Forced to Have Coverage, Can’t Afford It – Story
I was forced to take Obama care after leaving a full time job to run our family business and take care of my parents. The premiums are 40% of my take home pay. I live in NJ, so I also have the highest car insurance, property taxes and retail costs in the nation. I do not qualify for Medicaid I make $500 too much. This was a total payoff to the insurance companies, and to low income democratic voters. There is no reward for working, if I was unemployed I could get Medicaid and never pay a dime. I could give a false ss# and never pay a dime.
The Senate and Congress have gold level plans that don’t cost them a dime. We pay for them, for the uninsured, and for us. What incentive is there to work?
I fully expect this to get deleted, I understand that this was a useless waste of time for me to write. I will be voting against any pro obama-care politician at any level. I had to make a choice to help my family, or improve my financial situation, unfortunately I chose family and I am paying for it and everyone else.
Sincerely sorry to hear about your frustrations. However, there are some things here that you could have done much differently to get lots more help!
If you make $500 too much to qualify for Medicaid there are a number of different deductions you can look into to affect your MAGI to help you qualify based on income. (Although exact rules for eligibility depend upon what state you live in).
If you didn’t have coverage through work, it would have been simple. You make less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level in household income. That means your coverage should have been 2% of household income for the Second Lowest Cost Silver plan on your states marketplace. As long as you make 100%-400% FPL, and don’t have AFFORDABLE coverage though work, you have Marketplace or Medicaid options.
Now we get to the family business. Why is your family business offering health plans that cost 40% of an employees household income? Regardless of the answer, you simply need to get an employer coverage tool filled out so you can go ahead and get that Marketplace coverage. If coverage costs more than 9.56% of household income per person on average, your coverage is considered unaffordable and you qualify for the marketplace.
Minus the network, a silver plan for someone making 150% FPL is actually cheaper and better than a Gold plan anyway.
Unless your family business has 50 or more full-time equivalent employees then they don’t actually have to provide coverage and won’t owe the fee for you getting Marketplace cost assistance.
Here is the employer coverage tool: https://www.healthcare.gov/downloads/employer-coverage-tool.pdf
Remember the cost of employer healthcare isn’t going to go down with a repeal of ObamaCare, but you understanding ObamaCare and taking advantage of it could save you about 38% of your income.
That 9.56% only applies to the premium. Then you need to factor in copays and deductible. Which I bet was never considered. The plan that I was offered, the premium was 260.00 a month. Then a 4000.00 ded, which breaks down to 250.00 a month if you make payments. Then subject to 30% responsibility after the 4000.00 ded is met. That is over 500.00 a month. Which is 25% of my salary. How would people that make 100000.00 a year like to sped 25000.00 a year on health ins.
This is very true, 9.56% is only the premium, with out-of-pocket costs things can go over 10% or more. Luckily with HSAs, premium tax credits, out-of-pocket assistance, and being able to deduct all medical expenses over 10% there are a few ways to ease the pain a bit at tax time.
Ease the Pain ? Its gonna take more than a car salesman to convince me that something painful is suppose to be good for my life. I thought this was to take burdens off of people and bring quality to their living situation. Your making our lives a living HELL !!!! . Im a house keeper, a cleaning lady. I am still making payments on 2013 taxes. It aint there.. That kinda money is not in my bank. So if I cant come up with your absorbent plans, You steel my money what little I have left anyway. Then what is next jail ? Your gonna have to get some big patty wagons because there is a lot of us and we don’t have the kinda money your taking from us.
You can’t go to jail for not paying the fee for not having coverage. There are also a lot of exemptions to look in to. https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-exemptions-list/
I’m with you! I couldn’t have said it better! I am choosing to feed my family instead of this BS rape job by Obama, who I NEVER VOTED FOR! I have no choice. My kids need to eat! We hare paying almost double for LESS coverage and higher deductibles! We are working and paying for those who can’t afford it and nothing you say will convince us otherwise!
So true! We can’t afford our deductibles! Our great insurance went up after this outrageous “obamacare” so not only do we pay more every month but we can’t afford to use it! I can’t afford the med check visits for my kid every 3 months so he’s off meds! I can’t work because I can’t leave him alone. I seriously laugh my a$$ off every time someone mentions funding a garbage HSA account. The funding money isn’t there, are you kidding us? If we could afford to fund HSA accounts we probably wouldn’t be complaining over the criminal health care costs and disgusting deductibles.
I get it. Just going to say again though since HSAs are tax free in and tax free out just placing your money in that account is going to offer value over time. So even money that one can’t afford to place in the HSA can actually become affordable just by placing it in the HSA. In other words, if you are going to send Uncle Sam and healthcare a check for X amount anyway, may as well put in in the HSA instead save the X cents on the dollar.
I’m not saying this is easy or an option for everyone, but it really shouldn’t be dismissed. Really am just trying to help people here.
OBAMACARE YOU DUMB SOBS IS FOR THE RICH NOT THE POOR I AM POOR SCREW THE COVERAGE
I’ve been destroyed by Obama care because I choose to work to provide for my family. wake up America it’s gonna get a whole lot worse. We the working people built this great nation which is under attack by simply trying to bring us to our knees it’s time to take control of our country and make this rite !!!!!!!!!
The undirected anger at the ACA is understandable, some people are in rough situations. But i’d urge anyone this upset to take a good look at all the PPACA provisions. How we are dealing with premiums and out-of-pocket costs and the underlying cost of healthcare are big sticking points, meanwhile things like posting calories at fast food places and quality over quantity measures for hospitals are actually working fairly well to help curb healthcare spending over time.
A large chunk of the US sees expanding Medicaid, the preexisting conditions clause, tax credits, and such as good things. Things that help the sick and the poor. The system we are accomplishing this with should be up for debate, but it’s a small section of people, if any, who want to expand healthcare to all Americans in an effort to bring America to it’s knees.
https://obamacarefacts.com/summary-of-provisions-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/
I am so sorry this is happening to you. I don’t think anything has been a super fail as much as this in my opinion. I don’t believe people should be punished for this. My fiance cannot afford to carry insurance and has not been Dr. required sick in over 13 years.
Where is the “penalty for being broke” money going?
Please sincerely, where is it going, to what end? I’m afraid no matter what the answer is going to make me ill.
thank you for your comment..i appreciate those who can speak up for what is happening to them.
As the cleaning lady said, what is next from the corrupt regime, jail??? Not if we all stand together. We have the power, because contrary to the propaganda that the regime and the their mouth pieces in the corporate controlled Pravda press say, we are the majority. Those of us that are against all these illegal and unconstitutional moves aimed and making up servile and easily controlled for their next Nazi like move and the next Nazi move after that. Only the bums both super- rich and poor that sponge off of we the workers support this crap from their Nazi over lords in the little houses of power here in tis land. Just shirk off the apathy and ignorance they count on and we fight this and any other of their illegal attacks on our freedom together.
I don’t think you are alone in your frustration or basic insights, but i’d caution you to take another look at the German elections and political parties leading up to the NAZI party initiating WWII. What you find is that the NAZIs are the national socialist party who argued for socialism for German nationals and stood against everyone else. Yes, they employed propaganda, but so does every political party throughout history. This isn’t something i’d consider analogous to this countries current left (who I think you are referring to)… and i’m not even so sure i’d apply to the most right wing right-winger on the right either. America has its own issues and both parties represent the sentiments of all groups who fall under the American flag. We certainly have more power when we come together, but think coming together under values like virtues, ethics, liberty, justice, and equality is a better bet.
I would love to quiz osama on the coverages benefits and this jack #$# plan. The only people benefiting from osamacouldntcare are the insurance companies and the politicians and their backdoor deals.
Whoever U r answering these people’s concerns is the biggest bullshitter I have ever heard. As I’m sure any of the other Obamacare reps r. There r not deductions and credits for people who work for a living and I don’t care what u say. The whole system is to telll us we aren’t doing what we should have done or r supposed to do. That’s a bmmch of crap. I have to get health ins from work and it just went up 400dllrs a month and increased deductible to 5,000. Our employer can’t afford to pay over 1200 dllrs a month for each of us so we now have to pay a portion plus have a very high deductible. I’m a widow and on my own. Because of Obamacare our insurance is sky high, and we have no choice. U people make me sick. It’s also cheaper for my daughter to go without ins and pay the penalty. Don’t tell me and all these people u should do this cause it’s not out there.
This is an independent private business and no one here are “Obamacare reps”. This is an open (moderated) comment forum and our website tries to answer peoples questions as best as we are able. I’d personally love it if the whole US health insurance system was a whole lot less complex to navigate and that everyone was able to get the healthcare they need at a price they can actually afford.
The obamacare (aka the Affordable Care Act) is a law and not a health insurance or an entity. ObamacareFACTS.com is an independent website and we attempt to explain the vast complexity of our multilayered insurance system and answer their questions or direct them to resources when that is possible. It’s definitely not the most exciting or rewarding job, but at the moment it is necessary.
For what it’s worth, I am sorry that you or someone you care about is not able to afford the insurance or healthcare they need. You should definitely reach out to you’re elected officials in you’re state and federally.
you are absolutely right to healthcare does not help the middle class for single parents try to make ends meet and teach their children to have integrity and character is much easier to get everything for free and absolutely pisses me off they get it they just don’t care somebody has to take the fall and sadly it’s us but Godseys all don’t worry their time is coming
Can you at least list the ways in which we “can ease the pain”?
Sure, thanks for asking. Tax benefits include subsidies, HSAs, medical deductions, employer arrangements and employer tax credits, and then all tax deductions that affect MAGI. So we have subsidies first and foremost, exemptions (of which there are 20 or so), HSAs which pair with high deductible plans to lower taxable income (including MAGI) which positively affects assistance program eligibility in most cases (also if you have employer coverage would lower MAGI to increase chances of being able to opt-out for an exemption or the Marketplace), if your out-of-pocket spending is over 10% then you can deduct that, and if you say became self employed you’d be able to write off all premiums and medical spending (not to mention have more avenues for tax breaks). Also retirement accounts (depending on your options) can lower taxable income too. Since taxes and assistance programs are based on taxable income leveraging things in your direction is all about being smart tax wise and taking advantage of assistance programs that you qualify for.
I agree completely! My husband and I makes together about $45g a year and that doesn’t pay our bill let alone have the privilege to take my son to the dentist for an abscess let alone make enough to even pay for braces.
Replying here since cant reply directly to the obamacare facts, which is a misnomer to begin with. Facts are to politics as political promises are to kept
I get what you are saying, and that is a funny quip. Sorry you couldn’t respond directly? That is odd. Anyway, facts as in true statistics, helpful information, and general honesty. We can’t go into a Descartes level philosophical discussion on the nature of truth, but on a real level, there are facts… even in politics. Plus this is legislation, not media-centric political theatre (or at least we try our best to focus on the real people getting real healthcare part and not the spin, not super easy as you know!)
You mention the 9.6% of income, however that only applies to the individual. My employer offers affordable insurance for the single person, however the family coverage is over 2,000 a month with a 6,000 deduct per individual and 15,000 deduct for family. After the deduct has been met they cover across the board 80% leaving me with 20%. I make 42,000 a year before taxes after taxes, Teacher Retirement, Social Security, and Health Insurance I’m left with 980 a month to pay housing, food, clothing, student loans, and any healthcare cost if I haven’t reached my 15,000 deduct which is more then I bring home a year. I read that this is called the ACA Family Glitch, is there any options I have other then quiting my job?
The 9.6% applies to all family members for self-only coverage. So likely they can all opt-out, or most can opt-out. Barring that, it is most certainly described as a glitch for a reason. But luckily congress is hard at work… Never mind, we will likely be living with the glitch until after a new President comes into office.
Not To distract from your comment because I’m in exactly the same situation but I have heard there are certain extra benefits and tax deductions for people that serve the public like private non-profit organizations and a teacher, my sister is a teacher and she rewards her kids by doing something like buying an actual box of cereal , that’s the reward not just putting groceries in the cupboard
You must be paid by Obummercare itself to try to shove this garbage down hard working peoples throats. Must be nice to have a job that the president makes people buy from yo. No one is forced to come where I work. I actually have to work for my incentives and commissions. I have talked to your type over the last week on the phone. Horrible sales people who are ill informed about tax credits and CHIp program. A good salesman doesn’t take it personally. All of the insurance people i talked to take it personally when you don’t have the money. They say things to make you feel like a loser because you don’t have the money. In fact if a couple were in my state I would have been driving to a insurance office and seeing how they talk to my face.
You are a loser who probably worked at McDonald’s prior to the president opening a career path for you to take advantage of people that work hard for a living. Get a real job loser. Mabe Wendy’s is hiring.
Your hypothesis is flawed, your facts unchecked, and your argument driven by emotion. We are an independent site, I only wish I got funding, feedback, or input from the President (any President really, it would be an honor). Rather my team and I just read the legislation, follow the updates, go through forms, document the most important parts in an easy to understand way, and answer questions (and respond to statements).
Think our next move will be done flesh out our Medicare section… anyway enough about us, for anyone who might work at McDonald’s or Wendy’s I’ll come out in defense of hardworking franchise owners, their employees, and other people trying to make a wage in this economy. There is no shame in working any job…
That said, I also am not a fan of people who are struggling with any part of the ACA. The other thing we do is help point out sticking points and help people understand why further reform is needed.
I only make 17000 a year i have rent power bill phone bill cable bill water bill and food i get paid every 2 weeks and lucky to bring 600 a check.health care does not fit in i will jot give up my phone or cable like obama said or i will not start eating peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches it is my money i will spend it the way i wont .Obama care will not get 1 cent of it can u give me some feed back or am i wasting time
I agree. I am an insurance agent in private insurance and I hear it all day. People are being screwed and some agents dont take the time to listen to folks and find some strategies to help them. Im a Dad and I get it. What are you going to do, pay for health insurance or pay for food, utilities and clothes. THese guys in Washington have no clue whats going on in most homes in America. If you need help or guidance get in touch.,
Hi, I have a question about understanding the 8% or 9.66% rules. How do we calculate it. Is it the monthly premiums plus the deductibles and then divide by income to see what percentage of our income would the insurance cost? Or is it only the monthly premiums. Example: if for family of 2 we get quote $400 a month and deductible $6,000 is that amount going to be $6,000 + $400X12= $10,800. Or is it only the 400X12?
In some comments I read that you also need to include the deductible in the calculations, but I could not find it anywhere.
The deductible is taken into consideration when checking to see if the plan meets the minimum value standard, but it isn’t taken into consideration for “affordability” measures. If the plan doesn’t meet minimum value standard, you are eligible for marketplace cost assistance (assuming you meet the other criteria). If it costs more than 9.66% of family income for employee-only coverage then you and your family are eligible for cost assistance on the marketplace. If its more than 8.13% of your family’s income to cover the family then the family can apply for exemption, and if its more than 8.13% of families income for employee-only coverage, than you and your family can apply for an exemption. I know that it is confusing and at times completely unfair, but I hope that this information was what you were looking for.
That’s great if you have the funds to pay 10% of your out of pocket healthcare expenses. I feel patronized by these responses. I want to hear from real people who also have mortgages, car payments, repairs, children in college, children with disabilities, LIFE! And if it is true that congress doesn’t have to suffer like the regular folk, you can forget about any buy in from me.
I am a real person who is single and has no children nor do I want any. I make 35000/ year BEFORE the insanely high taxes are removed. These idiots in Govt need to start basing subsidies on take home pay after taxes, not gross incomes. Also after rent, food, phone, utilities which are HIGH where I live in a below zero winter climate and above 80 F summer climate, I have about $300 left. And I REFUSE to pay that $300 for Obamacare I do not need! I never go to the Dr because I am never ill with anything over a slight cold, do not smoke oruse drugs, am not overweight, have no illnesses, so why am I supposed to be forced to buy insurance or have my tax refund STOLEN??? Why does the Govt expect ME to pay huge premiums in order to cover the expenses of an older sicker persons care? That is NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY. It is no one else’s obligation to pay for something someone else uses. It is not ok for Govt to force anyone to purchase anything or be punished and that includes insurance they don’t use. My money is MY money to spend as I wish. I do not need this Nonsense in my life, life is hard enough as is. Living day to day is too expensive now! Rent alone in some cities costs thousands! Even the tiniest Apt where I live is like half my monthly income, but I make too much to afford Public Housing, Etc. And I make about 3000 too much to get any subsidy, I also refuse to have unwanted children just to get healthcare help! This country is insane, the Govt is completely corrupted and have NO clue whatsoever what people like you and I have to deal with, pay in bills, go through in life. I cant imagine someone who HAS children even being able to make it through life financially, because I cannot. I was homeless for 9 years, because theres just not enough money. If someone steals your identity and credit score ruined YOU are blamed etc. Now healthcare has to be bought to pay for the sick? NO! I absolutely refuse. And if I can find any way to get by not paying that unconstitutional and stupid mandate fine I will not pay that either, its MY tax money not the Govt. they don’t deserve any tax money. Taxes are paid to Govt in return for setvices provided. Our Govt provided nothing to me just takes and takes. They are inhuman and cruel and deserve nothing. People making 33-45 k yearly are screwed, absolutely totally screwed under Obamacare. You ought to get a 2/3 the cost subsidy up to 50 k yearly. Either that or universal healthcare like all normal places have but for WAY less tax increases as they have too. I am at the point where I say let them take the price out of their own overly rich pockets, let these politicians pay our bills they caused to skyrocket! I do not even see them as humans any longer. They never treated me like one.
In NC unless you have a child you are not eligible for Medicaid period. The market place wants 100 percent of our income to cover us. How is that possible? In NY we are eligible for Medicaid based on his disability and income. We are both terminally ill and have no where to turn. I do not think this is Obama but the states individual rules. In NY he would not be denied care. In NC they will let him die . I wish I was exaggerating but this is what is happening to us. If he stops working and retires early than he would get ssd and no Medicare for two years and no Medicaid because we have no children. I am devastated and desperate. Are they going to put us in jail? If you want 100 percent of a persons income how are they supposed to live?
I wince every time I pay for the premiums. The choices are terrible: either pay for a “Gold” costing $4000 in my state, or pay for “Bronze” which still costs $3000 yet get ready to pay for the $700 routine exams and the $500 flu season visits. I can’t believe the $6000 deductible ceilings they put on these policies.
Have you noticed how the health care ETF’s have taken off? Relatively flat for 6 years then more than doubled in the last 4 years. Someone is making out shamelessly.
In other countries there are bribes and political favors, in the US, it’s campaign contributions and legislations. I tell my foreigner friends that there are rarely any illegal briberies going on here, It’s all legal here…
There is truth in what you say, but $500 flu season visits and $700 routine exams? This sounds like a bit of an exaggeration. I believe my Marketplace bronze plan covered my routine exam free as well as my flu shot.
this whole “tax” is a farce to the middle class. There is zero incentive to pay these ridiculous premiums and get little benefit in return. It is set up to line the coffers of the insurance companies with little thought concerning the impact to the average working class family.
And there lies the issue – No such thing as free.
It’s such BS to say a “free visit”, it’s disingenuous and quite offensive.
We paid for that so called “free visit” with our premiums.
I also want coverage i can use. I choose to eat healthy, exercise, and use CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine). So what exactly am i paying for?
I would never reach my 5,000 deductible at this point and i’m paying 300 plus a month for, in essence, catastrophic coverage.
I’d rather take that 3.6oo a year and put it to use in active prevention, or at least be ABLE to apply the money i’m using for prevention TOWARDS the ridiculously exorbitant and unconscionable DEDUCTIBLES!
I used to have “catastrophic coverage” that i faithfully kept up, so i would not be a burden to my family or to society. It was $165.00 a month with a 5,000 deductible. Basic affordable coverage in case of an emergency.
It did not qualify under the Care Act because it did not have pregnancy coverage. (i’m 48, single and not having children) So i was dropped and forced into this market. When i looked online, the closest thing i can get, where i can see My Doctor, whom i trust, of 8 years, costs $ 370.00 a month and has a $6,ooo DEDUCTIBLE… oh, yeah and 2 “free visits” per year”….. FREE?!!!!!!!! Are they giving out Free samples of anything that will help with the pain of getting screwed?
I hear you. Free isn’t the right word. Free with your premium is better. Honestly though think of everything from fast food, to a car dealership, to anything else, free is never free. Right? So insurance is a private market good, it’s not so surprising that the word free is used to describe something you pay for in premiums. Free refers to the out-of-pocket costs.
what they said might be an exaggeration, sure. il give you that. but what do you think about this exaggeration?
“Affordable Health Care”
Right up there with Affordable Housing.
I can see very well how flu season and office exams could cost very near the amount mentioned. Most Dr.’s charge $125.00-$200.00 just to get seen, and most of the marketplace coverage I have seen indicates huge deductibles must be met before a doctor visit is covered, then they are only covered for 6 per year, then the individual must pay a percentage. Anyway, take into account the get in the door fee, add to that any lab work, x-ray, injection, or anything else outside the Dr.’s fee, you could very well reach 500.00 to 700.00 for a visit.
If you’re paying $700 for routine exams and $500 for flu season visits, there’s a scam going on- either by your doctor, your insurance company, or you’re making this up.
Link to your insurance and provide your state, plan, and level. We can help you work this out.
But if you don’t reply, I’m gonna assume you made this up.
There is so much to be said regarding the positive health benefits of eating properly, not eating “fast” foods, and exercising, taking care of one’s self and one’s family. The facts are in that fewer doctor and hospital visits are made by people who do the above. “A little bit of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
If as someone said above, insurance is a ” private market” then the Government needs to get itself OUT of it and allow it to be what it used to be, a business. Sell to whomever in whatever area, charge what they choose to based on health, and you choose to buy or not, no penalty for not. The only thing that Govt should have done was pass ONE simple law stating Insurance cannot deny anyone for things such as asthma, diabetes, HBP arthritis etc. And end it at that. And really I only say that because thats what others think, personally I feel a business has the right to refuse service and insurance should have the right to deny anyone they choose. And before anyone jumps all over me know this, The person I love has a chronic pre existing condition and they STILL agree with me that you cannot force insurance to accept people because its a business.
I am not exaggerating. I thought they were mistaken asking for 12000 a year which is all my disabled husband can earn now after his brain bleeds stroke ect. He was blind and got his sight back and he does the best he can. He has worked and paid into this system his entire life. This is impossible for me to understand. I am disgusted. If anyone can advise me I would appreciate it. Now I know why people beg outside Walmart down south. They need the money because there is no help for the poor unless you have minor children. NY does not treat people like this. I am not on welfare and I just want to keep my husband alive.
It is time for the middle-class to revolt and simply stop buying the insurance unless you have an existing serious health condition. My plan for 2016 will exceed my mortgage payment and with a child in college I simply cannot afford it and there is no where else to cut expenses. I’m not being covered in 2016. Remember folks, less than a generation ago health insurance didn’t even exist and somehow we all survived!
Opinion: We strongly advise people not to forgo health insurance to make a point. One should look into all of their coverage options, cost assistance options, and exemption options and do what is best for their family. If you want to make an ideological point (which is valid) it should be done with your words and should not jeopardize your health or more importantly the health of your family.
You have lovely well meaning advice. How would you apply it to people whom fall through the cracks? I have coverage thru my husband’s employer. It’s a fabulous plan but our cash flow doesn’t have room to cover the deductibles so I just don’t buy and take Rx meds I’m prescribed. My kids don’t get care unless absolutely urgent or emergent. My friends can’t afford things at all; should we live in our cars to have coverage? Nearly no one I know is technically poor enough to be helped much beyond premium subsidies. If we want to actually use the insurance we can’t afford it at all. If I give up on eating or shelter maybe… We have no actual healthcare system in this country. NONE. If my family could opt out of the employer plan we’d be able to pay going rates for actual care, but have nothing for an emergency. As it is we have & pay for essentially a Cadillac insurance plan that’s only good to us for catastrophes. We’re on the lowest on that the employer offers, but since they offer “good” plans we don’t qualify for the Obama ones that we’d also not be able to afford the copays on.
Ha, thought you were actually saying something nice for a second.
If it was up to me i’d crack down on the healthcare industry that is driving up the prices, single payer catastrophic coverage, i’d pad that with subsidized deductibles and compulsory subsidized HSAs (same tax benefit for middle class and poor), and generally i’d push the private market into supplemental coverage. If everyone needs healthcare it should be covered as a tax. There should be one single health form that includes deductions, HSAs, and payment for the mandatory catastrophic coverage. Non-tax filers are automatically covered. Maybe two tiers one for no income, sick, and seniors and one for everyone else? That way we can do more with supplemental in the healthy group and take care of the more needy group as a common good. I dunno, but when we start with the idea that we must protect the people and the economy (not that we must protect profits) all sorts of solutions start bubbling up.
There is an opinion here about paying for health insurance, but the reality isn’t for us not to pay for health insurance, it’s the fact that we can’t afford worst case anyway with or without insurance. With deductibles as high or higher then our premium how could we put extra money towards the hospital bill AND premiums. What is scary, and I think the real reason most people do not want to buy health insurance, is the “what if’s”. What if my rates go up next year or the year after to were I can’t afford it. What if I’m diagnosed with an illness–will the insurance companies raise my rates so high I can’t afford it? Then what, when the rates get so high we can’t afford, what happens with all the money we just spent over the years on premiums. There is no loyalty with the insurance companies, so the real scare is can I keep it in the future
You highly suggest we don’t forgo coverage to make a point? I’m forgoing because it’s either that OR FOOD! What planet are you living on? You can’t see how bad the country is and now the premiums are out of control for less coverage? I choose to feed my kids. We barely make enough to get by and now it’s going up again.
I strongly suggest not foregoing food on the table, and roof over the head. If the money aint there, the money aint there.
I do not qualify for any assistance for my health care. I am a contractor for a company and my health care costs were going to be over 5100 a year!! That is over 10% of my gross income!! I have found a policy that is lower, however it is just under the 8% mark. How is this still affordable? That is my GROSS income. Not my net. I still have numerous other bills I have to pay on top of these outrageous Premiums…and to top it off…since I do not receive any subsidy if I miss a payment I only get 30 days, but if you get any subsidy you get 90? Why am I punished even more? I cannot believe how this works…what a complete joke! I have to have health care for my daughter. She isn’t even 3 yet and needs to be covered.
At those costs you may qualify for an exemption due to income, you should double check cost assistance and compare family size to income after deductions (household income counting MAGI), and you should look into CHIP options for the child. Those can all help in your situation. Also consider an HSA. Given the numbers you did provide ($5,100 x 12 > 10% gross income) you may actually be able to get some basic sort of cost assistance via HealthCare.Gov.
This so called “Health Care” system is definitely not meant for the middle class. I am not able to afford health insurance based on my adjusted gross income. I have bills to pay that if I was to pay for a premium it wouldn’t leave me with any money for food or gas and certainly no money for copays or deductibles. I can’t pay $300 a month for coverage and be expected to pay another $4000 out of pocket. If I was to do that, I wouldn’t be able to afford a place to live, which is hard enough with this economy. Why not try to make things more affordable for the healthy middle class that don’t require a ton of doctors visits a year, just the usual preventive appts and maybe a couple more for one off situations. Its cheaper for me to go without insurance to pay for the 2 or maybe 3 appts I require each year. And to charge a penalty because we don’t have money in the first place to pay for it? Are you for real? That’s the most ridiculous thing. Its plainly in front of you, WE CAN’T AFFORD INSURANCE IN THIS COUNTRY!
I strongly suggest it be named the unaffordable care act.
We’re not forgoing coverage to make a point, we’re forgoing coverage BECAUSE WE CANNOT AFFORD IT, what part of that don’t you understand?
First off, Whoever it is that is manning this message board needs to accept reality. I would guess at a random figure that about 30-40 % of Americans CANNOT AFFORD THIS BULLSKXT . I attempted to do the right thing, and apply for Healthcare coverage. The minimum plan was 290.00 I only take home 600.00 every two weeks. And that is working 84-100 hours in a pay period. I’m not going to list all of my bills but my family and I live off of less than 100.00 A MONTH. Covering food gas house necessities while all the rest cover bills. NOT INCLUDING health insurance. I was told I am not eligible for medicaid. Because my before tax pay is around 2200 a month. ANYWAY this is my testimonial to the US government effing me all the way around. Oh yeah, and I work for the state government.
well maybe you should just do this for us since you are so smart its just the poor middle income thats being punished like always
I wake up every day and do a bit to help improve things. Or at least, what I’m good at, which is filling the internet with information. Almost everything I do is a push for a better future for the working poor and middle class. Or at least, that is the intention.
For people living with modest incomes this system is a nightmare and it is destroying people’s lives. I would love to be able to buy health care for my family. I have minor children but when my husband lost his very modest job and in 24 hours we fell into the “health care glitch”. Living modestly we have to choose between shelter, food, and health care we can’t afford all three. My employer charges according to our age and at 52 not only is it hard to find work but it makes premiums unaffordable for the family coverage. Not only do we have the pain and fear of not being covered but we are going to be fined for not being able to afford coverage. We have spend the entire month gathering information to understand this complicated system and have never been able to reach the IRS despite hours of hold time and countless calls. I kept saying to myself this cant be true but it is and it is all legal according to the “affordable health care act”. We cannot afford the fine since we are trying to live on one lower income salary which does not cover basic needs. I was a very strong and active advocate for universal health care but what we have been subjected to is a system which crushes people in their time of need. The people this hurts the most are moderate income families. These are my real choices: homeless, starving, or both because of health care coverage fines.
This baffles me. I work a full time job, make okay money, have rent and bills just like anyone else. I don’t even have cable or internet just so I can survive at 24 years old. You mention having subsidies, applying for exemptions, and applying for government assistance. What about those many americans who DONT MAKE ENOUGH FOR MEDICADE BUT MAKE TOO MUCH FOR DECENT SUBSIDIES?
I refuse to pay for obama care. I refuse to be told where exactly i spend my money. a BIG F. U to this horrible law
There is no plan available in our area that meets the 9.56% of income promise. A family of 4 that earns 99k (2 working parents and 2 kids with part time jobs, because we must claim and then I guess seize, our children’s pay checks for family bills) will pay 25k for insurance that is unusable due to ridiculous deductibles. I bet if we were not required to pay these premiums and no one was signing up, those premiums would correct pretty quickly. But we are now required by law to pay this extortion or go without insurance. Really? What is right about that?
We are opting out and refusing to pay a penalty this year. PENNSYLVANIA is upping our rates by 20 percent. Meaning we will now be paying over a thousand dollars a month for a 100 dollar copay and a 6000 dollar deductible. I will go to jail before I pay into this again. This is America where we still have a choice in life, right?
The messed up thing is that things like obstructing Cost Sharing Reduction subsidies are part of what is driving the price up. So on one hand we can blame the ACA, but on the other hand the GOP is only making things worse. We are all caught in the cross fire of a political battle. SAD! as they say.
I agree 100%! I refuse to pay $4000 a year for some BS “bronze” coverage when I should have the choice to pay $150-200 out of pocket for the maybe 2 doctor visits a year for my daughter and NOT be penalized $695 ++ at the end of the year! The government insists on taking a portion of my hard earned money to offset the low premiums given to low income or unemployed??? A revolution is coming and America better wake up! Those of us who fall into the unfortunate middles class still make up the majority. Instead of forcing us to pay ridiculous premiums, why can’t they force businesses to provide affordable insurance capped at the almighty 2.5% of your income? It almost seems that this country is creating a “do less, get more” attitude. Keep pushing those of us that go to work every day and take care of our household with our own hard earned money and watch how we end up…
$4,000 for a bronze plan? that is really crazy expensive, do you have a big family and make over 400% of the poverty level? Why is it so high? Make sure you are looking into exemptions: https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-exemptions-list/
Very good point.
I agree with you 100% no one should be paying any of these ridiculous fees that are really just taxes.
As for you FACT there is no such thing as health insurance and never has been. We the American people have all been led to believe we have insurance, when in reality it is not insurance, it is coverage sold to us as an insurance policy. It has always been a misleading placement of words to mislead the American people into thinking they are secure. As like most on this site I will also not be donating funds I do not have to a corrupt organization with nothing in return.
You must read between the lines and realize this is no more than a well thought out plan to destroy the working class. They could care less about our health or well being. At 52 years old I do my best to think healthy and eat what we think is good for us. With that being said it is proven FACT that most of our illness comes from all of the chemicals our government forces into our bodies. This has been going on since the fifties. Starting as a 5 yr. old you were forced to receive several shots to prevent mostly government made diseases. Just think about what I have just said, and then do your own research. 12 yrs. ago I read a book called all natural cures the government don’t want you to know about, and after reading it maybe 5 times I started doing research and found it to be true. WTF
Obamacare forces you to have insurance by raising the “penalty” every year until you have no choice. Our country has the nerve to tell us that it’s constitutional because it’s a “tax.” I call bull. It’s a mandate disguised as a tax. A mandate I can’t afford.
and I think one other point to watch, is…how the drug and pharmacy companies stand to now profit from all the “health care” that will be now delivered across the nation to so many self-inflicted Americans…and how will that now factor into the charges that will be assessed for meds? if there is now more precedent to pay for them, why wouldn’t these companies now want to raise their costs? I see they already are! More cultivation of greed. Medicare has already been out of control for cost efficiencies for years. There isn’t enough budget for the Government to monitor spending…Money going out the window. Thanks to this site for letting me vent…df
I had no healthcare when my husband got sick and I negotiated bills in NY. If you got sick you could pay on a sliding scale.I am paying them off at a reasonable rate. Down south I have no assistance and now his condition is always unknown. When he has a spike in BP I have to take him to er. I cant afford any coverage or the bills. In NY they helped. In NC no help. I am scared to death. This is inhumane.
Those of us who do make that much money DO pay 25000 in health insurance. We are paying for the healthcare costs of all the previously uninsured, very sick, and poor who decided to suddenly sign up for subsidized, free medical coverage…. And yet now I can’t afford to insure MY OWN CHILDREN because our insurance rate went from 1416.00 to 2189.00 a month. More than our mortgage. This is LUDICROUS.
It’s so satisfying to see our hard work and can help pay for everyone else. Now we can’t even afford to help ourselves.
What factors are considered when deciding if I can’t afford the coverage offered to me? (I think its BS that THEY get to decide what I can and can’t afford) Because I had to cancel my coverage earlier this year because they raised my monthly cost over 500%. When I did my budget I didn’t have the money so… I guess my question is if I can SHOW them that I cannot afford it what then?
Affordability is simply based on MAGI https://obamacarefacts.com/modified-adjusted-gross-income-magi/
9.56% for employer coverage. Gets you the ability to use the marketplace and subsidies instead of employer coverage.
8% for the cost of the lowest cost plan available to you. Gets you the ability to opt-out through employers or the exchange.
https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
Sounds like you make alot of money to me!!!! My dad has worked for himself for 35 years and is the hardest working person i know!!! I have been working for the fam biz for 14 years myself and it would be nice to complain about having a $1500 a month mortgage. Yet we always have to pay out of pocket???? You have the nerve to complain???? You probably voted obama into office lol. You have no right to even comment on this!!!!! You probably have a gorgeous house and 5 cars too. Some people i tell you. Be grateful for what you have and dont judge the people that work hard for their money!!!!!!!
My sentiments EXACTLY!
I truly enjoyed paying $31,000 in taxes last year. I am obviously a wealthy person, right? When I was laid off a month ago I needed to look for health insurance. Under my employer the COBRA payment would be $2,100 per month. I’m now on unemployment with a whopping $467 per week. My health care premium under ObamaCare is $971 for my wife, baby and myself.
I have paid, and paid and paid. It’s always awesome to support those who WON’T do for themselves. I do NOT mind paying for the elderly and those who need help. But I wish that before my company’s premiums went up ****300%***** that ObamaCare would have actually helped those who aren’t on the handout system.
Absolutely agree with Denise, this is exactly how it is for me, it is cheaper for me to not get the insurance and pay the fine, use sliding fee scale at the Doctors and pay the $4 perscriptions at Walmart. Obamacare DOES NOT help the poor, it only makes it harder to survive by having to pay the fine. Hopefully Obamacare will be repealed!!!
Well it gives free health insurance to the poor. SO I mean, this isn’t a blanket statement right. If you mean working poor maybe like the 250% – 400% line, it can be rough depending on the situation. I’d argue who it really doesn’t help is working poor with employer coverage and those who are just above the 400% line with small families in expensive regions.
You have to realize though that we the people (all of us) are going a little broke on healthcare, so this is a symptom of a bigger problem. We can ignore it. The ACA is one good step in the right direction (or at least a direction, right?). We need more steps. We gotta come together if we want to make steps. There is no “just repeal ObamaCare” plan. ALL GOP plans replace it with more spending and tax breaks for businesses. The only break you’ll likely get is being able to opt out of coverage due to not being able to afford it.
Why don’t we think “what health care solution will help both sides of the isle and the economy and the rich and the poor”
Wait, what do you qualify as poor?
My definition is someone who cant afford to enjoy life because they don’t have enough money to have a lifesstyle worth living. By my definituion This health care does not help any poor. Especially since the poor it would help could already get help through other means before this was passed.
but what would you define a poor person by? not being able to live on there own?
not being self reliant?
going backwards every month?
or would you assign a number to define it? if so, what number? 15,000? 12,000? 3,000?
or would you put it based on what they have in their account?
How about their stress level?
How about the return for the investment of their time?
Really good questions. My opinion is that poor is net income after necessary expenses compared to the cost of living with security. Something like that.
We could probably discuss this to no end. We can say the poorer you are in modified gross income, the more the ACA helps, unless you live in a non-expansion state. We can say if you are very sick the ACA helps, unless you are the wrong type of poor or in a non-expansion state in some cases, we can say the middle class is becoming increasingly poor having to deal with things like the costs associated with health insurance. I think there is truth to all of those things.
What worries me is that the GOP plans keep looking like the same spending and just spending in different places. I don’t see how that fixes anything.
Just do us all a favor and take this health care system and shove it up ur #$#
This plan creates more poor people. Im curious to see what plan the government puts in place for that.
that sounds amazing. I would love to just opt out of health insurance. that sounds like the absolute best scenario since I really don’t need it. know how many times I have seen a doctor in the last 7 years? none! zero! not even once! why would I want to spend $2000 a year for coverage I don’t need??? if I need to see the doctor I will pay for it! health insurance is the dumbest thing ive ever heard of. sure maybe SOME people need it if they have health conditions but then THEY can get health insurance. why should I have to pay for them? call me selfish but im not about to undermine my own success and life goals so other people can take a little longer to die of cancer or whatever else they might have. should I myself come down with a terminal illness ill spend my last days having a good time and then die because im not a f***ing coward. sounds a lot better than living the rest of my life miserable and in debt to a corrupt system driven by elitist greed.
Not even having Obama Care, having Blue Cross/Blue Shield, my yearly retirement salary is 11,000.00 retired from USPS, but by court order to pay 1/2 of salary to ex-wife, who is still working. My health insurance just went up from 281.00 to 501.00 per month. Not to be a cry baby, but my net monthly income from retirement is 281.00 per month, good thing I do have some Social Sec. income, not that much, but otherwise I would be starving. Not sure my post is important, but you are not alone. I’ve reached the point that I’m looking for some kind of employment. Lost in Maryland, J.
Amen, Denise!!! We agree with every word you say here and in your next post, too. Very well put.
Right!?!?! …we’ve been hearing how the middle class is disappearing. I’ve figured how – my husband was just offered a new job, salary instead of hourly and going from roughly $23,000 a year to $45,000 …you’d think that’s a great jump fr poor people living pay check to pay chk..NOT SO MUCH!!! Between the new tax bracket and & ombaNOcare wanting $527 a month we’re chiseled right back down to where we started!!! Real bubble burster when we thought “finally, to get ahead some instead of just merely surviving” but thanx so much greedy government – BTW…I ran the #’s through a formula on line to get exact take home amount on $43 & even $50k a year…the gov gets a third! @ $200 they only pay a sixth in taces! Something NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS!!! One can’t do it alone – who wants to fight it w/ me? And isn’t it a dictatorship if a leader is forcing something on EVERY SINGLE CITIZEN!!!?! What happened to our rights? I can’t work after bizarre accident – I used to care for adult development challenged & head injury patients 24/7/365. When my body didn’t bounce back after accident & no doc seems to b able to fix yet I get denied disability AFTER ALL I DID FOR MY COMMUNITY, MY STATE!! Found out they never even tried to reach any of docs to get the truth on my condition – just automatically DENIED! Apparently that’s the norm. So let me get this straight… Our tax $ is payingvfor gov employees to sit around on their ass just hitting the “NO button”! Thanx a lot!! Quickly losing losing faith & respect for this country! I doubt I’m alone!!!!!
I’m 48 years old, I live in North Carolina. My employer recently decided that he could no longer afford to offer insurance. So I have to pay for it out of pocket now. I make 65,000 a year before taxes. So I get no subsidies from the government. Coverage for my wife and I is 1256.06/per month. That’s 25% of my take home pay. 15,000 dollars a year. I’m almost to the point as to where I just can’t afford it , but I keep paying for it because of my wife’s health. We’re going to have to get divorced so she can get cheaper insurance. That’s a shame, we’ve been married for 20 years
Right? I’m seriously considering divorce after 34 years. I’m 57, my husband is 60 and we don’t qualify for a healthcare subsidy. The cheapest bronze plan available to us in 2017 is $809 per month. Annually that is almost 14% of our gross income. Well over the affordability tolerance level. In 2016 we had a bronze plan that was $574 per month and scraped to make that payment; which was also higher than the affordability tolerance, but only by about $1000. We are too old to be comfortable going without health insurance, and not old enough for Medicare. If we were single we would each qualify for a subsidy and insurance would be around $500 for both of us.
I suppose you shouldn’t be using all the services required to pay at $4000 deductible. It’s insurance – it’s there for big events. If you are relatively healthy, you won’t need $4000 in care. If you are mostly sick, it will be expensive for you.
This is the worst law ever! I can’t afford it! I can’t afford the doctor bills, labs bills, any test they need to send me for, prescriptions, the monthly payments, the $2000 deductible per family member, copays…not to mention my cost of living for a family of 5. College tuition for my kids? Or am I supposed to choose medical coverage over sending my daughter to college?! Wtf!!!! I’m sick and I can’t afford to go to the doctor because of the bills. Being sick under Obamacare will leave me bankrupt! People need real help and this isn’t it! I’m sick and I can’t afford the Dr’s bills. What do I do? I’m worried I’ll loose my house with all the bills I’m going to rack up!!!
