No Joke: How A Rand Paul Republican From Alabama Learned To Love Obamacare

[juleswin]

Joshua Pittman is a 31-year-old self-employed videographer from Montgomery, Alabama. A libertarian Republican who voted for Ron Paul in 2012 and believes that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is the future of the GOP, Pittman sees Barack Obama’s presidency as a “failure” who hasn’t lived up to the nation’s expectations.

But on Tuesday morning, Pittman logged on to HealthCare.gov and after some initial glitches and delays, successfully enrolled in a Bronze-level Obamacare health insurance plan. “It took me all day, really,” he says with a laugh. “It kicked me out and told me you have to try again, but I knew what I was getting into with so many people exploring it.”

Though he initially supported repealing the law, Pittman became curious about Obamacare in the days and weeks before it launched. For years, he had gone uninsured, thinking he’d be able to “get over anything with a bandaid and a six pack of beer.” But a lead poisoning incident earlier this year shook his confidence and bank account, leading him with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. “I was a healthy person and it really depleted me financially, so it made me look at things in a different way than I would before. I understood the importance of people being insured.”

“I’ve seen first hand people hitting up the emergency room for free health care and then putting a burden on [everyone else] and that’s not something I would want to do, I want to take personal responsibility … By no means am I trying to take a government handout…it’s not a free handout, you’re paying for this health care, but it’s making it more accessible to more people.”

Asked what he liked about Obamacare, Pittman highlighted its prohibition against denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, noting that he wouldn’t be able to find coverage without it, and said that the policies offered in the marketplace seemed more affordable and comprehensive than those available to him on the individual market. “You may pay $18 a month [for a cheaper plan] and you’re missing a level of coverage. It’s not as easy as you’re going to pay this much a month,” he says.

Government data shows that premiums for an individual Blue Cross and Blue Shield Bronze-level plan in Montgomery County, Alabama averages $160 per month for a 27-year old. An older adult will pay $273 per month.

Pittman doesn’t believe that Obamacare is perfect, but says Republicans in Congress should stop trying to repeal the law and give it a chance to work. “As a Republican, I think [the GOP's repeal effort] is childish and I think this is the wrong way to lead… it’s babyish and I think as a party it just reflects negatively upon us,” he explains.

Continue reading
http://thinkprogress.org/health/201...blican-from-alabama-learned-to-love-obamacare

 

[Kotin]

LOL what a moron..

Great job propaganda media.. Find one dumb fucking republican and parade him around as if he is the majority opinion..

 

[eduardo89]

Though he initially supported repealing the law, Pittman became curious about Obamacare in the days and weeks before it launched. For years, he had gone uninsured, thinking he’d be able to “get over anything with a bandaid and a six pack of beer.” But a lead poisoning incident earlier this year shook his confidence and bank account, leading him with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. “I was a healthy person and it really depleted me financially, so it made me look at things in a different way than I would before. I understood the importance of people being insured.”

Idiot, if you're a healthy person get a high deductible plan for emergencies and pay cash if you ever need to see a doctor. There is no logical reason why an employed person shouldn't at least have a high deductible plan for extreme circumstances. I doubt this guy is a libertarian or Ron/Rand supporter because he obviously has no clue about one of the biggest messages they preach: SELF RESPONSIBILITY!

“I’ve seen first hand people hitting up the emergency room for free health care and then putting a burden on [everyone else] and that’s not something I would want to do, I want to take personal responsibility … By no means am I trying to take a government handout…it’s not a free handout, you’re paying for this health care, but it’s making it more accessible to more people.”

That is not personal responsibility, you moron. Personal responsibility would have been getting insurance when you were healthy with a high deductible in case of emergencies. What you are doing now IS being a burden on everyone else, because your insurance through Obamacare is being subsidised!!!

What a load of BS this article is.


Edit: This is what a sample of health insurance plans for a 31 year old male in Alabama with a $5000-$10,000 deductible cost:

A lot less than the $160 he's paying now.

 

[jtstellar]

hmm 10 dollar wager he is a dailypaul regular

 

[krugminator]

Idiot, if you're a healthy person get a high deductible plan for emergencies and pay cash if you ever need to see a doctor.
.

He has a preexisting condition and is self-employed. He is not able to get insurance through other channels. That is the point of the article.

And obviously, I agree with everything else you said.

 

[eduardo89]

He has a preexisting condition and is self-employed. He is not able to get insurance through other channels. That is the point of the article.

And obviously, I agree with everything else you said.

His pre-existing condition is lead poisining, which happened earlier this year. It doesn't matter if he is self-employed, if he has an income he can afford $40-80/month for a high deductible insurance plan with a small co-pay for doctor's visits.

But a lead poisoning incident earlier this year shook his confidence and bank account, leading him with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. “I was a healthy person and it really depleted me financially, so it made me look at things in a different way than I would before. I understood the importance of people being insured.”

He's 31 years old, he should have had insurance for years now. There is almost no excuse for him not having insurance, he did not have any pre-existing condition before this year!

 

[Christian Liberty]

Idiot, if you're a healthy person get a high deductible plan for emergencies and pay cash if you ever need to see a doctor. There is no logical reason why an employed person shouldn't at least have a high deductible plan for extreme circumstances. I doubt this guy is a libertarian or Ron/Rand supporter because he obviously has no clue about one of the biggest messages they preach: SELF RESPONSIBILITY!

There are a lot of Ron Paul supporters who are actually just consistent (Well, as much as can be anyway) liberals.

