RE: My Recent Obamacare Experience
The cheap insurance you had before wasn't very good insurance. They could put caps on their payouts, they could kick you off their policy when you made a claim, and they didn't have to cover basic wellness things like checkups. So even though the policy was cheap, you could still go bankrupt if you had a medical issue. Lots of people did. Further, once you had a medical issue, you could be unable to find any coverage, at any price.
You imply the policy is taking up most of your income. If that's the case, you will qualify for a subsidy. And maybe not just for the monthly payment, but for copays and deductibles as well.
While the ACA sets out the requirements for insurance, it's your state level government that bears most of the blame for the lack of companies offering plans. Every state manages the insurance sector for their state. Talk to your local representatives about what your Insurance Commission is doing to reign in rates and get more competition.
It is interesting how you are still going to bat for Obamacare when basically everyone realizes that it has fallen short of the Utopian paradise people thought it would be. Even Bill Clinton couldn't keep his mouth shut about the issues with Obamacare.
For starters I feel that insurance isn't much more than a legal scam. But when I did have the emergency plan from Humana One for $50 / month and a $5,200 deductible I did end up in the emergency room. The total bill ended up being over $17,000. I was on the hook for the $5,200 but the insurance paid the rest. They didn't drop me until 3 years later when they decided not to offer the Obamacare packages. You're are acting like an Obamacare plan like the ones I have sceenshots for are automatically a good deal. Everyone else can see that it is way over priced and a pile of garbage.
Paragraph 1: This is about the state of insurance coverage before the ACA. I agree that there a lot of issues with the current system (see paragraph 3). The system before was absymal from a state and national perspective. That doesn't mean it was terrible for everyone. It was collectively worse than the current system. Again, that does not mean the current system is utopia -- far from it. (see paragraph 3).
Paragraph 2: I sincerely was trying to help here. I am on the board for a non-profit with employees. Since the ACA was passed, I have spent weeks in total, reviewing group plans, individual plans, state and federal requirements for employers and employees, talking with experts and our employees. I am still surprised how many people do not know that the prices listed on the exchange will be reduced by subsidies for the people that qualify for them. That does not say the current system is utopia. It says that I was trying to help you.
Paragraph 3: The current system has a lot of flaws. Some of those flaws are in the ACA itself. Others are in the state implementation of it and state oversight of insurance companies and health care providers. I gave you some actionable information relevant to the problem you illustrated. The plans people are offered are not automatically a good deal -- and it takes a lot of work to make them better. The people affected by the plans have to constantly advocate and push the people who currently oversee the system.
My recommendation? Go without insurance. Be bold. A relative of mine did that. He didn't like insurance, even though he could afford it. He died a couple weeks ago from a repairable heart issue. He left his four boys without a father. But he died with his pride intact.
An alternative recommendation? Pay the insurance. Gripe. How you gripe is up to you. Shaking your fist at the sky on the blockchain. Or to the folks that can change what you are facing. The first is easier, for sure!
My guess is that you will move to Mexico.
Thanks for your input. My Spanish needs to get better before I move to Mexico.
At least you are in Arizona -- it will be easy to practice your Spanish! : )