Review: HealthCare.gov a winner despite glitches

[Guest]

Finally got on to check out policies and rates.

Everything I saw was higher premiums (and/or deductibles) for less coverage than I already have.

I guess when you force people to buy something, prices go up. Who knew?

I'm curious about something.......
When you went to the site to look around, did you have to sign up and put in all of your personal information?
It was being reported that that's what people were having to do just to check out the rates/prices, etc.
So, I was wanting to hear from someone who apparently made it onto the website.


Thanks,
Den

.

[The Choker]

[zoocrewphoto]

Does anybody know if the subsidy means you only pay the remaining part? Or do you pay the full amount and get a refund later?

I'm hoping it all becomes moot, but my contract expired in May, and the union authorized a strike since the company's proposal includes a cut in hours, a cut in pay, AND drops our insurance. If that happens, I will probably have to take the fine and buy supplies and prescriptions out of pocket. The initial prices I looked at are too high, especially with the deductible. Even with the subsidy, the monthly payments would be 5 times what I currently pay, and my wages will be going down, not up.

[Wulfman...]

Does anybody know if the subsidy means you only pay the remaining part? Or do you pay the full amount and get a refund later?

I'm hoping it all becomes moot, but my contract expired in May, and the union authorized a strike since the company's proposal includes a cut in hours, a cut in pay, AND drops our insurance. If that happens, I will probably have to take the fine and buy supplies and prescriptions out of pocket. The initial prices I looked at are too high, especially with the deductible. Even with the subsidy, the monthly payments would be 5 times what I currently pay, and my wages will be going down, not up.

One of the things I heard is that the "subsidies" are in the form of tax credits. However, to be eligible for tax credits, your income has to be under a certain amount. But, most people under that amount don't PAY taxes and therefore the tax credits are meaningless.

Don't know how true all that is, but take it with a grain of salt.


Den

.

[zoocrewphoto]

Does anybody know if the subsidy means you only pay the remaining part? Or do you pay the full amount and get a refund later?

I'm hoping it all becomes moot, but my contract expired in May, and the union authorized a strike since the company's proposal includes a cut in hours, a cut in pay, AND drops our insurance. If that happens, I will probably have to take the fine and buy supplies and prescriptions out of pocket. The initial prices I looked at are too high, especially with the deductible. Even with the subsidy, the monthly payments would be 5 times what I currently pay, and my wages will be going down, not up.

One of the things I heard is that the "subsidies" are in the form of tax credits. However, to be eligible for tax credits, your income has to be under a certain amount. But, most people under that amount don't PAY taxes and therefore the tax credits are meaningless.

Don't know how true all that is, but take it with a grain of salt.


Den

.

When I checked the washington state website a few weeks ago, the general info (no specifics) did say I qualified for a subsidy, but it still left my monthly payment at 5x my current payment. But it never clarified how it works. If it is a tax credit that I get back later, then it would be more than 10x my current payment with a huge refund later. But that won't help me buy a mask or prescription now. I am praying my employer backs down and keeps our insurance, which we only needed 15 hours a week to get until this contract came up. If they get what they want, they will require 30 hours and cut everybody below 30 hours. I knew it was going to hurt us in the future, but I thought my employer had a waiver until 2018 which would get us through one more 3 year contract before they would have to pay the 40% Cadillac tax. Somehow, we lost that.

My wages are low enough to qualify for some type of subsidy, but not low enough to make it free. And definitely not low enough to avoid taxes. I am single without kids, so I do pay a decent percentage. I do not qualify for any of the tax credits I hear about. My refund is very small each year. I wish the information was more clear about these things, as I really can't get a good take on what plan is comparable to what I have, so that I can make a fair comparison. Or even find out what my real payment would be on a plan with a low deductible. Honestly, a plan with a $1,000 deductible won't help me unless I have a lot of problems. Otherwise, assuming some partial cover like now on cpap equipment and prescriptions, I can buy all that I need for the year with less than $1000. Now, if I have to go completely without and pay full price for everything, the prescriptions are gonna hurt me. I can handle the masks and filters okay. My machine is less than 2 years old. My hose is still the original with one backup ready. But my asthma inhalers and blood pressure meds will be hard for me if I have to pay the full price, especially if my insurance premiums jump by 5x or more.