I understand completely, I’m in the same boat. I’m 42 single work full time seasonal. Mortgage, utilities, gas, groceries,vet bills,car insurance,house insurance, property taxes, trying my best to help out my aging parents.I have the cheapest cellphone plan. I do go on unemployment in the winter for about four months, but that is just enough to cover my bills, much less $373.00 a month for healthcare premium !That was the only plan that would have been worth “the salt” Which I was not even applicable for a subsidy. $0 Thanks for nothing. I used to look forward to my tax return in the spring $600-$800 which isn’t much compared to what I paid in, $7K.Now having to pay a 2% fine, lucky if I see anything. B.S. I know of people that have only made $17,000 in a year paid in $3K and gotten back $4-6K that’s absurd ! But now if you make less than $9500 a year your Obamacare is FREE. There ya go encourage people not to work. W.T.F. Let the hardworking middle class keep working there tails off to keep supporting the lazy !!! Thank God for the working middle class to keep this country afloat. I just wish WE could be recognized for once. Right
I am sorry for your pain and suffering as I am certainly in the same boat as you!
OBCAA is the most absurd crap Ive ever heard on this planet! How do theses politicians expect folks to make it when its hard enough trying to pay the rent(housepayment), car, grocery’s, and toilet paper!
God is the only way, otherwise. pray for his guidance. he will see things thru for you..and me, ..and many others in the same path. Just trying to survive.
Good luck my friend. God be with you
LOL!!! I’m poor and poor is poor. We cant even afford to pay the 2% out of our income of a family of 6. We battle just to keep the lights on. Wait a minute if minimum wage was actually caught up to that 80% inflation gap and a good percentage increase on those working above minimum wage, I think we could then afford this non-sense. Those who are fortunate to have enough simply don’t get it. Obama will be gone soon and this useless attempt to make Americans pay even more to a trillion dollar business will stop. I don’t see how these plans are less. They are equal to the same amount if you were to buy one on your own. What should of been done is make these richie rich INS. Co. give health plans to people that were denied due to a present illness and who actually need it and can afford it. Early High five when Obama is out of office. When did our right to elect out of health insurance get taken away? When Obama claimed commander and Chief for the 5th plus time bc he was out voted!
Careful what you wish for though, right? I mean you can’t be suggesting GOP policies would be better for a family of 6 when you qualify to get health insurance for your family for 2% of your income? The GOP plan is to essentially make health insurance unaffordable and cut off most of the other subsidies you would qualify for. Although, to be fair they also wouldn’t be forcing you to buy coverage. They would expect you and the family would go without it since you didn’t earn enough.
I’ll go with the GOP over Obama any day. Obamacare is financially ruining the middle class. Under Obamacare, health insurance premiums and deductibles have doubled. If the GOP won’t force poor people like me who cannot afford to purchase insurance and cannot afford to pay big fines to the IRS at tax time then I’m on board with them. This whole Obamacare thing is a huge debacle and I know so many people who are in the same situation as I am. Can’t afford to buy insurance and have no idea how I will pay the penalties.
I guess it depends upon how you define “poor”. If you define it as under 200% FPL then you get health insurance tax credits and have access to a lot of other assistance programs that are all essentially supported by the left and would be trimmed down or eliminated by the right. If you mean your gross income is a little high, but your net income is lower, and thus you find yourself not qualifying for assistance or an exemption, but owing yet more money, then this makes more sense. Of course regardless of that, it’s America and you get to make your choice and voice it. Thanks for sharing.
People who “Go without” only go without insurance. They have access to health care under the existing EMTALA laws passed in the 1980’s.
People who can’t afford to pay get free health care. This is not about insurance, it’s about health care.
Where do you come up with this 2%? From what I’ve seen, it’s employer insurance at 9.6% or marketplace at 4.? percent. Where does it say 2%?!?!
Employer insurance at 9.56% triggers an exemption to use the Marketplace.
Employer insurance at 8% triggers an exemption to not have coverage.
The other percentages are what Marketplace cost assistance caps the max premium of a second lowest cost silver plan in your state based off your income and the federal poverty level. So in English that means if you make 100% of the poverty level you’ll pay about 2% of your income for an averaged price plan after tax credits.
https://obamacarefacts.com/insurance-exchange/premium-tax-credits/
Hmm do you see a lot of companies hiring Full Time? Yes they are all on board to pay 5,000 for health plans per person, hired fulltime. Not in this country. Its not health care its triple taxation. The hiring numbers look good cause now they hire two people for the same job taxing both. Then cause those two can not buy a plan. They to get to pay the tax penalty for not having health care. On top of it all you get a tax credit for the plan you can’t afford to use. LOL the real kicker is a tax credit can not pay for anything. What good is a credit if you can’t pay it to begin with. Not to mention ever notice if you go to a doctor for a cold your tested for every known disease in history. . . Why? They are not going to help you past a cold. The question I have. Isn’t it called fraud when you sign up for something and know you can’t afford to pay for it? To me that is self conviction. The law has been written to force you to agree to something that breaks the law?
Screw democrats and republicans. The fact of the mater is that the government has left the burden of the expense to the middle class. AGAIN! They are taking away the incentive and ability to be a proud hard working person. This program will eventually break a lot of middle class people. And force more proud people to become more dependent on government. When the middle class is gone,Who’s going to pay for these government programs.
You said it right, it`s the forcing part that sucks/
My wife and I (we’re almost 60) pay almost $2000.00 per month for health insurance. How is this ok? One of the main issues with health insurance is that it is too confusing. I’m the Director of IT for the company that I work, and consider myself to be reasonably intelligent. However, I have long given up trying to read through the documentation regarding health insurance. It appears to me that if you are poor, it doesn’t matter if you cant understand it, you will be given the care that you need. If you’re rich, you’ll either also be given the care you need, or can afford it regardless of the cost. If you’re in the middle like me, working for a company that doesn’t provide health care assistance, you’re going to pay too much and have to fight for every bit of care you receive. Just going to the Dr. will cost me $70….Not to mention my $7000 deductible. How am I insured, if I have to pay that much just to speak with a Dr.? I thought insurance meant insurance. The only thing I am insured of is to pay more and more and more.
I live in california. Obamacare is the worst ever!!! It doesn’t help the woman, no family and working as a temporary employee, can hardly afford rent and car payment and to just live!! They should take in to consideration the rent you pay, and bills and what is left. I can’t afford $300 a month, i hardly have food in my kitchen, medi-cal says you have to make $11 per hour. The rent here is horrible and no family to get help from or move out of california..This is the worst ever!!!! Obamacare just creates more pain and will put us on the streets if we can’t pay our rent, where is the “care”? the Government gets excellent benefits, the rich can afford it, but we can’t..I would like to see the government try to survive on our salary and this joke of healthcare
If you work you are paying all the government ppl’s health insurance, that’s including senators, governors, even the PRESIDENT of the US. You are paying for every government employee not only for their health insurance, but for their pensions, double dipping pensions, etc., etc,. etc., while the private sector like us gets nothing…absolutely nothing. Who is paying for us? Who is helping us out? No one. This is so unfair that it should be illegal. If you work for the government, than only government ppl should have money taking out of their pay check for these expenses. If you work for the private sector, than we should have money taken from our pay checks to help each other in the private sector. Do you understand? We shouldn’t have to pay for other ppl’s health insurance, pensions, etc., when we our excluded and don’t have these beautiful benefits. It’s not fair. This needs to stop immediately.
the ONLY thing obamacare helped was pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies, both of whom are already rich. Obama met with them behind closed doors before signing this into effect.
WORST PRESIDENT EVER!
He lied to us. Said we’d have health care like Canada, free for everyone. Now the only people getting it free are the ones that play video games and sit on welfare!
People like us that work get nothing.
LOSER PRESIDENT. I sure hope Trump wins
FORMER DEMOCRAT HERE
THAT’S SO FUNNY I WANT TO STAY HOME AND PLAY VIDEO GAMES DRINK EAT AND SLEEP ALL DAY FOR FREE AND LET THE GOVERNMENT PAY FOR IT TOO .THIS IS WHY PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO WORK . WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO WHEN EVERYTHING IS FREE IN CALIFORNIA .
Ditto!! The only thing that scares me more than the way Obama gets away with blatant, bald-faced lies, is the fact that he was voted in for a second term…
Oh ya, you can get all these deductions! If your state is eligible, well let’s hope I live I one if those few states! The rest of your “help” is so confusing to most people, most wouldn’t know where to start. This whole thing is a bunch of crap, and so are your “helpful” answers. We should sue Obama for forcing us to pay for something we get very little from.
You have fair points, i’m not going to completely defend one view (the answer is always in the middle). With that said, we really do our best to actually help people. I think our help can come off as confusing, because, in truth, the current overarching system is confusing.
I’m personally in the camp that says, “simplify, modernize, cut out waste, and focus more on the safety-net and middle class”. I don’t find allies on any one side of the isle at any one time. But when the conversation becomes “repeal” or “nothing”, the side I have to stand on is chosen for me. Aside from that, I always put people first and politics as a distant second. And that is the ideology our team tries to operate under.
https://obamacarefacts.com/self-employed-health-insurance/
I only make 17000 a year cant afford health care i will not give up my phone or my cable and start eating peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches.i will spend my money on what i choose healthcare is not one of them
Well yes of course! Someone making $17,000 shouldn’t have to be shopping around for plans. That is why the ACA expanded Medicaid to $16,242 in 2016. This means you should have free or nearly free coverage through your state (assuming your state expanded Medicaid). Sure you are missing the mark by $700. But it should be too hard to find $700 in deductions making a gross $17,000. I mean we have corporations with a negative tax rate, i’m sure you can legitimately deduct $700 and get your free coverage.
Now lets say your state rejected Medicaid due to the Conservatives in your state. Well, luckily at your income you actually have a choice between the marketplace and Medicaid (for those who want the extra benefit for the extra responsibility). Your plan is capped at about 2.5% of your income and cost sharing will coverage 91% of your out-of-pocket costs after assistance!
The ACA is awesome for a person in your position. Really, you are much better off today than before the ACA… heck, you can even make the choice not to have coverage, because despite the red tape and forms, it is a free country.
So your reality is pretty darn good, but see how easy it is to get sidetracked into thinking it isn’t?
I am commenting obamacarefacts response to the person from NJ. Is that answer a joke? Now these peeare expected to know tax laws and loop holes to be considered poverty stricken so they can afford health insurance. Im also sorry for this persons frustration. But seems to me its not affordable for him/her to work.
The problem with Obamacare is no one knows what the hell is going on. There’s always some smart ass who swings in and says “you did everything wrong” you shouldn’t be paying that much. Well, why in the hell is that even possible?? Seems to me there are loop holes everywhere so that insurance providers can take advantage of everyone. Who cares if you can come tell people they didn’t do it right…..there should be reps at the insurance providers feeding us this type of information so we can make a time sensitive decision. The FACT is that everyone you speak to has a different story, thus making Obamacare a ghost program that no one can trust. When things don’t seem right, or smell fishy, it’s normally true. Obamacare is no different. America had a shot at getting it right and making sure everyone knew the deal and it’s atrocious, absolutely awfully atrocious. I don’t even have coverage right now bc the idiot providers (brand new) website wouldn’t work for 4 months and half of my premium payments were not withdrawn correctly from my account due to my policy being set up incorrectly by the rep. Now i cannot get insurance until next year, at least that is what the insurance rep said. Then i asked for a letter explaining how they messed up so i don’t get PENALIZED by the IRS for failure to maintain current insurance. They still haven’t sent it. And you know what – I’ll bet whenever i get that document i’ll still take shot from the IRS because they won’t know how to handle either. Bottom line, we are getting screwed like always while dipshoots on the Hill stand behind their podiums making up whatever crock of shot sounds good to tell us each week.
DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!
The only ObamaCare fact you need to know is: OBAMACARE DOES NOT WORK.
You know, I’ve considered myself a Democrat and voted for Obama 4 years ago. Now I ended up regretting it. This is a HUGE MESS. Me and my family have had no health insurance for over a year now, because we were making “too much for Medicaid” (working as restaurant and banquet servers, where income varies wildly month to month, but they don’t care and seem to only take the highest wages into consideration), yet not working full time so don’t qualify for employer-supplied insurance. Tried to get insurance from the marketplace several times- the first time got a ridiculous offer, something like $ 600 per month- that’s almost as much as our rent! Then tried to go through healthcare.gov right before the deadline to avoid getting FINED (another ridiculous concept- damned if you do, damned if you don’t), and the website didn’t even work properly so I couldn’t submit my form! My husband ended up quitting and I ended up getting no hours at my job because of the dead season; now we’re trying to get Medicaid once again and it has been nothing but constant pain- they need more forms, proofs, letter, and God knows what else, even though nobody in this house is making any income and we’ve been borrowing money left and right to pay rent! I don’t know who qualifies for Medicaid anymore, because if total family income of around $ 800-$ 1000 is too high, then I guess only income of $ 0 is OK. This means that YOU GET PUNISHED FOR WORKING and would at least get healthcare if you’re an UNEMPLOYED BUM. We would never be able to afford the healthcare.gov marketplace insurance, and even though you supposedly offer discounts, the entire process is so long, hard and painful, it just makes me want to break down and cry. I mean, can’t even get the damn website to work properly!!! So the only other options this leaves us is a) get super lucky and find great full time jobs with steady income and great insurances (that would cover our kid, too), but we’re in a pretty small town an don’t have a car, so our options are already limited; and b) remain uninsured, pay the freakin’ fee at the end of the fiscal year and drown in medical bills should something serious happen. FANTASTIC! And this is supposed to be the “Greatest Country in the World”? Canada has a much better healthcare system, and Russia does too! In Russia, the quality of healthcare might be lower and the doctors would not be smiling and act rude sometimes, and you won’t get all that comfort, waiting area with expensive chairs and posters on the walls, but who CARES- the healthcare there is AFFORDABLE (something like $ 600 per YEAR- yep, about the same cost as the FINE FOR NOT HAVING HEALTHCARE INSURANCE HERE) and going for a check up won’t make you go bankrupt! And if you have extra money, there are always commercial clinics with better service, so its not like you don’t have a choice. And that’s RUSSIA, which many Americans consider to be almost a third-world country! I’m just speechless. The entire healthcare system in the States is SO corrupt, SO greedy, and the worst thing is, it hurts the lower and the middle class the most, while the rich get by just fine. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am actually kinda glad that Trump won the election, because I know he would repel this horrendous thing known as ObamaCare and hopefully offer something better (can’t get much worse than this, that’s for sure).
I get the frustration, you certainly aren’t alone.
On the political end, i’ll point out that ObamaCare is essentially RomneyCare. It was sort of a bi-partisan plan that became very partisan after Obama got elected. Be frustrated with the Democrats, I won’t stop you, but wait to see what the GOP puts on the table before making a final call.
If the plan is anything like I think it will be, this is just going to be even worse. Just consider this one “fix” alone, it is a total disaster waiting to happen (just like denying Medicaid expansion was). https://obamacarefacts.com/the-continuous-coverage-exclusion-for-pre-existing-conditions/
I have lots of personal gripes with the ACA and want real reform, fingers crossed that we get it!
It’s a bunch of crud! Lies!
My premium credit was suddenly taken away mid year. I’m on SSA raising a child. They say after 3 yr of accepting our proof of income they no longer think our proof is worthy. It’s govt ssa income documents! I appealed they rejected. The only insurance I can get is half my monthly income. I cannot pay that. Now I’m facing a potential serious medical situation with no way to buy insurance. I hope my family sues the govt and wins if I die. It’s like communism to prevent people from buying the goods and services they need. Like Obama said, no we won’t give grandma a pacemaker we will give her meds to make her comfy till she dies needlessly. Well grandmas can be young in age! They can be raising adopted grands. I had a great policy before ACA now I have nothing because why? They took my credit away and raised my plan by 470%, and there is no arguing with City hall as it goes.
I’m not sure the ACA is to blame on this one. Rising costs, that is partly on the ACA for sure, but this situation shouldn’t have happened (unless you are right at the 100% poverty level, you went under 100% due to your income not rising but poverty level rising, and you live in a state without Medicaid expansion).
You should appeal the decision.
I feel for you. 40 percent of your income is really insane. I hope you are able to work everything out. Obamacare is a convulted mess that you need a Ph.D in economics just to understand.
In m state, all of the low-income people I know are republicans. Not sure how that makes sense if what you said is true. You should stop whining about how unfair it is for you in New Jersey. If you want to make less money, get a different job. If you don’t like how expensive it is to live in NJ, move somewhere with a lower cost of living. All of your problems sound fixable and have nothing to do with health insurance.
Wow – what a help you were for that person! NOT! Just get another job – just move to ?!! what kind of stupid pill did you take on LIFE? So in all your wisdom of forcing Obamacare on those in the middle of not poverty but not well off should just quit their jobs that perhaps took many months to land in the first place (because this country is STILL not in economic growth where it was before 2008) and just pack it up and move to another state where it could be possibly worse than where you are already. Never mind if you if have kids in school/ college and parents aging nearby. You are IGNORANT. Tell me how I can afford this on $29,000 and I am over 50 with two kids and then maybe we can have a real conversation! Thanks for nothing OBAMA.
Picking up and moving isn’t a helpful suggestion for most, but when you look at regional differences in insurance prices and Medicaid expansion it CAN be tempting! Anyway, just diffusing the aggravation with a little half-joke here. Truth is health insurance is REALLY expensive and getting the best deal can mean a lot of number crunching and paperwork. Without access to health insurance through work, as a family of 3 making $29,000 (in Modified Adjusted Gross Income after deductions) you qualify for almost the maximum amount of assistance! You should get a Silver marketplace plan. It will be capped at about 2 – 4% of your income (should be 2 – 3% but without specifics maybe 2 – 4% is a more real expectation). Also you should pay an average of less than 10% of out-of-pocket costs due to Cost Sharing Reductions Subsidies (your income should give you the equivalent of a “gold plan”). Truly, you should not quit your job (that would prevent you from getting cost assistance) and plus life isn’t just about getting the best deal it’s about doing the right thing. In this case the right thing is continuing to do your best and making sure you are taking advantage of assistance programs for you and your family.
You’re on glue. You have the stupidest solutions and suggestions I’ve ever heard. Just be honest and admit this is a sham, a shake down of hard working citizens and the freedom of this country. This is a cash cow for the government and the health care industry and we’re all held hostage and being forced to buy into something we don’t want and can’t afford.
Your opinion has been noting in the annals of internet history. We get what you are saying and don’t disagree on some levels. A perfect healthcare bill for the people is not a perfect healthcare bill for lobbyists, politicians, or the healthcare industry. So that truism is going to overshadow everything we say to each other.
Our focus when we go threw comments is on educating people on how the PPACA works and how they can use strategy to lower their costs and get better coverage. Thus, we are going to be suggesting HSAs, ways to lower your taxable income, and ways to shop smarter for plans.
Maybe we should just be listening, nodding, and offering our shoulder rather than offering advice…. But, the beauty of this being an independently run website is that we, and you as a commenter, just kind of just get to say whatever we want within the lines of civility.
Without access to health insurance through work, as a family of 3 making $29,000 (in Modified Adjusted Gross Income after deductions) you qualify for almost the maximum amount of assistance! You should get a Silver marketplace plan. It will be capped at about 2 – 4% of your income (should be 2 – 3% but without specifics maybe 2 – 4% is a more real expectation). Also you should pay an average of less than 10% of out-of-pocket costs due to Cost Sharing Reductions Subsidies (your income should give you the equivalent of a “gold plan”).
IF THIS IS WHAT YOU QUALIFY FOR IF YOUR JOB DOES NOT OFFER HEALTH INSURANCE. WHY IS IT THAT THE COMPANIES WE WORK FOR ALLOWED TO OFFER US INSURANCE WITH A $5,000 DEDUCTIBLE AND WE MAKE LESS THAN $29,000 WITH MORE THAN 3 IN A FAMILY? IT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE ? DOES IT? WHY WOULD OBAMA MAKE IT WHERE IT’S OK FOR EMPLOYERS OF LOW INCOME WORKERS TO BE FORCED TO TAKE THIS INSURANCE AND NOT BE ABLE TO GET THE BENEFITS YOU JUST TOLD THIS PERSON ABOUT???
We couldn’t agree more. It doesn’t make sense that the private market caps premiums and the employer market doesn’t, for the consumer. For the employer and insurers it makes perhaps more sense, in regards to subsidization, as tax payers would be directly subsidizing employer benefits. If we just said employers you can’t charge a family more than X, well that is sort of what the law does… ish. Except it says 9.5% per person, which could equate to being very unaffordable in anything but a family of 1.
Perhaps they are in the situation I am in. I can’t afford to pay for ANY insurance because it costs too much even with assistance. I couldn’t afford the premiums so I could NEVER afford the deductible. I had insurance at all my jobs I worked at before this, I simply can not afford it at all. The only thing I could cut out is internet, but you need internet in this day and age, it’s not like pre 1995. You can’t even apply for jobs without it for the most part. I’m just not going to pay for it because I’d rather be able to eat and pay the other bills I already have to pay. If I can’t save a dime and I, like many others are living pay check to pay check and raises come in increments of .25 cents a year if it’s a good raise how am I going to take on over $2,500 in additional cost when at most my raises would cover 1 premium annually?!
I never get a refund at tax time anyway and from what I understand they won’t come after you like the IRS, they’ll just take the penalty out of future tax refunds, I’ll just continue to not get tax refunds like it’s been for me for years. Or I could quit working and become a dreg on society and sign up for welfare since that’s the only way I could afford insurance. But I’d prefer to work and just go to mexico if I need medical assistance.
The fact that healthcare costs have been rising faster than wages for sometime now is one of the most simple ways to describe the underlying problem that got us in the mess in the first place.
Every American deserves the opportunity work, afford healthcare, and ideally visit Mexico for pleasure (not simply to save money on healthcare).
I’m in a similar situation. Because I’m in my late fifties my insurance premium is TWICE what my co-worker’s is… and she drinks and smokes! I have a choice between paying the premium and saving any money for an emergency, like medical bills. For over 500 a month I have a huge deductible and have to pay around 40% for most services. No dental or vision so I guess I’ll just drive without being able to see and hope my car insurance pays for the accident. Up until recently, my union paid for insurance. Now it is really hard to get union jobs and my current employer has found some loophole so they don’t have to give us any coverage at all. I make too much for Obamacare, but not enough to afford an extra 500 a month (plus the cost of medical because the coverage is that bad.) I know when I turn 65 I will be eligible for Medicare but the doctors in my area who accept Medicare are not taking patients and those places are like a free clinic. You wait for hours standing room only. I know because my poor mother has to use those doctors. I will have to drive to the city to see a doctor. And, remember? No vision care so look out all you people on the road, lol!
Question : Why would anyone want to go without health insurance? You can get Really sick quickly or have some sort of bad accident uou would really be in debt. I am not sure how all of this works but somehow there has to be a way to be on a plan or medicaid if you cannot afford or you can’t work. We really should rethink how insurance works in this country.
To all… Read the last paragraph again. Ok . Now, really, come on “do the right thing”. We all want to do the right thing. Where do you come off preaching about it. I do not need to be belittled, or embarassed. People are at this site because we are trying to find out how to make our lives work. the right thing was not to pass this trechary. Lied up and down , keep the doctor, save money, went to the supreme court cause the verbage was so monkey’ed up. Things this big need a special national vote. This was the left’s play to kill the lower/middle class to push us to subsidies just like she suggest’s in the post. SHAMFULL AND UN- AMERICAN. What’s next.. oh forgot electric bills are the next target.
This is a cash cow. NO ONE should be forced to buy something they can’t afford! Here’s one for ya! I just got off the phone with blue cross. We pay out of pocket direct for our monthly premiums. We are barely making it on one income, middle class. Our premium for ppo coverage medical was $355 a month and it’s going to $485! No way! Can’t be done! We were barely surviving with $355! On top of that, nothing is covered until the $6,000 deductible is met PER PERSON! This includes OFFICE VISITS! TELL ME AGAIN HOW THIS IS HELPING! YOU KNOW IT’S NOT! I am canceling all insurance. I will pay the penalty, which is far cheaper. I will find ways to make up the difference from the money I lose. We can play the game too.
This may be something you can joke about, but it is not funny to those of us suffering from this mess.
Your not getting it. Your throwing around numbers that mean nothing. Your trying to sell to the American people that they pay, lets say 500 a month for a single person to be covered.
Most of which do not go to doctors anyway! Knowing they are not going to cure anything.
Everything now is a disease. There is a follow up visit for every aspect of a visit. Your not a patient if you visit once. The major problem is if by chance you are sick. What you pay in the monthly terms applies to nothing you will go bankrupt. . . What will happen granted it will take a few years. But people will stop. They will stop paying to Obama care and risk life or death. But the incentive to be honest and pay taxes, will also disappear. People will do the best they can to hide what they do. People will cut what they don’t really need. To live on less meaning there is less taxes being paid. Republican and Democrat all want taxes. All your numbers and credits mean nothing. Lets see a collage kid goes to school to learn that the penalty of 600 of there income, or 5000 a year. For roughly the same out come. Maybe I missed something again what’s the benefits?
Why are we forced to pay top dollar for coverage we dont need or want. The deductibles and coinsurance are rediculously high.Thie result is I have to pay for all my families health care self pay. We will never reach the deductible threasehold except in catastophic illness . Obamacare will never pay out
anything on my part. My health
insurance premiums equal another
mortgage payment. The personal
financial impact has oblitrated my chance to save for retirement. All i see is the insurance industry benifit by pocketing huge premiums. I just dont get it. The system punishes those of us that work hard their whole lives. I fully agree that obamacare takes away the incentive to work and achieve. It reinforces negative behavior in our society. It rewards poor work ethic, low income , and mediocrity. It makes citizens dependant on the government and in turn affords the govenment stricter control over its citizens.
Thanks for your opinions, but really that is about the most negative way to look at tens of millions of people being able to afford coverage for the first time one could have. As a family who makes above 400% of the poverty level it can be hard to manage the new costs, but for many costs didn’t go up and for tens of millions costs went down or became affordable for the first time. Remember cost assistance is only offered to 100% to 400% of the federal poverty line, that essentially requires that at least one family member hold down a full-time job. Who is anyone else to judge that family as lazy? Doesn’t mean we can’t do better, but it’s not an excuse to put down other hardworking Americans. Also just generally, healthcare costs have been rising steadily over time due in part to the uninsured and the general lack of equality in health insurance. The ACA is actually curbing costs in the long-run. So when you do finally need that coverage, the ACA might just be helping you too.
I work for a temp agency, and premiums a week for me and my spouse will be 150.00 just for medical coverage. 34.5 hours a week x 11.00/hour. You do the math Our deductible will be 6000.00 per individual So here is the deal, we make around 49,000/year combined. ( We only take home after taxes etc, about 36,000/ year. We do not get any government benefits, we are on our own).We do not have kids yet!. After I graduate college, I will also be blessed with student loan debt. So on top of health insurance and student loan debt my family will never be able to progress. The middle class is filling the pinch when it comes to education and health care. At this point, we will just face the tax penalty and go without insurance. If I get hired on permanently with my contracted employer, at least they do offer to cover insurance for the employee but spouse coverage will cost us $550.00/month!!! How is this affordable for the middle class? It is not. I do not blame Obama I blame the whole system. Now all I want is Medicare for all. The middle class is feeling the pinch. Yes, I do have a medical condition and I am getting by without going to the doctor. It is what it is!!!
When one looks at healthcare costs, student debt, mortgages, and income taxes for the middle class it’s hard to see anything less than Medicare-for-all as attractive. But we aren’t there yet, and we may not ever be. In your situation you should look at the link in this comment in regard to affordability and your options. If employer sponsored coverage costs you or your spouse more than 9.56% MAGI you may qualify to get cost assistance on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
FACT: ARE YOU A ROBOT? HAL 2015 MODEL?
Dear ObamaCareFacts.com robot-
It is obvious that Obama Care was not intended for the working poor. I pay $7,785 a year making $38,740! I work at a hospital. I would have to pay, out of pocket, over $1,200 for an MRI. I can quit my job and get it for free through Medicare. I knew it when people said that Obama Care was a great opportunity for America. My response was, if you really think the same government that runs DMV can make healthcare for everyone, then you are truly a fool. We continue to vote for these people who make promises and then stab us in the back. I wish I could go back in time and become a politician. They are the richest people in the country and they are supposed to be the ones who represent us. What a joke!
beep beep bloop bloop I do not compute.
Ok that aside. You are paying an outrageous price for coverage. Is that through your employer? You can get an exemption and use the marketplace. Based off what you said you could potentially qualify for the marketplace, tax credits, and exemptions. Can’t give exact details without more info, but suffice to say, you may be missing something.
If by some chance you aren’t missing anything, I promise you I find your costs compared to your income to be “a joke” as well. A not funny at all joke.
https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
I’m single and make 60,000/yr. I’m 58 years old. My employer doesn’t offer health insurance. I’m healthy and wanted a catastrophic plan. I’m not allowed to. What I do have is a bronze plan with a premium of $530/month and 6,000 deductible!!! !!!!! Does this make any sense? Really? Next year it go up another 30% What is affordable here??? I was saving for retirement but not anymore.. I have to pay for “Affordable” health insurance. When are they going to fix this??? We will all be poor soon!
You are so right….there are no simple plans left anymore…not so long ago one could get a major med plan for under 160 monthly with a 20% co pay. Basic doctor visits etc were not covered but you had the major stuff covered. Now we have 3 plans that are so wonderful most need (other peoples money) to help pay the premiums, and then those monthly premiums are still high, plus you have to have the money to pay for the high deductibles. Who has on average 6000.00 in yearly basic medical costs? The ones already on medicare basically. What a joke this was on all of us…many knew it would be a disaster and if it is such a great medical plan tell me why congress is exempt? The very plan the democrats passed (no republican voted yea) refuse to be covered under it!!!! The uninsured were young folks not wanting it, or dare I say non citizens flooding the hospitals. If you were poor to begin with the states had medicaid type plans already in effect. The ship will hit the fan next year when obamacare fully kicks in (lets not forget how many times he postponed this mess for unions etc. through his executive fiats) and then we will revisit this lie sold to the ignorant public.
I’m 57 BCBSIL just took away my insurance plan. It was $4500 deduct. $6800 max out of pocket. I had $30 copay to see my DR. $50 a specialist. Generic drugs $0-$10 Rx brand copay $35/$75/$150. $560 a month premium. Now it’s the same premium $3750 deduct. $6500 max out of pocket. I have to meet my deduct. Before I see my Dr. or Specialist then pay 20% coinsurance. If I see the doctor prior to the deductible being met I have to pay the entire amount out of my pocket. I am single and make about $50,000 I take home about $34000 I tithe 10% of my income before taxes and I have a mortgage payment, real-estate taxes, Home insurance, life insurance, car insurance to pay besides upkeep on my little house food utilities etc. besides paying taxes on anything else I need to buy. My health insurance is a joke. It will only benefit me if something catastrophic happens to me.
Doc rock on March 29, 2015 ‘s comments may seem negative to those religiously marketing Obamacare, but it doesn’t mean it’s not real.
My case is similar, when I am forced to put $4000+ into health insurance just when I am trying to start my own small business to survive.
I can’t afford it, but due to my severance pay last year, I feel I’d be penalized even more.
The planners of Obamacare have an answer to everything, even if those answers don’t really apply to my case.
my wife has a worked for public schools and carries our insurance because I am self employed electrical contractor. she is taking a new job with chance at better pay. the health insurance we are leaving has $3000 deductible and monthly copays covered…this is very likely changing. so we are in Obama’s unaffordable healthcare joke. our plan with a healthy family of two adults one child is now $680 a month and $13000 deductible. REALLY that’s affordable healthcare! idiots! I worked my butt off and so does my wife we pay for everything we need and have perfect credit. we make around a hundred grand and live within our means. any health care crisis takes our savings and crushes us every month. I don’t go to work every day to pay other peoples bills I pay my own thank you. I don’t want hand outs I have work ethic….oh that’s why this works. I care about my credit and will pay the bill! like most of the middle class.
Caring for the sick isn’t a “handout”, it’s simply being a good human. One of the main reasons rates were low before the ACA for some people is because insurers denied coverage to sick people, the actual cost of healthcare (and thus health insurance) in America is closer to what you are now paying. We can curb costs by taking away coverage, or regulations, taxes, and reforms, or by cutting the healthcare safety-net. The ACA goes for regulations, taxes, and reforms and we can’t help think that this is the right direction. The ACA isn’t perfect and some families really do end up paying high rates with cost sharing considered, typically either due to having a low income and having to get employer coverage or having income just above the 400% FPL.
As for practical tips, it is a lot more affordable after cost assistance, and certainly with a high deductible plan you should be fully funding an HSA and getting those tax advantages. You should also double check that after all deductions (including the HSA) your total household income is more than $80,360. If it’s less than that you should be getting a Marketplace plan and taking advantage of cost assistance that will cap your costs.
https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/
We who work hard like the gentleman who started this thread, can barely afford the new Obamacare program. How dare you tell us paying so much that our own standard of living has gone down so much is only human! My health care costs NOW exceed my mortgage! This means it is the most expensive thing I pay for all year. And I get nothing from it. My deductibles are so high that everything is out of pocket. Those who IMPOSED this stupid law on us are not human. Those who are sick could have had much help that didn’t drag the rest of the hard working population down. You are not fact.
To clarify we aren’t claiming that health insurance is affordable for those who it’s not affordable for. We are offering advice to those who may not know all the same tips and strategies we do, and asking people to put their extra costs in perspective by thinking of those who wouldn’t be able to get care without the law (the human part).
Also, it would be nice if we could funnel all this frustration into solutions rather than fighting and actually if you read the threads you can see some of that happening.
I honestly think I’m going to have to kill myself. There is just no getting ahead. I’m going to have to file bankruptcy in order to afford healthcare or be homeless….How is that a benefit? How is it then “affordable. The cost of health insurance prohibits me from affording rent and/or my car payment and car insurance and I can’t live in my city with out a car because there is not helpful public transit.
I don’t understand why people would pay 247 a month for a 7500 deductible?? So I have to pay $7500 in costs before my “insurance” covers anything. If people could afford that NO ONE WOULD NEED INSURANCE. This is abhorrent greed in the worst way. You are raping the regular people of any financial security or progress. The only incentive is to be broke as shit to get the free care or just die.
Premiums this high are no different than not having health insurance at all -because people will never be able to afford to use it. Not when rent is $1000 min to live anywhere decent, plus high utilities, plus GAS, plus car insurance and car payment – People cannot get by without these things. Then there’s the cost of food and basic living expenses.
And just out of curiosity when these employers aren’t paying decent wages how is it you expect all these people to keep paying this new “life tax” called health care??? That keeps going up every year?
Stop trying to justify this.
I would love not to justify anything, as the basic frustration at the rising cost of living and healthcare is understandably becoming a real problem for many Americans.
But, again we feel that we need to clarify some points. For an individual $247 a month for a $7500 deductible (you mean $6600 as it’s dictated by law) would only exist though a large employer or without cost assistance. Without cost assistance implies you make over $47,080 as an individual in MAGI. This is way more than the median income for individuals. (Ie. regular people by definition, no?) https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p60-249.pdf
So let’s take the worst case of making say $50,000 after deductions (bump up the MAGI so we can’t even debate about funding an HSA or whatever). Ok so we have $1,000 rent, say $1,000 bills and debt and living expenses, and $250 health insurance. That is $2,250 a month x 12. So Let’s round up and say $20,000 left for taxes, savings, and other things. Without health insurance you’d have $23,000 instead.
For each year you have $23,000 you have to not get sick, or get in an accident, if you do then you’ll owe the full price of healthcare. Now the problem here is: healthcare is pretty unaffordable in the US (we agree on this). This means you jeopardize bankruptcy (and yes if you don’t have savings you jeopardize bankruptcy at a $6600 maximum too, unless you’ve been say stashing money away in an HSA… but you can’t fund an HSA without coverage, so there is that. Put in in savings, but then you don’t get the tax advantage)
As for the PPACA it also works to curb costs as healthcare has been rising faster than inflation. So we certainly don’t want to do away with that part, right?
So we will make a promise that we won’t justify things like one person’s affordability with another’s, but we make no promise that we won’t crunch the numbers and comment on other specifics that arise on the site. Seems fair.
Your homepage states that this website is an unbiased help forum for people looking for information on obamacare, yet looking through your many responses to peoples’ complaints, I see clearly that you are in fact interested only in promoting the viewpoint of the establishment and towing the party line. You should be ashamed for claiming to represent the interests and views of all people yet continuing to promote unfounded statistics and prices for care without knowing each individual’s situation.
I think the simple answer is that you are reading comments on a reader’s story called “forced to have coverage and can’t afford it”. It’s a page where people tend to air negative experiences with the ACA. Therefore our comments on this page tend to focus on offering positive advice to a negative comment. If anyone disagrees with specific facts or conclusions they are welcome to add that into the discussion or message us. If anyone proves anything we say as untrue or misleading we will address it (it also says that on front page).
Does Jonathan Gruber ring a bell to anyone? Obamacare is fraud. By definition! At the very least intentional misrepresentation. Gruber is the architect of Obamacare for those who have forgotten. Mr. Obamacare passed because “the stupidity of the American voter.” Wake up guys. Anything this paid liberal hack says on this thread is a bunch of garbage. I mean for example – “To clarify we aren’t claiming that health insurance is affordable for those who it’s not affordable for.” REALLY? And that’s just one example.
Look at how many seats Obama’s presidency has lost the democrats under his legislative dictatorship. Look at the number of democratic governors who got booted on top of that. That’s his real legacy. Anyone wise to the games being played have faith the American people will endure. I mean that. We will persevere. Can’t believe I believed in Barry from Honolulu at one point in my life. What a sell out.
Speaking directly to whoever responds to these reviews – YOU’RE NOT OBJECTIVE. Trust me that’s not what I really want to say. We’ll see if this even posts…God Bless America.
Sometimes saying something in a civil manner is more powerful than saying what you really want to say.
The Jonathan Gruber quote doesn’t refer to the whole ACA, it refers to the politics of wording of the mandate as a mandate rather than a tax. Check out what the rest of the law does here: https://obamacarefacts.com/summary-of-provisions-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/
And to clarify, we aren’t paid by anyone except ourselves and have no ties to any government agency. We are simply a third party facilitating an open discussion on the PPACA and doing our best to help everyone understand the current healthcare system and the problems we face.
How is it constitutional to force citizens to buy any product? If we don’t purchase any of the products offered, we are to pay a penalty. Single mom, no help from anyone. And now “obamacare” (a self-serving name) premium has tripled for the same coverage. This government is supposed to belong to the PEOPLE. And the PEOPLE need to speak and the electoral college needs to disappear! I should have the right to chose to buy or NOT to buy a product. I can’t believe our USA is this low. We have allowed our nation to bend over and now it is on it’s knees. AND THE OTHER NATIONS SEE IT…..
Section 8: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
Other nations also see us fighting over providing health insurance to our poorest and see us complaining about taking in refugees. They also saw us showing up for the talks in Paris, and they see some in our country denying that humans can cause pollution.
Advice-wise, if you make between $15,930 – $63,720 you can get subsidies on HealthCare.Gov as a single mom. So that helps a large chunk of working American single mothers. Government assistance is the difference between kids being covered and not in a large chunk of American households.
You said it Teresa!! The responses concocted by this purportedly “unbiased” entity put me in mind of an historical figure known as Pontius Pilate!!! “Unconcerned” (with the worries of the likes of us whose daily grind quite literally keeps this country afloat) seems a more fitting description.
Did I just get compared to Pontius Pilate? In some alternative universe where Pilate works on a Saturday trying to keep his small business afloat. You know, writing about the program that helps to heal the sick and care for the poor…. Yeesh.
The whole site is essentially focused on being concerned for other hardworking Americans and those less fortunate.
I wanted a universal healthcare plan. I have lived in countries where it worked beautifully but these are my options: employer sponsored: 11,400 with a 10,000 deductible (for family) or Obama care 11,892 with 12,000 deductible. They offer coverage for me alone at 9.5 percent of my income so I am not eligible for assistance but I need to get coverage for my family. Both of these options are 24 percent of my income with deductible included it represents 43 percent of my income. How is this AFFORDABLE and what can I possibly do? How many people will no longer pay taxes leaving the federal government in deeper deficit?
I cannot afford Obamacare/ market place prices or deductible for my son, again I am a Middle School Teacher, I live pay check top pay check and I juggle bills to survive,
I think you are a jerk to imply people are lying or exaggerating about how hard it is to make it paying outrageous premiums,
Here is a solution, open up an Obamacare Health care insurance and have a health organization like Keiser Permanente in California, where they have their own Doctors and hospitals. let people pay a set price and let the government provide the facilities to care for people, keep the profit/expenses in house. Give decent care like your Obama care wants to, you stop exaggerating how you care for people and do it.
I know my friend went to the market place and when taxes were do she had to pay the difference back to the government, so one again she is without insurance, she only makes $10 an hour 30 hrs a week at my school and her obama market place premium is $400 a month
She is not a liar and I am not lying or exaggerating,you FACT are just not listening and making excuses. Dont get me wrong I know good intentions were had but it did not work and is not working
Donn
First let us say we appreciate your frustration and are doing our best to have respect for each commenter including you. Even when we do have something to say in response to a comment. On that note:
I think you are misunderstanding. We are being rational. We haven’t come down on one person who made a reasonable claim. But when someone says “$700 routine exams and the $500 flu season visits” we HAVE to say something. Both of these are covered for free under the law. So I mean we are talking being off the mark by $1,200. If that sort of post makes its way to our website you bet we are going to say something. We don’t want other people being confused about how the law works.
