<p>Just from personal experience, I truly believe that most young people want insurance. I don’t know anyone my age who is uninsured and doesn’t have it constantly at least nagging a little in the back of their mind. There are people like me who were terrified of getting sick due to lack of insurance to people like my fiance who knows that he “should” get insurance but frankly just can’t afford it right now. </p>
<p>GP, you make it sound like it is only the poor who drink, are obese, etc. That’s not true. Obesity is on the rise in middle to upper class adults at a much higher rate than among the poor. </p>
<p>Most uninsured are young and healthy. That is who is going to be added to the pool in very high numbers. In most states, the very poor and those with chronic health conditions already have access to some insurance.</p>
<p>Rom, in many states very poor adults do not have access to Medicaid unless they are pregnant. Medicaid pre-ACA covered children, the disabled, pregnant women, parents, and the elderly. In half the states, a non-disabled not-pregnant childless adult is not eligible for Medicaid no matter how poor they are.</p>
<p>Yes, CF, I know. I live in one of those states where there is no safety net for the childless poor. That’s why I said “most” :)</p>
<p>I was actually trying to find statistics but gov websites are down (I forgot). Perhaps the “most” I’m thinking of is in absolute population rather than number of states.</p>
<p>I have to find out how Medicaid affects us when we apply for coverage. My oldest son has it because of his mental illness. Does anybody know if that makes a difference?</p>
<p>Yes. And under the current alleged insurance reform many will still not have access. </p>
<p>And why is that? </p>
<p>Because it isn’t insurance companies covering the poor, but a Medicaid expansion. This is what I’m not clear on. How is this helping the people it was supposed to help?</p>
<p>I am willing to pay a lot more if the poor will get coverage. But that’s not what happened here. So what really did happen?</p>
<p>NewEnglandMother, I have the same issue. My son lives in another state. I just got a medical bill for $900 for two xrays of his ankle. That is after the $2400 negotiated fee cut. And this hospital was in network even though it is out of state.</p>
<p>Hmmmm… A mri is about 2,000. Seems fishy…
I think my wife might argue this. :)</p>
<p>When I was taking the ACA course this summer, I read some of the papers Kaiser puts out, and learned that 40% of all births in the US are covered by Medicaid. Whoa. That’s a lot.</p>
<p>Kluge, I pretty much never agree with you, but I do agree with you on this. I have posted often about my mother’s obscenely expensive and unnecessary care. I just wanted to see someone brave enough to say it. </p>
<p>Dstark, the woman I was referring to was probably the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my life. It was a heartbreaking loss.</p>
<p>Poetgrl, even though the Medicaid expansion is not happening in some states, it is happening in other states including big states like New York and California. The Medicaid expansion covers very poor people, so some very poor people will still not be covered, but lots of very poor people will be newly covered.</p>
<p>But the insurance exchanges cover poor people too. At least, I assume you agree that someone making $15K/year is poor? And the insurance exchanges will be up and running (we hope) for all states.</p>
<p>Poetgrl, I say the same thing to you that I say to Goldenpooch: </p>
<p>Your insurance premiums are not going up to pay for poor people. Your insurance premiums are going up to pay for sick people. Your insurance premiums do not go to cover other people’s subsidies.</p>
<p>There will be a premium. Some people may qualify for a tax credit that covers 100% of the premium. The premium will be the same for everybody who is the same age and has the same plan and lives in the same region. That is, all 32 year olds in Sacramento who buy an Anthem Silver plan will have the same premium. </p>
<p>The insurance company will receive the full premium.</p>
<p>Some people will get tax credits and in some cases the credit will be enough to pay the whole premium. The exchange will take care of the collection part – if that 32 year old in Sacramento has a $300/month subsidy and is entitled to a $100 tax credit, and opts to have that credit taken in advance, then the 32 year old will pay $200 each month, and the following year file tax returns. If the tax return shows that the 32 year old was entitled to that tax credit, then all will be fine. If there is a discrepancy, the taxpayer may get an additional refund if he was entitled to more, or he may own tax to reimburse the government if it turns out that he wasn’t entitled to the subsidy because his income is higher than expected.</p>
<p>Right. But does someone who makes that little money pay taxes? I mean does the credit reduce ss taxes and whatnot or just federal income tax?</p>
<p>ETA. I’m beginning to think there are going to be a whole lot of people being fined because they can’t actually afford to pay these premiums on what is now a mandatory purchase.</p>
<p>The government is paying the subsidies. The legislation is paid for by reductions in payments to Medicare Advantage*, a medical devices tax, the Cadillac health care tax, and some other ways to raise revenue. So I concur that you and I are indirectly paying the subsidies via various taxes.</p>
<ul>
<li>Reducing payments to Medicare Advantage ought to happen anyway, independent of Obamacare. There is no reason why the per capita cost for Medicare Advantage patients should be higher than the cost for other Medicare patients. Medicare Advantage patients are younger and healthier, so they should cost less, not more.</li>
</ul>