I will be the first to admit I do not know enough about it to say for a fact whether it will be good for me or not in the long run, but my opinion about it is VERY poor right now.
We have always had good health insurance coverage. We had/have a EPO (the in-between of a PPO and HMO). DH plans to stay with the same employer through to retirement. They have switched insurance carriers several times, and "pre-existing conditions" have never been an issue. What's covered under 1 carrier was also covered under the new carrier, etc.
My favorite part of DH's health insurance has been the FSA. DH's employer opted to allow the maximum (to be set aside for FSA) to be something like 7k. We never needed that much, but one year the amount did creep up above 5k (which is what we had it set at).
Well, as of December 31, 2012, employers cannot allow their employees any more than $2,500 in annual contributions. Because DH's health care goes from Apr 1 -March 31, his employer had to put this $2,500 max into effect Apr. 1st.
Here it is October, and our 2,500 FSA is far gone.
My son has autism and needs multiple therapies. Even with insurance covering the therapies, we are still required to put out a $20 copay per session. I can't even begin to tell you how much that can add up. He's very high functioning so maybe he'll be ok without them... but I'd much rather him be in the therapies.
I tried going to Social Security to apply for medicaid for him (because he has an actual diagnosis/paperwork to support it) and was denied because we make too much and have too much money in the bank. So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Because we're not "rich" enough that this doesn't hurt us. And we're not poor. But if I had the ability to max out my FSA at 7k, this would not be such an issue.
But I can't. But OH WOW, I get a "free" annual wellness exam, "free" annual OBGYN exams, and my kids get "free" annual wellness exams. Yeah. "Free." Well, I'd rather PAY my $20 copay for those exams with the (up to) 7k of MY money set aside in FSA than have the "free" wellness exams. So F-U Obamacare.
But Obamacare could save you if your H lost his job. I think we had a post like this previously - I don't think people truly understand what it means to not have health insurance and not be insurable. You've been lucky so far, but can you imagine what your child's therapies would cost you if you didn't have coverage?
I don't think it will affect me much at the moment. I know of one company where they cut the hours of part time staff in order to avoid having to offer them insurance. So then the part time employees earn less and still don't have company-supported insurance. Hopefully they will have some better options in 2014.
I will be the first to admit I do not know enough about it to say for a fact whether it will be good for me or not in the long run, but my opinion about it is VERY poor right now.
We have always had good health insurance coverage. We had/have a EPO (the in-between of a PPO and HMO). DH plans to stay with the same employer through to retirement. They have switched insurance carriers several times, and "pre-existing conditions" have never been an issue. What's covered under 1 carrier was also covered under the new carrier, etc.
My favorite part of DH's health insurance has been the FSA. DH's employer opted to allow the maximum (to be set aside for FSA) to be something like 7k. We never needed that much, but one year the amount did creep up above 5k (which is what we had it set at).
Well, as of December 31, 2012, employers cannot allow their employees any more than $2,500 in annual contributions. Because DH's health care goes from Apr 1 -March 31, his employer had to put this $2,500 max into effect Apr. 1st.
Here it is October, and our 2,500 FSA is far gone.
My son has autism and needs multiple therapies. Even with insurance covering the therapies, we are still required to put out a $20 copay per session. I can't even begin to tell you how much that can add up. He's very high functioning so maybe he'll be ok without them... but I'd much rather him be in the therapies.
I tried going to Social Security to apply for medicaid for him (because he has an actual diagnosis/paperwork to support it) and was denied because we make too much and have too much money in the bank. So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Because we're not "rich" enough that this doesn't hurt us. And we're not poor. But if I had the ability to max out my FSA at 7k, this would not be such an issue.
But I can't. But OH WOW, I get a "free" annual wellness exam, "free" annual OBGYN exams, and my kids get "free" annual wellness exams. Yeah. "Free." Well, I'd rather PAY my $20 copay for those exams with the (up to) 7k of MY money set aside in FSA than have the "free" wellness exams. So F-U Obamacare.
But Obamacare could save you if your H lost his job. I think we had a post like this previously - I don't think people truly understand what it means to not have health insurance and not be insurable. You've been lucky so far, but can you imagine what your child's therapies would cost you if you didn't have coverage?
