system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: My dad's views of Obamacare, and, on a much broader spectrum, socialist healthcare systems in general.

Hi.

So, my dad is a pretty old guy who says that, if Obamacare, or any sort of healthcare system which is socialist in any way, were to be passed, that people like me who have, say, Psychosis, would not be able to choose their own doctors. He says that's because the government would be able to choose which doctors you're able to see, and also because, according to him, the poorest of the poor would all want to see the best doctors, and would be able to because they would be covered, and thus would clog up the system, making it difficult to see great doctors. 

Now, I know next to nothing about Obamacare, and as mentioned above, I have Psychosis, so I don't know how Obamacare, or any sort of socialist healthcare system, would affect me. So, could somebody please ELI5?
gpt
True "Socialist" medicine does exist in the U.S. It's called Medicare (health coverage for the elderly) or Medicaid (health coverage for those in poverty). The Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare") is *not* socialized medicine. In fact, you might wish to ask your father if he plans to enroll in Medicare when he's of age (if he's not already). If his answer is "yes," then ask him why he supports socialist medicine? 

Your father apparently has a spotty memory with respect to how things operated in the health sector prior to the ACA, though this is not uncommon for those who consume large quantities of right-wing "news" media.

The ACA is a mandate and a system for citizens to purchase insurance from exchanges that provide access to policies from private insurance corporations (if such policies are not already provided by the citizens' employers or if they are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid). These plans are required to cover a spectrum of things, including prenatal visits and birth control that you may not use. **However, the ACA also expands mental health coverage in most plans,** something that you may personally benefit from in your situation. 

The important thing for most people who were uncovered before is that the Affordable Care Act makes available affordable insurance covering a basic level of services and that won't discriminate against someone for "preexisting conditions." This is a big deal, really. It used to be that before the ACA that if one contracted a potentially expensive condition, then one ran the risk of the insurance company canceling one's policy; you then wouldn't be able to get coverage because of these "preexisting conditions." This practice was ruinous for many, as they lost their coverage right when they needed it most. Indeed, medical expenses are still the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. Many people felt the need to stay in jobs where they were abused (poor working conditions, frozen salaries, diminishing benefits) purely because they were afraid of losing employer-provided health coverage. (This is one of the major reasons that the business sector is fighting so hard for its repeal--when workers can't afford to leave their jobs, employers have *huge* leverage over the workforce.)

While you can still see any doctor you want, your specific insurance plan may or may not cover your visit. Many plans only cover physicians who are "in network" and don't cover (or don't cover fully) visits to doctors outside of the network. This is a practice that neither started with nor was exacerbated by the ACA. It's simply business as usual for the insurance companies in an ongoing effort to cut costs and maximize profits. Presumably, plans that cost a bit more but allow a larger spectrum of doctors to be seen will have some competitive advantage in the markets, though whether this is truly the case when everything shakes down is yet to be determined (the medical insurance markets are far from efficient in the capitalist sense, as they are effectively state-protected duopolies and thus not subject to the same market forces as, say, a Sears or Walmart). 

As for "clogging up the system" with patients, the poorest of the poor already have Medicaid and many doctors, particularly specialists, limit significantly the Medicaid and Medicare patients they see. One reason is that while Medicare compensation is roughly break-even for them in terms of costs, they actually lose money seeing Medicaid patients. This is a separate problem apart from the ACA.

Incidentally, the poor do "clog the system" now with emergency room visits, since it's the law that they be stabilized before being sent on their merry way, with the costs passed along to the paying customers. 

The ACA is the right-wing solution to the healthcare problem. It's the plan promoted by the Heritage Foundation (a right-wing think-tank) and implemented successfully by the former Republican Governor Mitt Romney in the state of Mass. The political left wanted a single-payer system but such systems aren't likely anytime soon, save for in a few states like Vermont who are flirting with setting them up on a smaller scale. 

Edit: missing word. 

Edit 2: Thanks for the Gold!