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Yeah. People who don't buy health insurance. As far as I understand, the health care bill will (eventually) extend an opportunity to buy into a health insurance co-op (think: BECU but for healthcare) that will give it the same purchasing and bargaining power as a large corporation. And, this will be a high risk pool -- so, if you're uninsurable otherwise, you'll be able to get health insurance through this plan.
Currently, the law will require people to buy health insurance OR to pay a non-compliance tax. My concern is that it will still be difficult for people who can't afford $150 a month (or whatever the payment is) to pay for coverage, despite all the incentives for them to do so. I know people who have no health insurance right now, because they choose not to spend $130 a month on it, not because they don't qualify. It will depend on how steep the discounts are for people who are low-income, and how strong the tax penalties are for those who choose not to sign up.
My guess is that this bill -- however much it is a step in the right direction -- won't do much for those who have absolutely no resources, such as the homeless. It also won't do anything for those who are here illegally, either. (I don't know whether this includes children of illegal immigrants, who also don't have citizenship or visas.) So, to that extent, healthcare will remain a privilege rather than a right for a certain percentage of Americans.
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Yes. My thoughts exactly. And, for the record, it can cost a lot more than $150/month to purchase health insurance, unfortunately.
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Aren't you forgetting that the bill will... ?
"Expand Medicaid to all individuals under age 65 (children, pregnant women, parents, and adults without dependent children) with incomes up to 133% Federal poverty level based on modified adjusted gross income (as under current law and in the House and Senate-passed bills undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid). All newly eligible adults will be guaranteed a benchmark benefit package that at least provides the essential health benefits."
So those with no resources, if they didn't already have Medicaid, should have an easier time qualifying.
PDF: www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/housesenatebill_final.pdf
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My health insurance costs $77 per month, through Group Health. It covers everything I need.
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Wow! $77 per month is CHEAP!!!
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note also: ~$165/month for a family of three for a subscription to the Qliance group.
As far as poverty-level-based qualifiers, the biggest trouble I feel is the folks that fall right inbetween being able to pay their own way and being covered by the gov, (arguably) due to living somewhere expensive: i.e. if a couple makes a modest amount (let's say 2400 to 3000 take-home), and have a $1200 1BD apt in Seattle and have a ton of bills (think, student loan debt+hospital bills+car payment), they might have very little money left over and be falling behind on bills - yet, they would qualify for neither housing help nor medicaid due to a) making "too much" money per month gross [to afford a 1200 apt, they likely have to make $3000-3600 / month to even get it] and b) not having enough children or others in their household to qualify and c) not living somewhere cheaper: which feels, to some, a lot like a penalty for wanting to live where you want (i.e. in a gay friendly neighborhood and not auburn, for example... or near a preferred school). Doesn't this force folks to either be wealthy or poor, and discourage middle class living? Perhaps I'm missing something.
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Seriously, how are you people paying so little for health insurance? Are you getting it through your employer? or did you just call up the health insurance company and that is what you have to pay?
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In my former job at a medical clinic, I encountered people who were too poor to afford Medicaid. Hopefully the government will do something to mitigate that, but I won't count on it. Also, Medicaid can be revoked once your income increases, and I believe this is done on a quarterly basis. So if your boss lets you work some overtime for a few months, there's a chance you'll get kicked off and you'll have to reapply once your income goes down again.
This reform is better than nothing, but there still will be people who have unreliable coverage.
The chronically homeless may wind up without coverage because they don't have permanent mailing addresses or the resources to apply for and regularly requalify for Medicaid, and many probably don't file tax returns, making the penalty irrelevant.
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Aislinn, does your Group Health plan have a deductible? Because the only plan I've seen with a monthly premium that low has a $5,000 or $10,000 deductible. I'm not asking because I'm disputing your claim. I'm asking because I want to know how I can sign up for your plan!
