There was a time when I would've considered the ACA unnecessary. That I would've been annoyed by it. This was also a time where I had little to no interest in politics. It's funny how life has a way of humbling a person and teaching them something new about themselves on a regular basis. This is a story about how I ended up needing the help in order to make myself better.
"Well why didn't you just get a new inhaler?" I felt a sinking pit in my stomach. I was at a follow up visit to my doctor after ending up in the ER a few weeks before because bronchitis had made my asthma worse and I couldn't breathe. The first thing my doctor asked me was where my inhaler was when this had happened. After all, that was in my plan. I tried to explain to her that I only had one inhaler and it had been stolen the week before when I was riding the bus. Somehow, despite my explanation she didn't understand that since I was uninsured at the time, I just couldn't afford a new one. It was only after the ER trip that a friend of mine had pity on me and bought the inhaler for me.
I lost my insurance in April 2012 because I had been working at a call center that had outsourced its customer service department overseas. This was my fourth lay off in about six years. The whole time I had been trying to go back to school but in playing musical jobs I had never managed to do so. I decided to make school my focus and work secondary and deal with it.
Because I have asthma, I've never been able to get insurance without going through my work before. COBRA would've cost me over six hundred a month, and while my state had opened a high risk pool, it was still too expensive. My NP was awesome and made sure I got refills of my medication before I lost my insurance and gave me a list of community services for when I did lose it, because she knew I wouldn't be able to come back afterwards.
I did everything I could to make sure I would be taken care of. I signed up for a prescription plan at a local pharmacy, I found local clinic that was free, run on community donations. Still there are things that free clinics couldn't handle. Waiting all week to see a doctor because you got sick on Sunday and the free clinic is only open on Saturday isn't helpful when you're so sick you can't breathe. The doctors are volunteers so there's no guarantee of continuous care. In fact, the push is to get you into a local public health or community clinic, but they often were not taking new adult patients or were an hour drive away.
It was about a month after I lost my insurance when I found a lump on my right side, along the edge of the breast tissue. The free clinic provided me a referral but when I called the places they suggested I was turned away. I was told I was too young, that the office no longer provided services, or that they were out of funds for the year. I continued to fight to find a way to access services, but without a referral from a PCP I was getting nowhere. I finally took the time to bus out to one of the few clinics taking patients. They contacted a local imaging center attached to a public hospital to get me in. This started in June, I was finally in for imaging in October. In November I would get a biopsy and find out it was benign. It took me six months from start to finish to find out what was there.
It would be another year before I would get insurance again. In that time I ended up in the ER enough times the doctors started to recognize me. There really wasn't anything either of us could do. I couldn't manage my health without being able to afford regular doctor's visits and medication and they couldn't make a solution appear out of thin air. My wisdom teeth got infected and had to be removed but had to wait two months for a dentist who would help. I was on antibiotics so long I ended up with a GI infection. Bronchitis, allergic reaction, a set of second degree burns from how bad at cooking I can be. They got to deal with it all, despite the fact that most of these things were preventable.
All if this changed in January of last year. I live in one of the states that approved the Medicaid expansion and set up their own healthcare exchange. I was there on day one to shake hands with the Governor, tell him my story, and sign up. I stood up with him to others to encourage them to use the exchange as well. It is the only day of class I've missed since I started back.
Because of the Affordable Care Act I was able to get needed blood work that I had not been able to afford. Reliable access to medication. The first thing my PCP did, remembering how just a few months earlier I had ended up in the ER because I didn't have an inhaler was make sure to get me a prescription for one so I had a backup. One thing I know is I appreciate the opportunity more than I could ever express.
I know there are naysayers out there who will tell me that those things are not really free and that someone has to pay for them. One day I'll graduate and that person will be me. I seriously hope that I am paying to make sure someone gets the care they need with the money I pay into the system. It's saner than paying for what happens when they can't. The system we have isn't perfect, but it can only get better if we put effort into it.
I looked at some of your past posts, and I see that you are very nasty to anyone who doesn't agree with your political viewpoint.
It could be worse. I could support forcing people to buy obamacare even though it has a 50% disapproval rating like you support doing so. Now THAT'S nasty.
Forcing people to buy a product is bad enough. Forcing people to buy a product with a 50% disapproval rating is just plain evil.
Back in Feb, I started a new job and was laid-off three weeks later! Unit was closed, everyone laid off.
I had resigned from my previous job to take the new one, and discontinued my prior insurance to take the (really crappy) insurance at my new job. Then, found myself unemployed, and without insurance.
I looked deeply into the available ACA plans in my state. I found them to be a bit pricey, but coverage was very good.
Thankfully, I found another job. Very low wage, but good insurance. About the exact cost and coverage that the Obamacare care plan I was going to sign up for.
I am so grateful for the safety-net of the ACA. Being laid-off wasn't nearly as scary as it could have been, otherwise.
When Medicare was implemented, it had a disapproval rating far higher than Obamacare does. It is now one of the most popular government programs ever created.
After the dust settles, and some bugs are worked out, I think the same will happen with Obamacare.
I've guess you've never heard of COBRA? By the way, the "I love Obamacare" photo is the by far the most pathetic post on this thread. It reminds me of this.....
No they don't. Medicaid patients pay ZERO while getting thousands of dollars worth of healthcare. Other Americans are forced to pay for it.
