to obamacare or or not to care?

[tenshi_R]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

so I sayed away from Obama care and chose to pay the fine instead because it seemed like a bad idea to me to begin with.
and now that I keep seeing the Obama care failing I still don't fully understand whats happening in the health insurance world.

I don't want sign up for anything without understanding how it works first and Obamacare seems to be pretty confusing still

i never had health insurance ( i was in the navy for 4 years and had the service coverage) and didn't have anything after that for last 10 years.( couldn't afford one)

but now I'm looking fro a plan for me and my kid( he now has the CHIP insurance that's about to expire)

I'm in the middle of a divorce so another question is how is this gonna work after the divorce for the insurance?
neither me or my wife have insurance now. just our kid.


medicare Medicaid? are they part of Obama care?

 

[TheGeekess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

so I sayed away from Obama care and chose to pay the fine instead because it seemed like a bad idea to me to begin with.
and now that I keep seeing the Obama care failing I still don't fully understand whats happening in the health insurance world.

I don't want sign up for anything without understanding how it works first and Obamacare seems to be pretty confusing still

i never had health insurance ( i was in the navy for 4 years and had the service coverage) and didn't have anything after that for last 10 years.( couldn't afford one)

but now I'm looking fro a plan for me and my kid( he now has the CHIP insurance that's about to expire)

I'm in the middle of a divorce so another question is how is this gonna work after the divorce for the insurance?
neither me or my wife have insurance now. just our kid.


medicare Medicaid? are they part of Obama care?

Medicare is for retired people or the disabled on SSDI.
Medicaid is a federal welfare program that is administered by the states.

Both are regulated now by Obamacare, as are all other health insurance coverage, whether one goes through a private insurer or the state/federal Obamacare site.

 

[Zigner]

You thought Obamacare was a bad idea, but you felt it was fine for your child to have health insurance paid for by others?

ETA: "Others" above means the taxpayers in your state.

 

[single317dad]

Much like the casino, health insurance (as most other insurance) is a gamble. The house understands the game better than you do, and while there are a few big winners and a few big losers, the vast majority are just small scale losers in both gambling and insurance. The house is the real winner.

For quite some time, most governments have required every driver to provide proof of financial responsibility, usually in the form of car insurance. Aside from this requirement, most people would be better off without the insurance. If each and every one of us took the sum of all payments we made toward insurance and invested that money in the same manner the insurers do, most of us would come out ahead despite having to pay for our own repairs and medical expenses, as well as those we're liable for causing. The demographic that would end up in negative are those who cause damage beyond the amounts they've set aside for such contingency. Unfortunately, experience has taught us that given the opportunity, far too many people will not manage their money correctly, and when they injure someone or someone's property in an accident, they don't have the funds to pay for it. Hence the requirement that all drivers carry insurance.

Life/disability/unemployment insurance on loans is a similar example. While you might end up sick and be glad you got that (overpriced) insurance on your loan, chances are you'll just pay an extra ~25% to borrow the money and never use the insurance. Still a gamble, but not a very wise one for most people.

The medical insurance requirement isn't all that different. Most of us could take that $400 a month (i.e.) and invest it, in the end having far more money than we'd ever spend on medical care. A small (but not insignificant) percentage of us would go bankrupt under that system, because a single visit to the hospital could easily wipe out all the funds we'd set aside. Therein lies the problem: millions of people who don't pay their medical bills. Some file bankruptcy, some simply never pay. Either way, the cost is passed on to those who do pay, because who else would pay, the hospital shareholders? Ha. So a medical insurance requirement gives everyone the ability to pay at least a significant part of their medical expenses. While many people will fulfill that requirement with subsidized government insurance, the fact is they were essentially on welfare anyway, as the public was already paying their bills. Unfortunately, there's just not much of a chance in Heck that the majority of people would save and properly invest that same money they're paying for insurance premiums. As much as my Libertarian heart hates to hear it, my logical brain says there wasn't a choice.

Get used to it; there will be more decisions like this to make. Do you take early SS retirement, or hold out for the full amount? That depends how long you think you'll live. Do you start drawing from your 401k now, or wait a year? Either choice is a gamble.

tl;dr spend some time educating yourself about health insurance, then get some.

 

[Silverplum]

This isn't a legal question. It's an insurance question.

 

[tenshi_R]

well I think its safe to say that this forum I have more chances of correct and informed answer than a car forum for example since a lot of people here are familiar with laws and understand this technical stuff better.

