So I went on line to sign her up. It was impossible to complete the transaction as the site produced an error message and placed me in a “virtual waiting room," from which I have yet to be called, but I did find out what her (my) costs will be. She will pay 345.00 per month. That’s $4,140 per year! Her deductible will be $12,000.00 per year. That’s with the bronze plan.
In those years in which she is not hospitalized with a major illness, that will amount to $16,000.00 for coverage down the drain.
Let me see…$0.00 for complete coverage with no limit and no deductible, versus $16,000.00 per year. Which is the best deal? The complete coverage with no limit deal will continue, but we still have to purchase health insurance! Do you think I am happy?
"Oh, well, Joe. You know that some people will be screwed so that the rest of us can have the health care that the government is forcing us to be a part of." Thank you, you liberal (insert bad word of your choice here).
Did you know that there is a $23.14 tax included in the premium? That adds up to $277.08 per year in taxes. There is also a $2.00 fee per policy that goes into “medical research trust fund.” There is also a 2.3% medical device tax that will inflate the cost of items such as pacemakers, stents and prosthetic limbs.
Insurers will pay a 35% user fee to sell medical plans on HealthCare.gov.
There are subsidies for some low income Americans that will pay the taxes and a part of the premium, but for those of us who are $200.00 over the minimum income to qualify, that means nothing.
Oh, and if you have high medical expenses out of pocket, you will get a smaller income tax deduction. It was 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Income. Now it will jump to 10% AGI before deductions can be claimed.
Since I missed the deadline due to the site’s inability to complete my transaction, and since I have not yet been released from the “virtual waiting room” and have no idea what to do next, I guess we will just pay the first year’s penalty and wait it out. Other continuing web site issues.
Why did you liberals get lulled into thinking that the government was qualified to run this health care scam on Americans? Why? Are you really, really that uninformed? Did you learn nothing from Amtrack, USPS, the Veterans Administration, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid? Nothing?
Why not?
29 comments:
Joe - Why doesn't Bonnie have health insurance?
Are you:
A) Under the delusion that she will never, ever get sick and will never need to see a doctor or go to the hospital?
B) Under the illusion that you will always be able to pay the full, market value cost of her medical care out of your pocket from your salary from what...what is it you do for a living again?
C) Under the assumption that whatever happens to Bonnie, you can always rush her to the Emergency Room and expect me, Ducky, Craig and the rest of your Liberal friends to carry your burden for you?
Sounds to me like you are a pretty irresponsible husband if you can't provide affordable healthcare for your wife.
"Let me see…$0.00 for complete coverage with no limit and no deductible..."
That would be the Reagan government mandated, emergency room only, full coverage of all of your wife's health care paid for by working stiffs like me paying taxes to provide benefits for you and your wife.
I think a simple thank you is in order.
I'm waiting....
"In those years in which she is not hospitalized with a major illness, that will amount to $16,000.00 for coverage down the drain."
That's how Free Market, Capitalistic insurance works!
People who aren't sick, buy policies in case they might get sick, and the premiums from those policies pay to care for the people who are sick.
Are you so seriously ignorant and naive that you didn't know how this all works?
In those years in which she is not hospitalized with a major illness, that will amount to $16,000.00 for coverage down the drain.
You included the $12k deductible in your figure. You will only pay $12k if Bonnie gets $12k in medical services. If Bonnie racks up $12k in medical expenses and you don't think you should have to pay, who will pay it? XO spelled it out. Every one but you. Sounds like socialized medical care.
By the way, paying $12k for Bonnie's medical care is money down the drain? Don't let her hear you say that.
XO: You have no idea. But your egotistical mind thinks you are the only one who knows everything. As I said, there is an arrangement by which she has to pay nothing for illness, hospitilization or cemetary plots. I will not divulge it because of contractural requirements. However we will still have to pay $345.00 per month more than we're paying now, and we're barely making it as it is. Gonna be fun.
"That's how Free Market, Capitalistic insurance works!"