If my husband lost his job I would be greatful for coverage. I and several family members have pre-existing conditions (unexplained high cholesterol for me, genetic heart defect for my mom, and diabetes for my dad). Again, this would make me grateful for this program. I am still against it, though. I truly believe we need reform. The uninsurable thing is crap. However, there is not an infrastructure in this program. People will now be heading to he ER for a runny nose because they can and their doctor will have a backlog of weeks and weeks of appointments. DH deals with people all the time that are at the doctor every other day because they get "free" appointments and they would rather get a dr. appt. and have the doc write a refill for free tylenol than go pay $3 for some at the store. This will get worse because there won't be a mandate in place. We will also have less incentive for docs to come to this country (in my county about 75-80% of doctors are from foreign countries) because they will be working a lot harder for less money. Also, students will come out of medical school with the same amount of loans but make way less money and they won't be able to or want to do it. I COMPLETELY agree that we need to have something in place that is better than we have now but ObamaCare is going to make a big mess out of things because it isn't set up to address the foundation issues. Everyone is happy to have free visits or get insurance despite pre-existing conditions but they may never get to see a doctor because there will be such a shortage that it won't matter.
But Obamacare could save you if your H lost his job. I think we had a post like this previously - I don't think people truly understand what it means to not have health insurance and not be insurable. You've been lucky so far, but can you imagine what your child's therapies would cost you if you didn't have coverage?
If my husband lost his job I would be greatful for coverage. I and several family members have pre-existing conditions (unexplained high cholesterol for me, genetic heart defect for my mom, and diabetes for my dad). Again, this would make me grateful for this program. I am still against it, though. I truly believe we need reform. The uninsurable thing is crap. However, there is not an infrastructure in this program. People will now be heading to he ER for a runny nose because they can and their doctor will have a backlog of weeks and weeks of appointments. DH deals with people all the time that are at the doctor every other day because they get "free" appointments and they would rather get a dr. appt. and have the doc write a refill for free tylenol than go pay $3 for some at the store. This will get worse because there won't be a mandate in place. We will also have less incentive for docs to come to this country (in my county about 75-80% of doctors are from foreign countries) because they will be working a lot harder for less money. Also, students will come out of medical school with the same amount of loans but make way less money and they won't be able to or want to do it. I COMPLETELY agree that we need to have something in place that is better than we have now but ObamaCare is going to make a big mess out of things because it isn't set up to address the foundation issues. Everyone is happy to have free visits or get insurance despite pre-existing conditions but they may never get to see a doctor because there will be such a shortage that it won't matter.
Nothing's perfect the first time, right? We could speculate all night on what Obamacare will do but still be completely wrong with what happens. I'd rather put something in place to help people and fix it along the way when the real issues arise instead of sitting around waiting on the "perfect" solution while thousands of people continue to suffer and finding out that "perfect" solution is full of flaws as well.
I worry that there will be unintended consequences. One that I am already aware of is that children can no longer get covered individually. I learned this when my work policy ended and I applied for an individual policy for our son, and found out that not a single insurance company will provide insurance for a minor unless it's under a family plan. Before the healthcare law was passed, you could get a healthy child a decent policy for under $100 a month. The reason for this is that children can no longer be denied for preexisting conditions, so the response of the health insurance companies was that they simply will no longer cover children individually.
There are parts of the law that I think are very important, such as no lifetime maximum and not allowing a company to drop a person from their insurance for getting sick. I think this helps all of us. I have a pre-existing condition which has caused some nightmares with health insurance. I am basically stuck with my shit insurance because I can't get through underwriting to get a policy with better coverage, including maternity coverage. That said, I think that the law as written will be overly burdensome on insurance companies when in 2014 they can never deny someone for a pre-existing condition. I think that if someone has had continuous coverage and are applying for a different policy, that they should not be denied for a pre-existing condition. I also think there should be a one time window of opportunity for uninsured individuals to apply for an individual policy without insurance companies being allowed to deny them for a pre-existing condition. However, allowing an individual to wait until they get sick to apply for insurance and giving a guaranteed acceptance sort of defeats the purpose of having health insurance. It's like allowing people to go without car insurance until they get into a wreck, and then requiring the insurance company to provide coverage to fix the wrecked car when the individual hasn't been paying a premium into the company. I just can't imagine that this provision that goes into place in 2014 won't put health insurance companies out of business.
H has a pre existing that made him uninsurable via private insurance. Now, he's insurable, but the price basically continues to make him u insurable. Either way, we would be in big trouble if I didn't work. sigh.
So for us, there really hasn't been a difference. But of course I look at society as a whole.