As for your friends Marketplace plan, $400 is steep but not unheard of. IT’s amazing that this would be the cheapest bronze plan on the marketplace (this again is not even remotely the norm). But obviously the issue for her specifically is in regard to tax credits and not the base cost of the plan. If she makes between 100% – 400% of the poverty level the cost is capped by 2% – 9.5% of the second lowest cost marketplace silver plan in the state (we have this info and it’s on healthcare.gov). So that means even if the premium was $1,000,0000 it would still cap down to 2% – 9.5% of her income (i.e. the base cost only matters without cost assistance).
If she is the only source of income in the family she should get generous credits or even be Medicaid eligible if her state expanded. If there is another source of income or coverage, this could better explain the situation as well.
She may be falling in the Medicaid Gap. She doesn’t make enough for subsidies (100% FPL) and doesn’t qualify due to your state not expanding Medicaid. If she does live in a state that expanded she should be taking care of the new free or low cost coverage under the law. This would explain the high premium without tax credits.
One last thing, if you make too little income (but already got a subsidy) you owe nothing back or get a refund. So if she had to pay the tax difference then it was due to making more income. That means she was readjusting her credits on 8962 and took too many.
“Thanks for your opinions, but really that is about the most negative way to look at tens of millions of people being able to afford coverage for the first time one could have. As a family who makes above 400% of the poverty level it can be hard to manage the new costs, but for many costs didn’t go up and for tens of millions costs went down or became affordable for the first time. Remember cost assistance is only offered to 100% to 400% of the federal poverty line, that essentially requires that at least one family member hold down a full-time job. Who is anyone else to judge that family as lazy? Doesn’t mean we can’t do better, but it’s not an excuse to put down other hardworking Americans. Also just generally, healthcare costs have been rising steadily over time due in part to the uninsured and the general lack of equality in health insurance. The ACA is actually curbing costs in the long-run. So when you do finally need that coverage, the ACA might just be helping you too.”
This is my honest opinion. When I go from doing ok to doing terrible because of being forced to pay for something I can’t afford, I don’t care about others who can now afford it for the first time. They don’t matter to me when I’m broke. Why should I have to switch places with them since I can’t afford insurance now and I had it before when it was actually affordable to me?
Fair enough. You are right. If the result for anyone is truly not being able to afford health coverage than that is unacceptable and more work needs to be done.
I would love to know how I am supposed to afford coverage. In 2014, my husband worked for a very small company where insurance wasn’t offered, so we were able to take advantage of the tax credits and had affordable coverage. However, now my husband has a better job where they offer health insurance, but we cannot afford the $600+ monthly premium plus copays/deductibles. We do not qualify for medicaid. Since his employer offers health insurance that meets the minimum standards we do not qualify for any savings, but we still cannot afford the employer coverage. His employer offers very affordable coverage if it was only for him, but a family plan is just too much. We live pay check to pay check, how are we supposed to find an extra $600 a month just for the premium, especially since we hardly even use health care?? We will have to be uninsured, but it would be nice to have coverage incase we encountered an unexpected medical expenses, especially since we have 3 kids. I just want to know what people like us are supposed to do? I really wish that they could offer the savings to those who have jobs or provide us with some type of option. I feel like the working lower to middle class is really suffering since most employers do provide coverage that meets the minimum standards, but it still doesn’t mean it’s affordable.
Yeah the rules for coverage offered to family members of employers just doesn’t add up with most of the rest of the current healthcare system. Make sure to review the information on affordability and exemptions here: https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
You can talk all you want about how Obamacare has helped other people, but that doesn’t matter to the people on this feed who are struggling to make ends meet. To do that is dismissive and insulting. If you couldn’t make ends meet, would you care if it was helping a nameless and faceless person you don’t even know, or would you be focused on how you and your family were going to survive? I think it would be safe to say that you would be furious if Obamacare personnel just repeated the same things over and over again and offered advice that solves nothing for you and your family…right? Be honest. The people on this feed, and many others, see the things you are writing as if you are saying that it is too bad it doesn’t work for you, but it works for those who matter…and, perhaps, they are just the wrong kind of poor. Don’t just type the things that your employee handbook tells you to use as a response and talk to these people like a real human being who truly cares about what they are experiencing without making them feel like they just don’t “get it”. The frustration they feel is only made worse by simply repeating the same thing over and over. I’m sure you too would become frustrated with someone just continued to tell you the same thing that didn’t even address your problem…it’s like calling for technical support needing to speak to a real human being, but you have to deal with an automated system that tells you press numbers to access choices that have nothing to do with your problem instead. We all know how frustrating that can be, especially if you are already aggravated before you even pick up the phone.
I get what you are saying, but we really do provide a lot of helpful advice aimed at people struggling with costs under the ACA. Mainly what we do on this site is 1) help people understand the law 2) help people figure out how to save money and avoid fees. We do a lot with small businesses related info and have a lot of tips focusing on the income level best described as “middle class”.
I think if you re-read the thread you’ll see a lot of understandable anger in the comments, and us trying to address it in a rational and helpful way. Totally sure we don’t get that right 100% of the time, but I think the intention comes through. So to confirm that intention: This is a place for people to vent their frustration and where we can offer advice and perspective on the ACA.
The insurance companies are losing as well. The only people benefiting from Obama Care are the people who couldn’t get insured prior because of sickness. BCBS of Arizona lot 50 dollars the first quarter of 2015 thanks to the sick people who signed up with their company. Thanks to this, rates and deductibles are going up and benefits and networks are going down. The people losing here are the middle class. We are paying for all of the sick to be insured.
I’m sorry, but it’s your ignorance that’s been the main catalyst of your problems. I work for a very small business who employs approximately 60 people. Under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) all our insurance premiums have dropped. I live around a lot of people just like yourself who’d rather throw themselves under the bus and “blame Obama” in lieu of taking advantage of a policy that will not only save you money, but very well save your life.
To be fair health insurance prices can vary pretty drastically by region, so not everyone is going to have the same experience. Also small businesses who don’t use the SHOP can run into trouble with shopping around for plans. It’s not that the plans don’t have value, but sometimes group plans sold to businesses can offset the group discount by over-buying coverage based on employees wages. Businesses really need to be thinking about the wages of the lowest paid full-time employees when offering coverage.
My premium went up because of Obama Care. Now I have two options take plan A for my daughter and I and pay $277.00 a paycheck with a $24,00 deductible. Or I can take Plan B for my daughter and I and pay $336. A paycheck for a $5,200 deductible. I can only afford plan A which mean nothing at all will be covered and everything goes straight to the deductible. I average 3000 a month maybe off of commision. The affordable care act told me that since I work off commission I will have to keep reporting income change and my premium could go up. Also, at tax season if they feel I haven’t paid enough they can charge me.
You must be a little off on that deductible, the max deductible under law is $6,600 for an individual and $13,200 for a family in 2015. Anyway, advice is the same regardless of the details. We would suggest the lower cost plan and then funding an HSA to the maximum amount for the year. (see contribution limits here https://obamacarefacts.com/health-insurance/health-savings-account-hsa/)
Funding a Health Savings Account (HSA) will drop your taxable income and increase the amount of assistance you qualify for. You can look into other tax deductions to offset your income too, this will help ensure that you are under your MAGI income projections.
As for updating the Marketplace, YES you do have to update them, but lets be clear on what is happening. You are guesstimating / projecting your income based on what you reasonably think you’ll make (taking into account times you won’t work and will work more). Then the Marketplace is keeping tabs and giving you advanced tax credits based on what you report. If you report higher income during the year than originally projected cost assistance goes down, report lower income cost assistance goes up. At the end of the day you’ll reconcile all of this on form 8962 at the end of the year based on actual income.
Now here is some really specific advice to tie it all together. You make $3,000 a month. $3,000 x 12 = $36,000. Based on the Federal Poverty Level (https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/) you will qualify for pretty hefty savings if you keep your MAGI below $39,825 (250% of the Federal Poverty Level) and amazing savings at $31,860 (200% FPL). If you can between an HSA and other deductions project your income at say $31,800, and get a Silver plan (silver plans are the only plans that qualify for cost sharing reduction subsidies). (https://obamacarefacts.com/silver-plan/)
If you get a Silver plan, claim below 200% FPL, and use an HSA you will get health coverage with an average cost sharing of 87%, at a premium that costs no more than 6.25% of your MAGI, and have whatever you fund your HSA with to pay for out-of-pocket healthcare costs, dental, and vision tax free. This is honestly an amazing deal that beats anything anyone was getting before the ACA. Even if you can’t get all of these things at say 250% FPL or less with a partially funded HSA will still get you a plan that has 73% average cost sharing and out-of-pocket assistance which is pretty good.
Hopefully this advice helps!
Please advise how an individual who cannot realistically afford their monthly healthcare premium can afford to fund a health savings account to supplement what their plan does not pay? I would love to know how to do that. My healthcare premium beginning January 1 will be $543.34 per month. This is for a bronze plan, the least expensive plan I can find. My premium for 2015 was $314.06, so this is an increase of $229.28 per month. I am single, 54 years old, earn $50,000 a year (while working 60 hours per week), and am eligible for no subsidy or tax credit. I have 2 kids in college and am paying off my own student debt which I incurred in order to get the education I needed to get a better job. Beginning January 1, I will no longer have medical insurance. because I cannot afford it. I can either eat, keep a roof over my head, and pay my student debt or have medical insurance. It was a simple decision really, it’s cheaper to pay the penalty than to pay for the insurance.
At that price the fee is cheaper… BUT, if you end up needing health care you could be getting yourself into un-payable medical debt. It’s not an easy choice at just over the 400% FPL in a state where rates are being jacked up unreasonably. For example I and everyone I know (including those at your age) pay hundreds less than you for bronze coverage (different states and regions apparently).
Certainly when you take someone making just over 400% FPL, give them student loans, a nice 30 year mortgage from 2007, and then tell them you are going to fine them for not getting health insurance.. I mean how could we expect anyone in that position to feel. It has to be really frustrating.
Anyway, for practical purposes the lowest cost bronze plan for you seems really, really, really high. You should re-check healthcare.gov. An also don’t get too angry at me here, but max out your HSA and drop your income below $47,080 so it caps your premium at 9.5% of MAGI. That will drop your plan’s price considerably.
What I have found is that insurance companies have gotten around the maximum out of pocket by disallowing almost everything. They simply never let you get to that number, so it is completely irrelevant. This hurts low income folks too.
In other words, do your best to be poor so you can have coverage. Because if your middle class, and GOD forbid self employed, you will be poor or dead soon. This is all lies, if you play with the market place tool, you will see, the same plan, united health care silver compass, for $220, then simply change your income, it goes up to $480 with a savings for tax credit of $240, this is a scam to steal from us, I don’t know who is getting paid but either the government or the insurance is. Besides the scams, no one can afford the deductible on a plan that is not all out of pocket any ways. This is pure evil!
You “pro-ACA” people are ALL crazy! We just rec’d our NEW rates for employer group plan health insurance. Our rates increased over 50%! We contribute 1/2 the amount, which for single, comes to over $400/month (total of $881.00/month) and family is $1400/month (total of $2400/month). Our company is still in bad economical shape since 2008 and cannot afford to pay 1/2 the costs anymore. So I say…SHOVE IT UP YOUR…… I’m FED UP with having to take care of everyone else before my own family…..My husband’s disabled…I am the ONLY income…I have a mortgage, taxes, electricity, more taxes, vehicle (to travel over 20 mi one way for the ONLY job available in my area) and on and on…..I can’t wait until this S%*T is changed!!!!!!!!!!!
The government has no right to extort people into buying insurance. Imposing a tax on your body in order to force you to purchase something, is beyond criminal. It appears as though the supreme court has also been corrupted and is no longer in defense of the nation’s people for liberty , freedom , justice, or the Constitution. I have been laid off for two years. I had to sell my house and land to pay off my debts and keep from going bankrupt. I’m down to just a few thousand dollars now, yet my accountant claims that I owe the IRS for not having health coverage. This is unfair and criminal extortion. I need to buy food and pay bills to survive. I do not lean on the government for hand outs. The government has pushed people too far. This is not what our veterans fought and died for. Government has become overbearing and intrusive. This must stop . I am considering leaving the country for residency elsewhere out of practicality and principle. Short of an uprising, I don’t foresee things getting better. Good luck my American neighbors, I’m right there with you.
Are you out of your mind. The quickest way to the hospital is to get a quote from Affordable Care Act..AKA Obama Care(Heart attack). Thousands of people are being screw by the ACA. I know my insurance rate raise by 25% since the ACA. He is taxing the middle class and feeding the bums.
Please inform all of us ignorant people where you live and what premium you are paying lesson, I know that I pay fore a private insurance policy for my son and they have canceled my son’s insurance two times since Obama Care, I have had the premiums drop because I was forced to change insurance companies, but I know that others are suffering because they cannot afford the premiums,
Did you ever think about those people you called ignorant, they may not have your high paying job, Obama care was meant to help people who could not afford insurance. THAT MEANS THEY CANNOT AFFORD IT !! That is what people are complaining about, they cannot afford IT and eat food, You might be one of the lucky one who is really ignorant and do not understand what is going on around you. Please keep your head in the sand, you are better off.
Donna
The thing for us all to remember is that different people, in different regions, with different incomes, different expenses, and different coverage options before the ACA are all have unique experiences. From what we have seen (listening to all of you over the years) sometimes people are rushing to blame Obama and not using all the tools given to them under the new law (to some extent), and sometimes people are simply expressing their frustration at a healthcare system that is still pricing them out despite promises of Affordability. It’s not always easy to discern between the two, but you have to give people the benefit of the doubt. In the same way that I would hope people would look beyond their own situation when considering the what should be done with the PPACA as a whole.
I didn’t know sheep could type
I am sorry to say that you are the ignorant 1 here, have you read these post? You may be 1 of the very few selected people that this program benefits. In most cases this illegitimate corporate scam is destroying millions of lives and families in this country all for money (CORPORATE GREED), This program could care less about the health of the American people. Not only is it destroying American families but it is also wiping out the small American business at an alarming rate. I do not know where you live or work but it must be a very special place because there are literally millions of people that this program is destroying. Although you may be 1 of the very few lucky ones that have somehow fallen through the cracks, you are also the most ignorant to believe this program is for the people. We the people are paying for the congress to have a no -0- cost health coverage program and also there salary of very ridiculous wage’s while others making $10.00 an hr. are being charged fines for not being able to afford this BS SCAM. Do you research and educate yourself prior to calling people ignorant.
This obama care was set up for people that don’t work. This is the democratic way, you work to pay for the people that just sit around and reap the rewards of your hard word. Sickening isn’t it?
This is actually a common misconception. The ACA gives healthcare tax credits to people with incomes over 100% of the poverty line (minus social security benefits the only way to have income is to be actively working and filing taxes). Even after tax credits it’s not like Marketplace coverage is free, and neither are out-of-pocket costs. Medicaid doesn’t require income, but in many states those with zero income already have many options for assistance. Most of those helped by Medicaid actually have slight incomes. And remember this is claimed income after deductions, so one can have assets but be in a rough patch and need the safety net to bounce back and become productive again… And what if the main breadwinner gets sick and can’t work for a year? That is hard to describe as lazy. It’s not as cut and dry as you might think for millions of families out there.
Funny how you keep defending people who are directly benefiting from the ACA as people who are incapable of working due to means outside of their control. Really? We’re the fattest country in the world. We have unhealthy written all over us. In a 2012 study, it was concluded that 1 in 4 Americans consume fast food at least once every day. So if there’s people who are living in uncontrollable poverty and illness, how are so many people making it through the drive-thrus? And…why are we pretending that these “illnesses” are not a direct correlation with poor self care? Truth is, there is laziness in this country. I know from experience. Most of my extended family has lived off the government for most of their lives. They’re fat, unhealthy, lazy and it’s all because of poor choices they make. They take their social security checks and gamble their money away until they file bankruptcy a 2nd time, and then want to complain about “poor us, we’re so poor!”. I’m sick of the charade. I know someone also who works for CareSource in Ohio and says that women will actually call in and ask for the state to PAY for their tubes to be untied so they can have another child and continue their benefits. All day long it’s stories of entitlement and seeking more handouts. You’re delusional if you truly believe that the ACA is actually helping people. It’s not helping people, it’s enabling laziness and government dependence.
You do get that this is your opinion right? Try going to the “ObamaCare saved my life page” and listening to people be grateful for the coverage they have. America is diverse and the ACA helps some and hurts some. We aren’t defending one over the other, but we aren’t going to ignore the people it helps or the people it hurts. The goal is to accept all comments, look at all sides, and attempt to remain unbiased.
I am in a very difficult position in regard to my healthcare. I am a salaried employee for an employer who does not provide medical coverage or any additional benefits.. I originally sought and paid for an Obamacare plan but had to let it lapse because it became unaffordable. As of now, I am months away from my sixtieth birthday, live on a budget due to a bankruptcy filed in 2014, and find that premiums for insurance are out of reach. What insurance I could possibly afford comes with deductibles beginning at $ 6,500. As someone who has worked hard my entire life, paid taxes and has been an entrepreneur attempting to enjoy the American dream, I have seen my work collapse and my prospects for the future diminish dramatically. Each day I look for a position in my field of expertise that would pay me more than the amount that I make today. I am healthy, but my lack of adequate health insurance poses a grave concern
Premium costs can be frustrating, but you have to realize that the fee for not having coverage is going up each year (for which you get nothing for personally). Each year it makes less and less sense to forgo the Marketplace plan and tax credits. The out-of-pocket costs can be really brutal on lower premium plans, but when you have a high deductible plan you get to pair it with an HSA. An HSA can decrease your taxable income and increase your cost assistance. And of course the plan also helps prevent against financial crisis due to catastrophic accidents. At the end of the day, yep it’s going to cost money to get covered and budgets are tight in lots of homes… but we don’t think it’s the right move to forego health insurance… especially when you consider the tax benefits of an HSA and having health insurance.
NOT true, they are going to claim that the HSA contribution can be taxed as well, look it up.
HSAs are tax-exempt in and tax-exempt out. Make sure you aren’t confusing them HRAs and FSAs and such.
As far as the reader goes, you can simply verify with the IRS to confirm our adivice is correct. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969/ar02.html
FROM THE IRS:
You can claim a tax deduction for contributions you, or someone other than your employer, make to your HSA even if you do not itemize your deductions on Form 1040.
Contributions to your HSA made by your employer (including contributions made through a cafeteria plan) may be excluded from your gross income.
The contributions remain in your account until you use them.
The interest or other earnings on the assets in the account are tax free.
Distributions may be tax free if you pay qualified medical expenses. See Qualified medical expenses , later.
An HSA is “portable.” It stays with you if you change employers or leave the work force.
WHAT CRP!!! My husband and I are low-income. I always thought “oh low income we will get help right?” WRONG! I have a kidney condition and need higher end care. I don’t qualify for medicaid in my state because I don’t live off of the system. You see I had a job until forced to quit for my health. When I tried keeping my Medicaid(I aged out of the system) they told me because I am not in kidney failure they couldn’t help me. In the end, I began going into kidney failure. Luckily, I got care before it was too late. Now I want to address these low-income statements I see and hear from everyone. We are low income. So low income we do NOT qualify for any tax credit or cost reduction. We qualify for NOTHING. To user generated you complained about it taking 40% of your income a month. Well how about a deal that will take 130% of your monthly income? Yeah, that is the plan my husband and I have been offered! It will take 130% to get a plan that doesn’t even cover everything I need. Actually, none of the plans cover everything I need. So on top of paying $860+ (and no we don’t smoke) for insurance it would cost even additional amounts to get all of the care I need. At 860+ a month things should be covered. I am a democrat and am so disgusted. My husband and I both attend University to get a higher degree. And it isn’t even worth it because it goes against us and costs us money we don’t even have to be paying and then have these high ass premiums. Yeah there are college student programs out there for insurance…I need something better than what is offered with those. I have 5-7 kidney surgeries per year and about 5 ER visits. Yeah, I can’t afford that or insurance at the prices given. This AHA is so messed up and so is the way the medicaid system works too. You must be a complete BUM to get any help. Guess my husband and I need to start spitting out babies so we can actually get help.
Sorry to hear this story, can’t imagine how frustrating it is. This is exactly the reason that the original passed version of the ACA included Medicaid expansion for all states. Unfortunately one of the repeal efforts (National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius) ended up with the Supreme Court ruling that states could opt out of expanding Medicaid. Many states did and this means that millions find themselves in the gap between Medicaid and CHIP coverage in their state and Marketplace tax credit eligibility.
Yes, the state I live in opted out. I live in a red state. When they opted out I was irritated. It made me angry because I needed insurance at the time. I work in a hospital and would see the ones coming in that did and didn’t have it. A mother with 2 or 3 kids all by different men would have medicaid along with her 2 or 3 children. Then I would see a man with only 1 leg and a severe seizure disorder that depended on his parents to care for him not have a drop of insurance. Our state medicaid is messed up. We have a republican governor that does crap all the time that literally makes me laugh. I laugh because of the ones so misinformed don’t realize the things he is doing is not helping. For instance, a couple of years ago he implemented the promise program. Free education at a technology school or a 2 yr community college. University’s got ahold of it too by offering 2 year associate degrees so someone would come to their University. Free education sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Wrong. The money used to pay for this “free” education comes from our state lottery. People don’t remember about 5 years back the lottery funds were low so they increased the requirements to be eligible. Thus reducing the amount of students receiving a lottery scholarship. Over time a lot of money became a surplus and they had excess funds. Instead of giving the excess funds to students who make the grade. They are using it on ones that may or may not. I also found more out about this too as a family member of mine just graduated. They only cover whatever the other aid you have does not. In other words, if you worked really hard and kept a 4.0 and received multiple scholarships this promise will not fund your education. My family member actually went to a 4 year institution and was going to do a 2 year program. However, they said she wasn’t eligible because she received a sports scholarship that was for 4 years. So basically students that work hard get shot in the foot. The ones graduating high school with a 1.0(D average) gets help. With that said, the funds will run out fast because of the response to this program. I wouldn’t want to fund someone making a D average as nothing stops them from getting covered then dropping and the money is wasted on them….I am sorry to complain but I was highly irritated. ACA seemed to be a good thing. I even had a couple tell me they only paid $123 monthly and their prescriptions were covered at 100%. They only paid that much because of their tax credit. If only we could get a tax break like that. I am blessed though because I just found out my dad is covering me for the next couple of months until I can get insurance and so I can go see my kidney specialist and have surgery. I had coverage but just lost it.
We as a family can’t afford healthcare either. Our debt to income ratio is way too much I’m unemployed but married and husband makes according to government too much, yet we barely make it. We want to buy a home and we can’t. Now I live in absolute stress over being penalized for being forced to do something I can’t do. This has become a government controlled country. They don’t don’t care if we live or die, struggle or starve. When I had my job and was patting 340.00 a month just for my son, I had to resort to low grade clinics, I couldn’t even go too a doctor of my choice. I love my family and use to have plans and dreams, now I feel there’s no hope.
Sorry to hear that, unfortunately you can’t deduct debt from annual income! That is something people don’t think about when taking that mortgage or going to school, interest builds, but money you pay out counts as income. Vicious cycle. Anyway…. Families who make just over the 400% Federal Poverty Level can be in a rough place. Most of the assistance programs are phased out at that income level, debt isn’t tax deductible, tax bracket is higher, costs go up every year. You are not alone in anyway. You, millions of others, and even the country in some ways struggles to strike the right balance in between necessity and debt. Health insurance, it is argued is a necessity, hence the law. For the first time tens of millions can afford coverage. That is good but of course we all want to make sure we can afford coverage too. For you what you should do (assuming the employer doesn’t offer a plan) is look into tax deductions. Deductions include a deduction for over $6,000 for fully funding a HSA on a high deductible family plan. If you can get your projected income below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level you can actually qualify for cost assistance through HealthCare.Gov. Simply going without coverage this year will only be a net loss financially if you need care, but remember every year the fee for not having coverage goes up. Given this, really really, it is smart to look at all tax and income options, factor in your families health insurance, and then figure out where you stand after. If you stand anywhere near 400% FPL figure out what you have to do to claim just under. Most people who do the math will find that they actually benefit from making a little less when they are on a threshold like that.
Really you keep repeating 10s of millions can afford health insurance now. What a crock . Its not affordable, the deductibles are not affordable. All its done is make a for profit healthcare system richer with no return to beneficiary’s. Its out of control with outrageous increases. Wall street and shareholders win again.
There is truth in what you say, but you are mainly talking about perception over truth. The reality (statistically speaking) is that millions (over ten million) more are covered. While high deductibles on more “affordable” premium plans are an obstacle for many people without out-of-pocket cost assistance, the new free services, premium cost assistance, the catastrophic coverage provided by these plans, and people’s ability to pair high deductible plans with a Health Savings Account actually make post-ACA plans a great deal for many. You really have to put yourself in the shoes of that person who had hay fever once and thus was denied coverage or charged way higher rates then they can be now under the law. Then realize that 1 in 2 people technically have a preexisting condition and could have had their coverage rescinded for tiny loopholes in the past. Sure for that person with no preexisting and a cheap pre-aca plan this can all seem like a big pain. It’s easy to be cynical and sometimes justifiable, but it’s not as bad as you make it seem. Also, while there are profits being made all around… very few, including many insurers are rolling around carefree in piles of cash. Some companies doing a little better, some struggling, but as long as we have a free-market we should expect no less… no?
The irony is, now those of us that WORK, are married, and do not have children pay the price for those that have kids that they can not afford. I was a supporter of health care reform, but this is not what I imagined. This has done nothing to help the middle class but has benefited the poor class. I am glad that others are getting help but for those of us caught in the middle, we are screwed. Guess I will just have to pay the tax penalty!!!!!
Do consider all other options before paying the penalty (and even consider short term health insurance, even though it won’t protect you from the fee, or an HSA). Out-of-pocket costs without health insurance can be devastating and lead to un-payable medical bills. There are most certainly instances where a big deductible is a godsend compared to no coverage.
Have you ever heard of the expression “perception is reality?” What you are stating as perception is indeed reality for these people. Many households struggle with the cost of the health insurance mandates or go without and have the fees imposed on their taxes because they just don’t see any other way. For my family of 3, the deductible alone on many of the lower premium family plans is about a third of our income. Who in the world can afford that on top of the premiums? That expectation is absolutely ludicrous, one might as well pocket the premiums for themselves or use that to pay your other bills or buy your groceries and just self-pay for your medical needs.
Agreed… Except in catastrophic situations in which not having health insurance results in bankruptcy. In those cases bankruptcy is worse as it eats all the savings anyways and disrupts life beyond that. That is the catch 22 and why having some basic health insurance is vital.
We can explain high deductibles and we can show people how to lower their costs by understanding cost assistance and HSAs, but we certainly aren’t here trying to rationalize that families can afford thousands of dollars a year in deductibles on-top of premiums. It’s an unacceptable endgame, but it doesn’t undo the things the ACA gets right.
The whole point was to make health care affordable. In this regard it has failed for the middle class and your defense of the system is offensive.
Your dismissing every persons very valid complaints. These high deductible plans are worthless they pay for nothing but catastrophic situations.
Middle class is being milked yet again. After 23 years in my job I was “redeployed” meaning let go this past year. I am 61 years old, with several health problems. I have Cobra insurance through January then I am on my own. I have filed for disability and am still waiting for the initial decision. I don’t see any way that I can afford the monthly premium and even if I manged that I don’t see how I will manage to get my critical medications like insulin next year. How do I estimate my income to see if I qualify for help on premiums. I have no idea how long getting a decision from SSD will take. If I estimate wrong I would end up paying it all back.
Don’t the American people deserve better? We the middle class are getting it from all ends. Our government thinks health insurance with impossible deductibles provides a value to cash strapped middle class people. Why would I want to pay the high monthly premium when I will still end up covering my medical costs out of pocket?
I will be voting with this in mind, I want a single payer solution. All we are doing here is protecting the insurance industry, lining their pockets and leaving us even less than we had. Look at the people in countries like Canada, yes it is not perfect but for the people of Canada it is affordable.
As a side note I am a Democrat and I voted for President Obama in both elections, something I am learning to regret. I applaud the President for attempting to address Medical Care but the solution falls far to short for the American People. Health care should be a right to everyone as it is in many developed nations.
Sorry if it comes off as us being dismissive, that is not the intention here and we will take better care to avoid that moving forward. We actually think the out-of-pocket costs for those making above 400% are insane and agree that what America truly needs is a single payer system. Heck even those in the 250 – 300% (before cost sharing assistance kicks in) can really get a low blow in some regions… Especially with cost sharing taken into account.
Obviously something will have to give soon. But, that day isn’t today. We are very sure that the worst thing we can do would be repealing the ACA and replacing it with say “the Ryan plan” or the “Walker plan” or the “x GOP plan” that gives tax breaks to large businesses and cuts holes in the safety net, instead of fixing the problem. The points we are trying to make in our comments are:
1. Don’t let your frustration get in the way of understanding what options you have in regards to subsidies, exemptions, plan choice, and tax benefits like HSAs or small business tax credits, and self employment.
2. There are millions of people out there who really, really do benefit from the ACA. Those getting those great cost assistance amounts, or Medicaid, or the Americans with pre-existing conditions who could get coverage before the law. It’s offensive to dismiss them, just like it would be offensive for us to dismiss those making 3 or more times the poverty level (or any other American, we are all on the same team here).
You are out of your mind. I am one of those people you think is lucky. My total yearly income from retirement is just under $13,000.00. I have never received any assistance but suffered both cancer and coronary disease as I got older. Never drank or smoked, exercised and ate healthy, but genes are genes. The first time even with my husband’s (at that time) medical coverage we owed over $110,000 uncovered expenses and did not file bankruptcy, but lost our credit and my job. The second time we owed $150,000 and wiped out my husband’s retirement account. So now we live on social security (he is 70 and I am 66). Neither of us can work due to our health (him neurological and me kidneys and heart problems). Last year I developed diabetes retinopathy and went to a specialist. My medicare advantage plan refused to pay for any treatments except under the 80%/20% medicare plan (excuse me I thought I was covered after my deductible because I was in an advantage plan). For the first time in my life (now completely tapped out from previous medical expenses) in the position of choosing to go blind or take shots, having to accept charity which pays the $750.00 per month after my insurance pays $250.00 for two injections. Still my vision seems to have improved and having to give up hope of keeping my sight saddens me. I just received my new plan for 2017 and my insurance will no longer pay anything on the injections. Also, my annual deductible is now $6700.00 per year, I have to pay $200 per day if I end up in the hospital each day up to eight days, pay the $1260 medicare deductible and any other uncovered expenses. All of my co-pays for other treatments have been raised by 50% and that doesn’t include the rate increase for my premiums. Since I have all of these pre-existing conditions seeking other coverage seems pointless. My red state doesn’t allow me to be on medicaid. So now I am about to quit seeing all of my doctors, pay double for my healthcare premiums and am taking a reduction in my social security check due to rate increase and no cost of living rise for the second year in a row. I don’t drive anymore due to my vision but my healthcare costs this year were over $38000 out of pocket (due to my eyes). That was covered by the sale of our residence and the cost of our divorce as I did not want my husband to have to file bankruptcy because of my medical bills. Our state law says that a spouse is responsible for the other’s medical bills and they can even garnish a social security check. His check is a little under 15000 per year. We were married for almost fifty years and now have no home, no real health coverage, and no retirement funds. We collectively worked over 80 years for our retirement. My grandson states we are the reason why he can’t survive economically because my generation think we are entitled to his future income. I understand his point of view but wonder if working all those years for affordable health coverage (which is a pipe dream) was worth it. We paid taxes, worked hard and now we are old, poor and still have no real health coverage. Without the means to self pay no good doctor will see u and the care u get is minimal if you do see someone. At this point I am simply waiting for the darkness to come and wonder what will happen next as there is no one to care for me. My husband’s neurological disease seems to be accelerating. Guess the answer for both of us is death which is certainly what I think our government is wanting for any disabled or elderly person so they no longer are a burden on society even when they paid their dues and worked all of their lives. For those who don’t want healthcare coverage due to cost I perfectly understand but don’t make the mistake of thinking medicare coverage is the answer, it isn’t as I can truly attest.
You bring up some really good points. Many people are happy with their Medicare coverage, but many are not. The lower income Medicare recipients, those who are disabled, and those who are “dual eligible” (eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare) struggle with the costs of their premiums, deductibles, and drug coverage costs. These are all the same things frustrating people regardless of who is covering them (private, public). The model simply doesn’t fit peoples healthcare needs, the relationship between poverty and health, and it also isn’t cost effective. We don’t get the value from our public health tax dollars that we should be getting.
You say, “Most people who do the math will find that they actually benefit from making a little less when they are on a threshold like that.” My family (of 4) is now in this exact spot right now and my husband will likely have to stop working the last three months of this year so that our income does not go over the threshold. We will have to clean out our savings to pay our bills for the next few months or we risk owing more than we have saved to cover the higher premium costs we will owe. Our house desperately needs repairs, we have barely any retirement savings, we have no college savings for our kids and both our cars are getting close to 20 years old. We are one small hardship away from bankruptcy. It is very discouraging that you don’t really get ahead by working harder in this country anymore…unless you are a millionaire.
I can’t afford it. The premium is almost $200. I am over 50.. I don’t know what to do. I make $4000.00 too much a year for Medicaid. I am a single parent of one daughter in college and the other in high school. I had one of Obamacare agents help me go on line to see how much it would cost me. He only assisted me because we attend the same church. He said that I will either have to come up with $200 per month or take the penalty and refund time. I am having so much anxiety about this I can’t sleep at night. On top of living pay check to pay check. No child support, no alimony. No one – anywhere is there to help me figure this out or a words of comfort. I hate the Obama administration for making my life more stressful than it already was.
If you are only $4,000 away from Medicaid eligibility that means that you should be qualifying for coverage that costs about 2 -3% of your total income. So something is off here. Make sure that you are projecting your MAGI income (which is income after most deductions). Get yourself a high deductible health plan and use an HSA to bring down your income (if you are eligible, your deductible may be too low due to income). We would suggest going with a Silver plan on the Marketplace because of out-of-pocket cost assistance. Truly this should not be $200 a month after cost assistance because of the way premium tax credits are based on a percentage of MAGI income. Take another look, but remember you can only shop during open enrollment unless you qualify for special enrollment. Given this you may have to wait until November 1st to shop again.
I feel your pain. I am an uninsured independent remodeling contractor. I will have to give up my business to go back to work at a factory just to get insurance. Not affordable at all.
I agree, i cant afford obama care after im done paying the premiums, i cant afford to use the insurance that im forced to pay for, and they dont bill be right they skip payments and over charge me. i want obama care repealed, now.
How does this stuff work? I’m serious. You want me to give up money I can’t afford to lose, and this solves all my problems. Really?!? What does penalizing the poor do to uplift this country? If I made more money I won’t have to worry about this stuff. So the solution is tax me to death. My wife wants us to have a kid, but who can afford one in this day and age? I’ve factored all this as taking nearly 10% of my income. My wife lost her job so we won’t be able to afford a nice life after 2015. I guess it’s all our fault.
The trick to getting affordable coverage under the ACA is:
– Using cost assistance through Medicaid or HealthCare.Gov… If you don’t qualify then you make more than 400% of the Federal Poverty Level or have employer sponsored coverage. Medicaid is free or low cost and HealthCare.Gov can be very inexpensive at lower incomes (we suggest a Silver plan due to the quality / savings).
– Using an HSA, if you don’t qualify then your health plan doesn’t have a high deductible and you are choosing a higher premium plan. You can use dollars in your HSA to pay tax free for care and an HSA lowers your taxable income.
If at the end of the day, none of this helps you, then you are simply struggling with the cost of health insurance. Health insurance was cheaper back before insurers had to cover sick people and couldn’t use price gouging to keep unhealthy and low-income people out of the Market… but in a world where healthcare is a human right and a for-profit commodity… health insurance is expensive.
It’s important to realize that even before the ACA healthcare spending was one of the major contributing factors toward the accumulation of federal debt. The truth is no one should be feeling like healthcare spending, personal or as a country, is OK. No one should feel that the old system was OK. And no one should feel that what we have done so far is enough. Healthcare and health insurance is expensive, ObamaCare helps most sick and/or low-and-middle income people… but it’s one of our countries and the people’s biggest costs.
Obamacare is a joke. I never needed health insurance…Still don’t. I rarely…if ever get sick enough to go to a doctor…it’s been over 10 years. I now have an extra bill that I didn’t have before and if i don’t get insurance then I am fined a huge amount? For What? It cost the government nothing for me to not go to the doctor. Secondly, I signed up and they screwed me over on my payments and cancelled my insurance and now I can’t even enroll for another 6 months which means i get a fine. How is this constitutional? If you want to charge people who actually use medical facilities throughout the year on their taxes go ahead. It is unfair to ask those of us who don’t need this junk to pay for others by way of fines and tax penalties.
Well of course everyone needs health insurance or we need a single payer system where everyone is automatically covered. If you don’t have health insurance and get in a catastrophic accident then you end up sticking tax payers with unpaid bills and/or end up paying more at that point then you would have for health insurance. Like car insurance and homeowners insurance, it’s not about getting value day-to-day, it’s about protecting against unsustainable yet unlikely costs. You don’t just protect yourself, you protect your country, friends, and family. Anyway, enough insurance theory. On a practical matter if you disagree with a Marketplace decision you have the right to an appeal. https://obamacarefacts.com/appeal-health-insurance-denial/
Beyond that you may want to look at exemptions to see ways around paying the per month fee while you are without coverage. If you simply want coverage you can also try short term health insurance. https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-mandate-exemption-penalty/
Totally agree. we need to be countable for our own health. And when we prove that we are staying healthy and can overpass the health system, then, we should actually be rewarded and not penalized.
In addition, most of the money spent on healthcare, needs to be redirected to educating and empowering people in regards to their own health. Sadly, the emphasis of the system is to create “customers for life.” So, let’s change this attitude and move towards the ways by which each one of us can stay healthy for life.
I recently became independent from my mother’s coverage of 3 kids, single. Anyways, I am struggling enough without health insurance and now I the *best* offered was 133.79 a month for health insurance based on my income of 19-20,000. All i do is work work work to pay my all my rent, transportation and other bills. I have barely enough for food and gas and as a 23 year old, I don’t even eat out or go out to have fun. They told me I don’t qualify for anything less that what was offered. I felt forced to get coverage for August but unfortunately I can’t pay it and will have to cancel it. Now I risk getting penalized when ONCE AGAIN I can’t afford FOOD. it’s not fair and it’s stressing me out BIG time.
Sorry to hear this. At $19,000 to $20,000 you should qualify for significant out-of-pocket cost assistance and tax credits on a Silver plan. This would land you very good value health insurance for the price after upfront tax credits. Of course affording health insurance can be a struggle, even at low costs.
That being said as a 23 year old at your income, $133 after tax credits just doesn’t seem right. Without getting into too many details, a Silver plan mentioned above is capped at about 6% of your yearly household income at $20,000 (and bronze plans are even cheaper). 6% of $20,000 is $1,200. $1,200 / 12 is $100 a month for health insurance after tax credits. This math is assuming you claim a bit over $20,000 without deductions and assumes you pick the second lowest cost Silver plan on your states Marketplace (to be fair plans could be higher in your region).
In short, if you do live in a region where insurance premiums are significantly higher than average and your income is on the higher side of what you mention it isn’t out of the question that a plan could cost $133 a month after tax credits. Here are some things to think about:
– Make sure you use HealthCare.Gov or your states official health insurance Marketplace (don’t mistakingly sign up for short term coverage).
– Make sure you are applying for special enrollment outside of open enrollment. Special enrollment is only offered for 60 days after losing your plan.
– Make sure you are picking a Silver plan at your income level (the out-of-pocket cost assistance only applies to silver plans).
– Consider that the fee is 2% of your income per month you don’t have coverage. That is paid on your income taxes. You get two months without coverage without the fee each year as long as you had coverage at least one day of the year.
Hope this helps
I agree I’m a nurse I have not had insurance for three years I can not afford the cost or the deductible, I will be paying the tax penalties, but I have bills have to live..I need to go see a doctor now,well really for the last yr.can’t, doesn’t seem fair that a working person can’t go,but ones that don’t work can and do it for free
It is not fair when a person can’t get access to affordable coverage, that is why the ACA was passed (in theory) and that is why we started this site. When someone can’t afford out-of-pocket costs or premiums we always suggest. 1) HSA 2) Marketplace silver plan with cost assistance (this is all assuming a person makes between 100% – 400% FPL and doesn’t have employer coverage).
If you do need care, you can pay out-of-pocket and write off medical expenses of over 10%. If you are self employed you can write off 100% of premiums and out-of-pocket costs. There are a lot of options. The trick to making sure you can afford the coverage you need is all about figuring out your Modified Adjusted Gross Income for the end of the year and knowing the assistance levels for healthcare tax credits and out-of-pocket cost sharing and repayment limits.
I agree with you 100%. As I’m working a temp job, my ins cost 260.00 a month with a 4000.00 ded then they will pay 70%. Well I can’t afford to pay that much a month, then get my medications. So I had to decline the coverage. I applied for medicaid but because I don’t have children I was declined. I also live in NJ, I’m single and live on my own. And in a Obamacares eye I should be able to afford that.
Sorry to hear this, however it’s important to note that Medicaid was expanded to all adults making less than 138% of the Federal Poverty Level. Having a child does increase eligibility levels, but it doesn’t make or break Medicaid eligibility due to Medicaid Expansion.
So Obamacare was really designed to cripple the economy. I need every dollar I can get. I have a mortgage, car payment, bills and I need food. So I cancelled my obamacare and got insurance through my job which is still too much. Guess what they say I never cancelled my plan so they billed me over and over for 8 months, guess who owes them over $800. This guy. Hey Obamafacts, you know what happens when people can’t afford food or goods and services? The economy collapses, businesses shut down and America becomes a third world country.
