Just Lost My Insurance

[Beiruty]

I am not that concerned about Obama Care or less Care, I am concerned about the unsustainable federal deficit of 30% or more of the Federal Budget. US Treasury would be worthless and the Federal Bank is buying $85B each month of that worthless paper. That is $3,000,000,000 each day!

[Jaguar]

If anyone thinks the cost of healthcare will be lowered because of Obamacare, just look at the taxes that are implemented with the bill. Obama himself said, “We did raise taxes on some things.” but that is the understatement of the century.

See the list here. http://www.atr.org/obama-obamacare-rais ... ings-a7883" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Medical Device Tax, High Medical Bills Tax, Flexible Spending Account Tax, Super Saver Surtax, and more. No way the cost remains the same or goes lower with all the taxes implemented by this law.

[Moby]

Part of the take over of America.
And most will bend over and take it.
I've learned there are many who talk trash.
Our founding fathers were in the 3% group.
That means 97% were sheeple.

[bizarrenormality]

Free verse limerick?

[cb1000rider]

Simply not true. The Texas Health Insurance Pool is (was) available for those that couldn't otherwise qualify due to preexisting conditions. My wife had cancer, and was covered under the pool until she turned 65 and medicare took over. Expensive? Yes. High Deductibles? Yes. But it was insurance and was available.

I stand corrected on this... And a few other things that my fellow members have helped to educate me with.
However, a Texas Health Insurance pool that candidates coverage of pre-existing conditions, but doesn't limit premiums is essentially the same as not insuring them. Have a history of cancer? That'll be $10k/month in premiums. Apparently Obamacare makes it so that you can't exclude the condition and you can't charge more for it.. Which is why they're pushing young (healthy) people to get in the pools and balance out.

Again, I'll wait and see.. It's the statistical cost/coverage data that I want across the board. If it's worse, I'll work beside you to get rid of it...

[rotor]

It's not "insurance" if the rates are the same for everyone no matter what their condition. All real insurance is based on risk adjustment. You own an expensive car you pay a higher rate. You own a Yugo you pay a lower rate. You don't expect to pay the same for a $250,000 house versus the guy down the street with a $100,000 house. The ONLY way you can charge everyone the same rate is to overcharge everyone. So, the healthy individual is not rewarded for being healthy- he/she will be overcharged to make up for the 3 pack a day smoker down the block. And why buy insurance at all. Pay the stupid fine, when you get sick you buy insurance because they can't deny you and they can't charge you more. Everything is free- why worry- they will take care of you- your taxes will go down and you will have the same medical care that Obama gets. Sure!

[sjfcontrol]

Simply not true. The Texas Health Insurance Pool is (was) available for those that couldn't otherwise qualify due to preexisting conditions. My wife had cancer, and was covered under the pool until she turned 65 and medicare took over. Expensive? Yes. High Deductibles? Yes. But it was insurance and was available.

I stand corrected on this... And a few other things that my fellow members have helped to educate me with.
However, a Texas Health Insurance pool that candidates coverage of pre-existing conditions, but doesn't limit premiums is essentially the same as not insuring them. Have a history of cancer? That'll be $10k/month in premiums. Apparently Obamacare makes it so that you can't exclude the condition and you can't charge more for it.. Which is why they're pushing young (healthy) people to get in the pools and balance out.

Again, I'll wait and see.. It's the statistical cost/coverage data that I want across the board. If it's worse, I'll work beside you to get rid of it...

The rates are capped (for the risk pool) at (as I recall) twice what the average cost for a plan for a non-pre-existing person would be. So no $10k per month premiums.

[cb1000rider]

The rates are capped (for the risk pool) at (as I recall) twice what the average cost for a plan for a non-pre-existing person would be. So no $10k per month premiums.

In that event, we're solving a problem that we don't have (at least in TX).

[mojo84]

Simply not true. The Texas Health Insurance Pool is (was) available for those that couldn't otherwise qualify due to preexisting conditions. My wife had cancer, and was covered under the pool until she turned 65 and medicare took over. Expensive? Yes. High Deductibles? Yes. But it was insurance and was available.