 

[eduardo89]

There are a lot of Ron Paul supporters who are actually just consistent (Well, as much as can be anyway) liberals.

I think the problem is people don't understand self-responsibility. I'm not trying to make myself look like a posterboy for responsibility, but since my daughter was born 2.5 years ago we have never been uninsured. I can't imagine what would happen if I got a serious illness and couldn't pay the bills or got saddled with a huge debt or if, God forbid, something should happen to her and she didn't get the best possible medical treatment.

She already had surgery earlier this year for a chronic ear infection that just wouldn't go away for 6+ months. I ended up paying $0 for her surgery, just the $80/month insurance premium. During the 6 months she had the infection we probably went to the paediatrician and otolaryngologists at least 20 times, and paid nothing apart from the monthly premium.

I just can't understand how someone with a job can be irresponsible enough to not have at least some insurance.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

No one was ever stopping him from buying catastrophic coverage.

Sad truth: I know two former "libertarians" that fully support Obamacare now. Same reasons as the guy in this article. "Big corporate health industry will rape me if I have any health problems."

 

[malkusm]

I just can't understand how someone with a job can be irresponsible enough to not have at least some insurance.

But: If someone wants to, that is their right, and they should accept the responsibilities of that decision if they should encounter medical expenses.

I'd personally go without health care if I had an option, seeing as I'm young, healthy, never visit doctors, have some cash saved away for a rainy day, and work in insurance (so I know generally how unlikely it is that I'll need the insurance). But, as it is, I've enrolled myself the highest-deductible HSA my company offers. But, if I was without insurance, I'd know that it wasn't my neighbor's fault if I couldn't pay.

 

[LibertyEagle]

One of the problems has been that insurance should be attached to the individual, rather than through companies. Because if people with pre-existing conditions lose their job, they're pretty much up the creek.

 

[LibertyEagle]

This is an interesting article.

Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us

How outrageous pricing and egregious profits are destroying our health care

Read more: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2136864,00.html#ixzz2gnbtxF6B

In my opinion, the answer is for government to get completely out of the healthcare business. Allow competition across state lines. The market will straighten everything out in short order.

 

[Christian Liberty]

I just can't understand how someone with a job can be irresponsible enough to not have at least some insurance.

I don't think I'm going to get it. Mostly to stick it to them. When they mandate it, prices will skyrocket, and I'd honestly rather not pay the mafia.

 

[brandon]

Going without healthcare even if you're young and healthy is completely irresponsible. Even in the healthiest of people accidents happen. When I was 19 I got appendicitis and it cost my insurer something like 75 grand. I don't agree with the individual mandate, but as long as hospitals are mandated to treat everyone regardless of their ability to pay the situation gets a bit less black and white.

 

[LibertyEagle]

I don't think I'm going to get it. Mostly to stick it to them. When they mandate it, prices will skyrocket, and I'd honestly rather not pay the mafia.

I think you may want to think again about whether you are going to get insurance. Keep in mind that hospitals will only help you for free if it is life-threatening emergency. So, if you tear the crap out of your knee, while it may be painful and if not fixed quickly, damage you for life, it is not life-threatening. You will have to choose to pay 4 times the normal amount, if you do not have negotiated-rates through an insurance company or go without.

 

[eduardo89]

I don't think I'm going to get it. Mostly to stick it to them. When they mandate it, prices will skyrocket, and I'd honestly rather not pay the mafia.

You're an idiot then. You never know what may happen, just as brandon above said. He got appendicitis and it cost $75,000. You never know if you might get sick with that, or be in a car crash, or be playing sports and break a bone so bad you need surgery, or or or or....

 

[eduardo89]

But: If someone wants to, that is their right, and they should accept the responsibilities of that decision if they should encounter medical expenses.

I'd personally go without health care if I had an option, seeing as I'm young, healthy, never visit doctors, have some cash saved away for a rainy day, and work in insurance (so I know generally how unlikely it is that I'll need the insurance). But, as it is, I've enrolled myself the highest-deductible HSA my company offers. But, if I was without insurance, I'd know that it wasn't my neighbor's fault if I couldn't pay.

But that's not the world we live in. If you don't have insurance you are a burden on others, your costs WILL be passed on to those who have insurance and pay taxes. In a perfect world, I'd agree with you, but that's not the system that exists right now.

 

[MichaelDavis]

This moron is going to be paying overpriced premiums to cover the obese, the smokers, and the alcoholics. If he had half a brain, he would realize it would be much cheaper to pay the penalty and buy health insurance whenver he needs it.

 

[malkusm]

But that's not the world we live in. If you don't have insurance you are a burden on others, your costs WILL be passed on to those who have insurance and pay taxes. In a perfect world, I'd agree with you, but that's not the system that exists right now.

This is the same logic that was used to promote the bailout of the financial system - "Yes, they made terrible choices, but we shouldn't ALL suffer because of them." So, instead, we all are forced to pay a tax to subsidize bad decisions.

How is it that bankruptcy and liquidation is the answer in our financial system, but when it comes to personal decision-making, I should be made to buy something so that I am prevented from ever needing to do so?

 

[angelatc]

He has a preexisting condition and is self-employed. He is not able to get insurance through other channels. That is the point of the article.

And obviously, I agree with everything else you said.

I don't even believe that. I have known people with freaking cancer that managed to get insurance, although cancer was excluded from their coverage. Everything the media says is a lie.