Prior to Obamacare, I had a hard enough time paying my premiums which averaged $750/month with a $6,000 family deductible. Now, with Obamacare in place, my previous health care plan no longer meet the Obamacare standards. So it simply rolled over into the lowest Obamacare equivalent. Except, now my deductible is $12,000 family and my premiums are currently $707.22. So thank you Obamacare for creating catastrophic insurance, because I will pay everything out of pocket now. I have a family of 5, how can I afford NOT to have it. And yet now I’m forced to look for a second job to pay for this crap. I DON’T WANT FREAKING SUBSIDIES, I WANT TO WORK AND PAY MY OWN FAMILIES WAY!! Why does it seem that I’m now having to work 2 jobs to pay the way for a bunch of dead beats. Liberal concepts are well intended, but realistically idiotic. So I will do my part, scrimp and save to make ends meet, and vote for anyone interested in creating jobs and promoting capitalism.
I make less than 25k a year and live in a state that expanded medicare and I still don’t qualify for it or any kind of assistance to pay for health insurance. I can’t even afford to buy the cheapest plan I can find (at $150 a month, 5k deductible) and still be able to pay rent, food, transportation costs simultaneously. I feel like I am the only one in the country who is having this problem.
At your income you qualify for really generous out-of-pocket and premium assistance on a Silver plan on the Marketplace. Make sure you shop during open enrollment. The price tag shouldn’t be that high for the premium and in no way should be that high for the deductible. You may be looking at a bronze plan, prices before cost assistance, or a short term plan outside of open enrollment. Get on the phone with healthcare.gov. Ask them to help you look at “silver plans” after cost assistance. And make sure to project your income after deductions (MAGI) not your gross income.
https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/
My “wife” and I from what I can tell cannot get married due to the ACA. She has 2 children, one at 3 months old with myself and one with a previous relationship (10yr old). I make roughly 40k annually gross pay.
She is currently not working and on Medicaid, I have employer sponsored coverage at 160/month. If we marry, myself plus spouse jumps to 484/month and over 800/month for family coverage. I believe the kids would still qualify for CHIP with my income. It basically comes down to the question of do I put food on the table or affording health insurance for my wife. She plans to go back to work again once our little one is one year old, so this is temporary. I would not qualify for a subsidy, and my income in too high for Medicaid for the family. Once she goes back to work, we will lose all assistance entirely making roughly 60k annually. I am in a non-expanded state.
This is a huge loophole that needs to be fixed. This was simply an interpretation of wording that screws a ton of families like mine. So for now, we are married, but literally forced to not legally be married. 🙁
Great point, this is actually a legitimate problem with the ACA. You are right that with your income only the kids would still most likely get CHIP, but your significant other would no longer qualify for Medicaid (just barely with a family of 4 https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/).
If you guys didn’t have to take employer coverage, then a silver marketplace plan with cost assistance would offer amazing savings (potentially making it the best coverage option). However, an employer plan doesn’t offer the same benefits at your income.
When your wife starts working (extrapolating from your story that she will make $20,000) your options won’t change much, unless you marry in which case the total income could start jeopardizing CHIP.
For sure, because you are offered coverage through your employer and that coverage is more expensive than Medicaid, CHIP, and Marketplace subsidies, it is a deterrent to marriage (for health insurance alone, other assistance programs and tax benefits could tip the scale).
All of this being said, the more a person makes, the less true all of the above is due to the way cost assistance and employer contributions work. No simple solution, but thank you for sharing your experince.
I think this is bull sht crated by conservative propagandists opposing President Obama.
That’s exactly what I think.
I chose Obamacare and found that I can’t get any tax credits and now owe the IRS over $3,000. I am thinking of canceling the health insurance to pay back the IRS but not of the penalty. Still weighing….
The one good thing about having a Marketplace plan is that if your income changes or you lose access to coverage you can apply cost assistance in retrospect using form 8962. The fee for not having coverage is a per-month fee, so every month you wait the cost of going without coverage gets less-and-less (barring the need for medical services). Just keep in mind you get one exemption for having two or less consecutive months without coverage. If you have been covered since January you can drop coverage for November and December without penalty. Having coverage at least one day in a month counts as having coverage.
I pretty much have the same story. if you make over $66,000 combined income then the affordable care insurance is $1200 a month!!! now I’ve never had a bill in my life over $900 Not even a mortgage. Now Obama care is wanting me to pay 1200 per month for health care coverage that I may never even need. I’m so furious and confused I don’t know what to do. And to top it off if I did pay 1200 a month it would only cover me and the one state I’m registered in and I live in two different states so this Obamacare plan is not designed for people like me middle-class over 66,000 year which by the way is not a lot of money especially after they take out the 25% taxes and state taxes federal taxes local taxes, etc. I never thought I would say it but if there’s a way for me to go on welfare or disability I’d be waiting in line to figure out how to do it why should I work and get nothing in return when I can sit and watch Oprah and get free healthcare coverage food and housing you idiots did not think this through.
One thing that would help is to get a multi-state PPO (you can sort plans by network type on your state’s Marketplace or healthcare.gov). This will allow you to seek coverage in both states.
On the price, this doesn’t make sense (although it is technically possible). The cheapest plan in your region shouldn’t be $600 per person, even for an older family who smokes. Really the cheapest bronze plan should be in the $300 range, give or take. This doesn’t mean this is the case for every region, but our research in response to this type of comment has consistently shown this to be more true than not and has rarely turned up a region where the cheapest plan for anyone was $600. In fact if you do a quick search for “lowest cost bronze plan” or “most expensive insurance markets obamacare” you’ll turn up the same sort of information pretty quickly. The plan that offered the best value with cost sharing considered may have been $600, an employer plan may have ben $600, or you may have got a more expensive plan… but it shouldn’t have been your all or nothing option.
Other suggestions would be the same as many of the other comments, get an HSA and take other deductions (like 401k) to lower your MAGI below the FPL threshold ($63,720) and then cap your costs using the premium tax credit form 8962. https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/
Aside from the advice and commentary your main point, which is that paying for health insurance after taxes is expensive (especially considering limitations that still exist on plans under the ACA and the general cost of living) is one we agree with strongly. Healthcare is most certainly not free for most of us and as long as the free market is in charge the cost will continue to rise and we will continue to pay the higher rates with after tax dollars.
I don’t know where you get those numbers, my wives bronze PPO plan with blue cross blue shield is $620 a month in Texas. its called the blue shield 5500. It doesn’t pay for anything and we have spent $11000.00 so far this year! thats 13% of my gross income. And now I’m hearing we are going to get nailed with another 30% increase in premiums. for 2016.
We get our data from HealthCare.Gov and other official sources. They track the lowest cost silver and bronze plans by state.
Here is a good breakdown of that: http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/analysis-of-2015-premium-changes-in-the-affordable-care-acts-health-insurance-marketplaces/
As you can see the lowest cost SILVER plan is typically $200 – $400 depending upon state (before tax credits). The BRONZE plan is cheaper $150 – $350. (We called all this “the $300 range above”).
BCBS PPO’s are in no way the cheapest plan out there (an local companies HMO typically is), despite the costs you are getting quality over cost with BCBS.
Still as you can see from the data you are vastly overpaying for your plan compared to many other Americans or even people in your state. This is primarily due to your insurer jacking costs up in your region (your state insurance board has allowed this) and you not qualifying for any cost assistance. That is about the worst combination an American can get stuck with under the ACA.
There is a good chance you live in a state / region that hasn’t embraced the ACA and is easy on insurers (favoring profits over people), also likely you live in a region without enough access to healthcare, or a region with a lot of wealth. Those are typically the reasons some regions have higher prices.
To be clear we don’t support Americans being forced to get coverage at unaffordable prices, we just hesitate to pin that whole problem on the ACA as the solution is far too simple to address the total issue here.
I can understand everyone that wants healthcare to be able to have it. What I cant understand is being forced to carry health insurance when you dont want it or dont need it. I havent been sick or to a doctor in 10 years. But yet if I dont carry insurance I have to pay a fine? That is outrageous to be forced to pay for something that you dont need or to be fined.
To summarize and paraphrase a little history: Before “RomneyCare” in Massachusetts, a few states made coverage guaranteed issue. The biggest issue they had was that people waited until they were sick or needed coverage to get coverage. Or they would just change from a low-end to high-end plan when they needed better coverage. The insurers were losing money and even threatening to leave some states. Massachusetts passed their reform to combat this issue… and it worked. ObamaCare is essentially a beefed up version of that reform. That is why the individual mandate exists.
Other option would simply be a single payer system with supplemental coverage, like the current Medicare system. https://obamacarefacts.com/single-payer/
I totally agree with you. I had to take the lowest level insurance plan my job offered which means high deductibles which I cannot afford. I had cancer two years ago and can’t afford to go in for my check ups. I also need dental work and new glasses. Worse off than me is my son who has Crohn’s Disease, arthritis and early onset Parkinson’s Disease and he is only 22 years old. ObamaCare rejected him and told him to get medicaid. Medicaid won’t process his enrollment here, they virtually ignore us in Arizona when I try to get him help. We’ve been trying for almost two years now. I am unable to put him on a family health insurance plan where I work because I don’t make enough money to do cover it, the cost for a family plan is equivalent to that of a family of four, not a family of two. The cost is astronomical. No one wants to listen, no one seems to care. We moved here close to two years ago from Washington state in the hopes that the heat would help my son’s arthritis. It’s made no difference except we lost everything we had saved and again…no health care. My income went from $40k per year to 15k per year, doing the same thing. We were almost homeless twice. I work for a company that wants to spend more time and money on their business trips to Cabo and Vegas instead of taking care of their employees. Our car insurance quadrupled ($123 per month to $477 per month) for one car. My credit went from 700 to 450. Our life, too, has been a nightmare not only due to ObamaCare but due to the fact that ObamaCare is not affordable. They may be able to tout that the majority of the country is covered but that is no different than saying the majority of students in our country are enrolled in school. Does that mean the students aren’t failing? Does that mean they are actually learning? Same with “Affordable Health Care”, we are falling through the cracks. I’m glad that you wrote this. I voted last election for Obama thinking this would be the answered prayer for my son’s needs but instead it has been a nightmare for us (my Mother tried to tell me but I didn’t believe her…shame on me, huh?). As a matter of fact, I’ve decided to not even vote next election. Our votes don’t count. Politician’s could care less about us as human beings. They have everything they need. Why would they care? I’m sorry you’re going through this. Just know you are not alone.
So we are clear Romney and most current GOP candidates all support legislation that does away with insurance being guaranteed issue, tax credits based on income, and Medicaid expansion. Guaranteed issue: You cannot be denied coverage during each years open enrollment period for any reason other than your ability to afford it. Tax credits: lower your premium based on income. Medicaid: Free or low cost coverage.
All of that is done away with. How could this possibly help your son? Don’t confuse the struggles under the ACA with thinking the other side has a better solution for a young kid with preexisting conditions. Look at this Scott Walker plan, it’s essentially a mirror image of the GOPs blanket plan for healthcare before and after the ACA.
https://obamacarefacts.com/2015/08/18/day-one-plan-to-repeal-replace-obamacare/
I simply can’t afford it. I did all the math, the poverty levels, etc. and I don’t qualify period.
A neighbor of mine just recently went to the hospital. The emergency room. She doesn’t have health insurance. The bill was $40,000. She doesn’t own anything, little income, lives with her elderly mother.. She told the hospital they can do what they want but she can’t afford it. She just got a letter two days ago and the hospital said they will waive the entire cost and she is only responsible for $100! I think we all should do that.
It does sound tempting, but the truth is that if you did have something to take you could easily get stuck in bankruptcy over a bill like that. Also that is $40,000 worth of write offs (ie tax payer dollars) out of the window. Would have been much cooler if the person with no income was on Medicaid.
If you think that $280 dollars a month with a 6500 dollar deductible is possible at 8.50 an hour. Get a damned calculator. I don’t know what is wrong with people who try to justify someone working a week just to pay their health insurance and eating ramen noodles just to get enough energy to go to work, causing long term health conditions because of malnutrition.
Slavery was not abolished. It was just expanded to include the victims of the United States Government who enslaves the working poor and now middle class. The rich people steal from the poor. If you think anything else you did not get educated in critical thinking, nor did you study the constitution.
If a government owns you from birth and requires you to live in it’s borders with a number on you, like a cow, you should get proper treatment. You can say go live in another country, but get a reality check. YOU CANNOT DO THAT. You have to prove you have enough money to leave this country and apply for status in another country.
The rich in the USA toothpick your skin through their teeth all day long. Don’t forget it. And they continue to do so when you take your sorry butt into their marbled walled, expensive wood walls, heavy glass doors—and charge you 300$ so you can check on your depressed, worn, and tired ass from slinging burgers. REAL doctors should have a normal office and charge 50$. Doctor’s are technicians. Most poor people in this country ARE doctors and get through their own diagnosis,until they collapse from EXHAUSTION-via heart attack, weary and worn from the game they are FORCED to play from birth.
GET ANGRY!!
This insurance is the worst thing that can happen to families, or anyone that is under the 65 medicare age that do not qualify for subsistence.
I am very lucky to have VA insurance but my wife policy cost went through the roof. not only do we have to pay $620 per month for a bronze package! but her out of pocket fees are $5500 deductible. Thats $12940.00 folks. I’m hearing that the insurance is going up another 30% again for 2016. I talked to my accountant and he said this is happening to everyone. He recommends buying a catastrophic policy out of the marketplace and take the penalty.
Afordabe care Act, ITS A TOTAL LIE !!!
You can refer to our other comment which addresses your issue in more detail, but to summarize:
This is the list of lowest cost plans by state:
http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/analysis-of-2015-premium-changes-in-the-affordable-care-acts-health-insurance-marketplaces/
As you can see the lowest cost SILVER plan is typically $200 – $400 depending upon state (before tax credits). The BRONZE plan is cheaper $150 – $350. You are paying about twice that due to plan choice and region (although it appears mostly region).
So the affordable part appears to be “a lie” for you, but for the bulk of America (at least judging by the data we have) this is not the case.
They just announced over 17 million newly insured under the ACA, we need to think about them AND the unfair rates you are paying.
Sounds just like the nightmare i am now living. The American dream is dead.I cant ever hope to own a home when I cant afford basic life needs. I can barely make it day by day and i now make 60,000 a year, rent a home and have an old work truck payment. Something is terribly wrong!!
Is everyone using Gross income or are we allowed to use a number that we actually have as a NET income number?? And what about our expenses? Does Obamacare take into account what it costs to feed and clothe and keep a roof over our children’s heads? No it doesn’t. If we signed up for this we would be on the streets because $800/month for a family of 4 is RIDICULOUS for the lowest cost plan available, which has over $7000 deductible.
We see deductions when we pay as we need care. I feel like my rights are being trampled on. Never been so depressed and to pay medical bills on our own we have payments taken out monthly, and can barely get ahead because of it. Good thing when you’re self pay you’re getting HUGE discounts that The ACA does not give to people who make the gross income that my husband has been striving (to make more and more of) to then be penalized for working hard in order to pay child support, our food and all of our housing and living expenses combined, is ludicrous. I never voted for Obama and do not agree with his health care plan. It is a violation of my choices on healthcare as an American.
If you’re a criminal, you’re given an attorney for free. But of course, you think the problem in this country is with health care, and poor people not paying for their health care. More lies. More deceit. I do not trust this law and all the lies it took to get it. Tell Obama he should be impeached for his lies just like Clinton for lying about sexual relations.
Cost assistance is based on Modified Adjusted Income (MAGI), so that is income have deductions… but not net income. The tax code does take into account the amount of people a family has to care for (family size and filing status), but with so much personal debt and rising costs elsewhere it can feel like using MAGI and not net income after things like mortgages, student loans, and cost of living is unfair.
Of course it’s unfair to use gross income instead of net income. The IRS doesn’t tax you on your gross income, they tax you on the net after write off’s. How this ever was passed using your gross income before adjustments is insane!
Well it is MAGI, that is modified gross income after adjustments (sorry if I implied something else). It isn’t after things like childcare, mortgages, student loans, and other costs of living though. And this is what is hurting people.
I am moving from Minnesota back to ND because of the same reason. Minnesota should really LOVE Obama, as they are losing residents due to high state income tax. and NO the property taxes do not make up for it. I was an idiot for not checking this out before buying a home, Now I have to sell, and move, but I will no matter what. I refuse to pay for other people’s healthcare — Obamacare. I pay my own and no state should force anyone into it. Welfare is another reason people move to MN. So that brings in some real winners!
I am DONE with this state!!
The Federal Government pays 100% of the cost of expansion, that phases to 90% by 2020. Your state taxes should actually not be affected by the ACA more than they would be in another state. Subsidies are also Federally funded.
http://www.medicaid.gov/affordablecareact/provisions/financing.html
I came online to research options for my mom who can no longer afford to pay her health insurance premium. I’m really disappointed to find out that she doesn’t a real alternative. I’ve read every comment here and obamacarefacts’ responses don’t provide any useful information at all. At least for the middle income folks who don’t qualify for subsidies and can’t afford to put thousands of dollars in HSAs to lower their income. If people had extra money then they wouldn’t be in this situation where they can’t afford healthcare.
I’m disappointed mostly because I was such a proponent of the ACA. I still believe that everyone should have access to affordable insurance despite their financial status and thought that the ACA would solve this problem. I’m happy for the low income folks and people with pre existing conditions having coverage. However, this law completely overlooked the middle class. My mom has been working hard her all and finally found a job that paid her a decent wage. Since she works for an individual she has no benefits. Before ACA, should has insurance and was paying around 350/month in premiums. It was high, but she made it happen. Now at the age of 55 with about a 50,000 income, her monthly premium is 600/month with copays of $45 and a 6000 deductible. It’s simply not affordable at all. I thought she did something wrong when she shared these figures with me because I was sure the ACA was meant to live up to its name and make healthcare affordable. I really thought America won with this. I feel like this is a bad joke. How could anyone be expected to pay this much for insurance and still live and prosper. I’ve been searching for options for her and haven’t come up with anything. What do you do if you can’t afford insurance and you’re not under the FPL?
Obamacarefacts, please try to respond with a real executable solution to this. That’s all I and many other commenters really need.
Thank you for the comment. $50,000 for an individual puts her just above the line where she can get cost assistance. If you look at plans without cost assistance (especially in some regions where insurance is more expensive) you are going to be looking at high rates in relation $50,000 income. This is the definition of the ACA being lackluster for the middle class who had insurance before the law. The trick here would be that you want to look at MAGI household income and family size (just incase she files for more than just her, as that changes assistance eligibility levels). Typically MAGI (income after most deductions) is lower than gross income. That being said, let’s assume $50,000 is MAGI and not gross. Now we either need to maintain expensive coverage or we need to lower that MAGI more. The truth of the matter is, in practical terms, we need to start talking about 401ks, HSAs, starting your own small business, and other valid tax deductions that affect MAGI. It’s not that we don’t understand “not having enough money” to fund these tax vehicles, of course we get that, but we can’t get stuck there. Those tax deductions are the way to bring her MAGI down to $47,000 where her premiums at least will cap at no more than 9.5% of her MAGI for the second lowest cost silver plan. The simplest and most healthcare centered solution is maxing out an HSA. Other options include the ever unpopular (and rightly so) suggestion of “work less” or stepping into the realm of 401ks and starting a small business. The small business (self employed / independent contractor) one is pretty awesome and flexible because she can invest in a hobby she can do at home and turn that into income over time. For now it may just be her losing money investing in a home office and related items she needs to get her business running, but that same investment is of course in her and herself. The HSA also saves money over time, despite meaning less liquidity now. We have no magic solution and we certainly have empathy for you, your family, and the countless others in that income range. America helps provide an environment where middle class Americans can live better than most places throughout history, but for non-sick people in and around the “subsidy cliff” the ACA really starts to show some of it’s sticking points. We hope that further legislation will be just as concerned with ensuring the care of our poorest or the profits of our richest and will focus more on the tax burdens and rising costs for the middle class. Hope this helps, feel free to ask follow up questions.
Do yourself a favor and google “How to Reduce Modified Adjusted Gross Income”. That way you can get a different take on your options.
My monthly take home is roughly $2000, I pay $850/m in student loans. My car insurance is $100/m and my rent is $600 (no there is no room for rent for cheaper in the state of NJ unless if I want to rent in the murder capital of NJ).
All unavoidable payments, that’s $1550 in payments/m. Because of my income the lowest heath insurance I qualify for is $400/m through my company. Or $500 through the marketplace.
That leaves me with $50/m for food, gas, and utilities which actually run me about $70/m so I’m really in the hole if I get health insurance.
Is there a way for people who pay student loan payments to get discounted health insurance?
No there is not. Thank you for sharing your story. This truly illustrates the position of someone who is getting an unfair shake under the current system (not just the ACA). The thing that really sticks out here is the non-tax deductible $850/m in student loans. If that was tax deductible the health insurance would be less and then health insurance, rent, and car insurance would all seem much more reasonable. How much longer do you think people will put up with never-ending student loans at high interest rates. But alas, our goal here is to address health insurance. Hopefully we will elect someone who actually wants to address the student loan “crisis”.
Another year of not being able to afford health insurance. In New Jersey, the cost of a health plan is at least 12,000 a year for me and my husband — 6,000 for each at 56-years of age. We have $50,000 in Parent Student Loans, a mortgage, $6,000 annual property tax, $5,000 annual car insurance, and more cost of living billes to pay such as utilities, life insurance, and car maintenance We cannot squeeze out an additional 12,000 for health insurance. We have confirmed that we do not qualify for any of the cost assistant plans.
It is unfair to subject people who live in high-taxed states with the same health care rules. For example, when you compare my property taxes to a Georgia-based house that is double the size, the owners of that house pay $2,000 annual property tax. That gives them at least $4,000 to put towards other stuff such as home repairs and health care.
I cannot afford to pay 12,000 a year for health insurance. Simply, the money is not there.
$12,000 for a family plan really shows how in some regions plans without cost assistance can be unaffordable. The rising cost of healthcare in the U.S. is a real problem, hopefully one we can address without simply denying coverage to tens of millions. This is compounded by the fact that many Americans are also in debt and trying to pay the rest of the rising costs of life, especially again, in high cost regions.
I hope someone can explain to me how obamacar is helping me. I work for a company that offers health insurance at a price of about 160 dollars a pay. I get paid every 2 weeks so that’s 320 dollars a month. through the marketplace i can get coverage for about 175 dollars a month for the cheapest junk insurance they offer. reasonably cheaper. Here’s the kicker. I only make 550 after taxes dollars every 2 weeks. the first pay all goes to rent, so that leaves 550 dollars a month to pay the rest of my bills. Plus i have a child to take care thankfully is insured through the state. I am not eligible for medicaid because before taxes they say i make too much money. How am i going to afford health care when i barely make enough to pay my bills? this whole country is screwed up. the government is corrupt and only care about themselves. The doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, drug companies, and insurance companies are all making a killing while giving me the shaft. Obamacare is a piece of junk end of story.
I can be covered by my wife’s plan which excludes me from Obamacare in Texas. But the rates tripled and I would be paying $680 a month…we make 36K per year and we would go hungry or lose our home if we make those kinda payments…and the fines on my tax return just keep going up…is this really, really, REALLY the way it is?
That is the way it is, it’s due to what we call “the family affordability glitch”. That means that because you have access to employer coverage you can’t get cost assistance on the Marketplace unless self-only coverage would cost more than 9.56% of household income (true for each family member). Learn more here: https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
I make a decent living, 70K a year. I certainly don’t qualify for any subsidies. Own a really little house, spouse and I share one car. We don’t drink, we quit smoking, we don’t travel, we don’t go out to fast food.
I have bronze for my son but I can’t afford ACA bronze for myself. I had to pay a fine for not having insurance in 2014, that fine made me unable to afford to buy insurance in 2015, where I’ll have a larger fine and will not be able to afford insurance in 2016.
I live paycheck to paycheck. I have ZERO retirement savings. I have pain in my breasts, I have swollen lymph nodes, I certainly have undiagnosed diabetes. This program unfortunately is not working for people like me at all.
That is very sad to hear. It doesn’t sound like you can truly “afford” not to get the care you need, despite the unaffordable cost. If you take the fine, plus the tax deductions of an HSA, plus the basic preventive care costs you would save by having coverage, and certainly plus the future costs you may accrue by putting off care, then it could actually potentially make sense for you to get a plan for yourself. Certainly this isn’t an easy situation, but there has to be a solution that involves you not ignoring your medical needs.
I agree completely with what you are saying. I’ve worked nall of my life at a low rate qof pay. (Very poor) the year I finally make it up to a decent pay, I was finally able to save some money , my wife got booted off medicaid and at that same time I was (Forced to get Obamacare and now barely make it from paycheck. I pay more for healthcare for my wife and I and my 16 year old daughter which is on Medicaid but costs me 55$ month. I pay more for healthcare
This is the first year I was unable to afford or use my health care. I now have to pay $100 a week for health insurance because it goes by age I am 58. That is half my mortgage and I am single. Now I can not use it at all because I have a 2500.00 deductible which I do not have. So my first time ever I can not get a physical because I can not afford it. Affordable healthcare where is it? I guess I can quit my job and get it free but I enjoy working makes no sense the ones who try get punished.
Thanks for sharing, certainly the cost of healthcare has impacted a lot of people in less than ideal ways. That being said, make sure to look into the free preventive services included in your plan including your free annual wellness visit. If you are in doubt a service is covered check with the doctor and insurer before getting it. Also keep in mind that not every service will be subject to the same cost sharing amount. There may be services that are covered by a reasonable copay before you meet your deductible. May want to review the benefits sheet and talk to your insurer to avoid putting off services you need.
I completely agree. I too don’t qualify for any financial assistance and the new OBAMA care plans are crippling me and my family financially. My husband and I are both self employed and live in Loudoun County, one of the most expensive to live in the Country.
I have insurance through my job, however if I add my wife and kids it is $946 a month. If I go through Obamacare it is $740 a month with a 4 times higher deductible. This is a option but doesn’t help me when both are more than my monthly house payment. How is this considered affordable when I spend less on my housing than my medical insurance? I use my house daily, I sleep, I eat, I open Christmas Presents and raise my children in my home. It is worth the expense. I and nor anyone in my family has been sick or had any major medical expense in 10 years. Having said that I feel like I am being ripped off for paying for something I MIGHT use in the future. Also Obamacare doesn’t fix anything. The problem is when you go to a hospital and they bill your insurance $12,000 for a 1000ML bag of Chemo and the cash cost is $500 for the bag. I learned this from when my Mom had cancer. That is a huge price gouge. Another example is when I had a MRI done on my Knee ten years ago and they ask me if I was using insurance, making payments or paying cash. I ask well what is the difference and they tell me it is $3500 using insurance, $1500 for payments and $650 if I pay cash today. It is illegal to price gouge gasoline for the fact that everyone needs it. This should be the same for Medical care. put a 30% profit cap on hospitals and watch how affordable insurance becomes when the insurance companies are having pay 1/10 of what they were.
Well said. Price gouging is a term that comes up all to often when discussing the healthcare industry. The ACA fights it on some levels (rate review provision, 80/20 rule, fighting Medicare fraud, and more), but certainly the fight isn’t over.
I agree. In my situation I am the only provider. My husband and I only have one car which is about to die. My schedule varies and there are no buses where we live.
Before Obamacare was even passed the insurance company stated that in anticipation of it being passed they were raising the rates. My medical insurance premiums have risen each year and coverage has declined. Now, I am forced to keep my husband on my insurance because of penalties and he does not qualify for the Obamacare program because I work.
Since Obamacare passed it has ONLY befitted the insurance companies. The government has not done anything to control health insurance costs. I pay $100 a week for health insurance and can’t even afford to go to the doctor. After health insurance and taxes I am barely able to pay rent. I have NO luxuries- no cable, no cell, no extra bills. I even have to skip meals and my husband and I still don’t qualify for assistance.
Recently,my wife and I applied for Obama care.According to my tax return which was professionally prepared,my adjusted gross income for 2014 was a whopping 9188 dollars. Great,I thought,We should be able to get affordable health care.I was shocked when the ACA representative told me our monthly premium would be 680 dollars.Something to do with our income falling thru the crack between Medicaid and ACA. I have worked hard for 40 yrs,and have acquired 6 properties,so I don’t qualify for Medicaid,because I am asset rich,but cash poor.Whatever happened to being rewarded for hard work? My wife is from the Philippines,and unless there is a much more affordable solution,we will probably take our chances,and go back there and live.I’m ashamed and disolutioned of what is happening here.
Republicans in 19 states have rejected Medicaid under ObamaCare, leaving millions with no affordable healthcare options. So in this case the best thing you can do is write your Governor and let them know that another hardworking American has been left in the dust due to their actions.
Think about it, you work hard your whole life. You have assets, not cash. Now that you have no income your state has cast you aside and considers you a drain on hardworking tax payers. This is the mentality of those who will stop at nothing to repeal the ACA and safety net programs. Medicaid covers those who can’t work anymore, Medicare covers those who have earned their retirement, food stamps help families who are out of work to feed their children a warm meal instead of dog food, public housing ensures a family won’t sleep on the street… Yet these states focus their anger over the budget on our poorest instead of looking at the real issues and addressing where the money is really going. It’s a messed up world, but the ACA for all it’s faults is a step forward in correcting that.
https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacares-medicaid-expansion/
ps. For added advice… You are close to the 100% poverty level. If you can make just a bit more income you can qualify for a Marketplace plan with cost assistance. This eliminates the need for Medicaid. If you end up not making enough then you won’t owe back excess tax credits. Also, your rejection letter from Medicaid will help you qualify for exemptions from the fee, so it’s important to have a copy of the rejection letter. Denying Medicaid to people is unfair, but in your situation you should be able to kick your income up enough to avoid falling victim to the “Medicaid gap”.
To the individual who has responded with the choice to help family-
I totally get your situation- Mind you- Medicaid is a crooked system based on income and assets- One would have to have their money under the mattress with absolutely no identifiable assets- Helloooo? kids college bank accounts Ira ‘s 401 k’s well you won’t be getting any medicaid- And by the way even if you lost your job and collected unemployment this is taxed and considered income- Our family paid into a system in NY, NJ for an entire life time outside of the 10 years we moved to Florida- We are 55 & 54.
My husband lost his career and his job as an Environmental Hydrogeologist in the year 2014 due to Rick Scotts new revised EPA laws- A slew of companies closing doors.
Florida ‘s unemployment for the entire year is 4400.000 making 6 figures.
That my friend does not even qualify for medicaid- Your better off homeless with no income to collect- Florida is a no medicaid state driven state- all the federal govt.
Heres the kicker- COBRA IS AND WAS LESS EXPENSIVE THAN PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE-
HOW with no job is one to pay private mandated health insurance- We are healthy rarely sick practice a healthy life style- private insurance per month was insane but we were mandated and had to cover our 3 kids! $ 1345 a month !! WHY because that was the least expensive in premiums under a bronze plan with 7000/12000 deductibles.
Talk about break the bank!
Ohhhh then you say go to the marketplace to get obama care but you have no job !
then you got a job here and there to pay the bills hello?
subsidies? if you make a dime more you owe the govt back what you received so its a wash! The PUSH TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE HAS JUST GONE POOF! MAKE MORE MONEY THEY TAKE BACK YOUR SUBSIDIES-
We are healthy, no issues outside of a few athletic injuries with our kids.. broken wrist concussion hamstring tears from sports.
OBAMA CARE? really MAKE SURE ALL OF YOU OUT THERE IF YOU GO TO THE DOCTORS AND HAVE ANY KIND OF SURGERY CHECK ALL DOCTORS NOT JUST THE ONE YOU GO TO! NURSES, ER DOCTORS anesthesiologists because you just might come home with an insane bill from doctors who are not in obama care
Many are opting out- Subsidies? well who really cares if you cant get your doctor go to the doctor and end up in the urgent and emergency room because you cant even get an appt!
The system is serious broken! Negotiate with your doctors everything even if you have health insurance because chances are you wont reach those insane deductibles anyway-
Soooooo what happens
You don’t go to the doctors because you gotta pay out of pocket –
I say DISCRIMINATION CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT! ANYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET CATASTROPHIC HEALTH INSURANCE NOT JUST PEOPLE UNDER 30 AND THOSE PEOPLE THAN WILL HAVE LESS PREMIUMS PER MONTH WITH MORE MONEY JUST TO GO TO THE DOCTORS WHEN THEY NEED IT- PAY CASH!
OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS THAN DEDUCT THOSE COSTS AT YOUR BUSINESS
AS A DEDUCTION SINCE YOU WORK FOR YOUR SELF.
GOOD LUCK
THIS WORLD IS BACKWARDS- IT USED TO BE THE HARDER YOU WORK THE LUCKIER YOU GET
NOW ITS WORK HARD WORK HARDER SMARTER KEEP YOUR HEALTH IN CHECK AND USE YOUR CHRISTMAS MONEY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE- BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T ALL OF US ARE GOING TO DIE AN EARLY DEATH
THE SAME 2% RICH PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS BE RICH-
THE POOR MAYBE ABLE TO HAVE COVERAGE BUT NO DOCTORS
THE MIDDLE CLASS? SQUEEZED TAKE THE COVERAGE AND DONT GO TO THE DOCTORS
KIDS? BETTER START EARLY IN PREVENTATIVE CARE- NO DRUGS NO SEX EAT RIGHT NO FAST FOODS EXERCISE CUZ ITS ALL GONNA COME DOWN
AVERAGE 20 SOMETHING COSTS MONTHY IS OVER 200 A MONTH-
AVERAGE 60 YEAR OLD OVER 700 A MONTH JUST FOR COVERAGE
I M 54 AND MINE IS 588! MY DAUGHTER 14 128 MY SONS 18 & 19 158
YOU DO THE NUMBERS……….
OBAMA CARE IS SMOKE AND MIRRORS…………….. BIG WHOOP NOW EVERYONE HAS TO BE COVERED AND ALL THOSE MEDICAID PEOPLE HAVE TO FILL OUT A TAX FORM
HE’S GOT EVERYONE IN THE SYSTEM——- UNLESS YOU GO PRIVATE-
AND PAY OUT THE YIN YANG
Interesting points. We would only say that the experience people have is very different from state to state. Some states have amazing Medicaid programs, some states have lots of doctors who take bronze marketplace plans (sometimes called Obamacare plans). And COBRA is considerably more expensive than a subsidized marketplace plan in many cases.
Also Medicaid under Medicaid expansion doesn’t count assets and neither does Marketplace subsidies.
But yes, we should be really pushing dirt cheap catastrophic coverage. That should be the main focus here. Why is America mandating coverage? Essentially to improve preventive care and to protect against catastrophe. If everyone goes out and gets a private bronze plan with a high deductible then at what point should we just flip that to everyone gets catastrophic coverage similar to Medicare Part A and B…
My husband and I own a small business — just the 2 of us — and we’ve been forced onto the exchange to buy coverage as a result of the ACA. For the 15 years we’ve been in business, we’ve always had a small group policy, but now for some undisclosed reason, 2-person businesses no longer qualify as groups. Huh? I’ve never found a straight, official answer as to why the ACA made this change. I can guess why, though: Because the individual health care market needed a sure way to inflate the number of people who pay FULL FREIGHT for their policies in order to offset all of the subsidies going out the door to the majority of folks buying policies on the exchange. We make a modest living, but won’t qualify for any subsidy, and the policies we’re offered on the exchange are much more expensive than the policy we had as a small group. Can you prove me wrong, or at least enlighten me? Why are we all of a sudden recharacterized as “2 individuals” when we’ve been a small group for 15 years, if not for the simple fact that our freedom of choice has been sacrificed in order to scrape up all of the subsidies going to others? I just want to be able to use the money I earn to choose the type of policy I buy. I prefer the small group policies in my state (NJ) to the policies on the exchange. But my money can’t buy those policies any more. Really, why?
I’ve been curious and frustrated about this too. Why are 2-person businesses no longer able to get small group coverage? At least give us a reason, ObamaCareFacts.com moderator. It just feels like something has been taken away and the gov’t is hoping no one will notice. Are we just too small to worry about?
You can get small group coverage as a two person business, you just can’t reimburse employees for individual health coverage (i.e. it has to be a group plan). Small businesses can get these plans through the SHOP and enjoy the corresponding tax breaks. Self employed, or those with less than 2 employees, don’t have to offer group coverage to get tax benefits. Also, a business owner isn’t an employee and can thus get individual coverage with cost assistance and write off the cost of their premiums (depending upon how they have organized the business). https://obamacarefacts.com/self-employed-health-insurance/
MODERATOR RESPONSE: You can get small group coverage as a two person business, you just can’t reimburse employees for individual health coverage (i.e. it has to be a group plan). Small businesses can get these plans through the SHOP and enjoy the corresponding tax breaks. Self employed, or those with less than 2 employees, don’t have to offer group coverage to get tax benefits. Also, a business owner isn’t an employee and can thus get individual coverage with cost assistance and write off the cost of their premiums (depending upon how they have organized the business). https://obamacarefacts.com/self-employed-health-insurance/
This is all old news and doesn’t answer my question of “why?” I want to know WHY I’ve always been able to buy small group coverage OR individual coverage as a 2-person business owner with no other employees. And now, after the passage the ACA, I can only buy individual coverage. I like the plans available to small groups BETTER than what’s available on the exchange. I don’t qualify for subsidies on the exchange. Can you see that something has been TAKEN AWAY from me? Can you please answer my original question of WHY? Or was the previous poster Cheryl correct in that I’m actually needed on the exchange to pay for the subsidies going out to others?
I wasn’t trying to, but I think I stumped the “Facts” moderator. At any rate,I found this link about 2-person, owner-operated, small businesses and why they’ve been redefined as “individuals”, requiring that they go onto the individual health insurance market:
https://njhealthinsurancehurts.wordpress.com
The “why” makes complete sense to me now. The middle class “little guy” is supplying the subsidies …
factchecker, thank you for the link (https://njhealthinsurancehurts.wordpress.com/). It explains a lot.
I’m in complete disbelief that our insurance agent told us our small family business is not eligible for a group plan because it consists of family members: me, my mom, and my dad. I am married, in my 30s, with my own family. Yes, I am related to my parents, but I am still a legitimate employee, as are my parents. We are a legitimate business with 3 employees, and we have been around for 30 years. How are we not considered an eligible business?
This is ludicrous. My parents’ insurance costs are estimated to increase by more than 70% with our current provider. We work weekends and nights to support our business. Why are we being punished for working so hard?!?!?
This is not the American Dream. This is an American Nightmare.
I think the answer would be that the business owner isn’t an employee and thus the company has one employee and one person is not a group. But, you are saying that it didn’t used to be this way, and you want to know WHY it was changed. Don’t have the answer, but our curiosity is piqued and we will look.
California Small Business, I actually didn’t realize the law was as bad as you’re saying. And I still don’t think the Facts Moderator understands YOUR situation. There are THREE people in her company. Sounds to me like ONE owner and TWO employees if the business is set up that way. TWO employees should constitute a group, no? California, if your Mom is an owner, can she change to be an employee so there are two employees (a group)? Facts Moderator, would that help California Small Business if she wants to keep her small group policy?
I am 58 y/o, single, with no job. I have looked for work, even at McDonald’s, and cannot get hired! I had to sell my car to pay rent ~ was eventually evicted. A friend, who traveled a lot, offered his home to me. In exchange for house sitting, cleaning, mowing, maintaining his home I could stay upstairs (converted attic) for free. Totally grateful for this! HOWEVER, the ‘state’ thinks we are in a relationship and trying to pull the wool over their eyes. So I qualify for NOTHING! Not a penny. I have been selling off furniture, heirlooms, etc. to survive and pay my current non-existing health plan. I could only afford the catastrophic plan @ $384 @ month, $5000 deductible only at a hospital emergency. Received notification yesterday, after only having this insurance 6-months it is now $530.00 @ month and $6500.00 deductible. So I am done. I in no way can pay that. What do I do? There are several in my category that are not accounted for in America. We are/have fallen through the cracks ~ we were NOT accounted for in ObamaCare.
I have an idea, Trump call me, I’ve been doing research for 15 years on Taxes and health care reform. I can save health care and the national debt.
Oh idealism, perhaps you should just post your idea here? Lots of people looking on here are looking for solutions. Maybe they would be interested?
Why are the insurance companies, the hospitals and Doctors allowed to charge anything they want WITHOUT ANY REGULATION. Other countries, the government puts a CAP on the profit that comes from health care. This country allows the almighty dollar, greed and more and more profit to be the name of the game.
I make enough money to pay my bill every month that’s about it I simply just can’t afford health insurance I am over the poverty line so I can’t get assistance so now I get fined and it’s taken out of my much needed tax return I an better off quitting my job going on welfare. And not to mention. People on welfare get more money for having a child we and my wife want a child but we can’t afford it it’s not like I get a raise everytime I have a kid and if I did I would have 10 of them just like women on welfare to some up my rant this counrty needs a serious wakeup call
To clarify everyone making between 100% – 400% of the poverty line gets assistance under ObamaCare, and in states that expanded Medicaid those making less than 100% do too. What that means is that in 20 states quitting your job and going on welfare would land you with no health insurance options. If a woman has children she will get options for coverage under CHIP for a short period of time in these states, but even that requires greater amounts of income to be made as the child grows.
My husband and I are self employed. I worked as a RN until a few years ago. I had to quit because of my medical conditions. After I quit work we had to go without coverage because the cost was too much for us. I voted for Obama and I thought it was a great idea for a nation-wide insurance program. Last year in 2015 we were able to purchase coverage though the health market place at an OUTRAGEOUS premium with OUTRAGEOUS deductibles and co-pays. We paid $765.00/month and I was barely able to pay that. We really had to buckle down. Then the plan didn’t pay for labs, some medications, x-rays, nothing but the visit to our primary doctor and that had a co-pay as well! We paid everything else!! My great SILVER plan paid out a little over $500.00 for both my husband and I on actual medical costs and I paid everything else to date! I have paid more this year than my plan has paid! I just received a letter stating our new premium would be $932.00/month with even less coverage!! That is more than my mortgage! There is NO WAY we can swing this unless we stop eating. Our only option is to have no insurance and pray we don’t have a heart attack or something. We are both in our 50’s, our retirement is gone and we have no savings. We want and need medical coverage, but it’s out of our reach now. Unless we file bankruptcy, close our business and become indigent we will go without. To add insult to injury we will be forced to pay an OUTRAGEOUS fine. Great system! Until we make AMERICA a NON-PROFIT healthcare system, we will always be taken advantage of by the drug and insurance companies. Don’t tell me the insurance companies needed a 20-40% increase on premiums with the ENORMOUS profits they posted last year!!
