Yesterday I received a letter from the Healthcare Marketplace (also known as the Federal Exchange). Managed by the Federal government, it’s for people like me who no longer have employer based health insurance but can still show an income of at least $17,500, aren’t poor enough for Medicaid & aren’t old enough for Medicare.
Also known as Obamacare, I’d be a goner without it. My monthly premium would be $758.00—5 times what I pay now for a no-frills silver plan. I could never afford that.
Some states like New York, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Vermont, Minnesota & Washington have their own State Exchanges—and according to this letter I received, effective November 1, 2020 Pennsylvania will join that list.
I went to pennie.com and took a look around.. it’s an impressive setup, I’m surprised this is the first I’ve heard of it.
I’ve never had any real problems with the Federal Exchange, but I suppose now there will be a couple less hoops to jump thru. Governor Wolf (our Democratic governor) says that by having our own exchange, the state will save at least 50-75 million dollars a year (versus paying the Feds 90 million to manage things, wow!) and guarantees those savings will be used to reduce monthly premiums 5-10%.
I can’t speak for others who may be dealing with higher costs than myself, but I’m already grateful for the affordable insurance I have.
Of course, it warns if President Trump is successful in having the Supreme Court strike down the ACA, “pennie” will also cease to exist.
I believe that most people assume such a thing wouldn’t REALLY happen… but more & more, I can see it. Trump succeeded in having the individual mandate that required everyone have insurance struck down… why is he going after the rest of it?
Because he’s an effing lunatic and he can.
A few days ago, several of us were outside “on the front stoop” (the wide entrance to our apartment building) sitting in chairs and enjoying the last of the warm weather, when another tenant (don’t know the man’s name) came out and said “Can I ask everyone something. My sister is coming to visit, and we’re both… we’re patriotic, we support our president. I know how most of you feel, but I don’t want my sister to hear it.”
He went back into the building, and Helen said “Well!” and a couple others snorted or laughed. I said “Sometimes I wish I could turn myself into a monkey.” Mary Bean said “Why? So you can fling your poop at him?” and everyone laughed.
I laughed too, but that wasn’t the reason. I wanted to rip his face off. And on that wicked thought, I sure hope we can keep the ACA—and pennie!
My daughter and my nephew both subscribe to Obamacare. They are per diem workers and have no employer based health insurance.
ReplyDeleteWell Gigi, I'm sure your daughter is concerned about this too. In the meantime, I'm glad they have it.
DeleteI pay $730 per month for my teacher retirement medical and dental. My boyfriend (until Medicare) paid $10 a month for his Boeing retiree plan. He didn't realize how lucky he was. I'm hoping that Trump doesn't get his hands on Obamacare or really ANYTHING. He has no empathy, no intelligence, no common sense and not a shred of decency or ethics.
ReplyDeleteGosh Margaret, you pay a lot of money! I'm shocked--I'm also shocked your BF only paid $10, I've never heard of anyone that lucky! Well, Joe Biden wants to lower the Medicare age to 60... I'm hoping it happens.
DeleteAnother real reason why we have to stop that man NOW. We need to get that spawn of the tin man and the scarecrow out of there.
ReplyDeletePatti you just made me laugh out loud! AGREED (and thanks for the chuckle)!
DeleteThere are some TOTALLY clueless people who are benefitting from the ACA, but still think Trump will help them. They don't know what they'll lose with him. If they would just watch Trump not caring about infecting others, they should get a clue that he won't care whether everyone has health care or not.
ReplyDeleteKay, so well said--the first time Trump tried to take down Obamacare, I was shocked how many recipients thought it was separate from the ACA which THEY benefited from. I'm sorry but I can't help but think his base is clueless or awful. Or both.
DeleteSadly Doug, even ripping the face off your pro-Trump fellow tenant would not remove his political blinders. I'm astonished that The Donald has so many supporters despite the constant evidence of his gross incompetence.
ReplyDeleteFlorence, you're right--I get to be a hothead with my words. As for your astonishment, YES I FEEL JUST THE SAME. Why the support?? Y'know, for the last couple years I followed a Canadian van dweller on youtube named Linescrew and just recently learned he's a big Trump supporter. I'll never get it.
DeleteI'm happy to be on Medicare. Between the two of us we pay close to $1000 per month for Medicare plus Supplemental plus drug plus dental. Not cheap, but well worth it when you consider medical costs. I remember the days before I was eligible for Medicare, before age 65, when it was real dicey getting medical insurance at all. I was lucky to belong to an association that gave me access. Let's hope the PA plan works out well.
ReplyDeleteTom, thanks for your comments here. There's a married couple in my building also on a Medicare supplement, I know he said it was around $800 a month--so your numbers sure are backing him up. I'm pretty shocked how much Medicare can be when you factor in more than the basics, I may have a few years but I still need to plan ahead, for sure.
DeleteI am on a Medicare Advantage plan here in Washington state. We each pay $34/month plus whatever Medicare costs these days. We have a co-pay for just about everything, but it's affordable. I hope it doesn't change that much in the coming year.
ReplyDeleteDJan, that sounds pretty reasonable--I appreciate you & the others sharing, Joe Biden said (if he's elected president) he'd drop the age to sign up for Medicare to 60. I'd be in. :)
DeleteMedicare here is for everybody and children are added as they get born. It's government subsidised and taxpayers pay a % levy each year with their taxes. it's a reasonable amount and everyone gets hospital and doctor care, but dental isn't covered, which is a crying shame.
ReplyDeleteYour system is still leaps above us, River!
DeleteFor many reasons too long to write about in a comment, we've been paying for my mother-in-law's health insurance for years. We had private insurance to the tune of about $450/month until the ACA came along with the mandate. We were able to get her signed up for about $480/month on one of the five plans to choose from. Five years later we only had one plan to choose from and it cost us $1850/month and we still had a $10,000 deductible to pay out of pocket before it covered a penny. The ACA may have fixed some problems like pre-existing conditions and not being able to get insurance and I'm thankful for that, but I haven't felt that it is a final solution. It has some major problems that need to be fixed. Fortunately for us, after that fifth year, my mother-in-law became eligible for Medicare and Medicaid so now we just pay a few dollars a year in co-pays for prescriptions. Those five years of the ACA however just about put us in the poor house.
ReplyDeleteEd, I sure was sorry to read this--yes, thank God for Medicare... well, I know the ACA is FAR from perfect. I have heard stories similar to yours... but I think it's been helpful for many, myself included. It just needs to be more fair to everyone.
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