Obamacare Update

A friend called me up today.  She and her husband signed up today for the Affordable Care Act in California.  They tried yesterday, but the system was very sluggish.  Today, it was much faster, though there were still glitches. The results though were glitch-free.  They were relentless in following-up though because there was a pre-existing condition, and had very expensive health care.  Finding out what was available to them was of utmost importance.

Come January 1, they will be saving $1,600 a month -- which works out to $19,200 a year.  And their joint deductible went from $7,500 a person -- or $15,000 total -- down to a $1,000 for both.

O woe!  The nation is doomed.

It shouldn't come as a shock to know that she's quite happy about this.

Various realities must also bear repeating:

Everyone won't have the same savings.  It depends on your income, employment and residence.

The ACA won't benefit to everyone.  If you have better health care coverage through your employer, you keep it.

The reason you likely pay less for health care coverage through your employer is because the business is subsidizing you.  (If you added together what you pay and what the business pays, that would almost certainly be more than what you can get from Obamacare, for less.)

The Affordable Care Act is not meant for everyone.  It is intended specifically for lower-income to middle-income people who don't have health insurance through an employer and therefore are paying excessive costs for health insurance -- and also for those who don't currently have any health insurance, because costs are too excessive.

There are many benefits of the ACA separate of monthly payments -- like having your children covered up to the age of 26, being covered despite having a pre-existing condition, no longer having lifetime cap on your coverage, and more.

A business that cuts employees hours to avoid ACA payments is the one screwing the employees, the ACA is not the one doing the screwing.  The business has likely been long-looking for a way to cut costs and finally found an excuse they could blame it on.