“The defining challenge of our time, making sure our economy
works for every working American” President Obama 12/4/13.
That is a great and lofty goal with the key word being “working”.
The working American is part of the middle class which is being ignored by a
socialist leaning government which has to date been focusing on increasing
entitlements to the poor and which although supposed to include the middle
class actually penalizes them
Forgetting the still not properly functioning ACA despite
all the spin to the contrary. There are still multi-thousands of Americans
mostly middle class who have had their policies which fitted their individual
needs cancelled.
If and when they get new policies under the Exchanges in many
cases the premium will be higher and they will be paying for coverage many do
not need or want. Obstetrical or abortion coverage certainly is not needed for someone
over the childbearing age or perhaps a male.
Mental health coverage should be part of a generalized
health care coverage program, yet our freedoms should give a person the right
to opt out.
These are just examples of things that will make a higher
premium for some. For those who qualify at various levels of income for subsides
in the form tax credits there will be decreased costs.
I should mention that the IRS credits through the income tax
is being challenged in the courts. I also read but cannot vouch for the truth,
that the Income Tax credits may be only valid in State Exchanges not the Federal
ones as in New Jersey.
But do not forget that the cost of the policy will still
have to be met so the government will pick up any shortfall. That money will
have to come from increases in taxes; or congress increasing the debt ceiling
which means further inflation with all the negative effects on the middle
class.
Let us not forget that there will be a drop in the true
quality of care as the carriers drop many of the physicians and hospitals from
their other products’ panels to as they claim result in better costs controls
and more profit for them.
Little concern has been given to the Senior Americans who
will find their premiums rising rapidly as they grow older, and who will be inconvenienced
by the “provider” restrictions.
When I sat down to write this blog I was annoyed by another
penalty placed on seniors. I am referring to the Social Security payments in which
deductions based on reported income actually result in less social security
payments then in the previous year’s yet the person will be taxed on the so called
adjusted for inflation level.
The payment for Medicare is not equal for all but graduated increased
according to reported gross not net income. Besides that set deductions from
the monthly check there is surtax which in my case is another 63% of the
already deducted amount.
Due to space limitations this will be the subject of another
blog.
Doc --
ReplyDeleteI just had a discussion with an insurance company about the options available under Obamacare.
Option 1 - 686 a month with 2000 deductible, 40 me/60 them from 2001 to 6330, then 100% them after that. $25/$50 copays. Bigger network
Option 2 - 608 a month with 2500 deuductible, 50/50 to 6330. No copays. Smaller network.
I have no other options -- this is the rate for anyone in my age bracket.
I find this the worst kind of profiling. If services were based on something like, say, race or gender -- people would be outraged.
People who are aging are facing discrimination in the workplace. How many highly skilled 50-somethings have lost their jobs, had to accept lower pay with the recession - and now are hit with a higher insurance cost?
For the average single person, let's say making a good salary of 80,000, let's do some math:
80,000 income
64,000 net (after 20% taxes)
7296 cost of plan
1000 deductible (figure doc visits,etc.)
8296 out of pocket.
From a net of 64000, this is 12% of net income -- not very affordable. For people making less, obviously the percentage is higher.
I've researched what's going on:
- if the lowest available health insurance is greater than 8% of your income and you are self employed, you can be exempted without penalty.
- there are other exemptions available as well
- if you don't get insurance, can't be exempted from the requirement, then the penalty is $95/year, then gets bigger after that.
- the "penalty" is considered a tax, the IRS can only collect from your tax refund. If you don't have a refund, they can't do anything, and they can't prosecute, etc. Of course, this can change.
I personally am not going to get insurance. My current insurance will end this year. I'm going to use the premium I was paying to start my own insurance fund.
I'm going to wait it out, see how the dust settles -- because my option when the law kicks in, people will be so outraged, refuse to participate, the program will fail.
Olive
Olive, did your insurance company calculate your income as compared to the Federal Poverty Level? If you make 133% (33% above the poverty level - for a single person around 15K) you pay nothing.
ReplyDeleteYou are eligible for a federal subsidy if you make less than 400%of the Federal Poverty Level. You will not get total subsidy but you will get something.
Did your insurance company check that?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete“The defining challenge of our time, making sure our economy works for every working American” President Obama 12/4/13.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great and lofty goal with the key word being “working”. The working American is part of the middle class which is being ignored by a socialist leaning government which has to date been focusing on increasing entitlements to the poor and which although supposed to include the middle class actually penalizes them.
{I suggest you do more research on the "Working Poor". After seeing the failure of "Trickle-down" economics and its adverse impact on the middle class, giving support to the bottom of the economy makes sense if for no other reason that every penny they earn is put directly into the economy. In other words a dollar for dollar impact.}
Forgetting the still not properly functioning ACA despite all the spin to the contrary. There are still multi-thousands of Americans mostly middle class who have had their policies which fitted their individual needs cancelled.
{Abraham Lincoln said that ultimately,"you can not please all the people all the time." There is no doubt that there are issues with ACA that need to be fixed. However, you overlooked the fact that ACA already has had a positive impact on healthcare by making it available to young adults under their parents' policies and by removing pre-existing conditions as a barrier to getting coverage at all. There are millions of people that have already benefited from ACA prior to the federal exchange issues. If you look at the state exchanges who have implemented ACA, such as California and Kentucky, it is clear that ACA is a net benefit to the vast majority of those that have signed up. The federal website implementation was a disaster and has to continually worked on to get it where it should be. By the way, in certain Republican states, there was a concerted effort to undermine the feds efforts by putting up roadblocks and in California the Republicans put up a fake website to intentionally mislead people about ACA and the state's otherwise successful rollout of ACA.}
If and when they get new policies under the Exchanges in many cases the premium will be higher and they will be paying for coverage many do not need or want. Obstetrical or abortion coverage certainly is not needed for someone over the childbearing age or perhaps a male.
{Every group plan I was ever on had coverage that I did not need. That is how it works. Keep in mind that in spite of the ACA provisions, every state has a Department of Insurance that issues the guidelines to the insurance companies that they must follow in order to sell insurance in this state. For example, New Jersey DOI requires that insurers provide coverage for bone marrow transplants whereas NY does not. I have two friends that are alive today because of that coverage.}
The bottom line is that America is great because every American has the opportunity to be great. One of the greatest contribution to American greatness was the public school system, where every child was given an opportunity to learn enough to move into a productive role for their family and their community. At one time the country had an extensive public healthcare system but it disappeared and ended up in the emergency rooms of hospitals at a significantly greater cost of service delivery. ACA offers 21st century America another chance to get it right and meet the needs of its citizens so that more of them can lead productive, healthy lives.
I am sure you know that, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." The question for you is, where do you want to spend your money? I don't have enough time to explore that concept as it relates to setting priorities in Plainfield, New Jersey and the United States of America.
Yes. That amount is $48,000. I gross more than that, so I am not eligible for subsidies.
ReplyDeleteUnder the law, if health insurance coverage is more than 8% of your taxable income, you are exempt from any penalties if you don't have insurance.
Olive