Sunday, February 8, 2015
Affordable Health Care .... Promises, Promises
I read an article last week about the benefits of affordable care for those over the age of 60. Did you know that you are entitled to an annual "well" exam free, with no cost to you at all. No co-pay. Also preventative care is offered "at NO COST" for screenings such as mammograms and colonoscopies and pneumonia shots, as well as flu shots.
I feel enlightened, since I had to pay for my annual exam last year. Not just the co-pay, but the balance of the cost of the office visit, since I had not yet met my deductible. Seems they did not honor that part of the "contract". For years we had no insurance. Not able to afford $1200 a month, since our health history factored in.
Last year we signed up for the mandatory insurance. I say mandatory, since there would be a fine for not doing so. The plan we chose was not all that good. A very high deductible to meet and, like I said, the co-pay, pus the balance of the office visit until the deductible was met. The premiums were low, but we still had to pay out of pocket for our prescriptions. So, really, this "affordable" health care cost us more that not having insurance at all.
Like I said the premiums were low, only $27 a month. But that $27 provided nothing, other than the assurance that should hospitalization be required for a major illness, it would not bankrupt us. I have been waiting patiently for a new year to start so that all the referrals to specialists and tests would apply to my annual deductible .......... then we got our new policy and the premiums had jumped to $328 a month. No, the coverage did not change at all, it was still pretty crummy with a high deductible to meet before it paid for anything.
So, we dropped the policy, went back to the "market place" and found another plan through another carrier for $44 a month. Not any better than the other policy, but "affordable". Now I have to wait until March 1st. Almost here and I am nothing, if not patient.
So, imagine out surprise to find out that we have been charged $352 on our income tax for the amount that was paid for our affordable health care. Add insult to injury. I am so confused.
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4 comments:
Hmphhh....from the beginning I knew that "affordable healthcare" would be a disaster. We looked into and came to the conclusion that it was definitely not affordable in any shape or form for us. We are better off paying out of pocket. We also figured if it ever caught up with us we would come out cheaper paying the "fine" of not having it. Luckily neither hubby or I have any health issues that require constant medical attention. But as we age, my concerns grow.
Do you mean the $352 was a line on your federal income tax papers? I was asked questions about our health insurance (we have 3--my employer, Medicare, Tricare) and that was the end of it. I wondered how the income tax form would figure out if you were to be fined, which, in your case, doesn't sound right since you were insured.
Well, 'the idiot' did the best he could with a congress that would not pass national health care which is what we need. It is still a profit based system, that is not the president's fault. It was a profit based system to begin with. That hasn't changed. What has changed is that they cannot deny you for pre-existing conditions and they have to spend 85% of premiums received on actual health care. There are many more positive changes. If all you are paying is $44 a month, of course you are getting a crappy policy. It is still a profit based system. Some people saw their premiums rise but by less % than the insurance companies raised premiums anyway, some people saw them go down. If you are really poor you can get a subsidy IF your state didn't refuse the Medicare expansion like mine did. Anyway, welcome to health care in the US, a profit driven system that could not give a fuck about the health of the actual people. That is not Obama's fault. If you don't like the state of things, activate for national health care like every other modern nation in the world has.
I don't usually comment on my comments, but .....
My frustration is not with Obama. He is our president and like it or not, deserves our respect as such. My personal feelings. He can only do so much with our government of checks and balances. A Republican will do no better.
Our government is broken and there is no one man(or woman)or political party that can fix it.
I did not vote for him either, I did not vote at all. I did not like my choices.
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