I used to be confident that this would be fixed, but a few weeks ago, the union asked for a strike vote (with only a week's notice). In past years, they gave months of notice so that we could prepare for a strike. They also required you to sit through a meeting before you could vote. Most of my coworkers were not here 24 years ago for the last strike, so they were not familiar with the union's line. If you want to avoid a strike, vote for a strike, so that we look strong to the employer. Last time we did that, we went on strike for 13 weeks. Well, we authorized that strike, and now the union can call a strike anytime they want. We have no more say. And it was on the national news last night that we are poised for a strike. No unemployment. I doubt there is much of a strike fund. Last time, it was less than minimum wage to picket. I was a courtesy clerk back then, only 16, and they lied and told me I would be fired if I did not picket. So, I picketed 20 hours a week for a lousy $40. As a high school student, I would have been better off staying home. This time, I have bills to pay, so, if we go on strike, I have no idea what I will do. I job experience is all with grocery work, so most jobs I could apply for would start at minimum wage. Better than picketing, but not by much, assuming I can find something in the area with 30,000 other people on strike.

I do hope things get worked out and get better. But this is going to be a very rough year for me.

[PST]

Does anybody know if the subsidy means you only pay the remaining part? Or do you pay the full amount and get a refund later?

I'm hoping it all becomes moot, but my contract expired in May, and the union authorized a strike since the company's proposal includes a cut in hours, a cut in pay, AND drops our insurance. If that happens, I will probably have to take the fine and buy supplies and prescriptions out of pocket. The initial prices I looked at are too high, especially with the deductible. Even with the subsidy, the monthly payments would be 5 times what I currently pay, and my wages will be going down, not up.

The subsidy is paid up front. There is a discussion of this in a white paper called Reconciliation of Advance Payments for Health Insurance Subsidies at the Kaiser Family Foundation site, which I have come to believe is objective and reliable on the subject of health care reform. The key paragraph is:

For most tax credits, people apply for the credits when they file their taxes. However, because the cost of insurance is so high and many low and moderate income people would not be able to afford the coverage without upfront assistance, the law allows for eligible individuals to take the tax credit in the form of an advance payment. In this case, once an eligible individual selects and enrolls in a plan, the advance payments are made directly to the insurer. The enrollee is then only required to pay the remaining share of the premium to the insurer. 

Although the subsidy is in the form of a tax credit, it can exceed a person's taxes and be refunded even if he owes no taxes (see last paragraph on page one). This is an idea, incidentally, that was present in the original Heritage Foundation prototype of Obamacare, which included both the mandate and a tax credit that could exceed taxes.

[zoocrewphoto]

Does anybody know if the subsidy means you only pay the remaining part? Or do you pay the full amount and get a refund later?

The subsidy is paid up front. There is a discussion of this in a white paper called Reconciliation of Advance Payments for Health Insurance Subsidies at the Kaiser Family Foundation site, which I have come to believe is objective and reliable on the subject of health care reform. The key paragraph is:

For most tax credits, people apply for the credits when they file their taxes. However, because the cost of insurance is so high and many low and moderate income people would not be able to afford the coverage without upfront assistance, the law allows for eligible individuals to take the tax credit in the form of an advance payment. In this case, once an eligible individual selects and enrolls in a plan, the advance payments are made directly to the insurer. The enrollee is then only required to pay the remaining share of the premium to the insurer. 

Thank you so much. That helps a lot. Hopefully, I will qualify for more than the generic form determined. I will wait though until my insurance status is finalized.

[Ptastic]

You know.... we could always make our own insurance. We could call it "Insurancepap"

[VVV]

Insurance was working for 85% of the population and things were improving rapidly.

Federal government comes with a massive program, not just for the 15%, but affecting 100%. One size fits all.

It will not be stopped and our country is being badly hurt.

