ObamaCare Survival Guide: The Affordable Care Act and What It Means for You and Your Healthcare

You will find two general categories of reviews here on Amazon, those from people who embrace the new law (calling it the affordable health care act), and the rest of us, who call it ObamaCare. I wanted a neutral book so I could build a check-list for continued study. This book provides a good overview, and a little more. As far as I can discern, the author has avoided taking sides in this most polarizing debate. That does not mean the author avoids drawing inferences from the information he presents - he does - but this is not a political book. No matter what side you plan to take in the decades long battle over ObamaCare, I think you would be wise to begin with the neutral analysis Tate has provided. Some reviews have asked for more information, but by using the book to narrow further study to the sub-topics you have a particular interest in, readers can study further with more efficiency. If you then take an informed political position on the new law, you can argue that position from a sound factual basis.

ObamaCare Survival Guide - Nick J. Tate The Truth About ObamaCare - Sally C. Pipes Beating ObamaCare - Betsy McCaughey It's clear that this thing is a train wreck, a disaster, a ravenous budget-busting entitlement behemoth monster (Pipes pg. 217, Tate pg. 49). I can explain how it strives to save money over lives (Pipes pg. 131), but won't even touch on what it will do to small business, or raiding the Medicare that our seniors depend on, or the burden of exchanges on state budgets, or the 5.2 million illegal aliens excluded (Pipes pg. 50, Tate pg. 38, 183). What hurts the most is that it shakes the confidence we have in our government. As I understand it, the question is: Should we all chip in to help cover medical insurance for all US citizens including those of limited means, and at the same time reduce the cost of insurance by broadening the base? (Pipes pg. 2) There are three legs to this law: 1. Compulsory, 2. Community rates, and 3. Guaranteed issue. Like a three-legged stool, if even one of these mandates buckles, the whole system will collapse. Similar to car insurance in most states, it's mandatory for every US citizen. Hopefully, by broadening the base wide enough everyone's subscription rate will be about the same. Furthermore, you can't be denied insurance because of a preexisting condition. very ambitious. Since this law amounts to a restructuring of our free market system, a few minor adjustments must be made to the law to make it work. Here are some of those little wrinkles that explain why the bill has become a stack of papers eight feet tall. What do we do about the invincibles between the ages of 19 and 34? If they do buy any insurance they usually opt for a catastropic plan (Tate pg. 67) with a large deductible. Since they won't pay in much, the funding base will narrow. The answer is simple. Fine them. The Supreme Court has allowed the IRS this power, anywhere from $695 to $2085 a year (Tate pg. 64). If you opt for the fine, it could take years before the IRS catches up to you as it doesn't have the army of accountants it will need to check your returns and enforce the penalty. The IRS might even be reluctant to take aggressive action in a sea of litigation (Tate pg. 205). Right now the worst it can do is deny your refund, if you expect one. What if you're in need but slip through the cracks and are uninsured? Since you can't be denied insurance for a preexisting condition (Tate pg. 123) you can game the system by waiting until you get sick or until you crash your bike and break your spine. Then you can limp over to your local insurance exchange. That's one reason the law is unenforceable. What about the cost of those who require intensive life-long care? Since we've given up on supply-and-demand free market and since the government is going to meddle with the economy on such a grand scale, many adjustments must be made continually for equitable distribution of limited services and collection of revenues to support the program. That means an array of councils, agencies, forces, offices, panels, institutes, commissions and think tanks will be needed, like the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), also known as "the death panel." It will be appointed, not elected, and will be made up of statisticians, not doctors, with virtual full discretionary power. They will keep costs under control by deciding what care they will pay for. That alone will skew research and innovation (Pipes pg.130), but beyond that, statistics can only point one way: THE QUICKER YOU DIE, THE CHEAPER YOU ARE. It's that simple. If you fall outside the bulge in their curve, well, you're just living too long (McCaughley pg. 74) and are no longer considered a productive member of our society (Tate pg. 177). You should be turned over to end-of-life care (McCaughey pg. 71-73). That way, we can save money by lowering our standards (McCaughey pg. 113). How can we get more money to fund this monster? Well, consider milking a technological miracle, the MRI scanner. If it were up to me I'd turn them out like hot cakes and put one in every drug store. And now what are we going to do with breakthrough medical devices like prostheses, artificial lenses, lower back disks, and remission drugs? Tax them! (Pipes pg. 133, Tate pg.199). What about these physician-owned hospitals that introduce innovation, are efficient, competitive, but omit money-losing services such as the emergency room? The solution is simple. Get rid of them. Cut them off from Medicare. (Tates, pg. 180). Of course with 30 million more patients allegedly comming in, hospitals will need all the help they can get; and just at a time when many are closing and clinicians are leaving their profession in droves. So what's wrong with socialized medicine? The Brits pay for their care out of general tax revenues. They only pay 11% of their GDP for health care while we pay 19%. Well first of all, European plans are just plain skimpy. Socialist countries strive to treat all patients equally, and so give them equally poor care. That's why the Brits and the Canadians come here for their operations. Labs in Seattle, Washington have been providing Canadians with MRI scans to get them off their endless waiting list. Second, Europeans benefit from our medicine and devices after the Yanks have already forked over for their development (Tate pg. 122). Third, we enjoy over-utilization, meaning we prefer some (forgive a misnomer) overkill with amenities in our care (Tate pg. 152) but we also do twice as many knee operations per capita. My goodness, that's a blessing, not a curse. We spend more simply because we earn more and can afford better (McCaughey pg. 114). So what are you worth? Your body is made of water, a little carbon and some minerals amounting to a few pennies. Quality of life is subjective, unless it happens to be your own (Pipes pg. 126). If we live a longer and fuller life, then as a consequence a longer-living population will require even more healthcare (Tate pg. 167). Does that mean we're going forwards or are we going backwards? Our current system is still better than countries considered superior, even those with longer life expectancies (Tate pg. 121). You can move to Japan and live an extra five years, but you're giving up your lifestyle and preferences. A couch potato may smoke like a chimney, but can we deny him/her his right to live his own way? There are many factors in your well-being and longevity that are not directly connected to your medical care. So what's the right direction? I don't know if we all have a God given constitutional right to the best medical care possible. I do know that science and innovation are ultimately the answer. Who would think that a room full of kitchen blenders could lick Polio? Many people today don't even know what an iron lung is. My great grandmother died of influenza. In the meantime until that day comes, here are a few suggestions. Encourage assembly line methods for routine procedures. Discourage misdirected care, like the drug lord who took four bullets and needed 40 pints of blood to pull him through. Encourage easier entry into the medical profession at a time when American students have to go overseas for an MD, or when we must drain poor countries of the few doctors they have. Make the individual aware of how vulnerable he is, tell him that age will eventually overtake him, and that he is ultimately responsible for his own well-being.