I am in agreement that this insurance is NOT a good plan nor has it helped me. I have paid more in premium and penalty for working for a living. I will not vote for anyone who supports this healthcare. It’s one thing to have healthcare, but to claim it is affordable is a lie. Deductibles are so high you never met them. People aren’t getting the Healthcare they need because they pay the out of pocket. Doesn’t make one bit of since to me that th I should has been helpful. Preventative have stipulation…that then end up not being covered? People will be losing their homes and filling bankruptcy. Penalties for not having healthcare are unconstitutional! People who work hard for a living keep struggling and illegals and those who don’t work get FREE FREE FREE!
I am struggling to even eat at this point, but because I make 12,500 dollars a year, I am going to be forced to pay up for Obamcare or else pay a 650 dollar something fee. I live in a rotting camper and cannot afford to fix it. I pay 200 dollars a month in bills and do not take food stamps due to pride. I dumpster dive instead. As I speak I cannot afford to camper the house due having no money. But since I work at ebay and make 12,500 in a state with no medicade, I will be forced to pay up. The irony is I never needed health insurance until this year when my camper rotted so bad that I have now developed black lung asthma. Thanks Obama for ruining the life of another working poor person. What are you going to do when I do not pay the 650 fee? Throw me in jail? I would be better their, thanks to Obama.
At $12,500 a year you make like $700 above the tax filing threshold. For all intents and purposes you should be getting coverage on the Marketplace for no more than 2% – 2.5% of your MAGI so like $20 a month. That or you could claim the $700 less and be exempt. The payment for not getting coverage, if you do file, is actually going to be the worst move you can make because your coverage would have been much cheaper.
You can’t go to jail for not paying, but you can lose $650 in refunds. You should 100% get Medicaid if your state expanded or just get that very cheap plan that is going to cover your health and ensure you avoid the fee.
I do have to laugh at the “concerned” comments coming from the “ObamaCareFacts” -Stepford Wife. Seriously…it’s provided me with much humor this evening.
I work in the health industry. My employer chooses not to provide health coverage. Every day, I see families that have chosen these plans because they think they had to…and what they don’t realize is that (at least in my office/experience) that the deductibles and out of pocket maximums are so incredibly high, the patients may as well forego purchasing ANY of these plans and pay cash for their visits.
I’m not a sick person. I rarely need to see a doctor for anything anymore. When I do, I am more inclined to pay cash, or work out a payment arrangement with the facility. There is no way in hell this government, or any other government is going to force me to pay for a plan that is more than my rent, car payment, and car insurance payment are combined. The $125 adjustment is a pittance compared to the outrageous monthly premiums and sky-high deductibles and out of pocket maximums.
As a side note, I’ve had Medicaid in the distant past, and I had excellent care by excellent doctors. Not one of them complained nor turned me away. The way I see it, is that the majority of the USA is already ON state insurance…so just get on with it.
Can’t argue with making someone laugh. Glad we could brighten your day. Your assessment is actually spot on.
Anyone is a financial position to be hurt by the ACA cost wise would very likely be better served with paying a tax for healthcare and being on an expanded Medicaid program (as the more money you have the less likely the rate hikes and cost sharing would hurt your wallet, and thus the less likely a tax would equate to more spending).
Let’s say: we all pay into a single fund, like a Medicaid-for-all system with one single payer where we spend our money on care rather than overhead.
https://obamacarefacts.com/single-payer/
Hi there. My name is Danny. I used to work a full time job. But I had to quit cause of my medical problems. So I tried to apply for disability couple years ago. But haven’t heard anything back from them. Also my place just got rubbed. So I have nothing left for me. And I do have a lot of medical problems. So pretty much I’m homeless. I get help once in a while by friends let me stay with them. But the main thing is that I go see a lot of doctors and take a lot of medications. But I can afford it. So I was hoping you guys can help me out. Thank you. Hope to hear from you
If Medicaid was expanded in your state than you can get free or low cost coverage through Medicaid. If Medicaid wasn’t expanded you’ll need to make at least 100% of the poverty level or talk to a local assistance program about your options. You can always contact your state Medicaid office. You can also always ask advice at a public hospital.
That is how America is anymore. It is sickening. We have the same situation and it’s just living check by check. I still can’t pay all my bills and I can’t qualify for anything. If I didn’t live with my boyfriend and my daughter didn’t have a job and if I didn’t have a job, I would qualify. But since I actually work, I can’t see any of the money I’m putting into everyone else’s pockets anyways. And doesn’t help that I live in a commonwealth state. Hopefully sooner or later there can be a change, but I agree with you 100%.
I am facing the same issue. I have the choice of being broke by being covered by health insurance from my job, or being broke by being covered by health insurance form the market place. Either way, I cannot afford health insurance. With a household income on about 70k, with a child, and all my other important expenses, having health insurance is ridiculously expensive. And unfortunately I’m at the income mark where the government has no help and/or incentive to offer. My least expensive option, $550 p/ month through my job, has high deductibles and is, in plain words, a crappy plan. I’d only be paying for coverage to avoid penalties and fees during tax season, because as far as actual coverage, the plan covers nothing until the super high deductible is met. I wish “Affordable Care Act” would live up to its name, granted, it may make it affordable for people under a certain income level (but then again, they get all the goodies the government has to offer), but it’s definitely not affordable for the middle-class folks. It’s frustrating, it really is.
My monthly premiums with a $11,000 deductible increased to $2600.00/month for my family of four next year. I don’t know how we will swing it. Alaska is already expensive this is devastating. Thinking of moving which will unfortunately but our 10 employees of our small business uninsured. Makes no sense.
I didn’t fully understand the post I just read but you seemed to be giving someone advice on how to make their health care more affordable. I am someone who is INFURIATED by the health care system. I pay 250 a month, a bill I can barely afford, only to have it cover NOTHING I need. My deductible is 6000 so I have to pay everything out of pocket anyways. I want to refuse to pay the 250 an just save the money each month, since the tax fee for doing so is FAR less than the 3000 a year I pay. Why can’t I find other like minded people fed up and fighting the system? we KNOW all this money just goes to the already wealthy 1% HOW IS THIS LEAGAL? HOW IS THIS ACCEPTED AS OK BY SO MANY PEOPLE? I am in tears daily about this. I just want to be able to afford to go to the dr and prevent serious disease, but I can’t. Instead I must role the dice like many others in our country
And no one seems to noticed that self employed older folks don’t have affordable coverage, by a huge margin. Because of my age the lowest premium is well over $600 a month. That’s way over the 8% limit. Sure I can get a hardship exemption, but the point is I still don’t have health care. I’m 60 years old so no medicare, but no affordable coverage either.
Some regions where the cost of health coverage is higher can equate to pretty high premiums before subsidies. It doesn’t make sense (for the shopper at least) that they would pay more for basic private coverage than would do for Original Medicare + supplemental Medicare. Still we all know rates have been rising before and after the law.. in fact despite the experince of some the rate of growth has actually been curbed on average under the ACA (look it up). Still no amount of looking at ongoing problems or weighing the pros and cons of solutions is going to explain away unaffordable costs for an individual or deliver the care people truly need.
I am in the same situation. If I purchase the 535 a month insurance, I still have to pay quite a bit out of pocket before it covers anything. And then it only covers 40 percent. I am in reasonable health but I do see the doctor for checkups an such.
It seems that this new law is eating away at the Middle Class. We have no chance of saving money. If Obama wanted to create a country of 1% filthy rich and 99% below poverty, this is definitely a good first step!
I think the penalty for not having insurance might be more affordable.
The problem with the penalty is that it does not provide health coverage. So that, all else aside, is a big gamble. But for sure, there is little consolation to be given to those in certain income brackets. Especially for those who make just a little too much for cost assistance, but not enough to where the extra costs don’t matter as much.
You’ll notice we have very few people making less than 400% FPL, and very few making well over 400%, airing their frustration on this page. For better or worse, this group is only the “middle-class” by general terms. The truth is the average American is making less. Still this in-between part of the middle-class is getting a raw deal in state with higher premiums, especially when you consider other costs like debt and childcare. The reality of the situation perhaps, based off this long thread and other comments, is that the subsidy threshold may actually need to be raised to say 500% or more barring another solution. That would if nothing else cap personal costs for many on this thread making coverage more affordable. Although I doubt this would be a popular idea.
Here’s the truth: If you are not a full-time employee, you’re screwed. It’s that simple.
My wife and I will make too much this year to qualify for Medicaid. I do not pull in a consistent paycheck as a contractor. Normally my wife carries insurance through her job, but was recently caught up in company-wide layoffs. This happened to us three years ago and we purchased insurance. Rates are up nearly 50% since then. She’s without a job and we can’t afford premiums thanks to Obamacare.
The Facts Moderator keeps deleting my posts. I think I’m asking too many questions he/she can’t answer so it’s easier to just hit “delete.’ That’s fine. I’m frustrated enough to keep at it. There are so many self-employed people forced onto the exchange who don’t qualify for subsidies, and who USED TO qualify for small group coverage THAT’S CHEAPER AND BETTER. But, because we’re so isolated from each other, we have no voice. The Facts Moderator had promised to find out WHY we’ve suddenly been scuttled onto the crappy Individual Market. But instead of using this forum to give us the sad truth — which is that little working guys like us are paying so others can have subsidies — they just keep deleting any posts that ring true. More info on how the self-employed are just screwed by ObamaCare: https://njhealthinsurancehurts.wordpress.com
I’m so glad you wrote this! I’m a single female, I make about $500 more than the “400% federal poverty line” and I’m paying twice as much for the exact same insurance just because I’m a female, I’m single and I don’t have children… Seeing as how I live in Houston, our cost of living is also among the highest. With insurance premiums being $250 at the cheapest and having $7000 deductibles and 100/0 doctors and prescription payments until that deductible is met… Which it never will be… And here I am, with no choice to me, but to Pay twice as much plus doctors visits and prescriptions. I might as well just donate 1/4 of my salary to healthcare AND expect nothing in return. If anyone is in the same position, PLEASE speak up. This has to change. Period. And I’m proud to say I’m joining the uninsured young adult population. Consider this my public protest.
Your protest is admirable and respected, but a few things should be cleared up. If you only make $500 more than 400% and you are buying an individual plan.
1. You can’t be charged more for being a woman on non-grandfathered non-large group plans. (i.e. no private plan sold after 2014 can charge more for gender under the PPACA).
2. You can put that $500 (or more to be safe) in an HSA and thus qualify for subsidies which will cap your coverage at 9.5% of income based on the second lowest cost silver plan in your state’s marketplace.
So while your frustration is valid and your sentiments mirror others (as you can tell), you more than others need to look at ALL the options and rights you have under the current law.
I have worked 40 years for the same company now my health and my husbands have gotten bad. To get any health care you almost have to be a lawyer or accountant why does it have to be such a fiasco, I am tired of the insurance company’s deciding whether a person is worthy of living no money die they don’t give a $@%&. It is time this government takes care of it’s tax payers, no matter what the income. We all deserve the same care. It’s time the rich start paying they’re fair share 1 less fancy boat or car won’t kill them. But bad insurance or no insurance can! Wake up USA
I am a teacher to add my only son to my insurance would cost me over 25% of my take home pay!, I pay 10% of my take home pay for my son’s health care, I make $87 too much to qualify for any help, I TAKE HOME ONLY $500. a week. to pay for my son’s health care I have to teach after contract hours 4 days a week and teach on Saturdays, I work 6 days a week. I have not had a raise in 5 years. I have to pay a mortgage, car insurance and buy / pay for my son’s school lunch which is $2.25 a day. He is a good son so he will take a PBJ and drink water to help me out. Where I teach EVERY STUDENT receives a FREE LUNCH AND BREAKFAST, they all or most get free health care. Almost all the students have a cell phone the most updated cell phones, $120-$200 shoes $120-$75 jeans , and the newest they where $300 belt buckles and all of their parents drop them off in new cars or cars with rims that cost more than my car. The parents drive Hummers, Escalades, Range Rovers, Mercedes, Tundras, ect. have 1600 students at our school alone, not one students parents fill out an eligibility form for free lunches and breakfasts. In order for a teacher to get a raise they have to pay for a masters degree that costs over $20,000 which they have to pay back with interest.
So all of this adds up and when Obama care cost poor people that work and do the right thing more than 25% of their take home income its not worth it to work. Why work when I can get help with food stamps, free lunch and breakfast for my kids year round, free health care and help paying or get free housing and pay no taxes.
Why work!
Donna
Conceptually the frustration you are expressing is understandable, but there are a few things you may not be realizing.
Your family of 2 likely DOES qualify for cost sharing reduction subsidies and to have your plan capped somewhere between 6 – 8% of income. Based on my calculations you shouldn’t be anywhere near $87 over $63,720 (400% FPL). This is estimated based on what you said, but the two links below will confirm it the rest of the details.
You shouldn’t be paying 25% of your income for health insurance or even 10%. Instead you should be getting a plan via HealthCare.Gov and taking advantage of cost assistance. A lower premium plan could cost as little as 5% of income in your situation.
https://obamacarefacts.com/insurance-exchange/premium-tax-credits/
https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/
I think USA should get netter health insurance plans. im going through so much hard time without insurance.. they see the income but they don’t realize we also have expenses which a lot in NJ, Rent, car insurance telephone. I think they should charge reasonable for every month.
hard workers who pays tax genuine and they don’t get the right benefits and people who don’t work get all the benefits.. unfair
I’m right there with you in that i make just enough to not qualify for any assistance, but not enough to find any plans offered to be affordable.
The real problem as i see it is that, what was supposed to be universal health care is leaving many people behind. It’s far from a perfect system, but i would say it’s a step in the right direction and is helping make health care more affordable for many.
No matter what insurance plan you have, even pre-obamacare, your payments are going to help pay for others who don’t have to. That’s just how insurance works. Your healthy premium payment allows the insurance company to cover the medical expenses of the sick.
We live in the most affluent nation in the world. We should take the responsibility of taking care of the sick and the poor with pride, and accept it whole heartedly. Wwjd? Sounds to me like the ability to help pay for the coverage of those who can’t afford higher premiums, should be incentive enough to keep working.
Only final thought here is: if you find it unaffordable to live in the state that you describe as the most expensive in the nation, you might consider living somewhere more affordable.
Health insurance is not affordable.
I am in the same boat. After the scam was signed into law in 2010, my premiums skyrocketed. I have been told it is because as a man, I needed to be covered for pregnancy. So I went on the obamacare exchange and the deductible is four times the amount and premium is slightly higher than what I am paying now. It’s the biggest scam in history.
Your coverage didn’t go up 4X for maternity coverage, that is silly. Rates were raising before the law, some of the increases (not all) in 2014 were due to the new law (mainly the gender neutral pre-existing clause). If your rates were raised in 2010 it was in anticipation of many of the new rules, most of which (but by no means all) didn’t kick in until 2014.
Some people were paying a lot less than the average premium pre-ACA, some of those people are in states who have now raised premiums more than others. This is likely what happened to you. If we look at data of averages we don’t see this being a shared experince, but we do see average premiums rising at an unsustainable rate for America as a whole and for many Americans as a group. Cost assistance caps this, but without cost assistance some people are experiencing brutal rate hikes (4X is brutal).
Look at the data for employer premiums (good because it takes cost assistance out of the picture): http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/issue-brief/2015/jan/1798_schoen_state_trends_2003_2013.pdf
Here is some post ACA data that looks at both non-subsidized and subsidized plans: http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/health-insurance-premiums.aspx
Seems like the Facts Moderator missed Angry American’s point entirely. He’s saying that he’ll never get use out of some of the 10 Essential Health Benefits built into all ACA plans. Like “Maternity and Newborn Care” and “Pediatric Services.” I’m in the same boat — paying, without the benefit of subsidy, for (ahem) “essential” benefits I’ll never, ever, ever use. What a scam is right. There’s more info here about how so many of us are paying for coverage we’ll never be able to use: https://njhealthinsurancehurts.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/10-essential-health-benefits-i-pay-for-2-of-which-ill-never-use/
Obama care does not work, I do not know anyone that is on it. I can’t afford it. Between the deductible and the monthly fee. Its 50% of my salary. I have a mortgage to pay car payments, utilities, car insurance and i am a single mother. I am self employed so I don’t get insurance thru work. What 2%?? The plans do not make sense. Obama takes from the middle class to take care of the poor. Maybe he should stop funding the middle east and the rest of the world to take care of the less fortunate instead of taking it from the working class.
You may have exemption options or cost assistance options if you are paying 50%. You may want to talk to HealthCare.Gov and look into tax breaks for self-employed. Also, be assured there really are tens of millions out there benefits from the ACA even if it doesn’t feel like it and others aren’t.
The above being said, thank you for sharing your story and letting everyone know about your situation and frustration. Just because we have side notes on facts and figures and advice doesn’t mean we don’t care about what people are saying.
Hello I am writing to ask a question…my husband pays 13,000.00 for major medical insurance this year…and i need another major back operation again BUT we don’t have the extra money which would be our 20 percent or what we would owe the doctor…matter of fact i can not even afford 450.00 a month for physical therapy…i got a ssi lawyer and i was told i did not work enough quarts so do not have what i need for ssi help…so i am stuck…and i did not know if you know of any programs that might be of help…thanks
You shouldn’t be paying $13,000 for major medical. If you mean with the out-of-pocket costs factored in the best advice would be to look into what you can write off on taxes and to get a high premium low out-of-pocket cost plan. That will net you more savings. Some local charities help people with medical bills, but it’s based on region and case-by-case.
I got a job making 720 dollars more than what we qualify for to get covered california, we now have to pay 6000 a year to have health insurance. Some how this dosent seem right.
Yeah, that is not right. Look into this: https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
In years past (prior to 2010) I looked at the cost of insurance premiums vs. the cost of paying cash to the Dr. when I needed to go.
In one year I had insurance and paid over $3,600 in premiums alone. This does not include the cost of co-pays for Dr visits and lab tests, nor does it represent deductibles. I paid $3,600 cash to BC/BS that year…the equivalent of a car payment. Back then I was not eligible to deduct any part of the premium from my taxes.
In another year…about 5 years later…I had no insurance and paid only $400 in Dr visits and lab tests by settling the bill with cash, right then and there.
TWO YEARS OF THE SAME PERSON WITH THE SAME MEDICAL PROBLEMS GETTING THE SAME NUMBER OF VISITS AND LAB TESTS, TWO VERY DIFFERENT COST SCENARIOS. Insured: $3,600+ vs Uninsured: $400
So tell me…now that the recession has reduced my earning power to well under the poverty level and the only way back up is to incur massive debt with student loans (in my 40s no less), how am I supposed to afford health insurance when I can’t even afford to pay the Dr cash anymore? I can’t afford the current student loans I have now, either and keep having to defer them again and again AND I’M NOT IN SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE PRIOR LOANS. I’m not a governmental agency…there’s no way to hire complex economists and financial analysts to help me print money and make it look like I’m still valued the same and in the black somehow…all politicians need to step back and understand there’s more here than just numbers, classes, and their specific “problem” to solve on a massive scale. People don’t have 200%-300% of their incomes to spend on living expenses, they only have 100%, so 2%-9.5% is unrealistic when the average rent is 150% of a person working full time making a few bucks an hour above minimum wage. In some places, rent’s over 100% of a full time worker making $20 an hour. These government statisticians always calculate the GROSS income when in reality, people only receive the NET income week after week. Every single aspect of what it costs to live today needs to be factored by the NET income before a fair percentage of what to “take” can be determined. (And I use the term “take” lightly…forcibly taking a percentage of my income is stealing and I don’t consent to it) Even 1% for a family can cause hardship when the unexpected rise in fuel affects how much food costs…do I really need to spell this out? This is why so many people can’t afford it…whether they’re healthy or not.
At this point I don’t want to go to the Dr at all, and forcing me to sign up for welfare because I’m temporarily broke is demeaning to say the least, as if the recession wasn’t humiliating enough. I refuse this requirement. Good luck with collecting the “fine” or tax or whatever you want to call it…you can’t get blood from a stone. Pray for my good health so I don’t end up in the ER, that’s all I can say about that.
America doesn’t need “affordable health insurance”, it needs affordable health CARE with plenty of choices in a competitive market that’s free from the restriction and inflation that insurance causes. Put medical provider pricing on a standard scale for common treatments, allocate a chunk of our taxes from the wasteful defense dept and put it back into medicare and THEN the poor & sick will get what they need without financially crushing the lower to middle class wage earners.
Just like your body, when one area is bad, it affects the whole. America’s need for a real health care system is just part of the picture. For those of us left behind in this “post recession era”, we want a way to make money again, at a rate that compensates for the true cost of living today, so we can choose to pay healthcare providers directly as needed for non-emergency/non-catastrophic issues. That would be REAL Obamacare. We want independence, freedom of choice and the ability to access money easily and freely either through work, gifts or loans. (minimally taxed and zero interest loans accessible to the average person, not just corporations) We need free banking.
We do NOT want forced welfare, micromanaging systems and rigged games designed to mar credit and disenfranchise those who need money the most. Enough already. We live in a society that forces us to use money more than common sense and integrity. This game needs to change. Forcing people to either buy insurance or sign up for welfare isn’t changing it…it’s making it worse.
I’m with the original commenter on this. 90% of the people in this country are workers employed by someone else. 10% are self-employed and apparently they really don’t matter to people in this country. Obamacare does help the working poor get access to health insurance, but it leaves the self-employed in the dust. Sure, it’s great if you are just getting started, but the minute you start to break even, it becomes unaffordable. I don’t expect any of you straight W2 employees out there to understand how owning your own business works. The fact is, the politicians have said the uninsured self-employed don’t matter. The demographic isn’t large enough to care. 10% of the population can’t elect you. Growing up I lived on a farm (self-employed) we had a plan in the 80’s and 90’s with a $10,000 deductible! That was huge back then, but the premiums were small. We took the risk on the small stuff and could still save for the $10k. That’s how real INSURANCE works. Since 2000 my husband has been self-employed. I have been self employed with my own separate company since 2004. We don’t make millions. We aren’t rich. We get by, and we are grateful for what we have. We love our jobs and the independence it gives us, but we aren’t one of the greedy big businesses. There have only been a handful of years in my entire life that I haven’t been on an individual health insurance plan. I’ve always had insurance until now. Yes, the costs were rising. My plan, that I couldn’t keep by the way, prior to Obamacare had a $5000 deductible and cost my family of 4 around $700 per month. It was a good plan. No, none of us had cancer, but we used the insurance. It worked when we needed it. Under Obamacare nothing like that is offered. The cheapest plan I can get as of 2014 prices was $980 per month with a $10,000 deductible. Very little is paid for, including my prescriptions, until we reach that deductible. That means if something does happen, I have $21,760 coming out of my pocket before the insurance even kicks in. That means I need to have at minimum $10,000 in my HSA, but I can’t even contribute that much in a year due to IRS limits. Explain to me how this is better? Small business owners can make too much to qualify for benefits under Obamacare without truly having a large take home pay. I have been responsible buying insurance on my own for over a decade. Why don’t I matter just as much as a single mom? Why should her family have better access to insurance than my family? I don’t want a hand out. I wanted to keep the plan I could afford. I want insurance in case one of us gets cancer. I want HSA eligible catastrophic insurance plan with a reasonable premium, but I can’t have it by law. Why not? So the choice for us??? Get rid of an employee to pay for health insurance and fund an HSA for my family or go uninsured, pay the penalty, and keep an employee. Have you ever been in a situation where what you do every day puts food on tables and pays the rent of others??? Small business owners are productive people who employee others. We are the innovators who until the recent past were respected and it’s sad this country is so against us now. Every law you pass kills 100’s of small businesses and just makes big business even stronger. I don’t care what side of politics you are on. Why can’t health insurance be competitive like auto insurance, life insurance, or homeowners? I have a brain and I’d like to be able to use it to manage my money responsibly and make my own choices. By law health insurance could still be required, but you can choose from more than 1-2 companies. It’s NEVER been like that. We had 2 companies in this state prior to Obamacare. That’s not capitalist even if you think it is. The gov’t controlled who could come into the state. Obama lied about this plan to over $14 million people, but I guess they aren’t the type of people who matter. When your support big govt and big business puts us out of business, then we’ll be poor and we’ll finally matter. What a great day that will be.
You have valid points. But for the 1 employee business we have individual marketplace tax credits. The self-employed have tax credits and the tax write-offs. And larger small businesses have the SHOP tax credits. There is sticking points, but the law hardly ignored any demographic. I know lots of small business people and self employed who love the law due to the tax breaks on coverage. Those who make too much for tax breaks, but not that much more, certainly are going to be in the worst position.
i am a permanent resident in the U.S
my husband and daughter are qualified for Medicaid but i can’t get it cause i’m less then 5 years in the U.S
I can’t afford an insurance cause for our family right now i am the only one that is working
so we below the poverty line
how much fines i need to pay for not having an health insurance (because of obamacare)
If you are below the poverty level then you should to apply for Medicaid to ensure you have a letter saying you are rejected for back up. However, this shouldn’t be necessary as you will qualify for the exemption: Unaffordable Coverage Options. You would also likely qualify for an exemption based on your taxable income being below the tax filing threshold (depends on your exact income.)
This explains all exemptions: https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-exemptions-list/
I feel your pain but I am sure this is a way to get emails to sell the plans you say you can’t afford. I am in the same boat, I just received a raise and now face 1100.00 a month premiums which will make me worse off than before. All obamacare has done is given those that don’t work medical insurance.
Not at all. Using someone’s email for marketing without their expressed permission would be very bad practice. We only ask for emails to ensure that people commenting on this thread are human beings who are going to be accountable for their comments to some extent. It’s standard blog practice. No email information provided when commenting is shared with any third party or used for marketing purposes (although, if you expressly click on an ad provided by a third party this is a different scenario and in that case a given advertiser will lay out their own terms, conditions, privacy policies, etc).
The only insurance I can afford would have me paying around $200 a month for insurance with a $6000 to $10000 deductible. So if I pay for the insurance I can’t afford to go to the doctor. At $200 a month there is no money left in my budget to pay for the medical service I need to reach the deductible in order to use the insurance. How does this make any sense at all? Now that I can’t afford it they are taking more money from me, again how does this make any sense?
I sympathize with you. I am walking in the same shoes as you. Paying the monthly premium and rent, food, auto insurance and utilities has put me up against a wall. I think to myself if I end up in the hospital good luck paying the hospital. Paying the monthly premium has put me in a severe monthly budget.
I am also a victim of Obama care. I am 53 years old, and I lost my job and medical insurance this year after working for a company for 18 years. I just got married in 2013 to a man that already had Veterans insurance for many years, so consequently I do not qualify to get on his insurance plan since he had this insurance long before I married him, which disqualifies me from getting on his plan. He barely makes more than minimum wage, $12 an hour, and works full time. I am unable to find a job that will give me medical insurance. I do not qualify for medicaid, because my husband alone makes too much money. We cannot afford $345 monthly premiums. (this is the cheapest plan based on his income alone) Our home mortgage is $897.00 a month, and we live in a home that is over a 100 years old and live in what they call here in our town, felony flats, in other words its a poor run down, crime ridden neighborhood. We both drive old beat up cars too. I don’t even think we are considered middle class. I work as a caregiver for a care giving agency, and make $11.50 per hour and work not more than 20 hours a week. So if you know anything about care giving agencies, it’s pretty tough to get on a medical insurance program, and keep it even if you get full time hours, which is rare. Also, when your hours get reduced due to a client getting sick or dying, there goes your medical insurance even if you’re lucky enough to be on it. I feel helpless and very uncertain about the future, and do not have any great skills for a lucrative career. I never, ever thought that as a married women I would ever have to worry so much about contributing so much in the way of finances. I am a christian women and believe we are suppose to be helpmates, not independent breadwinners. We can live ok on our wages, but not ok if we need to come up with this much money per month for medical insurance.
My husband’s job offers fully paid insurance to employees but for there families it cost 600 a month for a 5000 dollar deductible. I can’t afford that each month. We don’t qualify for medicaid or chip. My 3 kids ll suffer from asthma, and low immune systems. What are my options what can I do.
If it’s more than 9.5% of household income for self only coverage they can use the Marketplace instead. You should call HealthCare.Gov and explain that you think the employer is offering unaffordable coverage to family members. https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
Health care cost more than my mortgage. I work 2 jobs and considering a third. I am just above the cut off for deductions and I don’t want subsidiaries. It kills me to continually leave my 8 month old daughter who is crying and reaching for me. Part of me is glad to know she still knows me. I don’t get this time back. I’m past the point of anger, I’m heartbroken. I’m missing out of my daughters life, thanks to obamacare.
One of the most common frustrations is from people in your position. You make too much for subsidies, but with debt and the rising cost of healthcare and living insuring your family is too much of a burden for you to bare alone. A single payer system address this, upping the subsidy limit address this, and more strict rules on insurers and interest rates could help address this as well. There are answers out there and there are millions of others in the same boat.
I too was fooled by the affordable health care act. There is nothing affordable about it unless you are simply living well below what the government deems is the poverty level. Congress along with the wealthy who can afford insurance are laughing all the way to the bank. The previous writer is correct. My family and I wanted to cancel Obama Care for 2015 but was told the process can take up to 14 days, in the meantime the insurance company we were paying states we still have the premium to pay for the month. REALLY! I no longer want the insurance but you still want to charge me. The “market place” and these insurance companies need to get it together ASAP! Oh let me not forget Obama Care automatically enrolls you for 2016 coverage. (they say this is done to avoid gaps in the insurance) To avoid another fiasco you must call them within specified dates to elect not to have it. Now just a minute I thought I terminated it for 2015.. If I don’t want it for 2015 I definitely don’t want it for 2016!!!
The Median wage in America is well below the 400% poverty level. So think about that for a moment. Ok, that being said there is typically someone laughing all the way to the bank in America (it’s the beauty, and sometimes the frustration, of the way we write legislation). We get to choose who gets to use taxpayer dollars and how by how we vote and how we educate ourselves. If you don’t understand what parts of the ACA need work and which parts are vital protections for the people, and you don’t take the time to articulate that and stand up for it in your everyday life, and you don’t vote for the person who best represents that in all elections you may be seeing more of the same.
yes, but what about us hard working people that have aged past the new systems in place, sort of like learning new technology. it is difficult to gather the knowledge to make sound decisions on this issue.
I am a single 56 y/o mom that has no assistance, or support with 2 high school teens at home. the dad is suppose to supply the insurance the last 4 yrs, but can not find him or get him to pay. he gets free healthcare cause he chooses not to work (other than under the table) and his kids have not had healthcare since Obamacare. we have accumulated upwards to $10,000 in medical bills that I pay monthly $50 to each entity ($500/mo) and its growing. I live very modestly on my income and work 2 jobs 12 hr shifts 6-7 days/wk. been doing it for many years. I was looking up info and found u all. this is all French to me and I believe I am coming in late in the game. I do not have time for my kids, let alone me, to catch up and understand all that needs to happen. on top of it, pay for another house payment. this will force me to sell the one proud asset I accumulated during all of my kids life. It’s a modest house that they could call home after the horrific separation from their father. I seriously scrimp by. I do not have any extra funs to insure myself let alone my kids. at first i believed this blog was run by a third party with a PR person at the helm hired from the gov. to try to calm the nation. but i am still on the fence. i too believe in helping the poor, that is my life’s work, but without jepordizing the family. this plan, that i cant afford, would bring my family to welfare. i am in the $45,000 range for gross income.
i do not understand or have the time it will take to learn all the nessessary details needed to find something that is cost effective. there is no room to downsize financially. this will cause us to move into housing and live off of nothing.and still not be covered realistically. cheapest quote was $746/mo. i cant do that without quiting the work force and living on assistance. i see no other way.
How can i learn when it is so intricate and i may mot have the mind to absorb what is needed. let alone no funds to pay it. i utilize my tax return to catch up on the house note that i get behind on through the year. as i said before, i do not have luxeries unless u classify toilet paper and food a luxery. i am in tears about this and don’t know what to do. i know from past comments that u are definitely throwing out study for a solution. but again, it is all French to me. and my kids and i are becoming a statistic.
So what if i pay for all my medical bills out of my pocket is the goverment gonna refund all my money so i can pay this ridiculous obama care fine at the end of the year i work for my money and pay all my bills and cover myself and im tired of being robbed this is not right my job does not provide health insurance and I can’t afford it. It’s time to stand up for our selves and stop whinning like little girls the American people need to make a change and say no you don’t get to take my money !!!!! Stand up for yourself don’t be the week minded American that that say oh thats just the way it is !!!!!!
I lost my job of almost 20 years because of Obama care. The company decided no more full time employees .I am 59 years of age.I was told by medicad if I don’t have a small child in the home .I was not eligible. Was told by Obama care my income was too low.I would have to pay 500. Monthly. Ii live off my husband s social security about 11 thousand a year for the 2 of us
I understand how everyone posting here feels. My husband and I have a small trucking business. We have always payed for our own health insurance. Last year we purchased the BCBS Gold plan. It was expensive but we were fortunate that we could afford it. ($1616.00 monthly). We were pleased with this plan. A few weeks ago we were notified that this plan would not be offered in 2016 and was being replaced with the Preferred or Advantage plans. Deductible would go up to 3,000 from 1,000 and out of pocket 6,850 from 3,000 each. While this was aggravating, it seemed unimportant when we found out that the hospital and Drs. In our town were not accepting Obama care. As my husband just had a triple bypass this was very stressful for us. It appears we can purchase insurance for $1,595.00 we just can’t use it. The government exchange people could not offer any help or tell us what to do. I think we have found a policy with United Health care after much searching. It’s expensive $1,781.00 monthly but we will be able to use our Drs. I feel so bad for everyone who has a policy through the exchange, thinking they have insurance, but not being able to use it and the deductibles and out of pocket being so high. This is a screwed up system.
We are a family of 4 making 50k yr. Our employer health plan has 650 month for family coverage. This breaks down to 800 wk and 200 toward insurance. I have no idea how to pay for it. We still have a mortgage and car payment etc. I went on the marketplace and our quote was 700 month for bronze. Feels like we have no choice but to go uninsured. It’s scary. Was better off unemployed with me d icaid for kids and food stamps 🙁
Remember to check out the rules for affordable coverage through employers. https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
Obamacare makes me sick. It is so upside down. The least expensive plan costs me more than my mortgage . If i enroll we will lose our house or a car. If i get sick I will be bankrupt from the deductibles and co insurance. The use of the IRS to enforce it is analogous to having the Mafia hit man on your back. How many people are now owing the IRS or in trouble with the IRS as a direct effect of Obamacare? Why are the congressmen and senators exempt? (stupid question). The winners are the insurance companies, the IRS,and the “less fortunate people”(those who choose not to work or sit home and have babies,those who partied and did not do well in school, drug addicts, alcoholics, retards and imbeciles who make less than 4 times the Federal poverty rate (what some mathamatician nerds have determined) as it is the intangible and arbitrary by design ie..(.why not 5 times or 6 times this number), and of course the government who get to wave a big stick at 100s of millions of people. The losers are the bulk of the tax payers who have worked extra long and hard, only to be penalized , the doctors, the hard working middle class families ect ect. How did this happen???? I am all for helping the less fortunate and the meek and ill and handicapped. Being forced to do some only breeds resentment instead of sentiment. The powers that be are self serving and out of touch.No wonder my kids have no desire to work hard. Punishment for accomplishment is how they see it.
Obamacare makes me sick. It is very upside down. The least expensive plan costs more than my mortgage. If I enroll we will not be able to afford our house or car. If I get sick I will be bankrupted by the high deductibles and co insurance. The use of the IRS to enforce the ACA is analogous to having the Mafia hit man come around each month to collect. How many are owing the IRS or in trouble with the IRS as a direct effect of Obamacare? How many tax dollars have been wasted on IRS training, implementation and enforcement to serve Obamacare? Why are congressmen and senators exempt from having to participate in Obamacare? (stupid question). The winners are the insurance companies, the IRS,and the “less fortunate people,” many who make a concious decision to not work.There exists Individuals who are partiers,who did not study in school, the millons of drug addicts, alcoholics, retards and imbeciles who make less than 4 times the Federal poverty rate and are now the winners. Is this upside down? Obamacare eligibility relys on an interesting calculation determined by an individuals or families earnings percentage over the Federal Poverty Level. The federal poverty level equals a number determined by some math nerd in Washington. It is arbitrary, and designed to impose more taxes on the middle class.For example this number is the same for a person living in New York City as a person living in Missisippi. Is this upside down? Of course the government gets to wave a bigger stick at 100s of millions of people. The bulk of tax payers who have worked extra hard and who feel betrayed by our government only to be penalized for such hard work have become the losers.Upside down? Our fine doctors who have been hit with mountains of new rules, regulations, reductions intrusements, lost reimbursements, increased costs of compliance ect are now the losers.Upside down? The costs of educating and training a physician in the country is out of wack and is upside down. How did this happen???? I am all for helping the less fortunate, the meek, ill, the elderly and the handicapped. However being forced to do so only breeds contempt and resentment for the less fortunate instead of sentiment. Upside down? Could the powers that be be self serving and that upside down? No wonder my kids and their whole generation have no desire to work hard. Punishment for accomplishment=upside down For those that want answers I say follow the money. Many of us have worked hard our whole life only to have lost our chance of saving enough for retirement. Many have had obamacare forced down their throats. The government is using us our wallets to subsidize them in paying the costs for maternity and mental health. Millions are forced to pay for coverage they do not want or need. This is part of the reason premiuns are so out of whack. The bright side…if things continue this way I might be eligible for Obamacare sooner than later , a subsidy that was never meant for my previous income bracket….Upside down!!!!
This is another case of valid frustration with a big misunderstanding of who low-income people are. A large portion of low-income Americans are those with low paying jobs or those in-between jobs. It’s really important to keep in mind that Joe/Jane-the-hard-worker can work hard to provide for their family all their life, and then they lose their job or can’t work anymore because they are sick. This is when Medicaid and ObamaCare are needed the most. Sometimes that worker, despite their efforts is only bringing in say $50,000 for their family of 4. Well in this case they get a little bit of a tax break (ObamaCare subsidy).
Just keep the above in mind when frustrated, it’s easy to point fingers at the least of us, but safety net programs are (ideally) designed for the rest of us so we can be “caught in the net and bounce back up” when we are down on our luck.
As for the FPL guidelines. They are a little arbitrary (being mostly federal and not region based), but looking at them daily and comparing them to the frustration on this thread, the only real problem seems to be is that given the current cost of healthcare people need more help and not less. We can fight that with subsidization, tighter regulations on the healthcare industry, taking insurance away form sick people, or taking subsidies away and dealing with a higher uninsured rate. Lots of ways to fix the problem, not sure any are too popular with any one group.
Could you address where the money is coming from to pay for Obamacare?. My math says there are 20 to 30 million households or persons receiving as much as $20,000.00 per year . Thats 500 billion dollars. Where is that coming from?? Loan from China at 40% interest. That’s a lot of health care dollars? Why not go to a single payor system? Free enterprise and competition are not in the formula now because of the mandates. You say Obamacare is a safety net? So it is just another a form of welfare in disguise? Not meant for those with good jobs. Something seriously needs to be done about the rediculous premiums for households that do not meet eligibilty. The costs for citzens in their late 50s and early 60s in just not affordable. I guess the needs of the many outweigh the few. It say something about the poor state of the socioeconomic landscape. Maybe increasing mimimum wage to 15 or 20 per hour is not such a bad idea afterall.. would make many households noneligible. Then Obamacare could just go away? Either way the pendulum has swung to far. When you squeeze a balloon to much in the middle the ends pop out too much? The present system has many screaming for a course correction?
So the really simple version:
Net cost $1.207 trillion dollars by 2025.
Total ACA spending on Medicare, subsidies, and Medicaid expansion is equal to projected spending before the ACA… but before the ACA we were also heading toward a deficit and debt.
TO make up the difference we will need to spend less or pull in more revenue. To spend less, and still provide “the safety net” we would need to cut healthcare costs (ACA does this well and that could factor in to lower spending if nothing else changes).
We aren’t in the best space, but we aren’t in the worse. From what I personally know we are at a point right now where we don’t a problem, we are just projecting a problem. So we need entities like congress and the FED to help us curb money out and grow money in… What we don’t need is more money out with lots of borrowing. Doesn’t matter where we borrow from, paying interest on debt is only good in small amounts.
It’s hard to point a finger at the ACA alone, and it even deserves credit where credit is due (it’s a big law, only a fraction is spending).
You fail to even mention the rediculous high premiums with the added insult of ourageous deductibles and co insurance. There is not enough time in the day to touch on all the horrible and disgusting aspects of ACA. It is much more than “frustration” spin doctor..Bottom line is ACA is a failure .. it will not be around in a couple of years. the government and insurance companies will ride the wave for now, but it is a blunderous faiure.
I respect your opinion and there are pros and cons, one of them being the unaffordable premiums for small businesses and the middle class without assistance (especially in some regions). Actually I talk about this all the time. What we don’t talk about is the 900 other pages that are mostly working: https://obamacarefacts.com/summary-of-provisions-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/
Trust me, I spend a lot of time with this thing. We all have bias, so i’m not completely un-spun, but i’m level headed and critical where criticism is do. What I care about is THE PEOPLE, specifically the hardworking American families who are doing the right thing and getting the short end of the stick.
Ok so I make $21,000 a year the cheapest plan that is offered is $205 with a crazy deductible. Between mortgage, oil, electric, car payment, car insurance, gas for the car, food, basic cable internet and phone package how am I supposed to afford health care and then when I don’t have a plan I get money deducted from my tax return at the end of the year which I use to catch up on bills that I have fallen behind on. This whole system doesn’t make any sense at all. So even if I go to the doctor it’s not covered since my deductible hasn’t been met. I ended up paying $600 last time for doctors visit and meds with health insurance. Let me tell you for 5 levaquin pills were $150 alone yup they were not covered either
That doesn’t make sense, based on your income the lowest cost health plan for you should be much much cheaper. You also qualify for cost sharing reduction subsidies. Not going to pull numbers out of the air, but you should be paying significantly less after subsidies than you state. Double check that you are seeing pricing after cost assistance and not before.
