Premiums Unveiled For Health Overhaul Plans

[Tiddlywinks]

Unless I'm grossly missing something, from a taxpayer perspective it's pretty simple really.

If you are currently uninsured, starting on October 1st of this year, in many states you will be able to shop the "Health Insurance Marketplace" where you will be able to see competing government (public) and corporate (private) plans and premiums and pick one that suits you.

These plans are typically targeted to cost an individual between 5%-8% of their anual income. In the event that an individual cannot get insurance within that percentile of their anual income range, or if they meet any of the other previously posted exemption requirements then they can file for exemption. If granted they can essentially ignore that the system exists entirely.

In the event someone elects not to receive or participate then they will have a tax "penalty" applied anually, not to 1% of their income or $95 in 2014, whichever value is larger. In 2015 that goes up to $325 or 2%, and by 2016 to $695 or 2.5%. By 2017 tax penalty will increase by the rate of inflation going forward, or 2.5% of your Income.

I think the reason it is staggered like this for 3 years until it begins to match inflation is to give people time (seriously people take 3 years to catch on to shit?) to get aboard, but I could be wrong.

That's basically it as far as purchasing a premium or not is concerned.

Personally I think the lower level coverages blow dick, and thankfully my employer offers me much better for only $1500 anually. Carrying health coverage is also a requirement for employment so I don't care all too much. As a (relatively) fit, young individual, if I did not receive coverage through work I would probably just man up and pay the penalties. As it is I'm already paying less than 2.5% of my anual income for better health insurance anyway, so whatever.

[Tiddlywinks]

Originally Posted by Stinkum [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Hence, leaving him without any insurance.

I'm not sure why this is a "good thing" to you.

That was my whole point that went entirely over your head. How is the person in the state with no Medicaid expansion going to pay for their insurance? They get no subsidies. No Medicaid. But they can pay 50% of their income towards buying insurance through an exchange. For 7 million of the poorest working Americans, that is their only option for insurance. These are the people earning minimum wage at part time jobs. The ones whose hours have been reduced. Whose employers do not offer insurance.

It seems to me that the most humane option is to plug the Medicaid gap by allowing those earning under the poverty level to get subsidies. Why punish the working poor for being "too poor"?

This is America. Offering government set plans and premiums and creating a Health Insurance Marketplace to help those who MAY be able to afford insurance but otherwise have pre-existing conditions or can't afford premiums as they currently stand now is more than enough to get republitards all riled up and threatening government shutdown and all sorts of shit.

If we want to cover everyone, regardless of income I think that would be spectacular, but legislation like that wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of making it through Washington.

[Tiddlywinks]

I also have no idea why you put "Good thing" in quotations and attributed it to me, when nowhere did I say it was a good thing, and in my previous post in this thread I advocate universal coverage.

[Stinkum]

Guess the working poor will be sticking with the duct tape, super glue, Tylenol and prayers scenario then. We will continue to see the poor and the working class destroy their credit with unpaid medical bills and families driven to bankruptcy because they got sick.

[Tiddlywinks]

At least the overall number of people that happens to hopefully narrows? I think a large portion are just going to opt out and pay the tax anyway.

IDK the uptick of it really. Maybe it will get people eventually thinking of fully nationalized medical care like so many other countries have? If the republican reaction is any indication I'm not holding my breath.

[Sularus Oth Mithas]

Luckily I still have my Canadian citizenship. I'll suffer through this for a while but I can retire in Canada [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Swish]

Originally Posted by Sularus Oth Mithas [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Luckily I still have my Canadian citizenship. I'll suffer through this for a while but I can retire in Canada [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If retirement exists by the time we hit retirement age [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Orruar]

Originally Posted by Tiddlywinks [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Nobody forces people to buy this. The tax "penalty" for not purchasing a plan is typically much less than the health insurance premiums are. The tax penalty ends up being, I believe, a max of 1%-2.5% of annual income, whereas the premiums are loosly based around 4-8% of an anual income.

Is this kind of logic the same as saying income taxes are voluntary, because you can always decide not to pay them and just go to jail and then pay fines instead?

I have health insurance through my job that only costs me like 3% of my paycheck, but even I have thought about just dropping it altogether, as I'm young, healthy, and take good care of my health.

I really just want a plan that covers disastrous and crazy expensive things like getting hit by a car. You know, how every other form of insurance is structured. Unfortunately, Obamacare just adds to the various mandates of little piddly shit that insurance is now forced to cover.

Can you imagine how expensive car insurance would be if it was mandated to cover gasoline, window tinting, and every knick and ding? Not only would you pay more as the insurance company would take a little extra profit on every gallon of gas, but everyone would be going in for every minor little car problem and driving up the cost for everyone.

Seriously, make it legal and tax deductible to hold an insurance plan that only covers the super-rare and insanely expensive events. If I break an arm and need to pay a few hundred $ out of pocket, I'm cool with that.

You know why such plans are not legal? Because then they couldn't fuck over us young people to pay for all the bad health decisions made by the older generations.

[Swish]

At least you aren't funding a bunch of eastern/southern European immigrants piggybacking on NHS healthcare in Britain.

Saying that makes me racist by media standards btw... I'm now a bad person [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Thulack]

I'm 30 and havent had health insurance since i was 18. In those 12 years ive broken my hand twice and had 3 doctors visits for colds/pinched nerve. I look at it this way. I've spent about 6k in medical bills in 12 years so i'm still ahead rather having insurance to cover me all those years. I will pay the penatly atleast the first year if not the 1st 2 years. depending on what the actual fee will be 3rd year i might get insurance or just work part time and get welfare [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]