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This is my specific plan (26 years old, non-smoker): http://www.ghc.org/health_plans/pdf/IandF2009/Balance2500.pdf
I'm a generally healthy person, and don't have any regular prescriptions or plans to get pregnant (and I have an IUD to prevent accidents), so this plan works great for me. It gives me at least some help in case of emergency, and while I don't necessarily have $2500 stashed away to pay that deductible immediately, it is an amount that I'm comfortable with raising quickly from savings/family members, which is why I chose that plan. Here are some other option from Group Health: http://www.ghc.org/health_plans/index.jhtml?reposid=/common/healthPlans/ifp_benglance.html
I realize that this plan wouldn't work for everyone (and the cost differences between maternity/no maternity coverage are infuriating), but there are reasonably-priced options available for many people who don't realize it. I have friends who use Qliance for preventative care and hold a separate catastrophic policy, and they have been really happy with that.
My old employer was paying almost $400 per month for my insurance (though that included dental, which I currently don't have coverage for), and it was ludicrous because I simply don't use that much care. I really like having control over my own insurance and not having to worry about tying it to employment.
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Okay, that's the same plan I was looking at. It's just a bit more expensive for me because I'm in a different age bracket. Thanks for sharing!
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Goodness. I'm away from my computer for a few hours, and you all go to town.
It was well over a year ago, but I was looking at plans through Regence Blue Shield, since my doctor was covered through them. I'm pretty sure it also had reasonably comprehensive drug coverage and vision care as well. They wanted roughly $130 a month, and I was 27 at the time.
I heard a story on NPR this evening about how young people may still make the decision to gamble with their healthcare and not enroll, figuring it would be cheaper to pay for individual appointments than buy a policy. The story mentioned that the eventual penalty for not carrying any insurance would be 2% of your income; even at $30k a year, that's only $600 annually. If you run the math for baristas who make $9 an hour - most of whom don't get healthcare through work and likely wouldn't be able to afford coverage on their own - that's well under $20k annually. This insurance will need to be reasonably less than $50 a month for these people to actually take seriously enrolling in the plan.
All that language about how abortions decrease when healthcare is equally available to everyone is still a pipe dream. Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't need Planned Parenthood?
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unfortunately, health insurance can be EXTREMELY expensive for people who need it the most - those with lots of health problems! after graduating from college (23, nonsmoking with very healthy lifestyle aside from things I can't help), I was rejected from all insurances that I applied for and couldn't get insurance through my job. My family and I ended up paying ~$550 a month to extend my insurance via COBRA... seems ridiculous, and it is, but in my case it was still cheaper than paying out of pocket. I hear that as part of the bill you can't be rejected for preexisting conditions anymore starting in a few years, which would be great... but I agree that health insurance may still be cost prohibitive for many.
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l totally admit l haven't done my research, so l apologize for asking a question l could easily Google, but can someone tell me when the expanded Medicaid option kicks in? l haven't qualified for it thus far because l have no dependent children (and for some other reason l can't remember, but my income at the moment certainly qualifies me for it, so that's not it), but l have two very expensive pre-existing conditions and need coverage in a bad way.
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Can you apply for SS or DSHS disability, or COPES? Those are backdoor ways to get Medicaid, methinks.
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Neither of my conditions qualify me for these programs. No on the disability, which is almost impossible to qualify for at the moment. l tried last year when l was unemployed after knee surgery and it was a no go. COPES simply doesn't apply to my situation. Unfortunately, as long as l've required government help, l seem to be one of those who slips through the cracks a LOT, and so far, the only thing l've ever been able to get was food stamps, even though l feel l should have qualified for other programs. That's why l needed this healthcare plan to go through so badly.
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I'm so sorry freikja! I wish I could help. I hope this stuff kicks in soon! Woo! I better get off the computer! There was a lightening strike!!! AHHH!
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Yeah, electrocution is no bueno. Thanks for the kind words, l really appreciate that. Honestly, if we failed to make any progress on the healthcare front, l was seriously considering relocating to another country where l could get the kind of medical care l needed. lt angers me to no end that even though l pay my taxes, they don't cover even the most basic of needs, and now l'm up to my eyeballs in debt as a result. One of my neuro checkups costs about four grand every time l go in for one. Since l have no insurance, they won't allow me the one procedure we could do that might really help -a spinal tap- and of course, l am responsible for the full cost of treatment. The whole thing is truly ridiculous.
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