I found your site after searching for a solution for my problem. I make $25,000 a year in Idaho, I get by and don’t feel poor. I have three children and work for a small company that doesn’t offer health insurance. I just found out that my bronze plan that had been costing me $138 out of pocket is going to cost me $358 in 2016. That’s 20% of my take home pay, there’s just no way we can make the difference. We already skim by just barely paying the bills every month. And the law states that my tax fine for 2016 will be the price of a bronze plan….so I’ll have to pay the $358/mo either way.
To clarify, my kids all qualify for medicaid but I do not. So the amount I have to pay is just the bronze plan for me.
If you make $25,000 in Idaho as a family of 4 you should be getting a plan for about $25 – $50 a month. If you have a family of 5 then you don’t qualify for cost assistance and will get a full priced plan. That is assuming that $25,000 is after deductions (household income including MAGI). If your net income is less you don’t qualify for cost assistance and because Medicaid isn’t’ expanded in Idaho you are getting a wicked expensive plan for your income.
So the bad news here is that the secret to you getting cost assistance will be projecting a slightly higher income. No good way to suggest a person “make more income”, but this is where you are at based on the information you gave.
Take a look at the federal poverty level and ensure your projected household income for your family size is over 100% FPL. Then relay that information to the Marketplace for tax credits that cap your plan’s premium and cost sharing.
The real fact here is that Obamacare has hurt, if not destroyed the middle class in America. Most of us were lucky to afford insurance before Obamacare, then our insurance policy doubled the first year and has been on the rise every year, and is out of reach for me now. If I could find an insurance company outside Obamacare I would surely sign up, paying the penalty wouldn’t be a problem, Paying my new premium is. Thanks Obama.
My husband and I worked our but off for many many years. He passed away over a year ago. He told me I would be covered threw his work as it turned out only for a year. I thought my house was gone to be paid off big surprise! WRONG INS? I thought I would be able to get surviving spouse benefit hell no not till I’m 60 not quite there yet. I guess they would rather see me on the streets because if u have a home no one will help u. If applied for medical assistance, food stamps, energy asst. Etc GOT TURNED DOWN FOR EVERYTHING!!! I almost lost my house twice. My monthly income is not cutting it. I got healthcare coverage I can barely afford in September of this year I just got a letter saying January 1 they are gone to double my monthly payment. I just sat and cried I can’t take it anymore I’m gone to have to drop my coverage. I’m scared I am a cancer survivor I need help???
I am working two jobs to support myself and grandson. The more money you make, the more money you spend on premium. This is not helping anyone but hurting all of us poor people that is trying very to survive for the family
One of the actual bad things about the safety net is the fact that the more money you make the more money you pay. When we consider ACA subsidies, child care, tax rates, other assistance programs, making more means spending more… But this is true for everyone except a small fraction of the top .01% and large corporations who pay more total, but pay smaller percentages of their incomes (and have more room to enjoy capital gains). It’s a part of the system, that best case, we will be tweaking and aiming to fix for years to come. The ACA is rather fair in the way it caps premiums, but certainly there is a little frustration that comes along with the realization.
My son makes $450 a week gross he job doesn’t give him health insurance because he was hired through a agency. This is the norm now for big companies they hire from agencies so they don’t have to offer the Benifits to these workers. Anyway my son can’t afford health insurance and now this Obamacare is going to make him pay $900 penalty for not having health insurance that he can’t afford. When are we gonna wake up and start doing something about these politicians that pass laws and have no idea of what the real people of this country are going through . Help
$450 x 52 = $23,400 gross. That is just under 200% of the poverty level (although cost assistance is based on net income). That is a pretty attractive place to be in cost wise. He will get premium subsidies and cost sharing subsidies if he enrolls with HealthCare.Gov. Should have coverage capped around 6 – 7% of income at that amount, but with a cheaper bronze plan and an HSA it would likely be considerably lower. The fee, if he did go without coverage, would be $695 in 2016.
So it’s potentially less grim than you may think, still the sentiment in what you say is valid. Sorry you are going through this.
But that is the thing we don’t TAKE HOME THE GROSS AMOUNT. Why are they going by the gross not the Net. AGI and MAGI don’t help anyone unless you have property or certain interest, most people DO NOT HAVE THIS!!! I have to work if I work 10 days my take home is 5.2 days with zero deductions, so 4.8 days of pay goes to taxes not into my pocket. Come tax time, if I get any of it back it is about 2% of it. HOW CAN OBAMACARE GO BY MY GROSS AND TRY TO SAY I HAVE THIS MONEY TO SPEND WHEN AT LEAST 15-25% OFF THE TOP IS GIVEN TO THE GOVERNMENT, NOT INCLUDING SSI OR STATE TAXES.
It isn’t fair. If I was able to take home all 45,000 yeah great maybe I could afford the whopping 352 per month but I don’t. I take home AFTER TAXES IS 27,000, so where does this become affordable when I pay 23,000 a year in rent & utilities (my rent has been jacked up and that is cheap for my area) 2500 for car insurance, where do have the money to eat, when my insurance is 4224 a year for nothing until I reach my deductible
You make great points. Net and Gross aren’t the same thing, in a society that is so centered on debt it’s a little unfair look at Gross with one hand and then push 30 year mortgages, and credit cards ,and student loans with the other. It’s an odd trade off. The house, picket fence, education, and healthcare for a larger chunk of that paycheck in interest and rising costs of living then you really feel comfortable with.
But aside from the fee for not having health insurance this was all chosen by individuals and families, certainly not one forces anyone to live a certain way (i.e. America). That being said it is the situation many find themselves in.
Perhaps healthcare tax credits specifically should be based on MAGI 2.0 that includes these things. Of course that would mean more subsidization and more government spending. Which would i’m sure make the other half of the people upset about the ACA even more upset.
Obamacare sucks and everyone but obama’s ball %##$# know it.
So to the Obama “fact person”- $#$# you and your $#%#%# #%#%# #%#%#% president who crammed this %#%#%. Down our throats.
Rot in hell.
My wife works part-time, but her hours were cut so that she would not be working 30 hours per week and thus be “offered” healthcare through her employer. She is covered under my plan through work. The problem is that my share of the healthcare plan through work continues to increase (around 25% now) and I have to contribute $4,000 to the HSA to cover the family deductible, in addition to my share. Our income is significantly lower every year since ACA kicked in and my wife’s hours have been cut, and now I’m hearing we’ll have BIG changes at work once the Cadillac Tax kicks in, almost assuredly jumping my share significantly. VERY concerned about the future. As a side note, one of my co-workers was covered under her spouse’s healthcare plan, which dropped her since she was offered (but declined) coverage through our workplace. Her problem with this is that the cost of the Bronze plan offered through work would eat up over 50% of her monthly pay and she is currently in limbo and uninsured. This socialist law is absolutely horrible for us in the middle class.
So cadillac tax would not really affect you. Changes for employers offering high income employees high end plans isn’t going to affect a part-time worker in most situations. As for employer coverage, it was rising on average faster than inflation before the law. It’s growth has actually be curbed (although I doubt that applies to those super high spouse-coverage and family-coverage options you speak off). If anything that law is very light on the Socialism part and very heavy on the capitalism part. If it was more “social-y” it would be less “draining everyone’s wallets”. I mean, single payer it is not. Right? I guess to be fair, it’s not unrestricted capitalism either. Not sure economic or political theory is going to get us out of this one alone. We have deep seeded spending problems in healthcare and i’m not so sure anyone is willing, can, or knows exactly how to fix it. ACA gets some of it right though, it’s a big law.
https://obamacarefacts.com/summary-of-provisions-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/
I’m facing the same thing because I cover my wife and I am looking for a way to get her off or lower the payments somehow. It will affect my mortgage
There is a misunderstanding here . You are entitled to marketplace insurance and subsidies if your employee offers insurance that is “not
Affiordable”. Affordable is defined as less than 9.7% of your salary.
Right, 9.56% but that is essentially right. And you are entitled to an exemption if it’s over 8%. Also this is true for an arrogate of two or more family members.
I agree wholeheartedly. Obama promised us affordable healthcare, and he’s a liar the only ones that are paying low premiums are people who are not making any money or are making very little money so therefore the middle class are being punished ! If my premiums are over $300 and I only make 28,000 a year I think that’s ridiculous I’m going to have to sell my car and take the bus to work now that’s the way of the American dream isn’t it I think I’ll quit my job and get unemployment.
That is very expensive. Do you not qualify for cost assistance due to having Medicare or employer coverage? You should have your premium capped lower and get cost sharing reduction subsidies at that income? Pair it with an HSA and you’d have close to $20 – $50 coverage? Generally advice for those who are frustrated, don’t let that frustration stop you from taking full advantage of the ACA.
Also, based on your income, if that is literally the cheapest plan you are likely flat out exempt from the fee. Although everything I know about the law tells me it’s not the cheapest coverage.
I agree and can relate to your difficulties. I am a veteran and have wirked my whole life. Now that I am at a stage in life where I need some healthcare I cannot afford to pay fir the 2500, and 1500 deductibles offered after paying for the insurance and the additional taxes I now pay. It would seem there is no incentive for working middle class.
I understand why people no longer believe or trust anything coming frim Washington. I know that I dont anymore either.
Regardless what he is saying is that the government is forcing a monthly bill on you when you don’t pay you get dropped and get penalized for it on your taxes. This is America home of the free but it seems like the working class are treated as slave labor and revenue streams. You are forcing anybody that has a job to pay monthly. Obamacare feels like another way for the government to get hands on my money an trying to tell me how to spend it as well.
Just reviewed the cost of a 2016 silver plan that we will not get a subsidy for.- $916.00/mo. for myself and my spouse. Cannot afford it–the choice is between a mortgage payment and health insurance. Want to draw back the curtain on “Affordable Care” and its origins? Check out Harpers Bazaar July 2015 article “Wrong Prescription” by Trudy Lieberman. Our legislators knew how bad this would be when they opted out of Affordable care for themselves. In 10 years there will not be a middle class, only the rich and the poor. Don’t get old, don’t get laid off, don’t have half of your retirement income lost during the 2008 recession.
Everyone needs to check out medi share. I thought I as going to have to pay the fine for not having medical insurance again this year but I really believe that medi share is the way to go. I have only recently come upon this program. Anyone care to reply with why this would be a worse way to go? I don’t feel paying between 900-1000 a month is affordable at all for a basic healthcare plan for a healthy family. The quotes my wife and I are getting are outrageous.
To all the folks on here trying to find a way out, this program makes sense. You put into a shared pot. YOU determine how much you put in, which in essence determines when you can start taking out of the pot. Your responsible for all your medical bills up to a point dependent upon how much you pay on a monthly basis.
I want comments on Medi Share. How is this program not better for a relatively healthy middle class family of 5. Affordable health care should not cost as much as a mortgage.
In our research, we have found that using a health sharing ministry is smart for some people. If you share the values of the ministry and don’t have access to cost assistance it could be a good choice.
That being said, health sharing ministry plans don’t count as minimum essential coverage. That means you will owe the fee unless you ensure that the ministry will qualify you for an exemption on form 8965.
8965 exemption: “Members of a health care sharing ministry – You are a member of a health care sharing ministry, which is an organization described in section 501(c)(3) whose members share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and have shared medical expenses in accordance with those beliefs continuously since at least December 31, 1999.”
https://obamacarefacts.com/healthcare-sharing-ministry-exemptions/
https://www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/Individuals-and-Families/ACA-Individual-Shared-Responsibility-Provision-Exemptions
https://mychristiancare.org/uploadedFiles/My_Christian_Care/Medi-Share/MS2.0_GL_0112_%20LR%20FINAL.pdf
I am a little baffled by the March 23, 2015 reply from ObamaCareFacts.com. Your comments do not reflect what is actually happening.
I too cannot afford the 2016 premiums. My lowest 2016 monthly premium option in NC is $16 more than my monthly rent, which is not an option at all. There is no way I can afford to pay this.
As a 61 yr old single women, it seems we are being penalized for our age. My 2016 premium for the exact same ObamaCare plan I now have in 2015 has increased by $214 PER MONTH. I have worked and payed yearly taxes since I was 16 yrs old. My only option at this point is to take the risk of being uninsured, which is frightening.
ObamaCare cares nothing for the older, lifelong workforce. Very very frustrating.
When it comes to subsidies they cap premiums based on income and not based on the price of plans (essentially how it works, all plans go up by the amount the second lowest cost silver in the Marketplace does).
If you are saying you don’t get cost assistance, or life is expensive, or health care is expensive, we agree. If you are saying your costs went up $200 a month A) that seems unlikely if you get cost assistance and B) sounds like you should consider picking another insurer. That is a crazy increase!
Heathcare USA Bronze Plan for me-$510 a month.
Income-$1,920 per month
Rent-$750
Gas-$200
Utilities-$175
Car Insurance-$100
Groceries-$200
Misc-$100
God I hope my car doesn’t break down so I can still have a roof over my head and can feed myself and my daughter. I’ll stick with my catastrophic insurance and hope nothing goes wrong.
AFFORDABLE INSURANCE MY A$@#!!!
You got a marketplace plan without cost assistance when you make $23,040? That doesn’t make sense, you should be paying more like $100 than $500 (based on how subsidies cap premium costs). Either you are overpaying by hundreds (estimate) as an individual or you have a large enough family as to where you are actually under the 100% poverty level and your state didn’t expand Medicaid. Math-wise this is confusing and is sending a red flag you aren’t taking advantage of cost assistance correctly. Still your breakdown makes a point, health insurance is only one of many expenses a person has and in some regions the cost of living and the price of plans can pose serious obstacles for people making “affordable” far less “affordable”.
I am a Democrat and voted for president Obama. I must say that although I agree with most of his politics to me OBAMACARE is like a punch in the stomach. I cannot afford the insurance and now will be forced to pay 2 penalties. If we had a little money left over to pay for a doctors visit and the medicine now we don’t even have that. I am frustrated and feel I have been lied to and being forced to pay a penalty because I CANNOT AFFORD OBAMACARE should be deemed unconstitutional…our middle class is being destroyed by whom I thought would help us…Very Disapointed.. It really is ABUSIVE!!
It would be great if you could explain your financial situation a little better so people could understand why this happened to you. How much household income? Is it debt and cost of living that has made things unaffordable? Is it the deductible?
Obamacare is a communist sceme that sucks life out of the working class good for insurance companies and lawyers all it is now is do I pay the illegal fine and save the rest I’ll do better and not have health insurance
ObamaCare is a trap and is hurting millions of people. Yes it is based on our income, but that income is not disposable income. After paying for rent, child care, utilities, gas, food, there is very little left. The health insurance at my company for my family of 4 is $600 every 2 weeks, and the insurance at my husband’s company is $600 a month but only covers 40% of the services. The marketplace was too expensive coming in at $510, we make about $73,000 a year and its just not right that our last $500 that we have after all of our bills are paid has to go to insurance that we cannot afford.
I can only pray that whoever is elected into office turns this around and people can go back to having moderately affordable insurance.
You keep encouraging people to be careful and have some kind of backup catastrophic coverage even if they are taking no plan IRS tax penalty route. For those of us whose cash flow is this tight, the ONLY downside to going 100% without coverage (cash out of pocket for needed care or emergency room for everything & not paying…) is having to declare bankruptcy in case of an emergency. Since we don’t have any money, we don’t have any assets to protect. Bankruptcy is simply the easier choice. We cannot afford all the un-covered out of pocket that *should* have counted toward deductibles, let alone the actual premiums so bankruptcy is like a smiley-face solution. Why scare people off of that? Most folks can even keep their home and a modest car in bankruptcy so I’m not seeing any incentives here to do anything else, seriously! Now if you can illustrate how to emigrate to a socialist country and work there legally then I’d be all ears.
I’m stay at home mother with 2 small children only my husband work who makes 50,000 yr. he goes to school full time me & my husband can’t even afford to eat 3 meals a day only our kids eat 3 meals. But Obama care wants me to pay 500$ Per month only for my insurance. Can anybody explain to me how we can do it? Do u want us to live in the streets so we can afford your insurance?
As a family of 4 at $50,000 Gross you are going to be qualify for pretty generous subsidies. It should be lower than $500 after subsidies as 48,500 is the 200% Federal poverty line and that means lower premiums and capped out of pocket costs. So that aside, health insurance is crazy expensive for everyone (including the country as a whole). I think most agree that the underlying problem is getting under everyone’s skin. It’s especially hard when we aren’t factoring in things like school, debt, childcare, and generally the rising cost of living. It’s not a sustainable thing, but then again, this is why health care reform needed to be passed and why more needs to be done still.
I went from working full time with insurance to no work or insurance for2015. I was told I had to sign up and I did through the exchange. I qualified for a low end no cost bronze where I had to pay a lot of my own healthcare. Ok fine. I only signed up because I had to. Well I lost that insurance because they wanted proof of my income. I asked them how I could prove I had no income. My w2 for the year wouldn’t be in until the end ofhe year and they had my ssn so they could see no income was reported. They never gave me a clear answer and stopped my premiums due to lack of documentation . I mean honestly what was that about? It would be lovely if they would make navigating this nightmare a little less complicated for the average Joe to sort out. Do you have any advice because I’m sure I need to sign up this year or the IRS will own me and my first born due to penalty fees. (This law is a tad inhumane in execution ).
People think America provides handouts. But this is only because they have never filled out the paper work to get a “handout” it’s a rather stressful job actually. I think the goal as a country shouldn’t be trimming back assistance or amping up assistance, but rather reforming assistance is a way that is simplified and incentivizes people to lift themselves up. Right now for someone on the line between Medicaid and the Marketplace with a changing income it could mean monthly paperwork and consistent coverage gaps. How does that incentivize someone to earn more?
I had to opt out of obamacare…bec my payment tripled but my pay didnt.Its a shame….me deductable went from 500 to 6500…i cant pay that. Our president has let us all down. Id rather pay the fee
I feel the exact same way u feel about the Obama health care. I had to retire early due to health issues I’m on SSDI so I make more than what the average person makes that’s on SSI. I bring home around $1800 after deduction. I just don’t understand why it will cost me $1205 a month for Obama care. How is that possible and what can I do. Please let me know if your were able to find out some information that can help me. It’s sad that people who never worked a day in there life can have full health care for free. But me I worked over 20 yrs of my life and I can’t find any plan that’s reasonable for me
I’m getting a divorce from a abusive spouse I’m fleeing. I’m getting 25.000 after I pay those who use to help me in 13 and 2014 and pay a years worth of rent I will have next to nothing. I have several illnesses one secondary progressive multiple sclerosis going to fight for SSI they will punish me for fleeing and he told me he would pay my insurance and co-pays medical costs but he lied. So I don’t know what I’m to do. I have access but will they drop me because I will have that lump sum of 25.000 I will need to live on I’m so scared I can’t spend that on medical I’m homeless because I left him I couldn’t take the abuse anymore. I want to move to another state to be far away from him. That 25.000 will be gone real fast. It won’t last a year and my meds are heavy duty I will suffer extremely if they are abruptly taken away
I am forced to keep an insurance that I wanted a hard copy before I agreed and instead they enrolled me.they take 300 every two weeks. I’m on the verge of being homeless. I quit my job and they said to bear with them they would get this straightened out…I’m still waiting
I completely think that unless Obama is paying for everyone’s healthcare and making good healthcare accessible, it is not right to force Americans to have it. Especially when they can’t afford it. This is a subject that is of great stress and upset to me. I cannot afford the healthcare or the penalties for not having it.
I only used $100. on my insurance last year for a physical. I paid insurance premiums WAY more than that. My husband and I are healthy and chose in the past to not carry insurance for probably about 15 years. We don’t go to the doctor/ hospital unless it is necessary, not for colds or coughs or flu. We have saved thousands of dollars taking the chance that we would not need insurance. Now we MUST pay insurance. The insurance companies are banking on people like us. Someday, we may get sick and need care. We could make large payments then to the hospital instead of ahead of time to the insurance company.
My boss has to take the insurance our company offers and may be able to afford it, but is paying $600.+/month. A child in the family has to have tests so they are still paying over $6,000 out of pocket yet not meeting the deductible. So…$600 plus a month, but no coverage. That’s a lot of cash for nothing.
I totally understand your situation. Do any of them care that you have a mortgage, which by the way we got no help with as hard as I tried for almost a year. I don’t have a problem paying for my responsibility, always have all my life for myself and my family, but, by no means is it “affordable”. What is going on is a bunch of BS, very unfair. Since it became “law” to carry insurance we’ll sacrifice , maybe not fill prescriptions and pray we don’t end up in the hospital. Thank you President Obama, to think I voted for you not once but twice makes me feel betrayed. Why go by gross pay, do you not care that we eat and take care of other responsibilities?
My 27 year old college graduate son has had market place insurance for 3 years and was recently laid off from his job because the company is closing. He could only afford the Catastrophic Plan for almost $200 a month when he originally applied because of his student loan debt and if you opted for the Catastrophic Plan, you receive zero tax credits when you file your income tax return. It has simply been a no win maze of confusion. If he opted for the higher rate plan he could not afford to pay off his student loan debt nor sustain himself.
He is unemployed and after talking to countless people at Marketplace not one thing has changed in the cost of his plan (which covers basically nothing and offers zero tax credits) and there is not a single viable option offered. He still must pay the premium that he cannot afford until he is employed again. He does not qualify for Medicaid based on his last years tax return. If he does nothing, he not only takes the obviously risk of being without health insurance, he is penalized for not being able to afford it.
He has several co-workers that have the optimal health care coverage through Market Place and pay $40 a month? How? They fill out the same form, answer the same questions, and are all in their mid 20’s.
This is the Affordable Health Care Act? Its a no win propaganda. Unless he stays unemployed and lives off the welfare system. Then everything is available to him and at his disposal.
This is likely because you live in a state who refused to expand Medicaid under the law due to “cost” (likely the cost of making Obama look good, but expressed as not trusting the Government to pay it’s bills in the future).
If your son made at least 100% of the poverty level he would get cost assisted coverage like your co-workers.
You make a good point though. How can we expect Americans to have money when we give them student loans at un-payable interest rates? How can we expect the country to pay back it’s interest on debt if we don’t do something? These are good questions that must be asked as a nation.
My employer doesn’t pay a dime in medical coverage. Before the Affordable Health Care Act went into law, I had basic coverage through the county I live in which covered doctor visits, lab work and prescriptions for a reasonable amount. The county terminated that plan when Obamacare began. I went from paying 300.00 a year to 200.00 a month for a Bronze plan. Because my deductible is so high, I’m out of pocket for doctor visits, prescriptions and lab work. For 2016, because my daughter will no longer be a dependent, my income is just over the 400% federal poverty level to qualify for premium assistance for my monthly insurance premiums, which means that 200.00 a month will go to a minimum of 700.00 a month, not including continuing to pay for doctor visits, prescriptions and lab work. There is no way I can afford that on an income of just under 50K a year in California! My only option at this point for 2016 is to not have health insurance, pay the penalty and pray that nothing catastrophic happens until I reach age 65 in March of 2017. The middle class deserves better than this.
I have officially lost faith in this country’s health care system in it’s entirety. I payed my insurance like a law abiding citizen last year. My pay this year has more than doubled because of the new premium increases and the plan I had is no longer available. I called you healthcare people to see what I could do and they said that this was the lowest available plan in my area. More than double what I was paying. Even with the premium tax credit! This way of thinking is utterly ridiculous. I work two jobs in order to not be completely broke and because of this I get no benefits. Will I quite my other job just to get affordable health insurance? Of course not. Plus do not mention anything to me on ways to save. I talked directly to the Marketplace people there are no options for any single person with my income. I am willing to bet that many on this website will follow suit and stop getting healthcare especially through Obamacare. Health is a right not a privilege like a car. Forcing citizens who already duly pay taxes (which partially goes to Medicaid and Medicare I might add) to pay even more is not constitutionally sound.Especially when members of our government get way better care. I don’t know exactly what helps you people sleep at night, other than the money going under your covers.
I can’t afford this health care. I am a seasonal full time employee. I work full time April 15 to nov 30. I am unemployed dec 1 April 14. I was told by JFS I can apply for welfare medical being unemployed during my unemployment. Then I have to apply for Obama care while full time working. Well it’s not that easy because this shit does not happen over night and u give me dead lines that don’t fall in my range. The government wants to tap me of all my earnings to not make a living. So tell me how am I to pay for health care when I don’t work full time.
You are so correct. Why do my husband and I have to pay for other people’s insurance. I have to work a whole week each month to pay the premium. We are going bankrupt. So much for living the middle class dream.
I dont go to the dr. I dont want health care. Instead I choose life insurance for my family!
America is a place of debt. The average American is in a large state of debt. So basing assistance off of income was totalay incorrect. Everyone already had organized finances with high debt to income ratio. Just because someone’s said income is way above the aca poverty level does not mean that the money they take home is anywhere near what it looks like on paper. On paper I have a large income but all of it was accounted for as im in debt. Now I can not afford medical insurance for my family and I am not eligible for any assistance. I also can not afford the fines. If someone in my family gets very sick it could be the end of my family!! I will have to file for bankruptcy!! Something has to be done my premiums have over tripled
The premium for our healthy family of 4 in 2016 is $23,490.00 per year. More than a cost of a new car. No matter who pays what part of this premium, its unsustainable and unaffordable. United Healthcare is pulling out at the end of the year leaving only 2 insurers – so much for “rates will go down due to competition”.Rates have more than doubled in three years, so your line about costs being high due to the uninsured is hollow. My rate after my subsidy, including the debt that rises every year due to deductibles and out of pockets is more than my mortgage. Doctor rates tripled around here the minute this thing got pushed on us. Please, can you stop with all the political spin and hear us? We are financially drowning here and as long as you continually defend this train wreck, we will never be helped. WE NEED TO FIX OR REPEAL NOT PLATITUDES or POLITICAL SPIN! Failure to do so is and will result in the total obliteration of the middle class.
Help! My husband and I have been fighting all day trying to make the budget work with this Obamacare! The problem we have is my husband has coverage through his employer that is paid for by his employer (Before you get too excited, please know that it has a HUGE deductible that must be met before it pays anything and is essentially useless for him). I work part time at a job that doesn’t offer insurance and we make just above the limit for Medicaid, in a state that opted out of medicaid expansion. The cost to add myself and our child to his work policy would cost us 20% of our income. That’s out of the question, so we head to marketplace, but can’t get any subsidies because of the “employee only” cost is less than the 9.5% affordability or whatever. We have to pay full price for crappy coverage and the premium puts us in the red every month by hundreds. Is there something I’m not getting? We even consulted an insurance agent and were told this is the “family glitch”. This can’t be right. It just doesn’t make sense!
Thank you for explaining the situation. You are right, this is a legitimately frustrating situation.
The answer is that since the arrogate cost of you and your child is greater than 9.56% you and them can likely opt out and use healthcare.gov cost assistance. Only your husband should be stuck with the employer plan.
You should call healthcare.gov directly and explain the situation.
My family and I were covered by Medicaid. My husband has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and still works his ass off at a low paying mechanics job. I have Bipolar disorder and require medications to be taken everyday. I applied for SS and was denied because I COULDN’T FIND THEIR OFFICE. We are no longer on Medicaid because the Income Support Division told me they would go after my homeless Ex husband for Child support I’m not a soulless sag so I refused to let them pursue him. If I attempted to seek help they would sue me personally. The payment per month for my husband, myself, and our child is 400+ dollars. WE CAN’T AFFORD THAT. We will starve. Any Ideas For This???
That is a lot going on here? You likely need to take a deep breath and sort this out one issue at a time with the right sources. The state you are describing sounds like they expanded Medicaid, so Medicaid should be essentially a rightthere. You should call the Medicaid office directly and ask for their help. There are typically local assisters who can help people sort out problems.
Obama care is not affordable. It alleviates corporate America’s obligation to provide health care for its human capitals family members.
We are uninsured because health care is $2000.00 a month in premiums through my work place. My work place does not offer affordable premiums for family, they by law only offer affordable for me not wife and kid because Obama says they done work there. Obama care plans hardly cover 60% of medical costs, and Obama care plans the silver cheapest costs big monthly premiums. My wife is sick needs surgery and care…we will destroy are good credit scores go into debt and file bankruptcy. Obama’s health care plans would bankrupt us too. Either way we are screwed because of corruption in Washington DC at every level of government. It’s freedom and fairness not for us hard working human beings here in america, but rather freedom gained by unfair acts of despotic government officials.for their self not us.
I voted for obamacare but now regret it. I just realized I cannot afford healthcare for my mother and mother-in-law who immigrated about 6 months ago. With their green cards they do not qualify for Medicare/Medicaid even though they are 65 and 66 years old because they have not been here 5 years. I went to marketplace and could only find plans for $1,038 per person because I make too much (around $120,000 annually in a household of 5). The health insurance would cost more than twice my mortgage and at this point all I can afford is the tax penalty. I am quite disappointed in obamacare and may vote republican for the first time ever.
If you want healthcare to be fixed you should vote for Sanders. Just saying. He really, really, for real wants single payer which would be the best for you in your tax bracket.
The premiums for my family of 5 are ~1000 per month. We make 90k a year together. The premium credit from the health insurance market place is a whopping 120$ a month. Why should I pay ~900 a month to an insurance company when I could just save the money in case of emergency.
We have decided to just pay the obama fee again for not having coverage at the end of the year. My question is what exactly will that fee be for 2015? From what I have read it is 2.5% of household yearly income? What are the fee schedules for the next few years? Is there a link you can provide that will clearly explain the fee for each year moving forward?
To the middle class out there, save your money and skip all this mess. Your family’s health is not determined by how often you go see a doctor, live a healthy lifestyle and pray for the best. How is paying ~10-12k a year to insurance then paying for 5k deductible saving you money?
I have never paid for medical insurance. My wife had cancer 4 years ago, hospital bills equated to roughly 45k to have the surgery and pay for all the appointments. Luckily we had been putting away 500 to 1k a month into a simple savings account for the 5 years we had been married. Also dont forget, you can set up affordable payment plans with the hospital and pay them directly for services. Medical insurance for the middle class isnt saving us any money. Were you to become deathly ill, insurance or not, you will still be in a terrible financial position if you dont have a lot of cash saved up.
Dont pay the mafia for “protection” when the only people to you need protection from is the mafia. We all have the capability to save money for rainy days. Do it, skip these hoops, crazy premiums, and false sense of protection insurance companies are offering.
My husband and I make $88,900 a year and we live in New York where living costs are astronomical. I looked into plans and we could get the insurance that coverers catastrophic for $350 (aka nothing really). The insurance would be best is 14% of our annual income. This doesn’t seem right. Is there any way we could get it down to 9.56%?
I believe it. New York, $88,9000 a year $350 for catastrophic coverage sounds right. There isn’t much to say beyond the basics which is take deductions, look into an HSA, get a marketplace plan, and start thinking total spending over time and medical needs.
OMG. We did not have insurance bx we were let go bc of the econony. We signed up with Obama care. We were told they would cover almost everything. I had to go to hospital last month thinking Obama care would cover us according to what we were told. Come to find out that WAS A LIE. WE were told we owned $40,000. How can we pay this. NOT. We were great USA citizrbs, never taking handouts and we were taken for a HUDGE lie in Obama care. I do not know what we will do. Husband asked for divorce so that I can declare bankruptcy to mot be able to pay bills. WOW, I am wanting to commit suicide bc we belived in Obama Care which covered almost nothing. I live my hus b and but do not know what to do. HELP ME. I HAVE LE ALWAYS BEEN A VERY LOYAL USA CUTUZENS, no handouts even when I could have accepted it. I did not want to have government support me. I have too much oride. I just do not know what to di. Marly be I should comment suidice, I do not want my family to suffet. I told my husband to just let me die. I do not need rrhe stress. The government dies not support citizrbs that are getting oldet.. LORD HELP ME, I CAN NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE.
I just enrolled and found out the cheapest plan is $200.00!! I make 38,000.00 dollars a year and support my wife and four children. I LITERALLY live paychreck to paycheck with very little to spare from each check. Where is 200$ suppose to come from? I hate to say it but its easier for me to pay the penalty!! The stress this has caused my family and myself is unfair.
Thanks for sharing. $200 is actually fairly cheap in this day and age. The more of these I read, the more I question why Americans fight so hard to keep insurance private? I feel like a lot of the people on this thread are Republicans who are upset with Obama and the cost of coverage (not all of course). The thing is it’s the left’s single payer system that (theoretically) is the best answer to all these issues. The only people who would pay more under that system are the 1%. So selfishly, if I were in this position i’d be Sanders all the way (or maybe Trump, he is a bit of a wildcard but he’s also the only other candidate that has been for single payer). Rip off the band-aid go to medicare-for-all, student loan reform, banking reform. There that is healthcare, education loans, and mortgages being dealt with.
Sure this is over simplified and idealistic, also probably like at least one person out there who would stop at nothing to prevent this, but for the average income person those policies would be a matter of selfish self interest.
That being said, there is also just a matter of perception. You perceive $2,4000 a big chunk of your $38,000… but when you look at what employers, individuals, and the government pay to keep the health insurance system going you are simply just doing your share. A healthcare tax isn’t going to be much less if less at all, and if you get sick and need care down the road it’s gonna be rivaling the price even with insurance.
So bottom line, health insurance is expensive. This is a problem. Need more solutions and less yelling at each other and scapegoats.
I’ve read your responses to many of the comments and in several you mention HSAs. Well guess what? if people can’t afford the premiums, what makes you think we can afford to sock some money away in a HSA? The problem is people keep voting in wealthy candidates who have no clue what it’s like trying to live on a modest income. It’s a constant struggle that gets worse and worse. I haven’t been able to pay my student loan in 8 months. Haven’t paid the gas bill in 2 months. Can’t afford to pay for my $175 month asthma inhaler. So how the hell am I supposed to pay a $400 month premium for lousy insurance? I’m not going to do it, and I’m not going to pay a penalty.
I get this response. It’s not lost on us that funding an HSA is an uphill battle when the root problem is not having enough money. But stepping away from emotion, the logic is that by funding an HSA your total money spent by year end will be less than if you didn’t fund. When we look at this over 10 years and assume one of those years we max out treatment, another we get eye glasses, another we do dental surgery, then this really becomes true.
I think the big takeaway is that with debt (like student loan interest) it’s actually in practice not super reasonable to be asking people to buy a product that keeps going up in price every year. Yet, what we are all paying now is likely close to what insuring America costs (if not less). The entire budget is 3.8 trillion, 320 million Americans in the U.S., if the healthcare sector was a country it would be the 5th largest at $3 trillion ish, average Medicare recipient costs $4,734, average net on Medicaid is like $4,700, net on subsidy is like $3,555, a person’s premium plus medical, dental, vision let’s say like $2,000 on average. Ok point being, what equation can you present me that covers 320,000,000 Americans, pads the profits of phrama, insurance, and healthcare, takes us out of medical debt, and allows for affordable pricing… without resulting in government borrowing that leaves our children in crippling debt?
If we gave everyone 1,000 and a pat on the butt it would cost three hundred and twenty billion. Think healthcare spending is sitting at about $1 trillion right now (really rough estimate, actual costs are all revenue weighed against all spending). So maybe everyone gets $2,000 and it’s adjusted for income, current taxes stand, and the rest is spent on the other aspects of care?
See how it’s not easy? Whether it’s me, you, or Jonathan Gruber it’s not all conspiracy. There is actually a root cost problem, an issue of morality and the role of government, and just some logistics that are all sticking points here. Food for thought.
https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-subsidy-spending/
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/
I’m 22 & I work a part time job & only take home about $400 dollars a month after the bs taxes are taken out. I’m on Tricare Young Adult Prime right now, but will not be able to afford it anymore in January. It’s going to cost me $306 a month so that’s practically my whole paycheck gone down the drain. What other options are out there? I’ve looked into ObamaCare but the deductibles & premiums are just dumb & unreasonable. Is there even anything reasonable out there for me?
So with cost assistance, if your income is say between 100% – 250% of the poverty level the Marketplace is likely your best choice. Being 22 you can also get a catastrophic plan from HealthCare.Gov. You likely won’t get the best deal simply paying the fee, but keeping in mind this means not having coverage, you can look into that too. Ignore the peanut gallery and look into an HSA as well. It can be a smart savings account / buffer for healthcare costs, especially when you start funding it early.
My mother cant work. Im responsible for her mortgage, food, etc. I am a former marine and so am covered under the VA, however the VA does not cover my mother. How should I proceed? My mother needs health insurance. Should I sigh up for obama care and add my mother, or should I just apply my mother and list my income as her own so she can get better insurance options, speaking from experience medicaid isnt worth the aggrevation, its only good enough to get pain killers at a emergency room visit.
I understand I work part time and my husband get disability. I live in PA I thought I was going to get a fine when I filed income tax. I feel through the crack I make to much for state insurance and not enough to get health coverage. Isnt that some &#*$. Just isnt fair.
I can’t afford the insurance neither. I’m a temp working at a place that employs under 20 people, so I have no health insurance. I live in California. I make 76K annual so my out of pocket is around $675 a month for the silver plan, which in the end run after a year is cheaper than the bronze plan. I am the sole support of my house hold of two; my wife and I. After I pay my:
House
College Debt
Gas
Electric
Auto, Home, and Life Insurance
That leaves me with approximately $175 dollars in my pocket each month and I haven’t even purchased food yet.
Key word Affordable Health Care is NOT affordable.
AND a tax break is useless to me, because I cannot afford to pay up front to get the tax break later.
Paying the tax penalty at the end of the year is cheaper than paying the $675.00 a month.
It’s just another way to stick it to the middle class people.
I’m confused. I am only working part time due to some educational goals this year and my annual premium is 70% of my income. That’s the lowest cost plan. Somehow the numbers are not adding up. I support healthcare for all but this situation is horrible. The poor and very wealthy can afford care….the rest of us can’t. I absolutely can NOT afford coverage. I couldn’t even afford coverage costing half as much. Something is very wrong.
I am a single parent of two. I get minimum wage. My co pay went from $20.00 to $125. Per visit. And a person is supposed to take care of themself. Oh wait. We are paying for those who beliefs are against healthcare. All ofmy co pay went up by 75 percent or more.
I am in the same boat I am so upset right now after hearing the premiums. I started crying on the phone with the marketplace lady….I said so I’m penalized because I work? I work two jobs I have to pay down my debt ( vet bills, food, kids activities) and now I’m so frustrated….I don’t know what to do….
Obamacare is missing the point and that is “why should the working middle class keep working?” The 2016 rates just added another $1,500.00 annually to our bill and increased the deductible. How many working people receive an 11% increase to their salary? It is absurd that you would explain how a working person should manipulate the system to obtain free or a reduced rate on health care. Eeking by to make a living just to pay your mortgage and health insurance is not my view of the American Dream. I fail to see, and no entity has pointed out the benefits of this great plan by the Obama administration. What I have seen is a mass of angry middle class people seeing years of hard work, saving and planning coming out of pocket to make the insurance companies record amounts of money, the administration patting them selves on the back trying to convince everyone this is a great plan, and low income and illegal migrants, again receiving handouts.
1. You work because you aren’t a degenerate. You pay taxes because you are proud of your country. You get health insurance because you care for yourself and your family. So the why is simple.
2. How can people afford this? Without subsidization it can be tricky. It is no less than frustrating the costs many are expected to pay. It’s not that covering your family doesn’t have value, it does. It’s just that with rising costs it’s a harder pill to swallow each year. Mandate or not, again referring to #1, we should be providing our families with health insurance.
3. Being smart about your taxes isn’t “manipulating the system”. It’s taking available deductions to pay less taxes, so avoid some 32% rates and pay more 25% rates while upping tax credits. Taking basic deductions that are common and IRS approved is different than hiding income in an offshore account to say the least.
ps. Just so it’s clear insinuating that “illegals” are getting a free health insurance ride is a little prejudice. Some states use state funds to offer Medicaid, but aside from that this isn’t something that is actually happening as far as we can tell. Never seen an actual study on it, only heard about it in rhetoric.
I know that Obamacare has helped many. However, there are also many of us that have fallen through the cracks and want but cannot obtain coverage. I have recently been divorced and pay child support, alimony and court-ordered legal fees from the divorce. Although I work a full time job, as a divorced father I can no longer afford any type of health insurance whatsoever. This situation is not uncommon.
When I apply for Obamacare, they do not take into consideration my court-ordered payments which effectively reduces my salary so that I have approximately $10 left over per month. Obamacare looks at my total income and says I can “afford to pay” $526/month. This is before the additional $4,000 deductible. which would average to another $333/month. This totals to needing $859/month. Before the divorce I would have been able to afford this amount.
But the amount that the HealthCare.gov site calculates I can afford is egregiously wrong.
The divorce courts do not take into consideration that it is the law to have health coverage. No allowances or deviations are made for fathers paying the costs of divorce to be able to obtain basic health care. Medicaid does not take into consideration my court-ordered payments therefore I am not eligible for Medicaid. Do not misunderstand me. I love my children and I want to pay and I do pay my Child Support.
I do not believe that people who are divorced should be in a position where they can no longer afford health care.
I do not want to apply for an “exception” or hardship exemption – I need health care and I want to be able to obtain medical care – to be able to be healthy for myself and to be around (still living) for my children.
Do you have any suggestions on how I can navigate this process? Is there a way for me to obtain health care that is “affordable”? Is there a waiver or exception process that will consider my court-ordered divorce payments when calculating what I can afford for health premiums? Are there any other options for me?
Who can I contact to address / change this situation for myself and for others?
So short advice answer is HSA, tax deductions, look into your cheapest premium options and pad with that HSA. Perhaps speak to a lawyer about getting this readjusted? No real good advice you probably didn’t already think of though.
As far as we can tell there are a few sticking points in regards to taxation and the ACA. This would be:
-“the family glitch” where the rules for the cost of dependent and spousal coverage don’t add up to what one can expect on the private market with subsidies.
– The costs a divorcée has in regards to health insurance and taxes given that divorce related payments aren’t tax deductibles.
– Generally, the fact that some regions have a high cost of living so in those regions home costs, child care, education loans, and the rest mean that MAGI household income doesn’t equate to a real whole number of actual net income.