It's OK and somewhat helpful. I would say for someone who knows absolutely NOTHING about ObamaCare, it might be useful. However, ObamaCare changes daily it seems so who knows if it's actually still current or not. Personally, I don't think it's possible to survive ObamaCare. I think we are doomed to the very inferior socialized medicine plan now and I think we might be beyond the tipping point. Not sure there's any turning back. Oh, how I wish it would be totally repealed. I hope younger people totally rebel against it and just flat out do NOT sign up for it. The burden is on their backs to pay for it for all the people who are too lazy to work for their own benefits. It will totally bankrupt this country but, of course, that's the intended plan for it anyway.

Nancy Pelosi uttered the words in the title of this posting when she was Speaker of the House, Back then virtually no senator or representative had read thousands of pages and it is a good bet as of this date few have. The ObamaCare Survival Guide by Nick Tate gave most of us at least a basic understanding of what the law was about. One thing that is not the author's fault is that the law as was enacted didn't anticipate the number of Executive Orders and so on that changed deadlines and procedures over a dozen times and to the point that some in Congress want this executive power to change passed legislation to end. But that part of the law is being rewritten as you read this. But by reading this book you can understand most of what is going on today and what healthcare providers can look forward to in the not too distant future. It is worth the reading.

It was delivered quickly, and was exactly what I expected it to be. I bought this book as a starting point for a paper for my research writing class. It turned out that I could write my entire argument for the healthcare overhaul from the weak "facts" in this book. For example, an unnamed study found that 53% of Americans are against AFA. His source only had a sample of 1000 people. That's not enough people to validate ANY claim, let alone one that he applies to the US population. The book is full of this sort of bad information. He actually said the law would bring about death panels, which is something that has long been found to be false. If you are looking for facts on the healthcare law, go to healthcare.gov. If you want to read a poor excuse for research, read this person's book. Google him, and the publisher, you'll see the kind of people they are.

YOU mean they don't have all of the rules yet? I thought the Affordable Act was signed? Oh yes - it was signed and acted on but there is much to be done yet in the years ahead, and we will only just start seeing it in the weeks and months ahead of us. Excellent book to read - won't take much time, since it is broken up in easy to read chapters. Simple language for anyone to understand. Everyone needs to read this - so YOU know what is in store for YOU, Your family and your neighbors and your community. This affects is all. Best to learn and know how to prepare and then to be unprepared and wonder.

The book is informative, but mentally taxing. I don't fault the author, but my attempt to read and understand what's good or bad about this "TAX" gives me a headache and nausea. I started and stopped reading it numerous times, and, without the first "TADA!" moment. I'm trying to stay positive, but the material is way-unexciting. "Survival Guide" is spread-out like a 16 chapter workbook with captioned Tips and Quotes that keep it flowing along. The final chapter warns "Protect Yourself Against Obama Care" under the heading LOOKING AHEAD. Okay! Personally, I must protect myself, as I always have. I believe the book will be a reference source I can go to as the implementation begins. Currently though on it's merits, as outlined here, I cannot find one positive feature or benefit of this new TAX that the helps me or my family, period. I hope there's a sequel entitled "We Survived Obama Care". I will gladly buy that one too.

I was looking for specific info and this book did not provide it. It gives very general information, and not much on each topic. It's good enough if you want a broad overview, but if you're looking for specifics, spend your money elsewhere. I found that I could have located this information for free with very little looking. It's not often I'm disappointed in a book, especially one that's marketed to be informational, but this book was a real let down. Buyer be ware.