Health Insurance Woes...

Well, the free health care is kicking in and there is no way I can afford to pay for it. health insurance for my wife and I has gone from $350 a month to over $1,200 a month. The wife will have to pay $250/mo just to cover herself. I do not know what I am going to do. My health care was doing just fine until the slugs who don't work get it for free and anyone who works has to pay for a shack full of illegal immigrant, non working slugs and their spawn. I am self employed and I manage to scrape on by, but there is no way I can afford to drop $550 a month on medical insurance.



Anyone else in the same boat as I? What are you doing to cope with the obamacare requirements? My wife and I are seriously considering a divorce just to shelter ourselves from problems our marriage will cause us. I don't want to divorce her, but I need to protect her as much as I can.

Sorry for the bummer thread, but the day in the life of this scrapper just turned to $h!t

WOW
And I went to a protest rally during Nixon’s second inauguration.
WHY????

As a business owner that is finding it very hard to provide health insurance as a benefit. As a military vet, who provides my own expensive insurance. As a person that knows medical cost have reached a level most citizens can't afford. I know somthing should be done, something has to be done, but the existing "new" national medical coverage is not the answer.

Just one of millions of examples of just how out of touch the clowns in DC are. $1,200 a MONTH? $14,400 a year. For some, that's an entire years wages.

Absolutely out of touch with reality.

Our provider's chosen to leave the state. In Wyoming, there are really only two providers- neither is cheap!

How bad would the tax penalty be? I know of a few people that have gone that route. It's a shame.

Do you qualify for any of the subsidies? It's not a good route, but if you have to...

I'd tell you what I'd do, but I don't know what I'm going to do!

I bet none of the above people has gone on the exchange website for their state to look at the available plans. So many people are eligible for discounted rates and they do not even realize it.

Wyoming doesn't have a state exchange. We're meeting with companies next week.

We'll probably be meeting with financial planners after that.

matador: "I liked my coverage. Why can't I just keep it?"

Greywolf
Badgercare is still the main in Wis.
Walker for President.

Rock on, A.G. Wolf, rock on...

The Federal Exchange isn't much help. Wyoming has the worst situation for a pool. We can't cross state lines, and have very few people in the state. As a whole, Wyoming is one of the priciest states for health insurance. Compared to the other states, though, it's a very small tradeoff!

In Wyoming, there are really only two companies that sell health insurance: Blue Cross Blue Shield (Not Cheap!) and WinHealth (Somewhat better). Humana decided to leave the state entirely, meaning that our plan goes away.

I could say something political here, but I'm from Wyoming. You probably know how I think.

Oh, and we have paved roads, too! The wild, wild west isn't that wild.

This isn't Wyoming:


matador: "You can't move out here. Wyoming's full! I've heard Colorado is nice..."

Yes I have been on California's exchange and it is one of the best I have heard of. They have help for all levels, Individuals, Low Income, Partial Subsidized Mid Income, Self Employed and Small Business. I was able at one time to insure some of my employees, honestly the rates were getting way out of hand long before Obama care. Now it's almost a certainty that we will not be able to insure employees. My personal & family cost are also up a lot. I supported Obama Care as I know the direction we were going was a certain national crisis. My hope is the problems with current plans are resolved more favorable for the majority. I don't believe the current plan is sustainable, can we as a nation afford this. I don't see how it can work when Insurance companies are still assured huge profits, pharmaceutical and large medical corporations the same large profits. The system was broken before and still is, the only change is now the government is going to be in charge of our medical care and choices. To fix this problem, you need to start with the Lobbyist that literally decide and run this country. To fix this and many other of our nations problems, we have to start with government reforms. Starting with political reform, right or left (they share in the blame), spending millions and billions of dollars to get elected, fixing and solving little as they pat each other on the back, with a nod and a wink!

