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Old 09-21-2016, 09:01 AM
 
Location: Concord, CA
7,130 posts, read 9,209,371 times
Reputation: 25372

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Individual health insurance policies are quickly becoming unaffordable to those who receive no subsidy.

Solutions?


Colorado residents who buy their health insurance themselves will pay 20 percent more on average next year, and, for the first time, residents in 14 counties will have the choice of only one carrier offering plans in their area via the state health insurance exchange.

Colorado health-insurance rates to jump 20 percent on average for individual buyers in 2017 – The Denver Post
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Old 09-21-2016, 11:01 AM
 
9,846 posts, read 22,595,835 times
Reputation: 7738
Oh well too bad obamacare lovers. I don't have any sympathy for those that believed big government would deliver them into a utopia where it's all free or cheap.
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Old 09-21-2016, 11:12 AM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,592 posts, read 14,771,707 times
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The most effective solution is getting people to change their health habits. Exercise more, stop smoking, quit drinking like a fish, and lay off the fast food and other unhealthy crap.

Healthcare should be preventive, not reactive. Keeping someone from developing diabetes and heart disease is a LOT cheaper than treating the conditions.

Amendment 69 is NOT the answer. If that harebrained pile of *&^% passes I'm leaving the state before the crush of deadbeats arrive.
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Old 09-21-2016, 11:21 AM
 
26,648 posts, read 13,608,994 times
Reputation: 19104
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluescreen73 View Post
The most effective solution is getting people to change their health habits. Exercise more, stop smoking, quit drinking like a fish, and lay off the fast food and other unhealthy crap.

Healthcare should be preventive, not reactive. Keeping someone from developing diabetes and heart disease is a LOT cheaper than treating the conditions.

Amendment 69 is NOT the answer. If that harebrained pile of *&^% passes I'm leaving the state before the crush of deadbeats arrive.
I agree with you regarding people adopting healthier habits but they still are required to buy health insurance by law and even those who are in the best health still will have to pay more and more just to carry health insurance, whether the ever use it or not. At some point the cost just becomes too much and the choices too few, yet they have to buy it or pay a tax penalty. It's really messed up.

I also agree that Amendment 69 is not the answer.
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Old 09-21-2016, 01:19 PM
 
315 posts, read 464,219 times
Reputation: 923
I just received a letter from Anthem confirming that my rates are going up 25% starting January 1st.

I've got the absolute cheapest insurance offered in my area (employer is too small to offer subsidize insurance). It covers practically nothing and it will now cost me $3k a year. I've never once used it for any reason. I make too much to qualify for subsidies or tax credits, yet not enough for this to be remotely affordable (especially since I'll be trying to purchase a home in the spring).

While I don't really want to get into a political debate, I was and am a big proponent of single-payer healthcare (though I remain undecided on Amendment 69 for several reasons, many of which have been discussed at length in the other thread) and this only adds fuel to my fire for wanting to get rid of this nightmare of a healthcare system that we have in the US. I'd be happy with paying this same amount if I knew it meant that any and all procedures, tests, doctor's vists, etc were covered for myself and my neighbors. What exists now is just a mess. I understand the logic behind the health insurance mandate, but we're beginning to see the unintended consequences of the ACA.

Despite the extreme risks involved, I'm weighing just paying the fine for the 2017 tax year and taking my chances.
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Old 09-21-2016, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Concord, CA
7,130 posts, read 9,209,371 times
Reputation: 25372
I hear you. How much is the fine?

I've advised all my friends to wait until Medicare age (65) to retire. Do it sooner than that and you have huge uncertainty in medical costs.
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Old 09-21-2016, 06:06 PM
 
2,762 posts, read 3,167,961 times
Reputation: 5402
If you voted for it, enjoy.

ACA was never a good idea right from the beginning.

Last edited by High Altitude; 09-21-2016 at 06:15 PM..
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Old 09-21-2016, 08:00 PM
 
315 posts, read 464,219 times
Reputation: 923
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vision67 View Post
I hear you. How much is the fine?
As far as I can tell, it's still $695 or 2.5% of your income, whichever is higher. The fixed rate is supposed to go up every year, but I think it's staying the same this year.
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Old 09-21-2016, 08:10 PM
 
862 posts, read 1,188,512 times
Reputation: 1067
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluescreen73 View Post
The most effective solution is getting people to change their health habits. Exercise more, stop smoking, quit drinking like a fish, and lay off the fast food and other unhealthy crap.
One of supervisors says this quite often. Actually she had said in the past if she would see anyone on our staff drinking an energy drink, eating at McDonalds more than once a week or smoking a cigarette and if she had the power to do so she would take away their health insurance. She really believes that the lifestyle one has should be the answer as to whether or not one can get health insurance or not. I guess that would be one way to force those to become more healthier.
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Old 09-21-2016, 11:33 PM
 
812 posts, read 1,464,593 times
Reputation: 2134
Self-employed and insurance rates for a completely healthy family of 4 is up to 10K/year. We each average 1-2 doctor visits a year, max. It was going up 10-15 percent a year before the ACA and that pace has increased. Its really stunning. I mean just ... stunning. I'm beginning to factor health insurance costs into charitable giving because I can only really grasp the expense of it if I think of it as mandatory charitable giving. My family's costs have doubled or more to allow other's costs to go down through subsidies and the insurance companies just continue raking it in hand over fist.

Fortunately in my profession I have a fairly high number of very wealthy doctor clients so I can ... ahem ... pass the cost of their horrendous system right back at em. God forbid anybody ever gets sick or hurt. Just the thought alone generated a hospital bill of several thousand dollars.
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