How about those years, past, present and future, in which she will have to pay nothing if she gets sick or hospitalized? It is a result of altruism, not capitalism.
Craig: As usual, you don't know what you are talking about. The arrangement we have precludes Bonnie paying anything for medical or burial expenses. She has heard me say it and is quite pleased. Whatever we pay for ObamaCare, including the $12,000.00 would be down the drain.
To all liberals: You smart-mouthed know it all liberals are total fools, but you are so foolish you can't even recognize it.
A Republican feels hat Bonnie should receive free treatment in the emergency room while a Dem feel Bonnie should pay her way.
And Joe thinks Dems are socialists?
Did you know: The PPACA forces people to pay higher premiums for largely unnecessary comprehensive coverage — especially the middle class — and then forces them to pay for the routine care out of pocket anyway. Health-savings accounts that might have shielded consumers from the pain are now being discouraged, which means this comes out of their checking accounts, right along with the higher premiums.
The result? People will pay more for less coverage, and then spend thousands of dollars before seeing the first dollar in benefits.
What a nice deal the feds have provided for us!
Ducky: "A Republican feels hat Bonnie should receive free..."
You know more about it than I do, I'm sure. I don't know who made this possible or what his/her/its Party affiliation is. But you probably do...or at least you are convinced you do.
Joe, what's your beef with Amtrack?
It's extremely popular in the Northeast and is also profitable.
We should expand or do you oppose improving our transportation network?
I can't wait to read why you're ragging on Social Security. Elder poverty must be your thing.
The Amtrak passenger rail service needed $1.4 billion in subsidies from Congress in 2012.
Washington Post
Ducky: A person on Social Security is in poverty unless he supplements it with something else.It is a socially bad deal and provides no security at all.
Joe, You won't have Obamacare. You'll have a private ins. policy. Does having a policy negate Bonnie's arrangement? You'll only pay the deductible if you access the policy to pay for her care. Can't you still bill it to the "arrangement"?
You're right, I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to Bonnie's situation because you can't tell us what it is. I do know you won't be out $12k if the arrangement is picking up the tab.
Your situation is extremely rare. All the ACA does is expand the number of insured among the 15% who don't have employer ins., curtail some of the lethal practices of private ins. co.s and mandate personal responsibility. It's far from optimal but better than the status quo.
Joe, why down on the postal service.
I have one of those old fashioned mailboxes on my front fence and I can put a letter in their, flip the flag up and have it delivered across country in two days for less than 50¢, what's your issue?
Why did you liberals get lulled into thinking that the government was qualified to run this health care scam on Americans?
----
Something go wrong with your hip transplant, Joe?
Ducky: "...for less than 50¢, what's your issue?"
Not for long. USPS is losing money.
Hip...nope. It's fine.
And you should know why the USPS is losing money, Joe.
A reactionary congress in a bid to privatize forced completely unique, unreasonable and unmanageable requirements for health care funding.
Now it's true that a single payer, Medicare for all type system can resolve that but take a time out and try to be honest.
The postal service is a plum that privatizers want and you will bear the cost to generate their profit.
So, why would anybody consider a $5,000.00, $10,000.00 or $12,000.00
deductible a good thing? If you are truly middle class, can you afford that? If you are lower class but above poverty, what are you supposed to do, go without gas in the car, go without groceries, go without housing to pay the deductible if something happens? Why would you be better off than not having insurance at all?
by the way, that's $12K of those items deemed acceptable by the insurance company as deductible; it's not $12K of expenses that are deductible. Trust me. It's really a lot more than that, as most people should know, Joe.
Bonnie never had insurance or she never had to cover it? Sounds like she's had some arrangement and it worked for you both. Why would anybody insult you over that?
the comments here are the very cheapest, ugliest mischaracterizations I've ever seen. I am SO SORRY, Joe. how repulsive.
I think their upshot is you just don't love Bonnie. What a cad you are for not having covered her, what a cad you are for not bowing down and thanking sheer crud which feels that screwing everybody's health insurance up is worth it...without THINKING how it might work out for those who HAVE worked hard for their insurance. Well, hell..who cares if doctors will now have an added 40,000 patients to see a year? And, if you like your doctor, you can keep him! He just won't be able to see you...that's all. He'll be too busy.
