Health Insurance

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I agree it's too early to tell if it will work. But, it did work for me. I'm 50 have high blood pressure and cholesterol Through my state run exchange I was able to find a plan that was about 235 dollars cheaper up front and has better coverage. Because of my income I will also be getting a incentive and that means I'll be saving 318 total each month. But, my deductible did go up by 1000 dollars. However, because the new plan has preventive care I will not have to pay for my annual blood test and that will save me 150 a year. And, then I'm going to open a Health Savings Account with some of the money I save to off set the cost of the higher deductible. And, I did go through a local agent and she assured me that this is a good plan from Blue Cross and that it is good in all states.

Just a point of clarification, you are not getting an "incentive", you are getting a subsidy, which means someone else is paying your $318.00. Since the subsidy actually a tax credit, that someone who is paying is all the taxpayers. Some people's base insurance costs have fallen because the new system does not allow the insurance companies to consider existing health issues and only allows the premiums for the older insured to be 3 times the cost of the premiums of the younger. Since older people spend much more than 3 times as much on health than young people, the young are subsidizing the old. Same with pre-existing conditions, the currently healthy are subsidizing currently sick. This may all be good public policy, that is a different debate, but the fact is most all people who are getting lower rates, or access to insurance at all, it is because somewhere in the system they are being subsidized by others.