republican going bling cause he rejected obamacare

[natina]

Guy Going Blind Inspires Heated ObamaCare Debate

Luis Lang shunned insurance, now can't get it

A man named Luis Lang in South Carolina is emerging as the face of a new debate about ObamaCare. As a story by Ann Doss Helms of the Charlotte Observer explains, Lang is a 49-year-old self-employed handyman who has long shunned health insurance and paid his own medical bills. But now he's going blind and can't cover the bills needed to save his vision. Lang, a Republican, knew Obama's Affordable Care Act required him to get coverage but chose not to do so. He tried to sign up once he got sick but missed the enrollment period. His wife now refers to it as the "Not Fair Health Care Act." Because South Carolina opted out of the act's Medicaid expansion, he can't get help on that front, leaving a GoFundMe page as his best hope. Finally, Lang is a smoker who admits he's been lax in controlling his diabetes.

As Helms writes: "Anyone who’s remotely familiar with insurance knows there’s no system that lets people skip payments while they’re healthy and cash in when they get sick." Lang is now taking flak, especially on the left, for blaming ObamaCare for his predicament. Some reaction:
• John Marshall, Talking Points Memo: "I always try to remind myself not to criticize with stories like (this one), or perhaps better to say, not to forget the core reason for providing a comprehensive national plan to provide health insurance for everyone who needs it. But this story really puts that sentiment to the test, as well as exposing the perverse politics and perceptions on this issue in Republican-run states."
• Jay Bookman, Atlanta Journal Constitution: "In short, the health-care problem would be a lot easier to solve if it wasn’t complicated by the fact that it involves human beings, or if human beings were actually the rational beings that economic theory likes to pretend we are."
• Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times: "The most pathetic part of this story may be that while the Langs bear total personal responsibility for their predicament, they're still blaming Obama and the Democrats. South Carolina's political 'leadership' has a lot to answer for."


http://www.newser.com/story/206783/guy-going-blind-inspires-heated-obamacare-debate.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=united&utm_campaign=rss_topnews

[dreamon]

If he is being denied insurance, this is against the ACA.

[broncofan]

If he is being denied insurance, this is against the ACA.
I don't think it is though. He decided to opt out of the personal mandate and not get insurance despite knowing that under the law he was obligated to get insurance. He cannot get Medicaid because his state opted out of the expansion (the Supreme Court said they had this right and many Republican run states decided they did not want to expand Medicaid). If it were a single payer system then it would be a moot issue, but certainly he would not have been covered before the enactment of PPACA either. He chose not to insure himself, and then decided to get insured only when he had exorbitant medical costs…that's not how insurance works.

[broncofan]

If you read the section on state rejections of Medicaid expansion you will also understand why he could not get Medicaid…not because PPACA did not provide for the expansion but because the Supreme Court said states would not have to implement it, and some states as a result did not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act#State_r ejections_of_Medicaid_expansion

[trish]

Apparently Mrs. Lang, who sees the ACA as another intrusion of big government, sees no irony in the fact that she now thinks government should step in an subsidize her husband's medical expenses. I do hope Mr. Lang finds the charity he needs to save his sight, and I agree with Mrs. Lang that there should be a government program in place to help people when tragedy strikes. If only people like Mrs. Lang weren't so obstructive to the implementation of such programs we might have a national health care plan that serves everyone.

[martin48]

we might have a national health care plan that serves everyone.

We have it's called the National Health Service - our new government is hell-bent on privatising it. And your Republicans accused the NHS of having death panels

[broncofan]

EMTALA is there when tragedy strikes. Medicaid is there for people who can't afford insurance (now up to 133% of federal poverty line). The federal subsidies help people who have up to 400% of the poverty limit buy their own insurance. It is Mr. and Mrs. Lang's animosity towards people who are trying to help them that has led to his worsened condition…

Even with a pre-existing condition he would be allowed to enroll during the enrollment period. He broke the law by not maintaining an insurance policy. This is someone who probably rails against the poor and people taking handouts, who now sees himself begging people to give him money for free instead of responsibly insuring himself against health risks. The Republican ethos would demand that this man face consequences for his irresponsibility…yet it won't apply for someone who's such a stalwart opponent of our national health care system.

Without a single payer system there is simply no way to help people who do not take advantage of the services offered them, and who live in states whose Republican legislatures have failed to provide for their citizens for limited cost (free until 2016 and then 90% paid for by the federal gov until 2020).

[Ben in LA]

Saw this on Tumblr:

"Not meaning to be cruel but I have no sympathy for idiots that rant their entire lives about taking care of themselves and how others are nothing more than freeloaders. Yet when something bad happens to them they whimper and wine for tax-payer help and curse the very folks that were trying to help them in the first place. These people should be left to their own devices."

This can also apply to those Texans - especially Ted Cruz - who wants the government to help them with the flood after voting AGAINST helping New Oreans with THEIR flood.