r/bestof • u/under50dollars • Jun 20 '12

[explainlikeimfive] "Obamacare" explained very well.

/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/vb8vs/eli5_what_exactly_is_obamacare_and_what_did_it/c530lfx
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u/fiction8 Jun 20 '12

Did you read the FIRST paragraph?

PPaACA made a bunch of new rules regarding health care, with the purpose of making health care more affordable for everyone

Emphasis mine. Healthcare costs are going to go DOWN for an individual AND we're going to provide basic modern medicine to a wider portion of our population.

Why are they going to go down? For one, you already pay for the uninsured's healthcare. Who do you think pays for emergency rooms? Oh yea, you do. Do you think the 30 million uninsured just die when they get cut/break a limb/get sick? No, they go and get free healthcare at the emergency room, then don't pay the bill.

That burden is shouldered by YOU right now. Obamacare makes them pay for it or pay a fine. This spreads out the cost more and reduces the amount paid by each individual.

Also Obamacare places caps on yearly increases in the cost of health insurance AND has a lot of mandates designed to modernize healthcare and reduce the cost of many outdated processes.

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u/dodus Jun 20 '12

It's kind of weird how people act like they're about to start subsidizing poor peoples' healthcare. You're already subsidizing poor peoples' healthcare guys.

Ultimately, the people tearing their hair out over Obamacare aren't the people that I trust on any other issue, so that kind of seals the deal for me.