My family is on Obamacare

[BettyBoop416]

At tax time last year I clarified with my CPA that you have to put the money upfront and you get a certain amount back at the end of the year which is supposed to cover the subsidy. This fact isn’t advertised or disclosed by the media or government. What do you do if you live paychech to paycheck and don’t have that money upfront??? Just saying. Also you have a big deductible in most cases $5,000 and up with the cheaper plan that has to be utilitized before coverage kicks in. I’m still on my own blue cross plan with such a dectible but it’s vastly cheaper than Obamacare. I’ve already been told next year it will be discontinued. For the record I never even use it for fear of driving up the cost and also not having money to cover the deductible.

The reason you haven’t heard about the “upfront” money in the media is because it isn’t true. That’s not the way it works. When you apply for insurance through the exchange, you estimate what your income for the year will be. Your subsidy is based on that amount. At the end of the year, when you file your income tax return, if it turns out you made more money than you estimated, you will have to pay some of the subsidy back. You might have to actually write a check, or your income tax refund will be reduced. On the other hand, if you overestimated your income for the year, your refund will be increased to reflect the fact that you should have been receiving a larger subsidy all year.

It’s true that most of the “cheaper” plans come with large deductibles. That’s the trade-off for having lower premiums. That’s also the way is was before “Obamacare.”

 

[Sy_Noe]

At tax time last year I clarified with my CPA that you have to put the money upfront and you get a certain amount back at the end of the year which is supposed to cover the subsidy. This fact isn’t advertised or disclosed by the media or government. What do you do if you live paychech to paycheck and don’t have that money upfront??? Just saying. Also you have a big deductible in most cases $5,000 and up with the cheaper plan that has to be utilitized before coverage kicks in. I’m still on my own blue cross plan with such a dectible but it’s vastly cheaper than Obamacare. I’ve already been told next year it will be discontinued. For the record I never even use it for fear of driving up the cost and also not having money to cover the deductible.

Are you saying your CPA told you if people qualify for a subsidy, they have to pay the full premium price each month for what it would be for those who did not qualify for a subsidy? I don’t know I was quoted monthly premiums for if I had qualified and if I didn’t.

It is sad people pay premiums for insurance and then can’t use their insurance (this goes for other insurance too like auto) without the fear that the insurance companies will drive up their premiums.

 

[Gwendolen]

It is part of my own pro-life viewpoint that EVERYONE should have access to health insurance, to do so is to respect life. How can we all call ourselves pro-life and deny people access to life saving care???

There is enough of “Obamacare” or whatever you may call a subsidy that helps you purchase private health insurance that is NOT pro-life. Let us all rejoice that YOU and YOUR FAMILY are using this service for pro-life services we should all be proud to pay for. You are using our tax dollars in a moral way that supports our values. Let others who are not doing so stand before our Lord in their time and answer to Him. That is not your job.

 

[white_sheep]

Tell them to check and see if they can get an Obamaphone now too.

 

[DarkLight]

Tell them to check and see if they can get an Obamaphone now too.

Which is technically a program from reagan…obama hasn’t made any real changes to the program at all.

 

[Burt_Macklin]

Which is technically a program from reagan…obama hasn’t made any real changes to the program at all.

It’s also Reagan we can thank for the EMTALA mandate which makes everyone responsible for the poor’s healthcare. I think as long as everyone has a right to healthcare I would prefer to catch problems early on and ensure we don’t take the most expensive route to treat every little health problem. As it stands now the uninsured use 911 to get to doctor appointments and treat the flu in the emergency room.

 

[DarkLight]

It’s also Reagan we can thank for the EMTALA mandate which makes everyone responsible for the poor’s healthcare. I think as long as everyone has a right to healthcare I would prefer to catch problems early on and ensure we don’t take the most expensive route to treat every little health problem. As it stands now the uninsured use 911 to get to doctor appointments and treat the flu in the emergency room.

Yeah, I think also that we end up keeping more people in dependence by the lack of maintenance care. Long-term health problems are allowed to develop until the individual is in serious trouble when a decent few visits and the provision of appropriate medication could not only have saved some emergency room visits but enabled an individual to return to work.

 

[Sy_Noe]

It’s also Reagan we can thank for the EMTALA mandate which makes everyone responsible for the poor’s healthcare. I think as long as everyone has a right to healthcare I would prefer to catch problems early on and ensure we don’t take the most expensive route to treat every little health problem. As it stands now the uninsured use 911 to get to doctor appointments and treat the flu in the emergency room.