Originally Posted by bigburtchino

Yes I have been on California's exchange and it is one of the best I have heard of. They have help for all levels, Individuals, Low Income, Partial Subsidized Mid Income, Self Employed and Small Business. I was able at one time to insure some of my employees, honestly the rates were getting way out of hand long before Obama care. Now it's almost a certainty that we will not be able to insure employees. My personal & family cost are also up a lot. I supported Obama Care as I know the direction we were going was a certain national crisis. My hope is the problems with current plans are resolved more favorable for the majority. I don't believe the current plan is sustainable, can we as a nation afford this. I don't see how it can work when Insurance companies are still assured huge profits, pharmaceutical and large medical corporations the same large profits. The system was broken before and still is, the only change is now the government is going to be in charge of our medical care and choices. To fix this problem, you need to start with the Lobbyist that literally decide and run this country. To fix this and many other of our nations problems, we have to start with government reforms. Starting with political reform, right or left (they share in the blame), spending millions and billions of dollars to get elected, fixing and solving little as they pat each other on the back, with a nod and a wink!

Originally Posted by etack

You could use the Federal exchange.

Eric

No federal exchange in Florida. ACA does nothing to improve or make healthcare more affordable, ACA is a mandatory tax paid to insurance companies. The actual "health care" being done has been reduced and the costs of paying for it has been increased. Health care insurance premiums have skyrocketed, deductibles have skyrocketed, and copays have increased... before a blood pressure cuff, or a thermometer is used.

Originally Posted by DakotaRog

I don't know how much of an option this is for you guys in a pickle but there's a growing trend (although still small but there might be one in your area) of physicians who are tired on being "owned" by the big hospital systems and the insurance companies and only take cash (or payment plan). A lots of times they say up front what the costs will be.

Take what you had been paying on premiums and see if you can get a catastrophic plan at least that won't kick in until way high (10k and above--last year my total "funny money" bill for my ER visit and then gall bladder surgery was something around $23K--now I'm extremely lucky and paid almost nothing but that's an example of sudden big bill). Anything that's a couple hundred here, couple hundred there, pay in cash if you can or out of a health savings plan (forgot what they're actually called). Try find alternatives that may not show up without some deep looking.

Like I said, I'm extremely lucky but I think its the Wild Wild West out there for a guy on their own. Yeah, you may qualify for the new fed gov subsidies but they may not be the most stable thing to bank on, what the AHCA looks like now and what it looks like 5 years from now (if it even exists as an entire entity) will mostly be very different things. But I think if you're in with the now "typical" plans administered by either the big private insurance or gov insurance "control freaks" the average guy is going to be ground to dust over time.

But there is a new Congress in town and they're probably mostly full of s*** but let your voice be heard anyway so that:

1) medical insurance can be sold across state lines. Nearly everything else a consumer buys can be bought outside of their home state if the person wishes, why are we chained to in many cases monopolies or near monopolies at home??

2) urge a modification to federal law that allows insurance companies to sell plans that are just catastrophic coverage as described above--no little stuff, no extras that a person doesn't need.

3) expand the amount of health savings plans both in size and longer carrying time if some go only for the calender year.

4) let physicians practice more openly without the big boys stifling them. If your a mechanic who works for Shop A and decide to start your own shop, the owner of Shop A can't stop you from starting your own unless you have signed some sort of legal agreement before hand that you can't. That's exactly what the big boys do to their doctors. If you work for them and leave, typically you can't practice medicine within a certain distance of their facility and for a certain period of time. Your town (and you) should not be owned by a hospital system or two or the federal government.

What did William Wallace yell in "Braveheart" when they ran into battle, "freedom"??!!!

At this point, it would seem to me that a healthcare savings account would just be ripe for taking.

I found this site this morning. Know nothing about it and not all states are included (WI & SD not on the list and probably others) but at least maybe its a start.
Find cash only doctors - direct care list | cash only doctors

Cash-only doctors abandon the insurance system - Jun. 11, 2013

Call me a hypocrite for a guy who has good and reasonably affordable medical insurance advising other people what to do, but if I was on my own, I'd be trying to opt out as much as possible of the "traditional" health insurance situation as possible. Good luck and all who are struggling will be in my prayers.