I worry that there will be unintended consequences. One that I am already aware of is that children can no longer get covered individually. I learned this when my work policy ended and I applied for an individual policy for our son, and found out that not a single insurance company will provide insurance for a minor unless it's under a family plan. Before the healthcare law was passed, you could get a healthy child a decent policy for under $100 a month. The reason for this is that children can no longer be denied for preexisting conditions, so the response of the health insurance companies was that they simply will no longer cover children individually.
There are parts of the law that I think are very important, such as no lifetime maximum and not allowing a company to drop a person from their insurance for getting sick. I think this helps all of us. I have a pre-existing condition which has caused some nightmares with health insurance. I am basically stuck with my shit insurance because I can't get through underwriting to get a policy with better coverage, including maternity coverage. That said, I think that the law as written will be overly burdensome on insurance companies when in 2014 they can never deny someone for a pre-existing condition. I think that if someone has had continuous coverage and are applying for a different policy, that they should not be denied for a pre-existing condition. I also think there should be a one time window of opportunity for uninsured individuals to apply for an individual policy without insurance companies being allowed to deny them for a pre-existing condition. However, allowing an individual to wait until they get sick to apply for insurance and giving a guaranteed acceptance sort of defeats the purpose of having health insurance. It's like allowing people to go without car insurance until they get into a wreck, and then requiring the insurance company to provide coverage to fix the wrecked car when the individual hasn't been paying a premium into the company. I just can't imagine that this provision that goes into place in 2014 won't put health insurance companies out of business.
I really like the elimination of life time maxes and pre-exisiting conditions. I think that is good for everyone, my family included. I don't like other aspects of it, but I will take it. I think some reform is better than none and I was tired of all the people who would proclaim its awfulness but not have a plan to put it place.
While I think it's awesome that more people have access to healthcare, for us personally I have paid so much more out of pocket for health insurance than ever before. I was always a proponent of if you didn't feel well and even had to question if it was "normal" go see your doc. Now, I have to be dealthy ill to go to the doctors because I can't afford the co-pay+deductible+other random bills I get.
I had knee surgery about 6 years ago, which cost me enough back then, with the new insurance costs, I would probably be bankrupt.
Having DS cost me only $510 5 years ago - now, it would have cost me THOUSANDS.
Having my gallbladder out last year cost me $2k on top of my ridiculous premiums.
All these "free" things only make insurance for those of us who work more expensive. If I'm sick, I should not have to question whether I can actually afford to go to the doctor's. That was the whole point of everyone having access to healthcare -except it hasn't helped the working middle class at all.
Perhaps it's worse here for me too, as I am in MA, which requires everyone has insurance.
Perhaps it's worse here for me too, as I am in MA, which requires everyone has insurance.
Mass really hasn't been affected that much by Obamacare, because Romneycare was already in place well before Obamacare started, and Obamacare basically requires the same stuff that romenycare does.
Post by krisandgrace on Oct 9, 2012 7:51:12 GMT -5
Yes, it is good for my family.
SD will be turning 23 in January, without Obamacare we would no longer be able to have her on our insurance. She has MS. Her meds alone cost close to a thousand per month. She would have to find a full time job with full medical benefits 6 months after graduating with a bachelors degree in order to get coverage with a preexisting condition. Oh, and she has been ill lately so she would have to find that job while having difficulty speaking, walking and writing.
While I think it's awesome that more people have access to healthcare, for us personally I have paid so much more out of pocket for health insurance than ever before. I was always a proponent of if you didn't feel well and even had to question if it was "normal" go see your doc. Now, I have to be dealthy ill to go to the doctors because I can't afford the co-pay+deductible+other random bills I get.
I had knee surgery about 6 years ago, which cost me enough back then, with the new insurance costs, I would probably be bankrupt.
Having DS cost me only $510 5 years ago - now, it would have cost me THOUSANDS.
Having my gallbladder out last year cost me $2k on top of my ridiculous premiums.
All these "free" things only make insurance for those of us who work more expensive. If I'm sick, I should not have to question whether I can actually afford to go to the doctor's. That was the whole point of everyone having access to healthcare -except it hasn't helped the working middle class at all.
Perhaps it's worse here for me too, as I am in MA, which requires everyone has insurance.
I don't understand anything in this post. I don't think Obamacare had anything to do with any of what you described. Unless I'm really confused, I don't think anything that happened in 2011 (last year, when you had your appendix removed) would have happened from Obamacare - didn't that just get passed in early 2011? I don't think the whole thing is even in effect yet. The plan also doesn't require any rise in copays or other costs. Your insurance may have changed, but there is no way to know if that's directly related to new healthcare laws or not.
