Repealing the ACA under Trump

[JJ Husker]

Doubt that there are literally millions:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/obamacare-exemptions/

He qualified on the 8.13% of income provision.

His tax preparer told him that his cost for the cheapest bronze plan was $630/mo (btw-that has to bs) but, given that, any income below about $93,000/yr would qualify for the exemption.

 

Maybe not millions but a big enough number to be of serious concern.

[zoogs]

I do think mandate has to be stronger. I don't have a sense for how wide these exceptions are, however. 630/mo sounds quite unusual. How many incomes in the 90k range don't come with health insurance already? I suppose if it somehow did, I'm not opposed to some % exception.

[BigRedBuster]

I do think mandate has to be stronger. I don't have a sense for how wide these exceptions are, however. 630/mo sounds quite unusual. How many incomes in the 90k range don't come with health insurance already? I suppose if it somehow did, I'm not opposed to some % exception.

There's one hell of a lot of self employed people who probably fall into this category.

[JJ Husker]

I do think mandate has to be stronger. I don't have a sense for how wide these exceptions are, however. 630/mo sounds unusual.

 

 

Well, I called that bs originally, but that may very well be his cheapest available premium. He is pushing 60 years old and premiums under the ACA are age rated. I guess we are to expect everyone to make $90K+ per year........ or enough less so as to be poverty level and receive their coverage for free. Doesn't seem reasonable to me. Seems like costs are a very big issue.

[zoogs]

What percentage of people are self employed in the well above free healthcare range? What percentage of those people live in places where this 8% rule actually kicks in?

 

It just sounds so unusual. So let's quantify the extent of this problem rather.

 

I guess with age it starts to make more sense. IMO, if you earn that much you should be able to pay the penalty. But it also sounds like we're approaching the category of people who *should* be in the subsidized/exemption/Medi___ area.

[JJ Husker]

I do think mandate has to be stronger. I don't have a sense for how wide these exceptions are, however. 630/mo sounds quite unusual. How many incomes in the 90k range don't come with health insurance already? I suppose if it somehow did, I'm not opposed to some % exception.

I think the bigger concern is how many incomes are there between 40K and 90K that do not have company provided insurance. And why are we acting like employers will be able to absorb the rapidly escalating cost increases any better than individuals? That is the main reason my small company quit offering health insurance.

[JJ Husker]

What percentage of people are self employed in the well above free healthcare range? What percentage of those people live in places where this 8% rule actually kicks in?

 

It just sounds so unusual. So let's quantify the extent of this problem rather.

 

I guess with age it starts to make more sense. IMO, if you earn that much you should be able to pay the penalty. But it also sounds like we're approaching the category of people who *should* be in the subsidized/exemption/Medi___ area.

The problem is, he does not earn that much. The $93K was just what the math worked out to qualify for the exemption.

[Moiraine]

 

LINK

 

WASHINGTON The nations health care tab this year is expected to surpass $10,000 per person for the first time, the government said Wednesday. The new peak means the Obama administration will pass the problem of high health care costs on to its successor.

The report from number crunchers at the Department of Health and Human Services projects that health care spending will grow at a faster rate than the national economy over the coming decade. That squeezes the ability of federal and state governments, not to mention employers and average citizens, to pay.

Growth is projected to average 5.8 percent from 2015 to 2025, below the pace before the 2007-2009 economic recession but faster than in recent years that saw health care spending moving in step with modest economic growth.

National health expenditures will hit $3.35 trillion this year, which works out to $10,345 for every man, woman and child. The annual increase of 4.8 percent for 2016 is lower than the forecast for the rest of the decade.

A stronger economy, faster growth in medical prices and an aging population are driving the trend. Medicare and Medicaid are expected to grow more rapidly than private insurance as the baby-boom generation ages. By 2025, government at all levels will account for nearly half of health care spending, 47 percent.

 

 

I think this is exactly what I've been saying the whole time?

 

Growth is projected to average 5.8 percent from 2015 to 2025, below the pace before the 2007-2009 economic recession but faster than in recent years that saw health care spending moving in step with modest economic growth.

 

I've been saying it hasn't increased faster under the ACA. Pre 2007-2009 is pre ACA.

 

This is saying it will increase faster than it did in recent years. Not faster than it did pre ACA.

 

Right?

[zoogs]

The problem is, he does not earn that much. The $93K was just what the math worked out to qualify for the exemption.

Right -- doesn't that push this further in the "here's an older person who *should* be getting things like exemptions, breaks, subsidies,..." based on their income and health care needs?

 

I think the bigger concern is how many incomes are there between 40K and 90K that do not have company provided insurance.

I don't have a sense of these numbers either, so I'm wondering.

[Moiraine]

I have company insurance but it's awful.

[Redux]

I have company insurance but it's awful.

But you have it, so therefore the ACA is working!

[Moiraine]

 

I have company insurance but it's awful.

But you have it, so therefore the ACA is working!

 

 

 

 

Okay teach

[JJ Husker]

I have company insurance but it's awful.

Explain "awful".

 

There is a pretty wide range of what people have become accustomed to for health insurance. What's awful? Your cost share, deductible, copays....?

 

I wish I had an employer paying a good portion of my premium.

[JJ Husker]

The problem is, he does not earn that much. The $93K was just what the math worked out to qualify for the exemption.

Right -- doesn't that push this further in the "here's an older person who *should* be getting things like exemptions, breaks, subsidies,..." based on their income and health care needs?

 

 

Maybe, but I think there are much better answers than no end in sight increases of exemptions, breaks and subsidies. I'd rather fix the real problem instead of burying it in the pool of public funds. There is something fundamentally wrong with a mandate that allows exemptions from the penalty for people making $93k per year. On top of that, the penalty is a joke anyway- $7600 in premiums or a $700 penalty? They need to take this more seriously than that. There is a problem when a single person's premium is $630/mo for the least costly plan available. I'd prefer we fix the actual problem instead of acting like it's normal for these things to cost that much and then simply passing that exorbitant cost on to fewer and fewer tax payers.

 

Or, if that is what it has to cost, then let everyone deduct their health premiums and care costs. Why does a person have to exceed 10% of income before they start getting a tax break? Why do some people get their premiums fully subsidized while people in the middle can't even get a tax break? It's f'D up.

 

Of course we're probably both for single payer, but that doesn't seem to be coming in the near future.

[Redux]

 

I have company insurance but it's awful.

Explain "awful".

There is a pretty wide range of what people have become accustomed to for health insurance. What's awful? Your cost share, deductible, copays....?

I wish I had an employer paying a good portion of my premium.

My employer luckily pays 70% of portion of my wifes family plan. She is a Residency coordinator at an assisted living home that employs a lotnof people. Problem is, those employees get broken up into groups. So the rates are sh#t. For myself, my wife and our 1.5yr old the monthly cost that comes out of her check is more than our mortgage and my mortgate is around $650.

 

That is awful. I don't care how anyone wants to spin it.