The problem is I’m not sure everyone believes everyone has the right to adequate health care to catch problems early on. But now maybe if Reagan had thought of Reagancare like Romney and Obama…

 

[Luvz2travel]

Are you saying your CPA told you if people qualify for a subsidy, they have to pay the full premium price each month for what it would be for those who did not qualify for a subsidy? I don’t know I was quoted monthly premiums for if I had qualified and if I didn’t.

It is sad people pay premiums for insurance and then can’t use their insurance (this goes for other insurance too like auto) without the fear that the insurance companies will drive up their premiums.

My cpa specifically told me that I would have to pay costs upfront and the subsidy would only at the end of the year as a sort of refund. If you live paycheck to paycheck how is that supposed to be affordable?

 

[BettyBoop416]

My cpa specifically told me that I would have to pay costs upfront and the subsidy would only at the end of the year as a sort of refund. If you live paycheck to paycheck how is that supposed to be affordable?

I don’t suppose it would be…if it was true. BUT IT’S NOT.

 

[Burt_Macklin]

The problem is I’m not sure everyone believes everyone has the right to adequate health care to catch problems early on. But now maybe if Reagan had thought of Reagancare like Romney and Obama…

Not everybody can agree that everybody has a right to emergency medical care. There is no way that everybody sees preventative care as a right.

 

[freeRadical]

It depends. There are certainly many many cases where the subsidies have worked great for people There are also those who don’t qualify for Medicaid under their state’s guidelines and many states unfortunately imo refused to expand Medicaid. And it’s even possible someone could make too little to have to file a federal tax return and not qualify for a subsidy but have too much in assets to qualify for Medicaid. And they need their assets to survive on and can’t afford what the cost of coverage would be for them without Medicaid or a subsidy. The AFC has been imo a godsend for many. But is not perfect by any means. A public option might have been more beneficial. But all of this is partly why I still believe single payer is the best way to go. (Btw regarding the other post I hear you too)

Maybe the states couldn’t afford to expand Medicaid.

 

[Sy_Noe]

Maybe the states couldn’t afford to expand Medicaid.

Maybe but I doubt that was the primary reason.

obamacarefacts.com/obamacares-medicaid-expansion.php

 

[Sy_Noe]

I don’t suppose it would be…if it was true. BUT IT’S NOT.

I was getting there but thanks for getting right to the point in your previous 2 posts.

 

[freeRadical]

Maybe but I doubt that was the primary reason.

obamacarefacts.com/obamacares-medicaid-expansion.php

I’m pretty sure that it was the main reason seeing as the federal government wasn’t going to pick up the tab indefinitely. Eventually, the states would have had to fund the expansion.

You don’t expect me to take that biased link you posted seriously, do you?

 

[freeRadical]

Not everybody can agree that everybody has a right to emergency medical care. There is no way that everybody sees preventative care as a right.

Wasn’t there a bunch of studies released recently that showed that preventive care has a negligible effect on a person’s health?

 

[DarkLight]

Wasn’t there a bunch of studies released recently that showed that preventive care has a negligible effect on a person’s health?

I think there’s a bunch of different studies, as well as some variation in what counts as “preventative care.”

There’s some studies showing that regular checkups don’t do nearly as much as they were thought to do. Once other factors are controlled for, things like annual checkups or regular gynecological exams don’t really do a whole lot. Most things either don’t take a year to become a problem or aren’t going to show the sort of symptoms an annual checkup

A lot if the issue is not actually “preventative” care per se, but maintenance care or early intervention care. Early intervention so people who are symptomatic but not yet in an emergency can be seen and hopefully treated, and maintenance for conditions that require management for some period of time. Being able to have people seen when they’re starting to show symptoms is what really makes the big difference.

 

[freeRadical]

I think there’s a bunch of different studies, as well as some variation in what counts as “preventative care.”

There’s some studies showing that regular checkups don’t do nearly as much as they were thought to do. Once other factors are controlled for, things like annual checkups or regular gynecological exams don’t really do a whole lot. Most things either don’t take a year to become a problem or aren’t going to show the sort of symptoms an annual checkup

A lot if the issue is not actually “preventative” care per se, but maintenance care or early intervention care. Early intervention so people who are symptomatic but not yet in an emergency can be seen and hopefully treated, and maintenance for conditions that require management for some period of time. Being able to have people seen when they’re starting to show symptoms is what really makes the big difference.

The problem is that people have no incentive to take care of themselves, especially in a modern, secular, consumerist society. All the preventative care in the world cannot help people who are sedentary, don’t exercise, eat unhealthy food, smoke, drink, have numerous sexual encounters with various partners, etc.