Has anybody else found the Affordable Healthcare Act to be anything but?

I have a few friends who say it’s working really great for them actually, deductible low, etc…, and I’m a Republican, so I’ve really been paying attention to the effects for real people.

Our insurance plan was changed to a very high deductable and less coverage than we had before, such as extremely high co-pay for emergency service. The monthly premium is slightly lower.

I am surprised by the deductibles. They, in my opinion, render the plans unaffordable for many, many people. For most, this will be catastrophic insurance coverage. I hope the preventive care is free and not bound to the deductibles.

I am very, very grateful for my employer-sponsored insurance plan. But even with that, the deductible is painful for many months of the year.

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304367204579270252042143502?mod=trending_now_3&mobile=y

I found the plans cheaper than what was available before. Mine is about 60 bucks a month now (after-obamacare). Before I couldn’t afford it. They wanted around 400 per month. I now qualifiy for subsidies.

Gruber also saved some cash.

* sigh *

See, folks, this is what happens when you put the burden on the people to buy shit, and no burden on the suppliers to make shit available for a reasonable price.

But no, we can’t go making rules for corporations. Because that would make sense or something.

Have you tried phoning the help lines to ask a person about this? Perhaps you missed something, and they can talk you through the process. I’m not saying it’s impossible that you’ll end up paying more, just that it would be worth investigating further via a different avenue.

My family’s small surgical practice already provided healthcare for the staff. We received some nice small business rebates this year.

Look at how insurance has been raising premiums and deductibles while reducing coverage for years. And now the people who have been complaining about those who use medical services at taxpayer expense being forced to give money to the Almighty Corporate Gods instead of just dying like lazy plebes are supposed to…

Anyways, I haven’t really been affected by the ACA personally the way some have, but it seems that the high cost of living that many of us have been dealing with for years is hitting those who supported the policies that allowed insurance/healthcare costs to rise so high in the first place the hardest. At worst, the ACA is the price you pay for the false savings you had.

I found a website that does a calculation based on the number of people you need to insure, what your annual income is, and where you live. It’s supposed to determine whether or not you qualify for a reduced rate. My results? Apply for Medicaid. Are you kidding me?
So they’re telling me that my only choice is to apply for Medicaid or be uninsured and pay a fine?
I’m finding this whole thing very frustrating.

So you’re saying that you qualify for FREE health insurance coverage (Medicaid)? If that is the case, what are you complaining about? Medicaid plans require referrals, but the inconvenience is small relative to the benefit of having no co-pays or premiums. I’m paying nearly $600/month for myself and my son, and we have to also pay copays for each visit.

@hearkat Well since you put it that way…... lol
I’m not really complaining, I guess maybe it’s the stigma attached to Medicaid that I find undesirable. I don’t mind paying for health insurance, I just want a policy that I can afford. $400/mo plus co-pays and a huge deductible isn’t even close to doable.

… and that is why Medicaid is there for you. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Not to mention that Medicaid recipients tend to get much lower quality health care.

@snowberry – not always. For some regions and/or specialities, there are limited providers so the clinics are the only option, but the Medicaid HMOs have larger provider networks than straight Medicaid.

The monthly costs are outrageous at best, and the yearly deductibles are brutal. There is NOTHING affordable about this. This whole thing is a farce, and I am very disappointed in it.

@echotech10 – Could you offer a comparison of what coverage is available for what price through the marketplace, as opposed to what coverage you could get for the same premium in 2013? I haven’t seen anyone provide details, they only complain about how expensive it is, without specifying in what ways it differs from the pre-ACA options. I wonder how apples-to-apples comparisons of 2013 options and 2014 options really look.

I am also curious how the marketplace options compare to employer plans in terms of fees and benefits. I’ve been with my job for several years and my premiums have nearly doubled while my coverage has diminished since 2008.

The for-profit insurance corporations have really be raking everyone over the coals for decades, and they keep paying less and less to the providers for services, too… so where are those higher premiums going? Into the shareholders’ pockets. I knew that they would go into this reform kicking and screaming, and that these first couple of years will be full of ‘growing pains’ until they truly start to compete for people’s business.

@Katniss Yeah, Canadians and Europeans (to keep the list short) keep waiting for Americans to figure out that there isn’t supposed to be a stigma associated with programs like Medicaid. It exists for you – use it or lose it!

@echotech10 It’s taken you this long to realize what a great benefit employer-subsidized health insurance is? And you’ve obviously been living under a rock not to notice something that’s been going on for many, many years. Think of it as a lesson in personal responsibility, and/or a step towards a consumer-driven market.

@glacial right on! Medicaid/Medicare for all is a far more efficient solution.
Nobody needs health insurance, we all need healthcare coverage. Cut the insurance companies out of the game and, except for them, we will all be better off.

Of course an even more efficient solution than Medicare/Medicaid for all is socialized medicine, as most developed countries have. The most effective healthcare in the U.S., both in cost and patient outcomes, is the Veterans Administration Hospital/Clinic system.

@jerv -Obviously, I have NOT been “living under a rock” nor have I been shirking my responsibilities. I am also taken back by your blatantly insulting words. I am unemployed, and do NOT have employer subsidized healthcare as an option! I have been unable to get a job, and the State of Florida does not participate in Extended Medicaid Benefits! What I suggest to you is get your facts straight before insulting someone you do not know! I am still standing by what I said earlier, that is that the Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable, with extremely high deductibles.

^ Ooh, another Floridian.

I am too. I also don’t qualify for Medicaid, even though I’m on unemployment.

We won’t be penalized. Don’t worry.

@Seek_Kolinahr -Thank you for validating my response :)

No worries. I’m loud and borderline obnoxious about how stupid this state is. Fist-bump, yo. ^_^

Also, @jerv is good people. I’m sure he didn’t mean to be insulting.

@Katniss Thank your lucky stars (or, you know, Obama) that Medicaid is available to you. Expanding that system to meet the needs of more people is part of the point of Obamacare (though some states have stupidly refused to utilize the benefit, like Florida). The goal, after all, is to get everyone covered, one way or another. You’re now covered for free! Congrats. :)

@augustlan “Expanding that system to meet the needs of more people is part of the point of Obamacare (though some states have stupidly refused to utilize the benefit, like Florida). ”

Exactly.

@echotech10 Sorry for the snark, but if you knew me better, you’d be used to my style. Those who do know me generally agree that I am nicer than I come across.

Still, I really fail to see how things are much different than they were pre-ACA. Insurance has been expensive for at least my entire adult life, and most of those I hear complaining about the high cost of insurance are those who don’t realize that the only reason they ever got insurance for as cheap as they did was that they didn’t know how much of it was paid for by their employer; now that fewer employers offer insurance and more people are buying their own insurance, they are now seeing what the full cost is as opposed to the 5–25% of the premium that they are used to paying.

But the premiums have come down a bit anyways simply due to supply and demand. Insurance companies would rather drop premiums than lose sales. It is more affordable than it used to be, even if not by much.

And I have to say that it doesn’t surprise me that Florida isn’t into the whole Medicaid thing. How much money did your state waste drug-testing welfare recipients only to find that the testing cost far more than they saved by kicking druggies off of welfare? It’s funny how the states that have the biggest problems with poverty are also the ones that hate poor people the most. That’s Red states for ya….