We haven’t been able to come up with any great advice on the three outside of rules on exemptions and tax deduction tips. Not even sure who one would direct their pleas to. Probably the shortest path is addressing these three sticking points in upcoming healthcare legislation by adjusting how tax credits are issued based on the above. However, more tax credits means less revenue for the Federal Government and i’m not sure that is affordable without additional changes to cover that. Certainly repealing the cadillac tax, or if some of you get your way repealing the whole law, isn’t going to help answer the where does the money come form question.
My insurance premiums (as a contactor) are up from $391/month to $1126/month (family of 4) with a $5500 deductible. Stupid. 300% increase in 2 years? That’s not affordability. We have decided to try out a co-op. Worried……but I can’t afford this anymore. If I add in dental, it goes upto ~$1250/month!!!!
However, one wonders how much less our health care costs would be, if the hospitals, doctors and insurance companies didn’t have to cover the increased number of non-citizens who frequent our hospitals without paying a dime. The cost is shuffled to the payer…….and eventually to the one who buys health insurance. End illegal immigration, remove illegals and the children of illegals from our borders, and health care costs go down. Education expenses go down. Class sizes go down. And, as they pay minimal taxes, the tax base remains roughly the same. More resources for fewer people (the actual people who are supposed to be here).
Fix healthcare by fixing illegal immigration (and, H1B immigration as well……that’s really killing the citizen worker).
A
Dear Obamacare Facts Moderator,
We can all hear it in your defeated responses. Even YOU are exasperated, at a loss for actionable answers. Even YOU are calling for repeal or reform in indirect ways. It’s just not working for anyone, as you’ve pointed out. But let’s get specific. Based on the information you are dispensing here:
• The poorest of the poor have Medicaid. So, we can leave them out of the argument for now (understanding that Medicaid expansion probably did help these folks). Obamacare, therefore, is responsible for growing the number of mouths for the system to feed.
• The “simply poor,” coming in at 100%-400% of the poverty level, are receiving ACA subsidies. BUT, now that reality is hitting us all in the face, we can see that the subsidies aren’t adequately offsetting the ridiculously high premiums and deductibles. These folks had high hopes of getting affordable care, and, that’s not happening by a longshot. People are having to choose between paying rent or paying health insurance premiums. This is just stupid.
• The rest of us — middle class, self-employed — who have been forced onto the exchanges with no subsidies aren’t much better off than the “simply poor.” We’re ineligible for subsidies, so we’re paying full freight for our premiums on top of those ridiculous deductibles. We’re talking about working less so that we can get our incomes off the poverty bubble. We’re talking about going without health insurance for the first time in our lives. Again, this is just stupid.
Obamacare Facts Moderator, your only answer to all of the desperate people in this thread should be, “This is a terrible law. It needs to be repealed.” I know it’s your job to chime in and try to be helpful, but you simply can’t help. No one can. It’s just too broken.
You sound like a smart, compassionate person (or perhaps you’re many people). Maybe it’s time for you to focus your energies on really helping. Use your effort and voice to back ANYONE who is for repealing this stupid thing.
It would be wonderful if everyone could have affordable health care. Maybe there’s a way to achieve that. But this isn’t it.
Signed,
Everyone who is forced to pay for this nonsense
Obamacare is the biggest scam ever and you have the audacity to call it the affordable healthcare act?! I can’t believe this is legal!!! My rate through work went up a little over 125%! When the economy goes to sh*t because no one can afford to buy anything but the bare necessities, than maybe you democrats will wake up. I’m opting out for 2016 because I refuse to pay for immigrants and trash to have healthcare at the same level as a hard working American. I barely make it by with a cheap mortgage and no car payment! Plus I don’t have any debt other than then a mortgage and this is still unaffordable. And guess what, I make 40,000.00 a year in Southern California, one of the most expensive costs of living and i qualify for, you got it…ZERO help. The person or people replying to our complaints are Idiots with absolutely no idea of what its like to take of yourself with no financial help from anyone. And DON’t tell me that repealing Obamacare will not help my healthcare premiums, because I have never had to pay this much in my 30+ years of working!!!
Repealing obamacare will not help your healthcare premiums.
The damage is done, there is no way insurers will drop prices in any meaningful way and at this point repealing the ACA is going to put a burden on our borrowing as a nation. Like it or not, a more subtle and thought out solution is needed.
Just look at the sheer amount of provisions actually in the law. What point is it to throw those ALL away? Seriously, from a rational standpoint, why would you throw away the whole thing for any reason other than going through the list and doing a check line-by-line is harder than saying “repeal”. https://obamacarefacts.com/summary-of-provisions-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/
I am a single parent of one. The insurance I have at work I can’t afford. I was partine and they said I didn’t make enough. You need to make this amount. I needed surgey and by the time I got insurance and went to my surgery they found pre-cancer that was almost canacer. I still need another surgery. I can’t afford my insurance at work but will have to take it. I got a full time position and make a good amount but because of the prices of insurance. I will have no food no money for school lunches and my sons medical. I have to step down and go back on welfare and still won’t be able to get a tax credit. I suffer from anxiety and depression now because for years I have been trying to get insurance and keep that insurance. My child is starting to go to Counsling and I have no idea how to pay that as well. They make you get insurance that u can’t afford. If you don’t you get taxed and my taxes is how I afford for one year. I use it for school clothes,school registration and shool supplies. I was paying for great insurance that I could afford and now I am losing what I can afford. How is this the land of the free when they are making u have insurance and take your taxes if you don’t. How Christian is this. I took a full time position and now I might have to step down. How embarrassing I have worked there for 8 years and If I can’t afford all of this I don’t know if I can go back I am so embarrassed and will have to tell everyone what happened. I just want insurance I can afford. Does anyone know another way ????? Help please. .
So sorry to hear this. All else aside, one should be having to feel that way.
Without knowing specifics on income and plan choice it’s hard to give more than advice. Generally it sounds like the goal should be to look at plans and calculate both out-of-pocket and premium costs together (knowing you’ll need the surgery) and estimate what will be the best value over the year. You can also look into affordability exemption options and look into the perks of an HSA (but this may not be an option with the group plan).
You can always call HealthCare.Gov directly, explain your situation, and get advice from a navigator. They may be able to help you find some options you didn’t know about.
https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
YOU ARE CORRECT AND I AM GOING THROUGH SAME THING. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER OF 3 AND MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY ACCORDING TO SOCIAL SERVICES. WHILE MY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS ARE GETTING FREE RENT, ELECTRIC, FOOD AND MEDICAL AS THEY STAY HOME AND DO NOTHING.
WHAT IS THE POINT? WHY DO WE STAY IN THE RAT RACE TO STRUGGLE? I AM WORKING TO BE MY OWN BOSS AND START MY OWN COMPANY BUT IT IS HARD AND TAKES TIME. I AM ALSO IN SCHOOL AND DOING MY BEST TO PROVIDE FOR MY FAMILY ALONE. I CANNOT FIND ANY HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN I CAN AFFORD WITH MY KIDS AND MY JOB IS MORE EXPENSIVE. THIS OBAMACARE IS A JOKE AND IT ONLY HELPS LAZY PEOPLE AND ONES THAT REFUSE TO BETTER THEMSELVES. IF YOU WORK HARD AND ARE HONEST YOU GET NOTHING BUT MORE FEES, PENALTIES AND HEART ACHE.
I DON’T GET CHILD SUPPORT AND HAVING A COURT ORDER FOR ANYTHING SUCKS- IT DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING ! I DON’T KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO DO AND FRUSTRATED MORE THAN EVER. I MISS BILL CLINTON TO BE HONEST BUT EITHER WAY THE GOVT IS THE GOVT AND ONLY CRIMINALS AND LAZY WELFARE BUMS AND THE RICH ARE GOOD IN AMERICA. IF YOU ARE MIDDLE CLASS – YOU STRUGGLE!
I pay for health insurance i dont even use, and its getting to the point where i am going to have to choose to live and eat or have insurance! I am seriously considering dropping it all. And sorry but everytime i try to use the health care web site it never works! I should not have to apply for any “exemption”, i am a healthy 30 yr old male that has not been sick in 10 years, why am i paying 5000 dollars a year(10% of my income) for a 5000 dollar dec plan that i dont use? Someone is making money off of all of use and it is not the middle class! This bill is garbage, so is obummer and the IRS! before i eve see my check they get 30% of it now they want more? WHY DO I EVEN WORK?
You work because you are a upstanding remember of society…
Why does so much of one’s paycheck go to taxes and health insurance, partially because of social responsibility. Why are we paying for a bunch of pork in a 2,000 page budget bill? Now that question doesn’t have begrudgingly necessary answer. That is the real bummer here I say.
Seriously though, if your premium is over 9.5% of your income you should look into getting exempted from employer coverage so you can get cost assistance on the Marketplace. https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
Obamacare Facts Moderator: You’re starting to show a lot of wear and tear in this forum. You’re telling the previous poster, William, to get off his employer-sponsored coverage — where someone is kicking-in part of his premiums? That’s your solution? Would it make good logical sense to turn down free money in any other realm than in the twisted world of Obamacare?! William said he’s a healthy, productive 30 year-old. The only reason he’s having to choose between having insurance and having food on the table is that Obamacare is BROKEN and not helping ANYONE. The only people who are high-fiving each other are the ones now on Medicaid — the people we’re all working to support. More info here: http://bit.ly/1TTWWj0
I agree…. I am a single Mother with 2 part time jobs and going to school at night… high rent and car insurance living in NJ. do I get health Insurance or food????
i fully agree…there is no reward in working i dont have health insurance either ..dont plan on it either..i work a min wage job and if forced i will take less hours to survive without it.even if it means quiting and getting on foodstamps…they force us to pay a tax on our health knowing they are poisoning us with GMO’s, additives in foods that cause cancer like bvo and msgs, killer chemicals in weed and bug killers, chemtrails in our air with aluminum and others, vaccines with poisons that kill kids, why should we pay a tax on our health when we are being poisoned …the least they could do is get rid of the gmo foods like all the other countries are doing..why do they not tell us the cure for cancer ..everyone knows now….they cant hide behind their chemos anylonger
My daughter had to take off due to illness and had no insurance. We applied for her coverage and found it would cost her $295 per month. How can anyone afford insurance if they are not working was my question and was told they sent her application over to social security for review and she was turned down for social security as she made to much at the job she left due to sickness. Obama care is an obamanation and should be removed. He was also able to turn IRS into a collection agency for health care (is insurance companies) The only thing Obama has been able to do is run up regular coverage out of pocket from $2500 to $4000. Also he did nothing for the cost of medication but increase the generics being shoved at us. I hope Donald Trump wins so he can fix this mess.
The answer is, if you aren’t working Medicaid is provided for free or low cost (including CHIP for kids). In some states Medicaid was no expanded as called for under law due to a 2012 supreme court case which let states opt-out. To pad the full cost of insurance and out-of-pocket costs subsidies are offered through the Marketplace for those with higher incomes.
Can’t agree more about the cost of meds and deductibles and I know i’m not alone in that.
So earlier this Year I get a promotion…Yay me……then time came around for me to renew my health care through California Covered, lo and behold I know make to much to receive the care I had before, which initially I though OK no problem, I’ll pay I make more now sure thing, then I find out I only qualify for a 64.00 off a premium type thing……But the monthly premium is 268.00(and change but I’ll keep it off), plus a co-pay every time I go which was 35.00, then for prescriptions which I have 2 re-occuring one its 40.00 copay then a 6000.00 and 2000 deductible. I take home between 1600-2000 a month give or take overtime, holiday pay and what not, My rent is 950.00 then I have renter’s/car insurance 300, I also thought it was a good idea to go to college and get a degree (silly me) so I can move up in my profession, which helped (hence the promotion) luckily I am able to receive forbearence on that but there is still the interest which I am paying, so already I am at 1518.00 my income is 1600-2000 remember. Lets add everyday bills and expenses, how am I supposed to afford this health care, and if I don’t have health care I will receive a tax penalty? Then to make it worst planned parent hood is almost losing funding which could have been somewhere as a female I could have gone. Why is the COST of LIVING never calculated into these plans/insurances. That I feel is the real problem we should push for cost of living to be included into anything you apply for so you can really get fairness out of the government and these companies, because I am not even upper middle class or close to 30000-40000 a year and this is killing me. Why do I need to have a kid to get assistance from my government I did everything i was supposed to, get an education get a job work hard and provide for myself, why cant I be rewarded with affordable care and help. I’m not having a child just for a break.
I am in the same boat. Me and my wife were joking about getting a divorce to save money. Pathetic. Amazing how ignorant these people are who voted for this evil no good so called president. I am embarrassed to call him president of the United States.
One question. Why do you ObamaCareFacts moderators support a “Damaged” plan?
Good question. If we look at the past 100 years of our countries history we can see how important passing healthcare reform was. The 400 plus provisions each offer something different. Some are fixing long-standing problems with healthcare, some are imperfect. Out-of-pocket costs, Medicare not being able to negotiate drug prices, the litigation and claims, the general complexity, there are some big problems still… but those other 300 something provisions are important.
For some strange reason, (cough, cough, politics) America either wants to see the PPACA destroyed completely or upheld to a T. I’m trying to remind everyone that what we need is to come together a fix the plan, not to throw the tens of millions of our sick and poor out with the bathwater.
I TOTALLY AGREE. I AM A FULL TIME WORKER THAT TAKES CARE OF MY FATHER AT HOME .I GET THE FULL AMOUNT EACH MONTH TO MAKE SURE MY DAD IS WELL TAKEN CARE OF. WHILE LEAVING MY OTHER FULL TIME JOB WITH BENEFITS, I AM NOW BEING ASKED BY THE OBAMACARE ACT TO PAY ANYWHERE BETWEEN $252.00-$282.00 A MONTH TO HAVE HEALTH COVERAGE IN WHICH I CANNOT AFFORD. IF I WERE TO SHOW THEM MY MONTHLY EXPENSES WITHOUT ANY FUN TIME, YOU WOULD THEN REALIZE THAT I AM A BROKE MAN EACH MONTH. I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA,PAY HIGH AUTO INSURANCE THAT IS ALSO MANDATORY.MY RENT IS ALMOST $1000.00 FOR A TWO BEDROOM,HIGH UTILITIES OF COURSE AND I GET NO ASSISTANCE FOR ALL THE SPECIAL FOODS MY FATHER REQUIRES WHICH THE BETTER YOU EAT THE MORE IT COST. I ALSO HAVE PETS THAT COST EACH YEAR, OBAMA WOULD PROBABLY SAY THATS NOT THE STATES BUSINESS, BUT I SAY WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE OUR BABIES MEAN THE WORLD TO US IF WE DON’T TAKE CARE OF THEM WHO WILL.THE WHITE HOUSE SURELY HAS HAD ITS PETS LIVE IN LUXURY… I STAND AGAINST WHAT THIS COUNTRY IS DOING TO US WORKING FOLKS,I DON’T QUALIFY FOR MEDI-CAL BENEFITS SO WHAT NOW ,ARE THEY GOING TO LOCK ME UP BECAUSE I REFUSE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING WE ALL SHOULD BE RECEIVING FOR FREE LIKE THEM WHITE HOUSE FOLKS WHO MAKE TRIPLE THE MONEY AND NEVER SEE A DOCTORS BILL. ITS NOT FAIR. LOOK AT CANADA ,SO AWESOME, SO GREAT… ALL HAVE HEALTH COVERAGE???HMM MAKES YOU WONDER.
I am 31 years old, I am a single mom with a 10 year-old son. We received Medicaid through the state of Idaho until I found a job making $7.75/hr and working 25 hours a week, which my check is $193.75 a week. Idaho Medicaid dropped my Medicaid insurance because I was making too much money to qualify. Thankfully my son still receives the insurance. What is so ridiculous, is that the least expensive insurance under Obama care is $220 a month with a $6600 deductible before the insurance even pays anything. So, I will have to pay $9,240 before the insurance kicks in. So let me make this perfectly clear, my total yearly income is $10,075. Could President Obama tell me how to pay more for health insurance than I make a year, and how I will buy food, rent for a place to live, and all the other living expenses we require?
This is the part where I become the bad guy by pointing out that Idaho rejected Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Obama – Care wanted to give you and your family free or low cost insurance but Idaho rejected it. You don’t make enough money to get tax credits on the health insurance exchange, so you are getting quoted the FULL price that someone making 4X what you make should be paying.
Ok, now for the advice: Your income is below the tax filing threshold so you shouldn’t have to pay taxes, file taxes, or pay the fee for not having health insurance. (you’ll need to verify this, you may want to elect to file, and can take other income related exemptions from coverage) https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-tax-filing-requirement-thresholds/
https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-exemptions-list/
Obama sucks, he is a worthless president!
He should be stripped of his stripes, fired, with no pension ever!
I can’t believe so many suckers voted for him.
Nuf said.
I had to retire at 62 due to osteoarthritis in both knees which causes me chronic pain and now walk with a cane. I had gold plan thru Humana with a tax credit that brought my premiums to 424.00 per month. For 2016 I dont qualify for a tax credit because Gov Rick Scott refused medicaid expansion. My premium for silver is now 644.00 which I can’t afford so I’m going to have to go without. I applied for Medicaid but was also denied even though I’m disabled I assume because Gov Rick Scott has that money destined for billion dollar tax credits for the wealthy and big business.
I believe if Floridians health and well being are in danger than criminal charges should be brought against these instigators.
With Obamacare I did well in 2015, with low monthly premiums. However, my premium is going up over 300% in 2016!! I understand insurance companies are blaming it on not projecting how many people would not take the insurance and wind up in the ER instead thus driving up everyone’s premiums. I am now forced to decide between paying higher premiums or dropping my insurance. I cannot afford a 300% increase in premiums and other plans have ridiculous deductibles. We need a single payer system in the US and hopefully our next President will make this happen. You shouldn’t have to be rich to be able to afford healthcare in the US.
Yeah 300% increase is crazy. Make sure you are looking at alternative plans. I don’t want to say that insurers are overpricing some plans to push people out of them… but you know, always good to look at your options.
Obamacare was designed to wipe out the Middle Class and make a nation of impoverished people. In order to survive retirement and have an income equal to roughly 60% of your final take home pay, Americans need to put away at least 20% of their income toward retirement for at least twenty five working years. Now that money of course is taxed at standard income rates which is the reason so much has to be saved. Social Security is a lose/lose situation because the cost of living adjustment is at a simple interest instead of compound interest which real inflation runs at- so your SS payments are worth less over time than when you started. Factor in Obamacare premiums and that is all the residual remaining household income by design, no more saving for your kids college, no more retirement savings, nothing. Here’s what’s going to happen, we have 95 million working age adults unemployed, factor in the number of people working part time, and then the number of people who now can no longer afford retirement and in ten years- we will be facing massive economic collapse unlike we’ve seen since the Great Depression. If you vote Democrat, this is your fault.
It’s not that easy of a solution. If you look at the actual tax rates and then our nation’s debt I don’t think you’ll see a single party as the problem or solution. Or maybe you will. But you should look at what has actually happened throughout history party-wise when it comes to taxes and debt. When paired with policies I don’t think there is a clear winner. But I do think when we practice ultra party politics we tend to lose sight of the bigger picture and forget to work together.
http://factmyth.com/factoids/america-has-always-had-an-income-tax/
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/debt_deficit_history
I totally agree, I pay almost $60 a pay period and it literally doesn’t cover anything. None of what I pay for insurence gos towards my so called deductible and who has $2000 dollars to pay for doctors that make just as much even if they can’t or should I say don’t want to figure it out and still get paid in full while people who are sick get false or no help at all. I think beyond political issues doctors and insurence companys need to be held acountable, if they are not fixing an issue in a certain amout of time and there is no progress they shouldent get paid. This would make ins. Companys accountable for which doctors to cover and doctors accountable for the care they provide. I dont go to best buy and buy a stereo in hopes that it works and then find out it dont but still of had to pay the store amd a third party as well as a copay and still not have anything. Thia is people’s lives not a stereo why is there nobody being held accountable is what I would like to know?
Obamacare Facts Moderator: Again, you miss the point. It’s becoming kind of a “thing” with you. I believe the previous poster, Mark, was making a point about people using what would’ve been retirement savings to pay for enforced health insurance. Not a good scenario for our future.
Here’s another situation for you to miss the point on: I lost my health plan DIRECTLY to the ACA. This isn’t up for debate. I own a 2-person business that, pre-ACA, qualified for small group business coverage. As a requirement of the ACA, EVERYONE in my shoes got dumped into the individual insurance market. The architects of ACA needed us — often younger, working people who don’t qualify for subsidies — on the exchanges to help balance the risk pools that skew so old and poor. Yes, my small group policy was always pricey before the ACA, but my plan choices post-ACA are even more so. And my doctors and hospitals don’t participate in these lesser plans. Back-up for my argument is all here: http://bit.ly/1Uf12lZ.
When my small business insurance broker warned me that as a result of Obamacare, I was being “recharacterized” as an “individual” and no longer an “employee” of my company eligible for small group insurance, she said that if I’ve been putting off any surgeries, better get them QUICK before my small group policy expires. Everyone with any experience in the health care industry knows that the individual health insurance market is a wasteland for the working poor and middle class.
I think he is correct! What a @%king Joke!!! Try calling BULL shit and Blue Shield. What a JOKE! After you wait over a hour to speak to someone, then they transfer you to a spot that cannot help you. Fu@^ off government and their rich buddies that they pander to: the insurance companies!!!
I am a registered nurse and spent over twenty years taking care of ill patients. I am currently working as an adjunct nursing professor in Florida. In addition, I also work as a self-employed faculty advisor in a nursing program, and I can not afford decent healthcare on the marketplace. When the marketplace first opened the plans were great. In Florida you have the right to look at your policy and within thirty days you may cancel. I tried after two days in 2015 to cancel, and a major insurance carrier is still billing me for two days for over $200. We have a fractured healthcare system. I cannot afford health insurance for 2016. The marketplace does not communicate with the insurance providers they offer. I am a registered democrat, but I will vote republican in the next election because Obamacare needs to go away. Please ask many questions and read all details before signing up on the marketplace.
I am a Democrat but I think Obamacare is a big mistake, I make around 90k and support my wife and four kids. My job gives me medical insurance at $500 a month and 5k deductible which is ridiculous. With my mortgage and all my expenses I can’t make it. I don’t qualify for Obamacare, my job’s insurance is too expensive, I can’t afford to get insurance on my own and if I have no insurance I will get fined by IRS. So, what are my options ? I pay with my taxes for low income families but I can’t get insurance for me and my family, does that makes sense?
Amen. This is because of the lack of rules for the cost of employer coverage. We call it “the family glitch”. On the marketplace you would be getting really affordable coverage at that income. It’s really one of the bigger sticking points in the law.
I agree 100%. The government only wants America to THINK they helped in the “Healthcare” issues in this country. It only helps the rich, or better yet, doesn’t affect them due to they CAN afford it…The low income pays miniature amount or FREE…and middle class hard working Americans get screwed. Deductible alone makes it impossible to pay, and won’t make a dent before “so called” insurance pays 80%, if lucky. The monthly insurance cost for single or family, at any minimum payment crappy insurance, and the Deductible will cost MORE than the yearly total payments , and then you still have to pay Out Of Pocket for medical, dental, RXS, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the FINE of $600 each person come tax time, is STILL less expensive than having insurance.
Many middle class single parents out there can’t afford insurance premiums and survive, and make too much to qualify 1 or 2 kids in medicaid. As for CHIP? $249 per month for having 1 child if you fall in the middle class income. Those with 3 or more kids may only pay $49 or so, but unfortunately, those with ONE child get screwed.
Middle class workers, many do get a refund come tax day. NOT because of a child, for that just falls in a credit of $1000 from taxable income, not cash for each child as the misinformed assume, but because they worked. But thanks to Obamacare, we will get fine $600 Per person, meaning $1200 for two, which gives them the right to TAKE our refund money and put it back in the system to help pay for those that live off the government. It’s a win win for them, at the sweat and cost of the middle bracket.
Nothing is free. Obama care is a sham.
Maybe not for those that are disabled or elderly, but it would be nice to remove much of the government assistance AWAY from those that are healthy and CAN work and perhaps those feeding off the system can see how the rest of us survive. It would mean less expense payed out and this Obama care can go elsewhere…..thanks my opinion.
The Affordable Care Act is a joke for middle class workers. My healthcare single coverage through my employer costs me $85/wk and the plan sucks. Before Obama I was paying $10/wk for plans with no deductible.
The ACA only benefits low income and the very wealthy. Obama and liberals have screwed the middle class.
Thank God I don’t have to purchase a family plan.
No way to sugar-coat that, that is a big rate hike and frankly very expensive considering your employer is likely matching your costs. When I see this I always question “why is the employer offering such an expensive plan”? That said, you are right. There is a lack of consideration for working families in the ACA, although I think you are incorrectly blaming “liberals” and letting the rest of congress and the healthcare industry and employers off the hook. Middle-class working person getting a raw deal, yes. The blame lying with Obama… not as much. In fact, if we cut out a lot of the fighting we would likely have already had a fix on the table. In other words, we should equally blame the whole repeal none-sense. Trust me, if the GOP was fighting for the working middle-class they would have suggested a fix for the family glitch at least one of the 50 something times they sent a repeal bill to the floor.
You are so very right. The GOP needs to spend their time looking for ways to improve the Affordable Health Care Act instead of looking for ways to demolish it. Get tough with the insurance companies that are just hiking rates because they cannot deny insured on past medical diagnoses, and they have to pay for prophylactic health care. It’s the insurance companies that are trying to make this tough on consumers. Most middle class shouldn’t need Obama care they are working and have insurance through their employers and those insurance companies have made it unaffordable for a family plan only because of what they were made to pay for through Obama Care they want spouses to have their own insurance. Use to be you could get on whichever spouse’s was best now the companies have made that impossible, most even telling you if your spouse can get it at their job they are not eligible for yours . So more work needs to be done on making insurance companies make their rates more affordable again instead of proving a point. Republicans have spent more of my tax money trying to fight our President then to try to make things easier for working class and pass laws to have insurance companies stop price hikes. However I do remember the days after President Obama was elected they did voice they would stop at nothing to stop him until he was out of office. They definitely kept that promise and spent a lot doing it. Great system.
I understand the reason behind obamacare, by the way I am a democrat and I have insurance through my work, but my son just can’t afford the marketplace insurance he has 3 girls and divorced and a big chunk of his pay goes to child support, there s no money left , he makes just over the amount to qualify for Medicaid, if you want everyone to have insurance then lower the limit on how much you have to make, or better yet offer it free, insurance is a necessary thing but when it takes food from the table it isn’t such a good thing,
Amen. Child support does not play well with tax assistance programs. Nothing much to say about that one, child support goes to spouse, payer has to cover family for health insurance, payer gets assistance based on income before child support is deducted. It makes zero sense to me, but it is the way it is.
I agree whole heartedly with you that for us that do pay for insurance should never have to pay anything out of pocket. The non-working do not have to pay. The low income do not have to pay. But somehow the working class that they “say” can afford insurance has to pay for insurance and then turn around and pay for what the insurance did not cover. How fairis that ? Not at all fair. I do not blame it on President underline President, not just Obama. He is our president, please have respect. I blame the insurance companies. They are the ones that made it harder for us. They raised the rates and made it very difficult to get family coverage because of what our President made them do. Which was right thing to do. Hopefully someone will straighten the insurance companies soon and fix this. I mean all he asked them to do is pay for prophylactic care which is cheaper on them in long run. I agree I shouldn’t have to pay the higher rates the insurance companies put on us to make a point . Plus pay for what they won’t cover just because like I said they want to prove a point. S I my vote will go for anyone who wants to fix the insurance companies.I would gladly rather pay extra taxes for free health care then to pay for insurance and uncovered expenses such as Co pays, deductibles. The insurance companies have made this almost impossible for middle class. And still the rich could care less.
I agree wholeheartedly . If a person simply cannot afford even subsidized coverage -which would leave you with astronomical deductibles, then why aren’t we allowed to self-insure?
WOW, seems there are a lot of people in the same boat as me. I was just searching to see if there was a way for me to get obamacare for my wife since she has no job. I could then put the money for the premium in our HSA to pay for my large deductible. This insurance debacle has hit me harder than any middle class tax hike over the years.
obamacare = Another way to suck the life out of the hard working middle class people.
We are a self-employed couple. We earn roughly $75K/yr, which is too much to qualify for subsidies, but we would not want them anyway. We don’t want hand-outs. Humana has discontinued the plan we had. Now we must find other coverage. Our ‘best’ option, a bronze plan $6,500 per person deductible, is going to cost us $1K per month. $1K per month just to HAVE insurance, not to actually USE it. WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY? It is absolutely NO WONDER that someone like Trump is dominating this race. You want Hillary? Expect more of the same. Bernie? Expect it to get even worse. This situation is wiping people out. Food is costing more, rents are higher, interest rates are going up. I am completely depressed and exasperated. Can’t sleep at night. It is sickening. It must be ten times worse for people with children. When will this living hell end?
I totally agree with you. My health insurance tripled because of obamacare and I do not qualify for any of the programs to help with the cost. So I can no longer afford health insurance. And to find out that they will be taking part of my tax refund because I can’t afford obamacare is so unfair. I can’t believe I will be penalized because I cannot afford to buy any health insurance, which was much more affordable before the “affordable health insurance” act. For me, it is unaffordable now.
Well, I have decided to drop my insurance coverage for my wife and I. I figure as we both are in good health and would not need $9000 in health care per year. We will just pay the penalty come tax time and in the mean time put the premium costs in a separate account for yearly physicals and what not. If our health trend stays the same, we should have around $20,000 in our health fund in five years.
Bye Bye Obama Care
I am in the same position. We invested a lot in our business and I left my full time job to work there. 1-2 mistakes in the numbers later and we cannot afford the coverage either. With only 3 days and a few hours to go I afraid of the consequences. I think the thought was in the right place but the numbers are going to kill those of us caught in the middle. What were you able to do?
Suddenly something I did to save money to avoid health insurance in 2008/9 is now a fee in 2015. Nope. Stand your ground America. Pay your taxes don’t pay for degeneratecare.
Obama is the reason why I will vote against the Red Coats(I never vote because it never makes difference – it still won’t, but at least I have a cause to fight for now).
so lets do the math here i make 622 a week salary thats $2488 a month\
-900 for rent
-350 for car payments
-280 for car insurance
-200 for phone bill
-400 for feeding myself and my kid
-80 for gas for the week
Without adding some expense that will randomly come up from time to time that leaves $278 dollars left over for this “affordable healthcare” which is $298 a month with a $3500 deductible not to mention i have to pay in every year during tax time. i dont i can ever afford this. i would rather be incarcerated than pay a dime to the irs for being fined for not having this “affordable healthcare” at least criminals get free healthcare
To re-clarify you WONT go to jail for not getting coverage, you’ll just owe the IRS money from your tax refund.
But everyone, and please don’t let this stop you from posting, I 100% get that life is expensive and health care costs are expensive. Also interest is expensive (be lucky you don’t have student loan payments). This is a microcosm of what we are struggling with as a country. This is why we need to act rather than fight.
Seriously, before posting look at where our money is going https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/
Then take a minute to look at projected interest and what the CBO recommends. The ACA has pros and cons, what is “unaffordable” is doing nothing and remaining vehemently pitted against each other without politics.
Please explain were in my budget I can afford a $138 monthly insurance premium. I bring home roughly $1600 a month. $670 goes to the mortgage, $328 goes to electric, $75 goes to tuition for one of my college payments, $50 towards my students loans, $178 towards car insurance, $62 for internet access to be able to complete my classes for college. Add that together that is $1368. This is before gas to get to work, food, and the basic necessities. Mind you I work full-time and I am a full time student. Please explain were this money is going to come from?
There is nothing to explain, it’s just another example of how “affordable” is only “affordable” based on GROSS or Adjusted Gross (or MAGI) and not necessarily after the true cost of living is factored in. Inflation raises prices, wages don’t rise, and everyone’s money goes to mortgage, student loans, energy, cars, caring for their family, and now healthcare. That isn’t easy.
I don’t know that I consider your car more important than your health, and it seems fair they have similar price tags, but if the money isn’t there… the money isn’t there, right?
That said, $138 a month is a pretty darn good price. If we were sitting down and talking reason I really would suggest something like an HSA and help you take another look at plans (but this is more the job of a local insurance agent).
Hope things work out the best they can.
I am single mom and struggling to put daughter through college. no Medicaid available for her thanks to Obama. she works so hard to make something of herself and I pay for everything to keep her in college and don’t even make it check to check and now have to pay an ins premium I have NO money for or be penalized. will someone please explain to me how people who are low income to poverty level are suppose to make it with someone rich like Obama pulling the strings. bet he has no worries about money or being able to afford healthcare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so tired of the daily struggles and wondering when it is all going to cave in on me!!!
I know that nobody, who can do anything for those of us who are desperate, reads this. This whole Obamacare deal has so many people feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. maybe this is all just a way to control the population. people feel hopeless to the point where there is no point. I can honestly say some days I wonder why do I go to work and pay all the taxes I pay in and bust my hump to have the government literally take everything I work for away. how does a mother choose healthcare over food and other necessities for her and her children. yes I am one of the few divorced mothers who works full time job and raises her children all on her own with no help. so why is it I am constantly being knocked down and never have a worry free day and told to pay the government more and more. penalties and fines because im poverty level! wow! really! shame on me for trying to get my daughter through college and for trying to give her a better life! how can one person ruin so many lives and not care in the least?
The problem is that there is no watchdog on the insurance companies. They are allowed to make you pay for coverage that you will never be able to use. Out coverage has a $5000 deductible before it will cover anything at all, generic prescriptions are $20 (they don’t even cost that much when paying cash!!!) and the office visit co-pay is $100 (after the deducible is met, of course). We make less that 30000 a year and pay rent, utilities, car payments, auto insurance, etc. We would be much better off just to be paying our medical costs out of pocket and forgo insurance all together. Unfortunately, we no longer have that right. The right to make that decision was stripped from us by this ludicrous law. The only way things are going to change is if the people who passed that law are forced, like we are, to use the exact same coverage while making what the average American makes.
I to have this same dilemma, why should I be fined on my taxes, because I don’t make enough money to pay a health insurance premium every month and still survive. If I have to choose between food, utilities, gas to get to work, and health insurance, the choice is pretty clear. I have to eat, I need electricity and water, I have to get to work, but can I live a civil life without having health insurance, of course. I hope I don’t have the misfortune to need hospitalization, but until that situation occurs, it won’t help me live. I feel this is almost a direct attack on the middle class, I need those tax dollars that I earn, and overpay each year, to boost my own agenda. Now, because Pres. Obama, thinks that will be the way to increase the number of individuals with healthcare, by taking my hard-earned tax dollars away from me, and I can’t do anything about it. What kind of country is it we live in now?
I am 26 and because of my age I have been kicked off of my parents health insurance plan, I do work but like many full-time employment in PA is hard to find so I have to settle for temp. job. Looking up plans online and seeing the prices makes me laugh. Like how the hell can you based what you charge a individual solely on income alone. I live alone, I have bills to pay, a car insurance not to mention student loans. I voted for Obama and though this would be a good thing, but like others I see that this is just to help the rich and insurance companies and just like always screw the working. People wonder why I say that America is and has never been the greatest country in the world. And the health insurance alone proves it.
Here are the facts;
I am a single mom of a 17 year old with a chronic health condition
I am middle class
I make enough to pay my bills but not to do anything else
I work for a non-profit as a director of education
My healthcare costs in 2016 to allow my daughter and I to be covered will be in the vicinity of 500 (+) per month to pay for preventative care (mammograms) annual visits and standard vaccinations (many of which are unnecessary-(HPV?- Puleez)
The deductible for the health insurance is $7000 after which they will pay 70%
so for the minor fee of 500*12 (mandatory health ins.premium) total $6000 per annum + 7000 deductible $13000 per year – My daughter and I can get ill or be an accident and go to the hospital and get 70% of the costs paid through insurance (excluding any care the insurer will not approve – that is)
My small employer does not pay for health insurance so all costs are mine.
The fact that the health insurance companies wrote this law- is evident.
US Healthcare outcomes are worse than most industrialized nations and yet we have handed the reigns to bean counters and money changers that care little for the health of individuals. Clearly there needs to be changes in US healthcare….this, however is a shameful outcome- the accounting firms and lawyers have done all they can to ensure we get very little and pay very much… Congratulations on the deal with the devil you made. So sad it has done nothing to improve the situation of this family. AND I must purchase this sad and horrible product per your legislation
Shameful-truly
This person is SPOT ON RIGHT! I know many people in the same situation!
Unfortunately I have to result to Obama care after relocating and yes I feel like it is rape with no Vaseline at all!!!! U have to be dirt poor to get any help. After relocating there is no extra money. I can’t wait to get off it. I’m pretty healthy and wish I didn’t have to sign up but prayerfully will be off soon.
It really seems like you think this heath care system is a good thing, or a step in the right direction. I’m sure it helps some people out there, but how many does it hurt? what are the financial casualties?
I’m sure it prevents some issues. Definatly. How many does it cause?
If you think it has room to grow, and I dont know if you do, how many people do you think will have their financial lives ruined, their unhappiness lead to drugs and violence, failed marriges, over eating, rage induced car crashes, etc before it gets somewhere Ideal?
I just dont see why we, as in any one of us, should put our financial trust into the poket of another. Especially in a Government that is known to be hevily influenced by money and the power that comes with it. It’s an admitted fact that our government has a massive amount of corruption because money is allowed to buy policy and thus the rules and laws we the people become imprisoned by? Why should i trust my government? They arent open with me. They arent kind to me.
I appreciate what the forefathers did for me and the men and women who die for me to this day to protect my freedom. My freedom to speach, which keeps me from being arrested by talking poorly about the government. I love all my freedoms. I however, because of policies like this one have limited freedom of choice. My health is now a gamble. I am forced to gamble on my health. To pay or not to pay. I dont know what my or your future holds, but I’m sure you can see why its difficult for me to see any good here.
So please, whats the good side here?
The good side is all the provisions that reign in inflation in healthcare and that allow sick people to get coverage for the first time. The good part are tax credits and Medicaid expansion that allow people to afford coverage.
The bad parts are the ones that put a burden on the middle class and fails to regulate the healthcare industry to the extent it needs to be regulated.
I think we have two giant dangers in America. One is big government that overburdens the middle class, the other is small government that under-regulates the top fraction of the top 1% and their subordinates. I think both are happening to us while we fight. And I think standing behind and demanding more from legislation like the ACA sends the right message.
I guess ultimately I try to think of the people it is helping and try to come up with solutions to help the people it’s hurting.
My sister in law is in the same boat. She finally got a job that doesn’t pay her 10.00 and hour under the table. Instead she gets 13.00 and hour on the up and up and now she and her 3 kids don’t qualify for Medicaid. And Obama Care is half her paycheck. This isn’t right….
Lol. Subsidies? This guy keeps saying get the handout from the government but seeing how the government doesn’t have any money unless they take it from you, that money is going to come from somewhere. You think it’s bad now? Wait 15 years. The expense the government to cover everyone is going to cause them to do nothing but turn around and raise taxes again. So good at spending other people’s money!!!
Totally agree. How can we be forced to get coverage? Why did Obama insist on getting the government involved in personal lives???? I’ve worked all my life and currently am unemployed, no insurance left and I can’t afford health insurance. Every site I’ve gone to estimates my monthly cost for coverage to be over $300. I’m so frustrated. I’ll now have to pay more money when I file my taxes.
Why are good, hard working Americans forced to pay for other NON WORKING people. Seems if you haven’t worked, have lots of children, are an illegal… well you get EVERYTHING FOR FREE.
NICE value system Obama.
pay bills or buy insurance? pay for student loans or pay for insurance?? these are the choices i am given so I am not buying insurance. Its not that i dont want to be covered i just cant afford it and donot qualify for Medicaid.
even if i were to buy insurance all of the plans have a deductible of 5000 !!
i wouldn’t even be able to use the insurance because i would have to pay out of pocket. I get a tax return every year but this year it will go to a penalty
Having gone through a recent change in employment, I am experiencing first hand the horrors of the “affordable healthcare act” (aka, “Obamacare”). After having contacted several insurance brokers as well as visiting the the Covered California Marketplace to see just how affordable the “affordable healthcare” act is, here are the facts: the lowest cost “Bronze” plan available for my family comes with a $1062 monthly premium, has a $6000 per individual ($12,000 per family) deductible, separate $500 per individual ($1000 per family) pharmacy deductible. These mandated monthly premiums amount to $12,744 per year, and amounts to nothing more than catastrophic coverage. Should something catastrophic happen to me or my family, we would be out an additional $13,000 – totaling a staggering $25,744 annual out-of-pocket for medical-related costs! I have learned that in order for a plan to be compliant, it is required to include ten mandates – which have markedly driven up the cost of this health insurance, and frankly several of which I would not choose to purchase for myself. This is an insurance company’s dream – getting the government to force people to buy more coverage than they want or need. Contrast this to doing something to actually drive the costs of medical care down (i.e., health clinics, tort reform to discourage frivolous malpractice suits, forcing healthcare service providers to publish the rates they are going to charge for services before the services are rendered so the patient can shop around, etc.).
In the days leading up to the open enrollment deadline, I have received a handful of emails reminding me of the impending deadline – along with the not so consoling “did you know that 8 out of 10 people qualify for some sort of healthcare subsidy?” I checked, and fall into the 2 of 10 people category who are being forced to subsidize the other 8 – which is why my family will NOT be going to see a doctor unless we have a life-threatening emergency. This is maddening and patently unfair! The $12,744 I am being forced to pay will pay for someone else’s subsidized healthcare – in the meantime, my own family won’t be able to see the doctor! As they say… “a government who steals from Peter to pay Paul can always count of Paul’s support”.