About two-thirds of medicaid recipients are employed which means they are actually paying into medicaid through payroll taxes, and most of the remaining 1/3 have paid into medicaid at some point, and medicaid does actually have deductibles and copays.
And of course other Americans end up paying for their healthcare costs, there is no avoiding that unless you can offer and a suggestion of how that would happen. For an individual to qualify for medicaid they have to make less than $15k a year, are you under the impression that someone can buy their own insurance without any assistance and pay all their other costs on $15k a year?
We could just get rid of medicaid, but of course that wouldn't mean the rest of us aren't responsible for their healthcare costs it would just mean we aren't paying those costs through medicaid. If someone ends up with a $250k hospital bill who makes
FUNDING OBAMACARE: Where Does the Money Come From? Besides the Individual Mandate penalty/tax, there are numerous NEW or INCREASED taxes and fees to fund all that is required by this law.
+.9% Increase in Medicare Tax Rate (plus next item…)
3.8% New Tax on unearned income for high-income taxpayers= $210.2 billion ($200,000 for individual and $250,000 for joint filers)
New Annual Fee on health insurance providers = $60 billion (For calculation - Sec 9010 (b) of the PPACA.)[1]
40% New Tax on health insurance policies which cost more than $10,200 for an individual or $27,500 for a family, per year = $32 billion (inland tax as opposed to an importation tax)
New Annual Fee on manufacturers and importers of branded drugs = $27 billion (For calculation - Sec 9008 (b) of the PPACA)[2]
2.3% New Tax on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices = $20 billion
+2.5% Increase (7.5% to 10%) in the Adjusted Gross Income floor on medical expenses deduction = $15.2 billion
Limit annual contributions to $2,500 on flexible spending arrangements in cafeteria plans (plans that allow employees to choose between different types of benefits) = $13 billion
All other revenue sources = $14.9 billion
10% New Tax imposed on each individual for whom indoor tanning services†are performed.
3.8% New Tax on investment income. Includes: gross income from interest, dividends, royalties, rents, and net capital gains. Investment income does not include interest on tax-exempt bonds, veterans' benefits, excluded gain from the sale of a principle residence, distributions from retirement plans, or amounts subject to self-employment taxes. (The lesser of net investment income or the excess of modified Adjusted Gross Income over a the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket, typically $250,000 for married filing jointly and $200,000 filing as an individual).
I've guess you've never heard of COBRA? By the way, the "I love Obamacare" photo is the by far the most pathetic post on this thread. It reminds me of this.....
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18077[/ATTACH]
You are a worshiper of despots.
Seriously?
COBRA was $800. a month, with a $3000. deductible. The ACA plan I wanted was $400. a month, with a $1,500. deductible, and much better coverage.
Comparing the pic you posted to the one I posted is ridiculous. Obviously, there is no valid options or views except for yours.
Thanks for exponentially reinforcing my choice to always vote for my chosen party.
[h=2]Q: Are there any deductibles, coinsurance, or co-payments?[/h]
A:States may impose nominal deductibles, coinsurance, or co-payments on some Medicaid recipients for certain services.
The amounts are up to each state to decide, here are a couple of examples:
North Carolina;
How is a Medicaid deductible calculated?The deductible is calculated by subtracting Medicaid's Medically Needy monthly income limit from your family's countable monthly income, then multiplying that amount by six.
For example, suppose the monthly Medically Needy income limit for a household of one is $242, but your monthly income is $1000. The difference ($758) is then multiplied by six, resulting in a deductible of $4,548.
Michigan:
[TABLE=width: 95%]
[TR]
[TD]EXAMPLE:
You and your 15-year-old daughter apply for Medicaid. The only income in your household is the $950 you earn from your job. This makes you both over-income for for all categories of Medicaid. Your daughter may qualify if she meets a deductible. Because the OBRA Kids program has no deductible program, she must be tested for the AFDC-related Medicaid category.Her deductible is calculated as follows:
[TABLE=width: 100%]
[TR]
[TD]Gross family income[/TD]
[TD] $950[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Earned income deduction[/TD]
[TD]- $ 90[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Net income[/TD]
[TD] $860[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]AFDC-related income for two[/TD]
[TD]- $591[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Income over Medicaid limit[/TD]
[TD] $269[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Medicaid deductible for six-month period:[/TD]
[TD]$269×6 = $1614[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
If your family has $1614 in medical bills, your daughter may qualify for Medicaid. You will not qualify for Medicaid because there is no deductible program for adults who are not disabled or pregnant. You may be eligible for BadgerCare in July 1999.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Oh really? How much payroll taxes does an unemployed person pay? How much payroll taxes does a person earning $10,000 per year pay?
And payroll taxes do not fund obamacare. They fund social security and mediCARE (not medicaid)
Federal funding of medicaid comes from the CMS budget (CMS=Center for medicare and medicaid services) which is paid for out of payroll taxes.
Like most taxes, the amount you pay is relative to the ability to pay. Math still applies here, you can't charge someone who makes $10,ooo more than $10,ooo in taxes. Once again, you certainly seem to be suggesting there is a better way to do this, but are too afraid to suggest what that might be.
Turtles2
135 Posts
No they don't. Medicaid patients pay ZERO while getting thousands of dollars worth of healthcare. Other Americans are forced to pay for it.