[rkuntz123]

VVV,
Although we had what was arguably the best Health Care system in the world you're wrong Insurance, was NOT working for 85% of the population and things were NOT improving rapidly. Per the US Census Bureau a stable 80% (+/- a percentage point or two) of the US population has had health Health Insurance for the last 45 years. But there were problems and they were getting worse, thanks to mismanagement by the Government and Insurance Companies. It was certainly quite inflationary for instance.

The real benefit that will come out of the ACA is that it is shattering an increasingly expensive system of health care delivery, from which will emerge something else. My hope is that the Market ends up shaping the new outcome not the wishes of central planners whose policies are obsolete the day they are written. Unfair as they are, markets are more flexible and responsive to the demands of buyers and less unfair than Bureaucracies and Politicians are or can be.

[TheUglyTruth]

[hobbs]

. . . and I'm black too!

[ChicagoGranny]

Socialized Medicine Kills





Margaret Hutchon

Former NHS director dies after operation is cancelled four times at her own hospital





Former Mayor of Chelmsford Margaret Hutchon was waiting for a stomach op

A former NHS director died after waiting for nine months for an operation - at her own hospital.

Margaret Hutchon, a former mayor, had been waiting since last June for a follow-up stomach operation at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex.

But her appointments to go under the knife were cancelled four times and she barely regained consciousness after finally having surgery.

Her devastated husband, Jim, is now demanding answers from Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust - the organisation where his wife had served as a non-executive member of the board of directors.

He said: 'I don't really know why she died. I did not get a reason from the hospital. We all want to know for closure. She got weaker and weaker as she waited and operations were put off.'

Mr Hutchon, of Great Baddow, Essex, said his wife, 72, had initially undergone major stomach surgery last June but the follow up procedures were repeatedly abandoned.

The former mayor remained at the hospital for months but her family feared she was becoming institutionalised and decided to bring her home until an operation was a certainty.
Broomfield Hospital

Margaret Hutchon waited nine months for an operation at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford where she was a non-executive director

Mr Hutchon, 71, said: 'The case has been referred to the coroner because of the long time it has taken. In some ways, I would like the coroner to order a post mortem.'

The pensioner said his wife had been left very weak before her operation because she had been unable to take in nutrients.

'From July to October there was talk of another operation and then between November and December there were three or four postponements and she was becoming so institutionalised we decided to get her home until an operation was certain.

'It was a blessing because although neither of is could have guessed it - it gave us a last month together.

'Nevertheless, she was unable to take proper nourishment and went into the operation on the better side of a low state - she was very weak.'

Mrs Hutchon was well known and respected after serving in local government for the past 30 years and she became mayor of Chelmsford in 2006.

Mike Mackrory, a fellow Liberal Democrat councillor, said: We were all stunned to hear she had died after the operation. There were constant delays she had to endure before surgery.

'We were given the very sad news and as word spread it threw a pall over the civic dinner. Margaret was much loved and respected in this town.'

A spokesman for Broomfield Hospital said it could not comment on individual cases.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z2hi7o2Ihq

[hyperlexis]

Socialized Medicine Kills

Margaret Hutchon

Former NHS director dies after operation is cancelled four times at her own hospital

For every one of these individual stories, (which at this point is meaningless because they don't even know why the old gal finally died), one could drag out a ton of miserable tales of Americans dying while sitting in overcrowded ERs, cutting pills in half or going without, dying of untreated chronic disease, infant mortality, etc., etc.

The facts are the facts. No other civilized country in the world spends more on medical care, yet has worse morbidity and mortality statistics than does the US. We are not even in the top ten!

And at the end of the day, we only have one form of 'socialized' government run medicine here. It's called Medicare (and yes, Tricare and Medicaid). Want to give up Medicare? Didn't think so.

[ChicagoGranny]

one could drag out a ton of miserable tales of Americans dying while sitting in overcrowded ERs, cutting pills in half or going without, dying of untreated chronic disease, infant mortality, etc., etc.

A ton? I bet you can't post just one that died because Obamacare did not exist.