I also don't understand the poster who is all FU Obama because of the FSA limits. And FSA isn't free money, it is still your money that you are putting in there. If you pay a $20 copay each time, that's still your money that you earned paying that copay. The FSA just lets you put that money aside pre-tax, so maybe you'd be paying more like the equivalent of $15 per visit if you had more in an FSA. I realize that adds up over time, but if you "make too much and have too much money in the bank" then it sounds like you can afford it. I know I personally would be willing to pay a bit more for my own healthcare to ensure that others have similar access to it as I do. Maybe you're paying $50 more per month or whatever it is to ensure your son gets treatment, but now there are other peoples' sons that have access to similar treatments that didn't have that access before. I think that's worth paying extra for if you can afford it.
As someone who has lived abroad in a country with Health Care similar to Obama care I cant see how anyone could find any bad in the policy. As to the woman in this thread with the Autistic son that said F-U Obama care she is missing 1/2 the point. She is not going need more than $2500 per year in her FSA as health care cost will be driven down significantly.
There are good and bad things for us as a family, but I think I'm mostly for it. My current insurance through work is SO amazing though, and I'm scared for how it will change/how much more it will cost me. Overall though, I'm glad DH's preexisting conditions won't be an issue. And DH and I both spent a lot of time under age 26 unemployed/underemployed/otherwise without insurance. We bought a catastrophic coverage policy, got birth control from planned parenthood, and DH's doc loaded him up with samples of his psych meds and we made it work... But I think Obamacare will save a bunch of young people all the stress we had.
Having DS cost me only $510 5 years ago - now, it would have cost me THOUSANDS.
Having my gallbladder out last year cost me $2k on top of my ridiculous premiums.
All these "free" things only make insurance for those of us who work more expensive. If I'm sick, I should not have to question whether I can actually afford to go to the doctor's. That was the whole point of everyone having access to healthcare -except it hasn't helped the working middle class at all.
Perhaps it's worse here for me too, as I am in MA, which requires everyone has insurance.
Haven't seen any changes on our plan, but over last 5 years work policy has gone down the crapper, so I think it depends on your plan. My work plan sucks now. I never go to the doctor without asking what it will cost me. Anytime I fall off my horse, DH needs to go to the ER..I think how much will this cost, will I have enough and try to chance it no go. I have needed surgery for years and with the amount of fees I can't chance it. Its a scary feeling completely.
Haven't seen any changes on our plan, but over last 5 years work policy has gone done the crappy, so I think it depends on your plan. My work plan sucks now. I never go to the doctor without asking what it will cost me. Anytime I fall off my horse, DH needs to go to the ER..I think how much will this cost, will I have enough and try to chance it no go. I have needed surgery for years and with the amount of fees I can't chance it. Its a scary feeling completely.
Insurance has been going down hill for most people over the last several years before Obamacare existed. A lot of it is the result of doctors, hospitals and drug companies raising prices. In the case of hospitals and doctors, the price increases are to make up for uninsured patients who can't pay astronomical bills. Hopefully with a mandate in place there won't be so much of that going around and the system will stabilize.
I don't know how it would impact me personally as I have great insurance. I pay too much, but I think most people are in this position...I just don't want my rates to increase anymore or pay more in taxes.
That said, I think anything that helps the majority is a good thing overall.
I agree with this, especially working with so many college aged kids who should be screwed if they were not able to stay on their parents insurance,
Yes. I no longer have to pay out of pocket for "preventative care" and my DS has an eye condition that would be considered preexisting if we ever had to switch.
As someone who has lived abroad in a country with Health Care similar to Obama care I cant see how anyone could find any bad in the policy. As to the woman in this thread with the Autistic son that said F-U Obama care she is missing 1/2 the point. She is not going need more than $2500 per year in her FSA as health care cost will be driven down significantly.
Do you seriously believe that? Seriously? That by January 2013, the magical gnomes will reduce deductibles, OOP max, and Rx copays down so much for the chronically ill that $2500 will be enough? That is insanity.
The FSA thing is the one part of HC reform that pisses me off. It punishes the chronically ill. It makes a big difference to spend that money pretax and have the cost spread throughout the year instead of paying a big chunk up front in January.
