Hope n’ Change: There’s no real commentary here today, owing to the fact that we’re still up to our eyeballs trying to find a replacement health insurance policy for the one which was “discontinued” without warning because of the Affordable Care Act.
Currently, the leading contender – and the only one which will let us “keep your doctors” (in the words of president lying scumweasel) – will cost us $425 a week. Which is, just doing the math quickly in our heads, $425 a week more than we earn doing Hope n’ Change.Or we could save a few bucks and pay only the trifling sum of $300 a week…and not have access to any of our current doctors or, quite feasibly, any other medical provider who speaks English or has a practice devoted exclusively to bipeds. more
Yep. A 36% increase for me and the better half. Insurance (not actual healthcare, because I will have to spend an additional 3,500 dollars before any insurance kicks in) is now more than what we spend a month on food. It is more than we spend a month on anything but the mortgage, and it will be more than that if it goes up by 8% in 2017. We have been truly screwed over. I believe in 50 years, obamacare will be one of the five things schoolchildren will have to memorize as triggers for the second American Revolution.
Oaksmiles, please accept my condolences. For several months back in 2004, I had to pay for my own insurance. I had lost the COBRA coverage I’d had, and I thought it unwise to be uninsured since my medical history included a bunch of catastrophic events. Because the COBRA plan was so excellent, I decided to convert it to an individual one.
It was $792 a month, years before Obamacare. More than the monthly maintenance on my co-op apartment, more than I was spending on groceries. I’m not much of a drinker, but I did hold an impromptu champagne party for friends when I got a job that offered medical insurance as a benefit.
The Destruction of America continues apace, and the Congress play “Switchies”* with their thumbs. McConnell needs to take the Senate back to a simple majority, as did Reid, or be hanged for treason – and – AND be hanged for treason.
* (stick one thumb in the mouth and the other in the ass, and at regular intervals, switch thumbs)
If you can read this and you voted for Obama……
I BLAME YOU.
FUCK OFF AND DIE.
I manage the benefits for a small tech company and we’ve lost our insurance twice. Once right after O-Care because we were all 38+ and the PEO told us we weren’t benefiting their pool so no more large group insurance for us. Last year we lost our small group plan and are now in a new craptastic small group plan (everyone pays based on their age). $420 per months for someone 45 – $785 for someone 56 (that is single employee only coverage). Try explaining that to employees. The best part is finding our doctors are not in the network, learning that with a high deductible HSA it is better to go to a grocery store clinic and pay cash than go to the doctor and pay ridiculously high contract rates. Ironically the doctor I’ve used not in network sympathizes and gives me a reasonable cash rate. I have no problem paying for routine visits or for visits to deal with a cold, stitches, sprain, etc. (something minor). I just want to be covered if I break my leg or get cancer. Can’t we at least just get rid of this policy of forcing people to by this comprehensive crap insurance that covers everything under the sun?! Allow us to buy true catastrophic insurance without a penalty and O-Care will be gone in a year.
Years ago there used to be a type of coverage called “major medical.” My parents had it. They’d pay for office visits and prescriptions, but the insurance company paid the entire freight when my dad almost keeled over from a bleeding ulcer on his 48th birthday (1967).
I haven’t heard the term “major medical” in years.
most people can’t afford and will not pay for the insurance now because of the increases.
the high deductibles alone make it illogical to pay for.
since no one is using the exchanges that were setup and they are all closing something will have to be done.
but don’t bet that the fix will be better than the problem. remember it’s the government and if the bureaucrats knew what they were doing they would work in the private sector.
I blame the witch:
https://youtu.be/lYNV08ufTRI
Bill, thanks for the reminder. This woman, with all due respect, should be hanging upside down from a lamp post. She can be thankful we are not like Cuba or she would be.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
Here’s how you beat the whole IRS Health Tax rap.
The Health Tax is ONLY taken out of your annual Income Tax Refund. The IRS (at present) can’t charge you separately if you DON’T have an O’Bozo approved health plan.
So, adjust your income tax deductions to “family size” + one. Take the difference between “family size” and “family size + one”, and put it into a separate account to pay your income taxes (and ONLY your income taxes) at the end of the year. YOU are paying THEM. THEY are NOT holding your refund hostage to pay an illegal tax.
With that out of the way, now you need to just ditch most (all?) health plans, as most (all?) have too high a deductible, too high a monthly premiums, and don’t cover squat.
Find your local friendly doctor, and make an off-the-books contract negotiations for your ordinary healthcare. Many doctors should be willing to talk to you about ordinary healthcare coverage, because between the Gooberment rules and bureaucracy and paperwork, they have to pay too much out to hire additional staff to file the paperwork and keep compliance with the rules (which usually have NOTHING to do with healthcare), and they get too little back on the Gooberment allowed repayments.
Unfortunately, I have no answer for anything catastrophic, such as cancer or broken bones or heart attack. Possibly, just save aside the money that you would have been paying monthly for the crappy healthcare “insurance”, and talk to the hospital about an off-the-books contract monthly-payments arrangement.
I know, I know, others will poke holes in this large enough to drive a Mack truck through. But try it. Adjust as necessary. Come back and tell us what works, and what doesn’t. So far as I can see, the only way out of this O’Bozo Care mess, since the RINO GOPe won’t kill or defund it, is to just “drop out” of the system as much as possible. (I’m still trying to figure out how to NOT be involuntarily enrolled in MediCare at 65yo. Any ideas?)
You’ve heard of the anti-2A gun control bills that were ram-rodded into law in NY, CO, OR, WA (and a couple of other states I forget at the moment)?? And what happened? People did not obey the law. Registration of weapons and magazines? Fugeddaboudit! It became WWNC, We Will Not Comply. We need to do the same to O’BozoCare. Let it grow. Come up with new ideas. Pass them around.
End of rant.
Out.
Rope + lamp post + politician.
Some assembly required.