Agreed, its not right, I have a dependent mother-in-law that has no income and is fully dependent on me, but when we apply for insurance help my income has to be counted because she is in my houshold there fore we are stuck paying for her full price coverage because i worked harder than others to get educated, get a job and be somewhat successful,”not rich mind you” but just succesful enough that she does’nt qualify…What incentive is there to work??? when everyone else gets it for not working…
My wife and I are now subscribers to the Exchange… given I lost my previous position with a company that had much cheaper healthcare costs… $180 for two people plus dental… with no increase of premium for when we have a first child… I thought it was hilarious the company was based in INDIA but they offered among the best coverage I have ever had anywhere vs American companies who see employee health more as a line item and prefers to use up its employees until we drop dead and then just replace us with in-sourced labor H1B…
That is a different thing… my point is I pull in approx. 87k a year my wife is back in school so I shouldering the burden until she finishes. Thankfully we have a roof over our head in our little condo and I easily afford what we need… we have no kids ‘thank god’… my newest vehicle is 2009 and is a motorcycle with our cars being over 10 years old … savings to me on auto insurance and the fact they are not advanced enough to keep me away from doing the maintenance myself…
My point I am getting at is the ‘discount’ exchange costs does nothing for people like me in terms of savings… I get no premium help…I have a HSA eligible plan which I want to use but the darn thing has a MAINTENANCE FEE just to have one… this is WRONG…. I got a higher deductible silver plan for the HSA and I find I have no choice but to throw $36 away each year to some bank who is providing my HSA…. the plan costs enough and when you have HSA you should not be paying a FEE to keep it that is ridiculous and you need to get on companies offering that sort of thing and trying to make even more profit off us who are now forced to pay into this system…
….Problems with America where DC is not doing enough!…
It furthermore does not help me as much as it hurts me as I live in WASHINGTON STATE which has a large cost of living… now that I am paying into this ‘Affordable Healthcare’ I lost~$600 I cannot put away towards trying to afford a house anywhere close to my work – I refuse to have a child in a CONDO and if I do I know I will NEVER get out of this place so my wife and I have been refusing to have children…
seriously I thought this was supposed to help the middle class not crush us! – the people who make 250k (calling these people middle class is a freaking joke!) ….have employer provided plans so they don’t pay into the exchange except on the back end if some loophole doesn’t get them to skirt too much taxes ….but unfortunately I don’t have a full time position… I work contract and thankfully I get a good wage but it could end tomorrow and I back to square 1 draining my reserves … this lovely country has let company CEO’s raise their pay 200% in the past three decades while the rest of us unless we are lucky (i feel I am one of the lucky ones) only see 2-5% which is not even keeping up with inflation….I have managed to get a better position with a lot of reading and extra book work to keep up but for others who don’t or can’t do the same lets face it they are screwed – but they are still having children… double screwed!
I mean unless this country starts going after these corporations who handle any new penalties on them by cutting employees to make their bottom lines look better I see little incentive to want to have even a single child… I mean why should I bring a child into this world to become a SLAVE to corporate america because that is what this country is becoming a growing poverty working class and a rich elite who think we are just supposed to be happy on the breadcrumbs that fall off their table – or else they just in-source cheap labor and let us Americans starve… because lets face it… ANYONE who unfortunate to be born into a family on government assistance is pretty much assured they will never break out of that rut with the growing income gap not impossible but seriously that is a stacked deck and the GAME IS RIGGED! – we have no bargaining ability when programs like the H1B are there to be abused by these corporations *they want more profit for their share holders and CEO’s … simple cut the workforce before the quarter ends and poof INSTANT PROFIT* … if these companies want to have access to the US Market they need to pay their dues on these record profits of theirs to ensure the children of this nation get their fair shot and piece of the pie… there is NO LOYALTY to companies anymore because they are not loyal to their employee’s anymore they use us up then replace us with some H1B import….our education system SUCKS the USA is not the greatest country in the world anymore for a large percentage of people here…and how are the future generations supposed to compete when our education system is behind the THIRD WORLD and we only lead with the highest % of incarcerated people!… yeah this is pathetic…. and DC is letting people get away with it! …at least there are some millionaires giving away a lot of their wealth because they see this issue while others just keep sucking it up like a leech at a bloodbank…
… I keep expecting they are just going to have to start corralling people based on how much they make and telling us where we can live or we going to have to live in company housing because we are not going to be able to afford to live near our employers anymore!… in Washington if you want to buy a house you have to be pretty darn creative to save enough to get a down payment on it now especially if your employer is in the city center unless your parents shell out the extra cash ‘shouldn’t need to – its insulting and I don’t like taking from my parents!’… I not big on a one hour commute just to get into work I lucky my place I live at is 20 minutes tops so even though the place is in the ghetto I can still get to work easily in the AM that is the only benefit of my existing place in my eyes minus the fact I can pay the mortgage here with 28% of my monthly income which again is one of the few reasons I am still relatively well off… but I hate where I live, the people I share living space with are druggies, and thugs where I have to have a loaded gun ready incase some criminal decides to try and rob me when I am home… I don’t have a lot but you bet your behind I am going to protect what property I do own and if that means I end up shooting some welfare baby thug dead where they stand so be it…I used to want to help people but now I am moving over to what representative in DC is going to screw me the least… that does not sound like democracy to me!
… I am still managing it but just barely – again I had a better start than most but I am good enough to see my math on the wall that I am getting to my breaking point – if I have one child I don’t see how I am going to be able to give them any help with college or anything else very easily, my small condo is not going to work easily for a baby either I have a home office in my second room but that is where I spend a lot of my time when I not at work and it keeps me happy having that space… but if I lose it to some kid; sheesh I just going to become even more bitter and resentful at the people who are letting their greed take away more and more from me…
if I cut my spending to the bone sure I can still still save money but if I get any expensive surprises that goes right out the window… I putting ~$150 into my 401k which is no where near enough but I need to hold onto so much extra cash, I have a reserve which most people do not because again I took my tax rebate and I put that into my reserve… I carry no debt month to month (since when did it become average people carrying $15k in credit card debt?…. I mean sheesh if I don’t have the money I do not buy things and what I do buy I only do so when I can pay for it in full!…
If we are to get something resembling change we need to stop protecting people with irresponsible spending habits claiming bankruptcy ….if you have an emergency medical thing sure that will bankrupt anyone… but this country has a cancer of people overspending and they run off leaving the rest of us responsible people to hold the bag… that is not just people in my income bracket mind you… the US Government has spent us into an impossible hole we will NEVER get out of and the super rich think they pay too much taxes?… BS!… call me old fashioned but people need be held accountable for their irresponsibility not rewarded! … the mortgage burst that started the recession… I found people who BLOGGED on the internet about how they let themselves default on their mortgages and let the bank take their home and then they took the money they saved not paying anything for 1.5 years and moved into a new house! … in my complex here people paid 180k for a 1 / 1 condo …. mine being a 2 /1 I got for 128k a few months prior… I mean sheesh lets face it the people who did that were total idiots but they got to short sale and tank my places value and got me stuck in my hole here… the bank would not let me short sell my place and pay off the difference where I could have gotten a nice house for much cheaper than now because ‘I was able to make my payments like a good boy’ …. I can tell you this I am sick of shouldering the dead-weight of america… people like me do not exist to shoulder the burden of people who just want to suck government assistance down… and have kids and collect even more assistance… people this irresponsible need to be put into work camps no more of this free pass bull…. yes I am referring to the people who make less than 50k a year and have WAY TOO MANY KIDS who just collect checks from taxpayers … I am busting my backside to try and move up and I for one say let the people down there starve because they are too stupid to keep their legs closed! … they should not get any tax breaks of any kind… people like me deserve such breaks and we are not getting them because the bar you satisfied for the ACA is too darn low at least on the west coats… I hear the east coast is no better in any of the big cities… but you guys should be basing your income classes off the major cities and not the depressed areas of the USA which have died out thanks to companies outsourcing manufacturing and other jobs that those areas lived on for so long… because I am telling you we should NOT HAVE TO HAVE DUAL INCOMES TO MAINTAIN A MIDDLE CLASS LIFESTYLE… some people calling themselves middle class who make 250k a year makes me sick… the middle class is up to 140k and that puts me right in the middle and I am barely holding on… when my wife works I will be much better off but seriously my wife should not feel obligated to work because she is depressed my 87k a year cannot easily afford us a house to raise the family she wants to have and my telling her no! …. this is supposed to be the America of the Future? Dang DC needs to kick the big money out of DC … NO SUPERPACKS….NO MORE BUYING OF CANDIDATES… if these corporations want to do business in america and sell to the american consumer they need to pony the heck up!… we could manufacture things ourselves with our population here but companies claim it is too expensive… (slang for their CEO pay and shareholders complain about not getting a big enough cut) … companies should be investing in their employees like they did in the past where employees actually felt if they put in the effort and the company did well the company shared in their success… now there is no such incentive and that is a shame and killing america
I am in the same boat. My employer was paying my premiums. In 2016 I not only received a huge pay cut but was also told I would no longer have my premiums paid by my employer nor would I be subsidized with a raise to cover premiums.
I was given the opportunity to get health insurance through my work this year in lieu of a raise. The insurance would have cost my employer $8,500 dollars. I chose to take the money instead because I saved to buy a house and new id need every cent I could get for a down payment. Throughout the course of the year I had a monthly prescription cost of $80 dollars and an ear infection that cost roughly $450 dollars. I payed $1,410 out of pocket. That’s over $7,000 dollars I would have lost, now I am supposed to pay a fine? I work 50 hours a week, today it was 20 degrees and snowing and I worked outside all day- where does this money for the fine go, to people who don’t work ? I’ll never get this system and can not wait till everything changes next year.
I am so sorry about your situation and I understand and commiserate 100%. Both my husband and myself lost our jobs and we have literally no income currently. In Alabama, Medicaid expansion was not approved so unfortunately, even though we don’t have even a penny of income, we also don’t qualify for Medicaid. This is a sad and frustrating situation and I only wish I could offer some sort of answer. However, I am in the same boat and there is no answer for this one. I guess there isn’t anything else I can write. I just wanted to let you know you aren’t alone and that my husband and I feel your sorrow and pain and frustration. God bless you and I pray things get better for you, for my household, and for America.
I am stuck in a total different scam. Since my wife was unemployed we had to pay an increased rate to add her to my policy. She recently started a new job and I went to remove her. Being she has had insurance for more than 31 days through her employer the will not remove her until the next open enrollment. That’s right,
we have to pay 11 more months of insurance payments for something we don’t want or need. The greedy people in this world just don’t care about people struggling to get by. It is pretty much theft and should be illegal. Unbelievable!
Yes I feel you. Our insurance premiums have doubled and our copays have increased to the point that we cannot afford to even go to the doctor after paying for the health insurance. Prescription coverage copays increased as well, add to that I have unpaid medical bills from the past 3 years from back and gynecological surgeries. Now I am at a point where I am barely able to work from my chronic back pain and see no way in sight to have the 2nd recommended surgery I now need on my back. Retirement fund? That’s a joke. I feel blessed to make it to work and get my pay to keep food on the table and the water and electricity on!
There must be a way to fight this by banding together and protesting. Unfortunately these barbaric socialistic laws make it legal to steal money from seniors to help the corrupt government spend money in ridiculous ways. They are even getting away with random surcharges, fines and penalties without warning. If we let this go uncontested then we are all doomed to Hitler’s way and an unjust unfair socialstic society. Should seniors who have worked hard all their life and saved for over 40 years just give it away to the government for free? George Washington is trying to come back to life and rewrite the constitution over this travesty of injustice! God needs to step in and stop the breaking of society as we once knew it! Heaven needs to help us all.
You pose an interesting question Allen B.W. Someone out there must have an answer. Any Al Sharpton’s or people advocates reading this? How long can they rape seniors of their hard earned money? Is this really America or is this Nazi Germany with Hitler in charge?
What deductible is there? Will Obamacare cover monthly lab work by my pain managing doctor. I was born with twisted scoliosis of the spine plus it’s degenerative, fibromyalalgia, artheritis, chronic migraines , osteorosis. Also a prolaps microvalve in my heart.
In general you need to check coverage on a plan-by-plan basis. You can see the list of essential health benefits and free preventive service, but it’s too simplified to just say check that. Check the benefits sheet of the plan you are enrolling in, check their drug coverage, check their networks, and check their cost sharing on covered services.https://obamacarefacts.com/essential-health-benefits/
I am have been self employed painter and its hard to get by. I have a notice on my cell phone that I only have 9 days to sign up for Obama care. If I don’t what are they going to do to me? I can’t afford any more bills now, December to February are very slow business wise. There’s a problem when the government threatens me. I’ve never been on food stamps but I may have to find away to eat if I’m forced to have another big bill on me now. The government will probably tell me I can’t get help because I’m self-employed. A catch 22 situation.
Check the poverty level. You may have good cost assistance options or Medicaid. Both are based on income, specifically marketplace is based on annual projected MAGI and slow months can be factored into Medicaid who will look at smaller monthly chunks of the year.
https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/
My situation completely I also fall in the category that does not qualify for Medicaid and can’t afford Obamacare I’m looking at buying groceries or paying health insurance not very hard to make that decision even with the government subsidies I can not afford it so I get penalized and they take more money from me that would help me provide for my family I am completely frustrated with my government
Obamacare doesn’t take into account my family’s current debts and expenditures. I had these costs BEFORE Obamacare became law. Yes, my household income is $59000 a year for a family of 4, but I have so many bills that I pay. I shouldn’t have to sell the car I got years ago, just because we have a new law. I had to delete my mom from my income tax as my dependent because I couldn’t afford to pay $400+ month for her health insurance premium last year. So now in order for my family to keep as much of the income tax so I can use it for my house taxes, I can’t claim my mom due to the ridiculous $1000 penalty. Stupid texas didn’t expand Medicaid so we’re screwed. Obamacare is like childsupport….it doesn’t care WHERE your money goes or that you had debt before the law. My mom has never had health insurance and it’s even more difficult now. I’m even taking her to Mexico for her medical care.I’m losing the faith in our texas administration. If they really cared about the elderly caught in the gap, they would have accepted medicaid. It wasn’t taking money out of THEIR pockets and I’m sure THEY have amazing health insurance.
I totally agree. Me and my wife live in Texas we both work but still don’t make enough money to barely eat much less pay for the high cost of health insurance. It is close to 50% of my income. We both have to suffer colds, cuts , bones getting broke or whatever without Healthcare. I have high blood pressure and need medication but can’t afford it. Then to top it all off I get a huge fine and have to pay several hundred dollars of money that we don’t have to pay a penalty for no insurance. America. Hmm I get sick every time I hear the word Obama…..
Nice made up story.
Buck Jackson you’re either working for the evil government or you’re a retarded moron with an IQ below 20. There are millions of Americans who are being legally ripped off by the government under the ACA law. No it is definitely not affordable to most. Yes the law allows people at near poverty level to be charged UNAFFORDABLE health insurance with much less coverage than they had before the rip off. Also the law allows fines, surcharges, taxes and penalties without warning. The simple reason is NOT to benefit America but rather to legally steal your money. If this goes unchallenged all of America will be destroyed piece by piece. The question is “What can Americans do to take back their country?”.
First I like to say I love that ObamaCareFacts does respond and tries to give the reason for high health insurance. I want to know how they plan on making it better and what’s in store for the future. Sorry but after trying to read all the comments I found I could be here for hours before finally reached the end so I have no idea if some of my inquiries were already answered. After reading some posts there were some moments I didn’t agree with from the responses of ObamaCareFacts. One had to the general cost of living and expected wages. ObamaCareFacts credited the cost of living each month for a single individual at 2250 a month or 27000 a year, basically: a 1000 for Rent, 1000 for bills and debt, and 250 for the deductible. With a 60,000 dollar a year job and after taxes that leaves an average of 20,000 a year in spending money after taxes and therefore the premium is affordable.
I would strongly disagree with this. Being a single male and coming out of 40,000 in debt to student loans I believe ObamaCare is forgetting some important factors in available money. The rent and debt and bills are close to the 2000 mark. But the factor missing is, shit happens in life and in general, aka, car breaks down, appliances break, weather causes damage, 7000 dollars disappears one month to replace a car (or you go that much more in debt), new tires are needed so there goes another 1000 dollars, a few months down the road another 3000 disappears due medical conditions like root canals, blood pressure, back pain, asthma or sleep apnea (none of it covered by a 250 a month plan), Gas alone can be another $150 to $200 a month or $2200 a year. Not to mention needed to spend about 500 to 1000 a year in clothing as it does wear out, tear or get destroyed in one way or another. I know 1000 a year in clothing seems a bit excessive but try being 6 foot 5 inches and paying less than 50 dollars for a decent shirt or pair of pants, typical average shirt goes for $50, pants go for $80 to $120 these days.
I know this sounds like a complaint but I did spent $14,000 last year just to be able to function normally, i.e. drive a vehicle, not be naked, and breath, sleep, and eat. Another $2200 on average in gas (85% used to get to and from work). None of which seem to be tax deductible. In the end I did have about $2000 in profit for the whole year. But that doesn’t help get me out of my 40,000 in student debt at all. Now if you talk to the poor they typically respond I wish “I had $2000 dollars”. Of which I respond “cool, tell you what, you can take my 40,000 debt and I will give you that 2000 dollars”. The only thing I own is my car, tv, ps4, bed, and clothing on my back, I sure don’t feel like Middle class, yet I make 60,000 a year. I am working in a market that doesn’t guarantee employment (even after having a Bachelors) so I don’t always make the full 60,000 in a year, (contractor life), wish I could work salary but can’t get hired despite trying. As it is I am still paying off medical bills, this year I had to have dental surgery again which cost $1400 (again not covered by the insurance I had).
If you want to appropriately calculate Middle America income, include a 20% reduction in the expected wages for a shit happens rule (which is what insurance was supposed to be for, but no longer does anything about). I have to get my Asthma medicine second hand as with insurance it still cost 300 a month. Only 50 a month if I get it from Canada, yet that is now illegal. Last year I was out of work for 5 months yet insurance based my premium off previous tax years. On unemployment it’s really expensive.
Now I am faced with a dilemma, I missed some sort of deadline I wasn’t aware by my contract company and apparently they didn’t renew my insurance. So I either have to pay 2500 a year in health insurance with a 6000 dollar deductible or just take the fine. All in all, it looks cheaper to take the fine. Even though I pay about 3000 a year in medical / dental bills, that still doesn’t meet the deductible.
I want to know why the fine, why fine someone for not having insurance. This feels like a horrible kick to the nards ObamaFacts. This defeats the whole point of a free market too. When you force people to have something that isn’t working or needed, it causes this huge negative reaction. I feel like the Enron scandal is happing all over again (where they would purposely shut off the power to raise prices). I know insurance is meant to also cover huge expenses, but from what I have seen and read, even insurance doesn’t cover all the really expansive stuff. If you get $100,000 in medical expenses (it’s almost 2000 dollars a night these days in ER’s), the most your insurance covers is $10,000. So with insurance you only win if you’re paying up the ass to begin with (this of course varies from plan to plan, but this seems to be the basic coverage). So no matter if you have insurance or not, a major long term operation that is expensive as hell will still not pay out. Even if your expenses are just $10,000 then your future doctor visits go up and the nightmare just gets worse with our without insurance (in massive debt 50,000 or 100,000 one way or the other feels the same, it’s just a never-ending cycle).
It really feels like your saying we can afford this insurance and should just take it lying down. This biggest problem is way too high of premiums with too much deductible, one or the other should drop or it just doesn’t seem worth it to get insurance. It would almost be fine if it wasn’t for the fine we get at the end of the year. This whole system is screaming scam, and unless it changes, gets torn down or fixed in the next few years, I am afraid rioting, panicking, and all sorts of shit is going to go down.
Basically one of the three should be dropped (the fine, the high deductible [no more than 50 a month], and the high premium (max deductible 500)) and things might start becoming less chaotic. I am afraid this year I will have to eat the fine. I looked for cheap insurances and the best I could find was 210 a month for a 5000 deductible (that’s not acceptable), I should have the right to say this private business model is not right for me, except now it’s a government regulation to have insurance. I will also have to avoid the doctors as much as possible and just treat myself (I know it’s not advisable, but with or without the insurance it’s too expensive). I know the argument of health above everything else and it should be your first concern and it has been, but the numbers aren’t adding up to me ObamaCareFact. Health Insurance is out of control.
So why should we accept this model ObamaFact, can we do anything about it, or should we just do nothing and expect to continue to be drained of any hope of decent life debt free? Who do we lobby, write to, or go for getting details on how this is supposed to get better instead of worse. And if it is going to get worse, prepare for the Apocalypse or fallout of America?
Wow ok, thanks. Big but fair “comment”, or perhaps “essay”.
So first, I don’t agree with everything i’ve ever said. I’m like anyone, I grow and learn and change my thinking when I find better data. I see the other end of this, which is millions getting affordable health insurance for the first time. Unfortunately for the discussion on this page, those millions are in an income bracket that many on this page wouldn’t consider “middle class”. Frankly, the sentiment is good for them, but WE are stills struggling and that is the focus. I get that. Makes sense.
On this page we have an income level where high deductible, high premium plans, with little-to-no cost assistance, or worse high employer premiums, is the norm. So once I realized that this was the audience of this page I backed off the “but don’t you know there are millions of sick and poor we are helping?” Essentially, people are angry, and it’s not a time to look to the moral standing of the law… It’s time to discuss tax tips, empathize with horror stories, and talk about what can be done in the future.
What we need to focus on is, like you elude to, the big sticking points: Deductibles, Premiums, Billing, Claims shenanigans, the rising cost of healthcare, and the growing debt.
Essentially we can regulate it, we can tax it, and we can subsidize it. I would strongly suggest that we need to regulate it more. I think, what we have is a healthcare spending problem. We have an expectation for the healthcare economy to grow every year, but the outpacing of inflation mixed with the essential nature of healthcare has really been backfiring.
That siad, regulation, taxes, and subsidies ALL seem to be backfiring. If everything is backfiring, what is the actual underlying problem? It may be a tricky problem, but it has to be there. Like a blackhole, we feel it’s gravity… even though we can’t see it. It must be SOMETHING! We have to figure out what that something is and act before we all get sucked into that black hole… That hole being interest on debt over the long term.
If so few are getting fair shakes, despite (what let me tell you is an honest effort from many), who is it that is stockpiling all the shaking? Where is the money that is turning into debt going? It doesn’t seem to be to the middle-class, it’s certainly not the poor (as they don’t have money by definition)… and then major insurers lose money. But it’s somewhere though, right?
Something like that. Thanks for the time and effort, and thought of the comment.
I myself am 21 with no children and I work a 40 hour week every week and as much overtime as possible I break myself to bring in on average 320 a week I live on my own and pay for car insurance and rent plus my basic needs I can not afford health coverage at all but I also do not qualify for state help I think Obama care and the penalty is outrageous clearly we can’t afford it why is there no free plan for working class Americans as it is work is unreal hard for low pay the harder y work the less u make and with all my money towards caring for myself and my bills I have nothing left to treat myself or even save it’s unfair and makes u lose the will to get up and face this hell everyday I’m knock kneed and I am in incredible amounts of pain everyday of my useless life I have to remind myself that I have to make that pocket change to survive as I do not have parents who would help me if I did our government is retarded and they are raping us for their greed they want to take our guns because they fear well fight back but in all honesty &*(#^ Obama he is terrible and has only made life more difficult for ppl who work hard
“Affordable healthcare” doesn’t exist. I make $15.50/hour and yet I’m expected to drop an extra $200/month for health insurance that won’t even help me if I really needed to use it?! And if I don’t pay for it, I’m fined LIKE CRAZY on my tax return from the money I have paid in ALL YEAR as a hard working US citizen? Its a JOKE! I live paycheck-to paycheck, trying to pay my regular monthly bills and credit debt, have gas to go to and from work, clothes to wear, etc. And on top of that, there’s not much money left over for me to be able to enjoy myself with! I voted for Obama because I was made to believe that the changes he was going to make would ultimately help the American people. Well that was a freaking slap in the face! I’m actually having to consider getting a PART-TIME JOB to help me pay for this ridiculous insurance plan I’m being forced to buy. I’m probably going to have to give up my nights and weekends for the government to take more money from me. And what’s even more scary is the fact that our unemployment rate is still atrocious so the likelihood of me even finding a part-time job is bleak. Basically, I’m getting screwed and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. Moving to a foreign country is sounding pretty good right now!
At $15 an hour you would likely be on Medicaid. Have you applied for Medicaid? It could be your state rejected Medicaid. The advice is different if you are getting coverage through work or if you are looking at the marketplace. Keep this info in mind: https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/
It seams Obama care is set up to help low income people finally be able to afford insurance? My problem with that is the middle class are already paying higher taxes to pay for welfare, housing, cellphones, etc for low income people. Why is it that we have to be responsible for so many other people when we can barely afford to be responsible for are own family’s? There’s a lot of people in my area that take advantage of this system and are completely able bodied people who choose not to work and reap government assistance. Then do other things off the books usually illegal for tax free money. I understand as Americans we should all help each other but they need to do a lot more investigating on who actually is getting help. Just because on paper you look like you need finacial help doesn’t mean you do and just because on paper it looks like we can afford these low cost (pointless) plans doesn’t mean we can.
I think you have something. The honest folks are paying their taxes, taking care of their families, communities, and country, and trying to stay ahead. Meanwhile, the crooks rich or poor, find loopholes and make life harder for the honest ones. I don’t think this is a direct relation to the ACA as much as it is to the system as a whole. But progress is only made when we come together and demand progress. In this case, the poor are staying poor, and the middle class are getting poorer. I am no fan of doing nothing… of course, that is why my partner and I created this site.
I cannot afford this obamacare, it is going out of my budget plan. I do make gross income around 65,000 a year. My wife is housewife and we are expecting a baby soon. I picked the Blue cross blue shield gold plan (323.00) for my wife and I picked the lowest Bronze plan minuteman ($181.00). Having a Bronze plan means I have to pay most of the medical expenses by myself because deductibles are so high and it is hard to find the hospital that accepts minuteman near by my town. I feel like I am wasting my money because I hardly go visit Dr. once in a year. I enrolled into plan because I was scared of being fined by government. House rent, car insurance, gas, food, medical insurance, income tax, everything cost me lot. After paying all the expenses it leaves me with $0.00 on hand. I don’t think I can ever able to afford a house in whole life. One of my friend suggested me to quit this job and obtain a less paying job. He said if we make less money we get more benefits from the government like medicare, food stamps etc. I am thinking of resigning from my current job and find job at burgerking or Mcdonad. Why should I work if I cannot save any money. 6000/year medical insurance is too high for me.
I switched jobs from a job that paid for the employee’s health insurance in a field I didn’t have any room for advancement in do a job doing what I got a degree in making only $5,000/year more. However, this company doesn’t help pay for any amount of health insurance. My son was on state health care but now I make a little over the maximum and he will be denied. I have a mortgage, bills, student loans, and am a single parent. I can not afford 300 a month additional in health insurance, and it’s not good health insurance at that. What the heck am I supposed to do?
OBAMA CARE SUCKS!!! I cannot afford any of it, It’s not Affordable like it says, I cant get medicaid either because they say I make too much, which I DO NOT!! I cannot afford it at my job either and the deductibles are WAY too high that I looked int….so I’m getting penalized for not having something I cannot afford, HOW IS THAT FAIR!!!
I’m disgusted with this healthcare &%(#*!
I followed the rules. One month I had to take out a loan to pay the premiums. Now it’s time to do my taxes and because of this “AFFORDABLE” health care, I now owe the IRS an additional $1600. Thank You OBAMA!!!
Onama care is total bs!!! I’m searching couch cushings for change keeping my heat at 60 using a kerosene heater to supplement my heat and becoming very creative with ramen noodles I can not afford the the additional Obama care bill of $280.00 a month nor can I afford the tax penalty seeing how the small refund I may get is always used to catch up the past bills. End this shit and give us our freedom to make our own dam decisions
I totally agree with you . We pay for everyone else medical . It really sucks when people work and the government takes our money that we have work for . We should just quit our jobs and let the government pay our bills.
I am posting this comment in hopes of getting advice, not to complain.We are a family of 4 my husbands income is our only income.We have a high deductable plan with an hsa account it is all we could afford.Even though our income qualifys us for a much more affordable plan at the health insurance exchange we cannot apply for it because my husbands plan meets minimum requirements and we are just over the income limits to apply for medicaid.We have run into problems with the hsa account because we can not afford to make a lump sum payment into it, we start the year off with 1500 dollars towards a 6000 dollar deductable but usually have to use it to pay off last years medical bills leaving us in a chronic hole making matters worse just because an expense qualifys for hsa payment does not mean it can all be applied to your deductable.One of my children may qualify for medicaid but it does not really matter because she does not take any medication and rarely gets sick and we still have to pay for a family plan.My son has a genaric prescription that costs over 200.00 a month but does not qualify for medaid because he is too old, but still in school and is our dependant.I have a chronic medical condition that I treat as little as possible because after paying 200.00 out of my husbands pay check every week for our insurance premium we dont have enough left over to afford paying out of pocket for health care until our deductable is met wich has led to increasing disability.Sadly the only positive in this is that I am getting closer to having enough documentation by hospitalization(they have to treat you even if you cannot pay the bill)to get ssdi wich would help alot but so would my good health and income.Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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That is frustrating. Very valid concern.
So ideally, as you know, you would lump sum fund the HSA and get a higher premium plan (but this assumes some extra income to do it with). This would net you more savings over time, especially on a marketplace plan. But given that you have an employer plan, the tax credits aren’t an option, so the tactic is less attractive. For the employer plan there isn’t much you can do unless it “isn’t affordable” https://obamacarefacts.com/affordable-employer-sponsored-coverage/
Advice would probably be looking at other deductions (if you are close to Medicaid) as a family, namely writing off medical expenses over 10% of income. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sa.pdf
Other advice is that kind of crummy advice that no one wants to give anyone, which is find a job that doesn’t offer coverage so you can get marketplace assistance, or find a job that offers better coverage, or work less to get Medicaid or Marketplace coverage. I never want to give advice that is “change the way you work”, because it comes off so poorly on many levels. But when we understand our options we get to choose our own path. Personally of course, I always suggest the options that include working more.
The thing that stinks about assistance programs is that by basing them all on income it creates these situations where working can be disincentivized. Think it’s one of the biggest sticking points of assistance programs, and something that should be on the mind of every lawmaker. Same thing for progressive taxes, they run the risk of disincentivizeing work. If i’m going to hit the next tax bracket by $1,000 this year… why bother making $1,000? Especially when you lose assistance! Not hard science, just a generally thing i’ve notice affecting many families (not necessarily in relation to ObamaCare tax credits).
I have a question for you Obamacare? A 26 year old who is barley making ends meet, paying credit card debt, rent, car Insurance, food, college tuition and just daily living expenses. How is this person supposed to pay the cheapest $170 a month premium with a $6800 decidable? Stop paying on the credit cards, not go to college to further his education and live in poverty conditions to pay for health care? Do you want to ruin peoples lives? This will ruin his credit, he will never be able to buy a house, car, rent a decent place to live in, get a higher education or have any kind of decent life. Do not start talking about HSA’s and lower premium’s. It does not matter if its is a % of your income, not if you are maxed out to begin with. Yes, he put himself in that situation, but now he will never get out of it because you are forcing him to pay $170 a month he does not have. The lowest is $170. You people do not take into account the bills and commitments people already have. You have made it unaffordable and the premiums are so far out of reach it is just ridiculous.
I I understand this point of view and I think a lot of commenters do too. It’s not that $170 a month is unfair (it’s based on your income at Healthcare.Gov, so your income is decent by your story), it’s that with the cost of living people’s net income is getting down to the wire. Compare to many other countries and you’ll find the middle class in America live like royalty. But compare net income after mortgage, student debt, child care, credit card debt, etc and now we start seeing a “quality problem” (or maybe a “quality crisis”). A hard working American family deserves the means to take care of their loved ones and that means education, healthcare, housing, childcare (or that is the ideal at least)…. this is technically affordable with assistance, but after taxes and the cost of living the next savings in the bank isn’t looking as pretty. I don’t have any real solution aside from shopping around for coverage and tax tricks, but I can certainly spot a problem when I see one. I think when we spot the problem and agree on the problem we can start addressing the problem with solutions.
Ie. “quality problem” as in your quality of life is so good your problems are things like health insurance deductibles, and not whether or not you’ll eat tonight or be thrown in jail for your opinion.
I am in same boat. I do live in NJ I now pay a premium for my 3 girls for nj family care. I am more than greatful to still qualify for then but I no longer do. I am in debt still paying off bills from when there dad lost his job and we were behind on mortgage. At work I can pay $12 a week for coverage with a $6000.00 deductible or pay little under $500 a month for just me with no deductible. I live paycheck to paycheck. We don’t go out to eat , no vacations, I sometimes don’t send my kids to birthday parties because I don’t have money for the gift. I’m upside down in my home so I can’t even leave. Now I am going to be penalized . I want to get another job but then what about my kids. I leave my house 8:30 every morning and get home most night 7:30 . It’s a Damn shame what’s going on . Yet if I were to stay HOME I would be given health care and then some. I’m being peniluzed for being a hard working citizen.
I was living on 12,500 a year and only had to pay 10.00 a month for insurance through the marketplace. I decided to get married to a retired man and he had a nice pension which put us in a higher income bracket. I had to pay back 2700.00 in subsidies because I got married in September. My insurance company also raised my monthly premium to 660.00 a month. all Obama care is a way to make the insurance companies very, very wealthy and destroy the middleclass. I bought a health insurance plan outside the marketplace and now I was told by a marketplace rep that I would still have to pay a fine even though I have good coverage with a 25.00 copay for dr visits. The people of this country need to have a class action law suit against this affordable care act.
Right now I am in the process of losing our physical therapy clinic because the Obamacare plans are literally paying 16-20 dollars for some P.T. visits. I pay one of my assistants 23./ an hour. I also have to have an assistant. We have worked so hard for years and shed many tears over this clinic.
I agree, this ACA is a farce. I make 30k a year for 54 hours a week work, on call 24-7 no days off, no vacation no benefits and I have to pay $200 a month with a $6000 deductible. I still have to pay every time I see a doctor, I have to pay more to see a specialist, and I dont even get discounts on Rx. This does not include vision or dental.
I was totally for the ACA when it was first passed, but now I understand this only benefits the insurance companies, who raise rates as often as the law allows.
The American people are NOT here to provide support for an industry that is not needed, i.e. the medical insurance industry.
We need single payer.
We need our government to assist in our lives being betterand instead the government is truly only looking out for big business via lobbying.
My government is not out to protect me, its out to rob me.
$2400 a year is alot of money to pay to get nothing in return. $6000 deductible?!!? Are they insane? God forbid I get sick.
As a single white male in good health, I feel this is a rip off.
Non smoker, non drinker, I dont have dangerous habits or hobbies, and Im getting bent over, and its the law that I get bent.
Divorced, alimony that is applied to mtg. payment, part time low-wage job. No way is there money to pay for an insurance plan that is virtually unaffordable to use, after paying for monthly utilities & food. This is wrong.
I have noticed that the Capitalism issue has yet to have been mentioned for the underlying source of this problem. What I mean is a free market creates false demand, which can be called consumerism, and without consumerism Capitalism would fall flat on its proverbial face. So, the umbrella of insurance companies, BIG BUSINESS, that cover everything from auto to health capitalize on a free market which does not have a cap like the NFL. Profit mongering has become common place and is even more prevalent at the present time compared to 60 years ago. Insurance for health coverage today compared to 6 years ago was significantly less, why, because inflation was lower. Big business, the ones who have the most to gain, because, it is all about cutting cost and increasing their bottom line which results in the rich becoming increasingly more in control of plus 90 percent of the wealth and the poor becoming increasingly poorer along with the middle class being lumped in with that category as well, and provide the labor and consumption for 90 plus percent of the wealth which will result in a collapse of our present economic structure.
Can’t afford to pay an extra 55 dollars for part B. I would rather pay for my prescriptions. They are not as much as. Part B. Its pay this and go hungry.
I Have The Same Problem I Only Eat One Meal A Day My Rent Comes First And My Light Bill
I am a broker and I am outraged by the highest cost of health plans Obamacare calls lower cost alternatives. A $25000 gross per year , one adult has to buy the lowest plan available with a premium of $250! per month with a deductible of over $5000 ? with the plan paying nothing until the deductible is reached.It this fair?. This is not freedom of choice , it is chipping away peoples quality of life. Where is the incentive to work harder? People are obligated to pay to health Insurance companies for plans they can not use!
All I read about is cost and penalties. I do not see anything enforcing insurance companies to improve their claim payout policies. We pay a fortune in premiums and have several medical bills in collection because the insurance company drags thier feet paying claims we paid to cover.
So I so not see the benefit for the people. I only see insurance companies getting richer by the day. I believed in President Obama but have been so discouraged and disappointed with his “agenda” policy. How can you Mr President do this to the people who struggle most. It is costly, stressful, and making a lot of people behind the curtain very rich. It has also caused you Mr President to lose the faith of a lot of people who once saw you as the answer to this governments extensive problems especially after the fiasco Bush administration..what a farce that was. Why not learn from his example? Why risk everything you once believed in? Please eliminate Obama care…it does not work for the people and as far as an agenda policy has not increased your popularity.
My employer does not provide Medical insurance. My premium went up almost $100 a month. My prescriptions went from $5 to 26.00 and my deductible is $6000. I do not qualify for assistance as I am told I make too much money. I can not afford this. Any suggestions??
I make $100 too much! Now forced to use crappy insurance from work for my son and I. I’m a single mom with a disabled mother living with me and my son. Apparently I make $100 too much for the year! WTF! Now I have to have $300 extra each month taken for coverage for my son. For coverage! Not considering deductable and co pays. OKAY!? Why does the WORKING MIDDLE CLASS always get hit the hardest? The poor and the rich have it easy! Screw you OBAMA!
I agree 100 percent . If I can’t afford the insurance hoe can I afford a penalty. I think Obama care sucks do they think we all would love to have peace of mind and have insurance but how can I when I’m paying for all the people that don’t work and get it for free. I too will not be voting for anyone that wants to keep Obama care in. The government should be ashamed of themselves taking taking from hard WORKING people
I HATE it. I do not see doctors. I was on the phone for almost an hour today to get my name spelled correctly with covered ca, who will then notify my heath care provider, who bills me, but will not correct the spelling of my name. Hate to think of the difficulties if I did want to see an actual doctor. This is just another tax.
HOW CAN YOU PENALIZE ME FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD WHAT YOU ARE SAYING IS AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE WHEN IT’S CLEARLY NOT!! I DON’T QUALIFY FOR MEDICAID, APPARENTLY I MAKE TOO MUCH, WHICH I DO NOT, AND THE DEDUCTIBLES ARE RIDICULOUS, I WORK HARD AND DEPEND ON MY TAXES SINCE I DON’T MAKE MUCH AND YOU WANNA TAKE IT FROM ME BECAUSE I CANNOT AFFORD YOUR HEALTH COVERAGE! THIS IS BULL SH*T!
Make sure to check exemptions. If you don’t make enough for Medicaid and you were rejected Medicaid (then your state rejected Medicaid expansion). This means you qualify for an exemption: https://obamacarefacts.com/form-8965-health-coverage-exemptions/
I agree with this. What has become of us that we are forced to pay for something we can not afford. They can come up with all kinds of fancy things to say but what it really comes down to is we work for our money and we pay cash for our med needs and it is sad to think we no longer have the right in our free country to say no thank you to very high $ insurance and then to have to pay a fine, and what in return do we get for this fine!!!!
we need free health care and not Obama care, I am paying the same amount when I work My butt.
This is useless.
The rate increase every year. what is the point of Obama care.
Forced to pay 300.00 a month for just my wife then she gets her card and we have to pay full price for all doctor visits till the 6800 deductible is met! My wife is 23 she would never spend 500.00 a year to go to the doctor this is in fair to us I will vote for anyone who repeals Obama Care I cant afford to support all of the welfare losers in America who sit on there asses and get free Obama Care ant the cost of my hard work!!!!!!!
I think this is the most terrible plan I’ve ever had to deal with. I don’t vote because A) the popular vote doesn’t count and B)my life has never been affected by government happenings….until now! I hate the president and this stupid “affordable” health care act.
I was laid off from my job two years ago and haven’t been able to find work that offers healthcare since (mostly I do odd construction jobs) and the work is inconsistent, even with a college degree. This year I got married and my total household income went up to $33,000/ yr (between the two of us)! We are $2,000 over the poverty line so I got my Medicaid cut! I no longer qualify for ANY deductions or benefits. I am only eligible for FULL PRICE care options, which the cheapest for me is $300/month. (By the way, my husband is a veteran and goes to the VA for his health insurance which I can not and to get me insurance through his company would be $800/month). So, at $300/month for “Obamacare” would be $3,600/year (not to mention deductibles etc) minus our gross annual joint income of $33,000 which leave us with $29,400/yr before taxes for two people to live on. But wait….isn’t that below your poverty line??? So I guess this system does not work.
You should be getting assistance at that income. Something is not adding up. you did use healthcare.gov right? The poverty level is actually much higher. Check it out: https://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level/
Ever since Obama care rolled out I now pay $359 each month..went up $75 from last year. My deductible is so high…I now owe IRS $2 k due to not knowing I had to file jointly and now I am penalized for making more income..went to the hospital ..bug in my ear..got that flushed out in 10 minutes have a $3k hospital bill Kaiser Permanent paid almost half I am in collections for $1700. $400 to the incompetent doc who poked my eardrum…since Obama care..I now am in debt to the tune of $4000…great Obama I make $13.50 an hour…..looks like it’s collections for me..oh but at least the rich are ok..I can sleep well tonight! In the mean time I am loosing my job because I can’t get to work because I can’t afford a car payment because I am giving all to my insurance premium each month….oh and does anyone care..nope..!
I am trying to pay down the 400 Doctor bill that went to collections 25 a month and they haven’t cashed one of my checks..money isn’t good enough for them…I don’t know what hell is going on…might as well jump off the cliff! And the thing is I love Obama voted for him trusted the guy to do us right…it didn’t work!
This should have never been forced on the American people.most people would have insurance if they could afford it but to be fined and that money to pay for someone else insurance is stupid,how dose that help you.the kicker is Obama didn’t consider what we were paying out for other bills.this is the payback for paying taxes so all the illegals and minorities could have goverment funding for everything.
All that aside, let us not lose sight of those who didn’t have access to health insurance before the law. Also, focusing anger on the poor seems misguided. With these things in mind, what should be done to reform the system for those struggling?