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Well, no kidding! You'd be better off to take that premium money and sock it away in the bank where it draws interest, pay for your regular visits out of pocket, and keep saving for any future emergencies. I agree, that Obamacare is worthless. Especially for young people.
Kathryn, you haven't lived until you've groveled before a state High-Risk pool, providing evidence of your denials by insurance companies, medical affadavits, etc. all so that you would be grudgingly permitted to fork over about 25% of your monthly income for 60% coverage after a $6k deductible. Now, thanks to the ACA, you will never have the pleasure. Sorry.
And isn't that abstract term "pre-existing conditions" a pesky one? May you never encounter it in reality...
I actually had a pre existing condition at one time, and opted to buy a less expensive policy that specifically excluded that pre existing condition for a period of two years - an option that is no longer legal.
Our premiums are currently nearly $1200 a month, with a $5000 deductible each, and NO CAP on out of pocket expenses if we don't stay in network - and the network is very limited.
So yeah, I'm livin' the dream. I mean, the nightmare.
We as retired Canadians are privileged to live in a senior retirement community in Florida for the winter months and the stories are absolutely horrendous to listen to regarding all of the angst over this issue.
Peruse public forums of any country you choose and you will find far less of this human tragedy unfolding in the 21st century. Yep; there's wait time considerations but predominantly for elective procedures. Yep, there's economy of scale issues that result in availability of services being governed by budget concerns eg: fewer MRI machines, but then our doctors are not prescribing unnecessary MRI's for everything from hangnails to bursitis just to pay for equipment overheads.
Canadians with means are just like Americans with means; if they can access a service with convenience being their major concern, they will willingly pay the freight to go wherever BUT; the obverse is NOT prevalent; they are not paying in the order of Americans to access service due to having NO OTHER CHOICE, or the service provided is TOO EXPENSIVE!
Our country will send people to the U.S. or elsewhere and pay for the service required if it is not available due to bed shortage or the service/procedure itself. In your country, many employer provided insurance plans are recommending overseas treatments for routine treatments/procedures due to the COST implications. That should be an obvious indictment upon a system that otherwise would be lauded for it's superiority.
I actually had a pre existing condition at one time, and opted to buy a less expensive policy that specifically excluded that pre existing condition for a period of two years - an option that is no longer legal.
Our premiums are currently nearly $1200 a month, with a $5000 deductible each, and NO CAP on out of pocket expenses if we don't stay in network - and the network is very limited.
So yeah, I'm livin' the dream. I mean, the nightmare.
Isn't there a provision for individuals to set aside some substantial sum of money, say $20,000, for health care in an appropriate account to become eligible to become exempt from the Obamacare insurance requirement?
I thought I read that somewhere. Does anyone know anything about that?
Isn't there a provision for individuals to set aside some substantial sum of money, say $20,000, for health care in an appropriate account to become eligible to become exempt from the Obamacare insurance requirement?
I thought I read that somewhere. Does anyone know anything about that?
You're talking about tax exempt Health Savings Accounts.
Believe it or not, not all high deductible plans qualify for that tax benefit. For instance, mine doesn't. Get this - it's got TOO HIGH a deductible to qualify - as if that makes any sense at all.
And I have a question for the IRS and the insurance companies while we're discussing this - why should a private insurance plan have to comply with certain IRS standards in order for an individual to be able to qualify for a tax benefit? I mean, why can't ANYONE set aside tax exempt money for healthcare purposes, as long as they can prove that they spent that money on healthcare related to an actual out of pocket cost?
And the annual contribution limit is only $3350 - not anywhere close to $20,000. So the tax benefits are pretty darn small even if you are "lucky" enough to qualify.
I loved my old "junk policy" when I was in law school. It's now illegal under Obamacare, but it was perfect for my needs- I chose a high deductible ($2,000, low by today's standards) and excluded certain coverages, such as chemotherapy and child birth, and the premiums were $200 per month ($2,400/yr). It was perfect insurance to get me from the age of 26 until starting my legal job shortly thereafter. I was protected from falls, accidents, major illnesses; basically everything except the chemotherapy aspect of cancer (other treatments still covered). Oh, and I bought it on a website called "ehealthinsurance.com" which was essentially an "exchange", years before Obama "created" the exchanges.
I recently checked the premium for the obamacare approved version of that plan, and it's now over $700 per month ($8,400/yr) with a $5,000 deductible, and the co-insurance rate is higher once the deductible is met. But now chemotherapy is included.
Thank god Obama is protecting us from all of those horrible "junk policies". Oh, and Roadking- you're totally right. Obama turned what was a decent catastrophic plan into a total junk plan- it used to cost $4,400 out of pocket before coverage kicked in and now requires $13,400 out of pocket before paying a dime. Obamacare is one of the greatest scams perpetrated on society.
Yes. Obamacare is the disaster that just keeps on going.... like an energizer bunny with aids.
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