I had insurance from my employer for like 6 months before I left

now I work for a small business as a contractor. kinda similar to uber so I don't get any benefits.

and I keep hearing confusing things about Obama care and everyone trying to figure out how to avoid employee coverage.

I feel like theres a lot of musical chairs going on behind the scenes with this healthcare and I don't know if I should wait while smoke clears out


seems like theres no "better choice" for insurance now until this Obamacare fiasco gets figured out?

 

[Zigner]

well I think its safe to say that this forum I have more chances of correct and informed answer than a car forum for example...

Right...and you'd have an even better chance at getting relevant information in an insurance forum, since yours really isn't a legal question

 

[ajkroy]

And in the meantime, your fine for being uninsured will continue to increase and you have to pay for all of your own medical encounters. I am just pointing out that is isn't like you are walking up a down escalator and basically staying in the same place; you are paying the fine and putting yourself at risk for the previously-mentioned financial disaster.

I don't like ACA/Obamacare as it is...particularly because my plan will be subject to the upcoming Cadillac Tax. But it bothers me when grown adults whine about "not understanding" health insurance and make financially irresponsible decisions rather than suck it up and get it. Would I rather spend my $423 monthly premium on something else? Would my employer rather spend the nearly $20K annually he spends on my behalf for his portion of my premium on something else? Of course we would. But we don't.

 

[tenshi_R]

i dont get employer paid half insurance i have to pay everything myself.
i wasn't born in this country or had a legal education like a lot of you here so yea i dont understand how a lot of things work because i didn't grow up here...

that's why I'm asking how this works
who owns what in the insurance word and

and no i didn't avoid it we tried to set it up after about 6 months of it being active and tried 4 times but their webpage wasn't working
and then i started reading all the horror stories about the mistakes in their system and how many people got screwed out of their cash and got no coverage in return or their insurance was completely messed up so i decided to stay away until i hear that its working properly.

but now i keep seeing the news that they are trying to get rid of Obamacare.

I'm confused about who is who..

like for example my car insurance. i can go to geico farmers or state farm and get auto insurance

but with health insurance it seems like theres only Obamacare and nothing else.
I'm trying to pay what i can afford so i dont want to sign up for something i dont fully understand

 

[tranquility]

But it bothers me when grown adults whine about "not understanding" health insurance and make financially irresponsible decisions rather than suck it up and get it.

The whole reason for the death spiral that is affecting Obamacare is the number of young, healthy adults who are making the financially *responsible* decision of not getting coverage. The system needs the transfer of the low-risk pool to the...um...guys-like-me pool in order to make this contraption work. For the small number (statistically speaking) of young adults who have an unusual event or risk, they have the ability to gain coverage if needed. All of this was predicted back when they needed to pass it to know what was in it. All is happening as was foretold.

 

[ecmst12]

If you don't have the option of coverage through an employer, then your choices are state coverage if you qualify (low income), or coverage through the healthcare marketplace (which I guess is what you mean by Obamacare).

 

[tenshi_R]

state coverage you mean Medicare?

I tried to apply to marketplace but its almost 400 a month for me and my wife. I cant afford it right now with mortgage and daycare is too much. its much cheaper to just pay the fine at the end of the year

I really hope this Obamacare gets cancelled it seems like a ****ty deal for lower income people since in reality we get ****ty care and a lot of restrictions.

 

[cbg]

Tell me, what kind of coverage did you have before Obamacare?

 

[ajkroy]

$400 a month for a family? Do you know that the average family plan costs over $2000 per month?

You're not just paying the fine at the end of the year. You're also paying for all of your medical bills out of pocket throughout the year, too.

Guess you're just rolling the dice and hoping you don't get sick, find a lump, or fall down the stairs. I hope for your (and your doctors') sakes that you're right.

 

[commentator]

Anyone who says "most of us would be capable of......" managing our money and saving up for our retirement or our health care or our unemployment, has obviously been in a very sheltered environment.
Our educational system doesn't prepare us, for those who were not born lucky, our family of origin does not prepare us, and the plain old realities of being a member of the working poor class makes it generally downright impossible to function without some level of federal intervention.
I have seen what having a premature baby did to a couple who were doing their best. As the young man said, "I owe a hundred and fifty three thousand dollars for this child. So far. If I worked every day for the rest of my life at this job, and made what I make, and paid it on this bill, it's still never going to get paid off.

OP, stop watching FOX and talk to someone about buying some insurance for yourself and your family, or the first time any of you has a medical emergency, you'll end up on Medicaid, and be part of the freakin problem.