He worked with me in a job that he took. He's also a real estate agent on the side. He's also a landlord with at least 15 houses (in my area, that's a monthly revenue of at least $15,000 a month. $180,000 a year before expenses. Probably more. He told me he was getting rents of $1,200 on one of his houses. He saw me wearing my hearing aids and complained he couldn't hear as well anymore. I told him about VR.

VR gave him new hearing aids on the justification that he needed them to keep working. They had no income disqualification limits; at least none that applied to him.

Oh, he's also a Rush Limbaugh, FOX-news watching, Bush II-fawning Republican.

He was working the job with me for the insurance. He didn't need the money. Now with ACA, he could quit the job and get decent insurance at a lower cost.

And he probably spews that same anti-Lib crap as Steiny.

Hey Steiny, there is nothing in the Obamacare thing to cover rural snow removal service, National Park sanitation, farmer subsidies, or college tuition grants. Is that because Obama forgot to include them? ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

 

[DeafBadger]

And he probably spews that same anti-Lib crap as Steiny.

My co-worker did seem to repeat whatever he heard from Rush or FOX. I didn't get the impression that he dug too deeply into issues. Not saying that he is representative of "all Republicans." To borrow TxGolfer's phrase, he would be "some Republicans."

I'm not sure I would have mentioned VR to him if I had known at that moment that he was a landlord pulling in at least 180k a year in revenue. VR's resources are limited, after all, and I'm sure he could have bought his own hearing aids.

"But they were FREE hearing aids!"

 

[saywhatkid]

My co-worker did seem to repeat whatever he heard from Rush or FOX. I didn't get the impression that he dug too deeply into issues. Not saying that he is representative of "all Republicans." To borrow TxGolfer's phrase, he would be "some Republicans."

I'm not sure I would have mentioned VR to him if I had known at that moment that he was a landlord pulling in at least 180k a year in revenue. VR's resources are limited, after all, and I'm sure he could have bought his own hearing aids.

"But they were FREE hearing aids!"

And he would likely complain if his tax dollars were used for someone else to have HAs. So it goes.

 

[Reba]

My co-worker did seem to repeat whatever he heard from Rush or FOX.

Did he say it was Rush or FOX?

...I'm not sure I would have mentioned VR to him if I had known at that moment that he was a landlord pulling in at least 180k a year in revenue.

That's gross revenue. How much is actual profit? That is, after he pays the expenses (mortgages, taxes, maintenance) on these properties, how much does he really take home?

VR's resources are limited, after all, and I'm sure he could have bought his own hearing aids.

Do you know that for a fact?

"But they were FREE hearing aids!"

He's been paying taxes, right?

 

[Reba]

And he would likely complain if his tax dollars were used for someone else to have HAs. So it goes.

Did he complain?

 

[DeafBadger]

Did he say it was Rush or FOX?

Yes. He would often preface statements of opinion with, "I heard on Rush..." or "I heard on FOX..." Granted, he didn't always preface it like this, but often enough that I gathered these were his primary go-to sources for political information.

That's gross revenue. How much is actual profit? That is, after he pays the expenses (mortgages, taxes, maintenance) on these properties, how much does he really take home?

Yes, I understand it is gross revenue. I mentioned that it was before expenses.

He was pulling in rental revenues (before expenses) of at least $180k per year.

He was taking real estate agent calls at my place of work (ducking into the break room for these calls). I don't know how much he was making here. He took a lot of calls. Real estate deals will usually get agents at least $2-5K per deal, as I understand it. (I could be wrong.)

(Edit: Way more than that. Typical agent fees on a 300k house is 6%, which would be 18k for one house.)

He was making at least $18k-$20k at the work place I was working at. I say that because I was making $18k a year at the bottom end of the pay scale, so he had to have been making at least that.

Do you know that for a fact?

Not for absolute fact, but I think with his sources of income, he could have pulled it off. I had been reading a lot about rental real estate and when I found out he was a landlord, I confirmed a lot of details I read with him. Fifteen houses competently purchased and administered would yield a very nice income, even after expenses. It's true that the expenses can be variable, depending on what kind of deal the landlord secured when he/she bought the property. I don't know what kind of deals he got, but he seemed to know what he was talking about.

I'm speaking as someone who had bought my own hearing aids (before I found out VR would cover them) on far less than he was making. Less than I was making on that particular job, in fact. I paid $6,000 for that set of hearing aids. Because I happen to be very frugal and don't take on debt if I don't have to. So if I can do that, I'm sure he can too.

He's been paying taxes, right?

Yes, as well as I. I'm not saying he wasn't entitled to it by law.

I'm just pointing out the irony of a guy who complained about 'freeloaders' using the system. And his definition of a 'freeloader' would include someone working on the other side of the building.

Did he complain?

Yes.

 

[TXgolfer]

He was making at least $18k-$20k at the work place I was working at. I say that because I was making $18k a year at the bottom end of the pay scale

So let me get this straight.....A guy with major rental income and real estate deals was wasting 25% of his week chasing 18-20k??? $9 - 10/ hr. Does that make any sense?

Was he by any chance trying to get you to invest?

 

[DeafBadger]

So let me get this straight.....A guy with major rental income and real estate deals was wasting 25% of his week chasing 18-20k??? $9 - 10/ hr. Does that make any sense?

Was he by any chance trying to get you to invest?

Yes, I wondered about that too. He said he was there for the insurance.

Yes, he was trying to sell me a house, and to others at that job, too.

(Edit: No, he was not trying to get me to invest. He wanted to sell me, and others, houses as a real estate agent.)

His job had a lot of "dead time," and he was taking real estate calls on the job. So there was a lot of overlap. He probably figured it worked out well. Get paid for a "job" he wasn't working hard at, while being able to work his "real" job at the same time: RE agent.

Prior to the oil boom, $9-10 / hr was considered 'pretty good' in North Dakota. It's the reason I left to go back to school for IT, so i could get into better paying work, as well as work I found more interesting. I'll be done with the program in about a year.

The oil boom is constricting labor supply so much, it's starting to push up wages.

 

[saywhatkid]

Did he complain?

Yes.

Not surprised, but saddened anyway.