But, she is missing the point that her child isn't going to struggle throughout life to find and maintain insurance coverage.
As someone who has lived abroad in a country with Health Care similar to Obama care I cant see how anyone could find any bad in the policy. As to the woman in this thread with the Autistic son that said F-U Obama care she is missing 1/2 the point. She is not going need more than $2500 per year in her FSA as health care cost will be driven down significantly.
Do you seriously believe that? Seriously? That by January 2013, the magical gnomes will reduce deductibles, OOP max, and Rx copays down so much for the chronically ill that $2500 will be enough? That is insanity.
The FSA thing is the one part of HC reform that pisses me off. It punishes the chronically ill. It makes a big difference to spend that money pretax and have the cost spread throughout the year instead of paying a big chunk up front in January.
But, she is missing the point that her child isn't going to struggle throughout life to find and maintain insurance coverage.
I dont think it will happen by 1/13 but in less than 4 yrs it most certainly will. I honestly believe it. The same drugs made in the US that I $25 co pay on and insurance covers the rest was available to me out of the US for less than $5. It will happen I am very certain of this.
Ask the expats on the international living board what they pay for US made drugs, contacts, medical devices etc where they live.
Anecdote time! I lost my health insurance when I was laid off at 18w pregnant from a job making $28k gross. COBRA premiums would have been $1200/mo, which would have been my entire unemployment check. At the time, H didn't qualify for benefits through his company. We didn't qualify for any type of individual plan because of the pregnancy, but H made <$300/mo too much to qualify for state healthcare.
Because of Obamacare, I was able to get on my dad's health insurance instead of being 18w pregnant and uninsured.
When the baby is born, will he/he be able to be on your dad's plan? I didn't think it would cover grandchildren. I also didn't think it would cover maternity care for dependents but I could be wrong.
Do you seriously believe that? Seriously? That by January 2013, the magical gnomes will reduce deductibles, OOP max, and Rx copays down so much for the chronically ill that $2500 will be enough? That is insanity.
I dont think it will happen by 1/13 but in less than 4 yrs it most certainly will. I honestly believe it. The same drugs made in the US that I $25 co pay on and insurance covers the rest was available to me out of the US for less than $5. It will happen I am very certain of this.
I would kill to only have a $25 copay. I pay $250 for a 90 day supply for some of DH's meds (non-formulary brand) and $150 for others (formulary brands where the insurance is dropping 2-8k). Specialty meds for orphan diseases are expensive. I'm just lucky to have an OOP max ($1.5k) for Rx copays. See how $2.5k isn't going to go too far for us?
I dont think it will happen by 1/13 but in less than 4 yrs it most certainly will. I honestly believe it. The same drugs made in the US that I $25 co pay on and insurance covers the rest was available to me out of the US for less than $5. It will happen I am very certain of this.
I would kill to only have a $25 copay. I pay $250 for a 90 day supply for some of DH's meds (non-formulary brand) and $150 for others (formulary brands where the insurance is dropping 2-8k). Specialty meds for orphan diseases are expensive. I'm just lucky to have an OOP max ($1.5k) for Rx copays. See how $2.5k isn't going to go too far for us?
It won't get you far this year but I bet the costs of drugs plummet in the next 2-4 year. (Isn't there a pharma sales rep on the board -feel free to chime in)
For eg. I pay $25 for the drug but my insurance pays an addition $200+ per month for a 30 supply of the drug. When I lived abroad it was even less than my current copay for the same drug.
Anecdote time! I lost my health insurance when I was laid off at 18w pregnant from a job making $28k gross. COBRA premiums would have been $1200/mo, which would have been my entire unemployment check. At the time, H didn't qualify for benefits through his company. We didn't qualify for any type of individual plan because of the pregnancy, but H made <$300/mo too much to qualify for state healthcare.
Because of Obamacare, I was able to get on my dad's health insurance instead of being 18w pregnant and uninsured.
When the baby is born, will he/he be able to be on your dad's plan? I didn't think it would cover grandchildren. I also didn't think it would cover maternity care for dependents but I could be wrong.
I am curious about the grandchild thing as well. I do know, however, that currently in my state you would be eligible for free state insurance coverage as would your child during the pregnancy and birth. You would also be eligible for free coverage along with your child until the child reaches 18. In addition to this you can get supplemental insurance in your county (each county has their own division) for $4-6 per month that would increase your options for doctors and birthing facilities. I know at least a few states offer automatic coverage if you are pregnant and unemployed.