Let's just follow THE ONE..Mr. Obama wins.
what SCUM. Sorry, Joe, but it's just, literally, SCUM you have here in comments.
I can envision the hate-filled commenters standing behind someone with a pistol pointed to the back of someone’s head, a smirk on their face, as they slowly pull the trigger. These “scum” are the kinds of people that made the Soviet Union successful, and Hitler’s Germany, and Mao’s Revolution … but calling them scum is a compliment.
~Theo
Theo...thanks. You're so right.
and the misconstruing of Joe's words boggles the mind. Sort of like the mainstream media, I guess?
Joe - Sounds like Bonnie has a pretty sweet deal.
Why shouldn't every American have the same deal she has?
xavier, don't look now, but every American does have the 'sweet deal' Bonnie has, or will once that stupid website's working; most of us are getting kicked out of plans we liked very much and thrown into higher premiums and deductibles and far less care...just like Bonnie.
Think before you speak....it helps.
XO: "Why shouldn't every American have the same deal she has?"
It's OK with me. Only hers is not a government program, thus is not at all like PPACA.
Well, hell..who cares if doctors will now have an added 40,000 patients to see a year?
That could be a problem. There are 2 possible solutions. 1. The sane option, train more doctors. 2. The cruel option, limit the number of sick people who can see a doctor.
In true Conservative fashion, you choose cruel.
Anonymous: The liberals are a very weird bunch commenting here. Not nearly as bright as they like to think. You kinda have to get used to them.
Craig: Can we get them trained by January 1st? Please?
"Scuse me while I go slap Blogger around. Some people's comments are not showing up here. I think Blogger has relegated them to the junk pile. I'll find out and bring a report.
Craig...
"In true Conservative fashion, you choose cruel."
will liberals ever understand there isn't anything cruel about republicans, only that they need to have some order in how they help; they believe in starting in small steps that actually might work. Please forgive us if we didn't want to destroy health care for everyone...we had ideas but even the media denied that! :-)
no, nobody wants to be cruel; and nobody wants people to wait thru 40,000 patients. Only liberals could devise a plan they know very, very well would cause this huge problem. Ever think about turning to yourselves and really examining your choices in legislation? Please do. We can't go on much longer with what you all have done to us.
by the way, could you show where the anonymous commenter said they thought being cruel, not training more doctors was a good idea?
Why did you jump to that ridiculous conclusion?
We can train more doctors...except doctors are getting out of health care now because of the ACA. And it takes 10 years to train a doctor.
Think, please...it's important leftwingers start to, it really is.
Anon, I am guessing that for every person like you, there is someone like me and my family that will finally be able to buy health insurance.
We have been denied for years because of pre-existing conditions.
What were our options? Before the ACA, no one, and even Joe's "solution" above is included, was proposing eliminating that exclusion.
no, nobody wants to be cruel; and nobody wants people to wait thru 40,000 patients
Where do you get 40,000 from? The goal for ACA is 7M newly insured this year. There are currently about 1M licensed physicians in the U.S. A doctor shortage is a potential problem and it is addressed in the ACA.
The law includes support — through scholarships and graduate positions — to train more primary care doctors and adds new money to the National Health Services Corps, which helps health care professionals who agree to work in areas where there is a shortage.
Medical schools welcome record number of students this fall, data show
There is only one impediment to increasing the number of doctors...
Unless Congress lifts the 16-year-old cap on federal support for residency training, we will still face a shortfall of physicians across dozens of specialties. Students are doing their part by applying to medical school in record numbers. Medical schools are doing their part by expanding enrollment. Now Congress needs to do its part and act without delay to expand residency training to ensure that everyone who needs a doctor has access to one.
...a House run by the the party of cruel. They will do anything to keep the ACA from succeeding. Dave, myself and millions more can just get screwed.
Post a Comment