I stand corrected on this... And a few other things that my fellow members have helped to educate me with.
However, a Texas Health Insurance pool that candidates coverage of pre-existing conditions, but doesn't limit premiums is essentially the same as not insuring them. Have a history of cancer? That'll be $10k/month in premiums. Apparently Obamacare makes it so that you can't exclude the condition and you can't charge more for it.. Which is why they're pushing young (healthy) people to get in the pools and balance out.

Again, I'll wait and see.. It's the statistical cost/coverage data that I want across the board. If it's worse, I'll work beside you to get rid of it...

Hyperbole

[cb1000rider]

Hyperbole

No, I mean I want a look at the actual data in terms of coverage and associated costs compared to pre-implementation. I don't mean it as a a rhetorical statement.

If I'm wrong to have a wait-and-see attitude, I accept it.. I've been wrong before.

[mamabearCali]

Well...it's official our premiums are going up by 53%. Our deductible is going up by 18%. Our out of pocket max is up 38%. Thank you Obummer. It is not like my family could not use that money or anything considering how the price of everything else has gone up and our salary not one red cent. Wretches.

[mojo84]

How are those guvment health insurance exchanges working for you? I can't get quotes from either the guvment or private exchanges for 1/1/14.

[TLE2]

For employers with a majority of blue collar workers, the exchanges seem to be popular. Our company is still keeping it plan intact for 2014, but the future may change.

The Oklahoma exchange is up today 10/1. The deductibles and prices are not low.

I'm a Heath actuary. Glad I'm retiring in a few months.

[mojo84]

For employers with a majority of blue collar workers, the exchanges seem to be popular. Our company is still keeping it plan intact for 2014, but the future may change.

The Oklahoma exchange is up today 10/1. The deductibles and prices are not low.

I'm a Heath actuary. Glad I'm retiring in a few months.

If Oklahoma's exchange is actually working, it's the only one that I know of.

[The Annoyed Man]

I got the call from our insurance agent yesterday, telling me what my wife's and my options are, going forward. It was not a call to cause joy and happiness.

I just want to share what I read and wrote this morning in my devotional. I don't usually touch on politics in my journaling, but I did today because my faith is being tested by these events. The devotional book I use is "Jesus Calling" by Sara Young.

10/3

WHEN MANY THINGS SEEM to be going wrong, trust Me. When your life feels increasingly out of control, thank Me. These are supernatural responses, and they can lift you above your circumstances. If you do what comes naturally in the face of difficulties, you may fall prey to negativism. Even a few complaints can set you on a path that is a downward spiral, by darkening your perspective and mind-set. With this attitude controlling you, complaints flow more and more readily from your mouth. Each one moves you steadily down the slippery spiral. The lower you go, the faster you slide; but it is still possible to apply brakes. Cry out to Me in My Name! Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel. Thank Me for everything, though this seems unnatural—even irrational. Gradually you will begin to ascend, recovering your lost ground.

When you are back on ground level, you can face your circumstances from a humble perspective. If you choose supernatural responses this time—trusting and thanking Me—you will experience My unfathomable Peace.

• But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
  PSALM 13:5
  
  ... always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  EPHESIANS 5

Yesterday, the news about Obamacare fell on us like hammer-blows. Our insurance agent phoned and went over all the options with me. My wife is definitely going to lose her health insurance because the law is going to take it away from her. As of 12/31/2014, Obamacare forces her current policy to cease to exist. She won't "get to keep her insurance if she likes it," as the thief in chief assured us would be the case. He is a liar. Big surprise.

Her insurance will go up from $245/month for a policy she likes with a $5,000 deductible, to $595/month for a policy she doesn't need. Maternity care? For a 55 year old woman? Really? Abortion on demand? For a vocally pro-life woman? THIS is the kind of tripe that is more than doubling her health insurance cost. She would have a lower deductible, from $5,000 down to $2,000, but her annual policy cost would go from $2,940 to $7,140.

As for me, I can opt in (currently uninsured) to a $536/month policy with a $6,000 deductible, with 100% out of pocket until the deductible is met, and 100% coverage after it is met. In other words, I have to pay $6,432 in annual policy payments AND $6,000 in deductible before I get to see coverage.

[comment.... by the way, these policy prices are only good through 12/14. Nobody knows what they'll be in 12/15 because, as of yet, there is no data history in the program on which to base the rates......but only drunks and clowns believe that they will go down....]

