Real Insurance Alternatives

[chrisCD]

I have two children on a health sharing plan through Liberty HealthShare. One is a college student and the other a missionary. Our HMO wouldn't cover them. The college plan was quite expensive. We had our first Dr. visit since I put them on the plan. The cost of the visit was reduce by about 50% and now I am waiting to see how the other bills are handled (MRI and a brace).

If you are interested visit their website. Read everything very carefully. But so far, so good for us. BTW for the rest of our family, between our premiums and deductible, the cost is about 10K a year. I think that is a bit high, but others may disagree. Liberty is a fraction of what our family health plan costs.

cd :O)

[germaine2626]

Originally Posted by Qwerty

The ACA is not a health insurance plan, it is legislation that has give millions of people access to health insurance that did not have coverage before. There is a wealth of information on the internet about getting individual health insurance plans. Part of the ACA was the establishment of state marketplaces, which are central websites to shop various insurance company plans--basically a shopping mall for health insurance, to make the process easier. The only reason to buy a plan from the marketplace is if you get subsidies otherwise, you can go to any health insurance company and buy an individual plan.

Yes, you will have deductibles/out of pocket costs but those can range from $500 to $12,000. I guess I'm not sure why you think that is a bad thing. Even with employer sponsored plans you will see a range of deductibles/out of pocket costs like this.

If your income is low enough, you will qualify for subsidies for your premiums and/or out of pocket costs. I know people that make so little that they are paying $10-20/month for their premiums and have a max out of pocket of $1500. That is what the ACA has done for people. Such a "sham"

I know someone who before the Affordable Health Care Act had to stop taking a major medication because she could not afford the $800 per month cost on her low income (after she turned 26 & had to leave her parent's health care plan) and this was with a different health insurance plan (but it did not cover prescriptions). Luckily, not taking that medicine for six months did not destroy her health but it was a pretty dangerous thing to have to do.

On her new insurance, after the ACA started, she was able to get all of her medications for only $5 to $10 per month (including the one that she had to stop taking earlier). She had small co-pays for doctor's visits. I don't know what kind of coverage she had for major problems, like being in the hospital or surgery, because she did not have any issues like that as of yet.


I am retired, but still get my insurance under a group plan from my former employer. They offer a variety of deductibles ranging from $400 in network & $1,000 out of network to $4,000 in network & $10,000 out of network for a family plan. It depends on a number of things, including what percentage of the health insurance premium you wish to pay. If you pay higher monthly premiums you will have lower deductibles. I only pay $260 a month, but many people pay much more than I pay.

[Stagemomma]

Originally Posted by Qwerty

The only reason to buy a plan from the marketplace is if you get subsidies otherwise, you can go to any health insurance company and buy an individual plan.

Yes, you will have deductibles/out of pocket costs but those can range from $500 to $12,000. I guess I'm not sure why you think that is a bad thing. Even with employer sponsored plans you will see a range of deductibles/out of pocket costs like this.

If your income is low enough, you will qualify for subsidies for your premiums and/or out of pocket costs. I know people that make so little that they are paying $10-20/month for their premiums and have a max out of pocket of $1500. That is what the ACA has done for people. Such a "sham"

This is 100% correct.

If you really need to know, go to the Marketplace and walk through the process. No commitment until you're ready. It will tell you right away if you qualify for a subsidy. Then, google health insurance options for your state and ask them for quotes. Compare. It can be confusing.

Don't make decisions based on rumor and conjecture.

I am very happy with my marketplace plan. I could go directly to the same company I use and buy a policy, as Qwerty suggested, but I would have paid MORE MONEY for the SAME policy.

I confess I have no idea what my deductibles are. I'll only need those if something really bad happens. Remember, the ACA requires that certain preventive care is free. FREE. So I do my annual check up, get my screening exams paid for, and have minimal copays for seeing specialists. My point is, since I started my marketplace policy, I've never had to care what my deductible is.

Health care is expensive. Period. Insurance is expensive. Period. Work with it.