The good things in the Obamacare law:

1. Congress members and their families and staffs had to be covered under the law.

2. Insurance companies had to cover people with pre-existing conditions.

3. Children could stay on their parents’ policies until they were 26 years old.

The bad things about the law:

1. President Barack Obama and Congress exempted Congress and their families and staff from being required to be covered under the law. It was going to cost them up to $5,000 yearly (it is based on salary), and they complained, so they were exempted.

2. There are 18 different taxes in the law. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Al Franken are trying to get the tax on medical devices dropped from the law. ( Minnesota has many companies making medical devices.)

3. Minnesota has divided the state into eight regions, if you live in Region 1 a family of four with a platinum policy will pay $1,200 a month (the Rochester region). If you live in Region 8 (the Minneapolis region) you will pay $704 for the same policy. (These facts are from an article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.)

4. MNsure is the state-run website that people can go on to figure out what is the best policy for them. It cost millions to set up and it will take millions yearly to keep up. (Before this law, our insurance agent just gave us a list of the 20-plus policies that we could get in Minnesota and the benefits and monthly cost.) Now they will pay trained people from $25 to $75 To help you use the website properly.

5. The federal government is spending something like $500 million or more in advertising to get people to take out insurance that is required by law. (So much for personal responsibility.)

P.S.: Please call your Congressperson and tell him or her how pleased you are that they do not have to be covered under this law!

 

Russel Tordoff
Glenville