If we both opt out. . .which we'll have to do because we simply can't afford Obamacare, we will pay an annual fine of 1% of our adjusted gross income. We don't have the 2012 figure yet [still finalizing taxes], but our AGI was approximately $77,000 in 2011. Based on that, our fine will be roughly $750-$850 dollars a year. . .which will be used to subsidize insurance for people whose AGI is $25,000 a year less than that.

Our government is giving us an ultimatum, accept the poorhouse government plantation, or accept punishment for refusing to condone the evil.

I don't normally talk about this kind of stuff during my devotional, but I wanted to lay it out there as a preface for what comes next. All of the above dropped on us yesterday. My wife was rocked. Badly. So was I. But I assured her that we were far from the only couple in the nation, right at that very moment, having that very conversation. It goes beyond the financial blow. On Saturday, I will be 61 years old, and this is the closest I have ever seen my nation to the brink of a literal civil war. There are millions of people in this country are are literally only a few steps from taking up arms against their own government. It is a terribly frightening thing, and in their massive pride and ego, the people who are forcing this abomination onto us believe that we'll just lay down and take it. Obama promised hope and change, in that order. What he has given us is disastrous change, and loss of hope. . . .if I fall into the trap of putting my hope in worldly things.

Our hope in things not of this world is about to be severely tested. The words of the author in the devotionals of the past couple of days speak to hoping and trusting in the goodness of the Lord. We believe in this. We really do. I believe in this, truly, down in my bones. He has shown me His goodness in the past. He will continue to show me His goodness going forward. I have to keep faith with that, even in the face of enormous challenges. Since 1865, Americans who believe in the Goodness and Faithfulness of God have not had their faith in those things really and truly tested. . .here at home, on our soil. Christians in places like Darfur, and India, and North Korea have historically always had far bigger faith challenges to overcome, than Obamacare and its inevitable fallout if democrats do not agree to pull us back from the brink to which they have shoved us.

Jesus promised us that it was going to get rough. He didn't mean strictly in America; he meant in the world. But those troubles which we have successfully held at bay ever since the end of our civil war, and which other peoples in other countries have had to confront for generations, are about to intrude into our national sanctuary.

It is in times like these when faith is tested. It is not just the test of a personal illness or a financial crisis. It is the test of faith which happens when one's entire social structure begins to disintegrate, and the more savage of man's instincts begin to be revealed. Obama has successfully changed the nation from the world's most powerful, to an irrelevancy. This will not come without a severe domestic price.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference;
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace;
Take, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is;
And not as I would have it;
Trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life;
And supremely happy with You forever in the next;

Father in heaven, Your name is Holy;
Your kingdom come, Your will be done;
On earth as it is in heaven;
Give my wife and me today our daily portion of Your Spirit;
And forgive us our sins against You,
As we forgive each other our sins against one another;
Do not let us be led down a path of lies and deceit, temptations, and loss of faith in Your vast goodness;
But deliver us from the schemes of the devil, and his minions in government and out of it;
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever.

Amen

The income figure I mentioned above is in some ways artificial. I started my business 6 months before the economy tanked. The last 5 years have been an exercise in "holding on" until things get better. MOST of that money was in the form of withdrawals from our retirement fund. More than 20% of it went to paying taxes, and another chunk to keeping my business afloat. In order to get the $3,000/year Obamacare subsidy, I have to reduce my adjusted gross income by approximately $25,000/year, to the $52,000 household income limit. Mind you, adjusted gross income is pre-deductions, and pre-tax.

Furthermore, putting both my wife and I on Obamacare will result in $13,572 in annual premiums.....not counting deductibles, copays, etc. When republicans said that Obamacare would commandeer 1/6 of the nation's economy, I am living proof that this figure is optimistic.

There is only one way I can afford Obamacare: shut down my business and give up that dream, sell my house in Grapevine and move to a location with lower property taxes, and cut back my lifestyle (which is very middle class) by $25,000/year. At 61 years old, with a bad back, and almost 6 years out of the salaried workforce, about the best I can hope for in a job......if there are any jobs......is as a Walmart greeter or a school crossing guard.

Obamacare will pretty much bankrupt me.

So, my wife and I are going to both lose our coverage entirely, right at the time in our lives (61 for me and 55 for my wife) when healthcare concerns are becoming more and more prominent.

I truly do believe that Obama is in league with the devil.