2016 Health Insurance Premiums

dahkota wrote:
Believe it or not, even with single payer, one can get supplemental insurance. So, those more well off will still be able to get their 'better service.'

Without the ACA, I was trapped in a job so I could have health insurance. I quit my job the day after the ACA went into effect - I could have health insurance without a job.

I could have purchased COBRA and retired, but the rate was double of what I am currently paying with my ACA plan (and no, I don't get subsidies). The plan was also an HMO with a cap of $1million/year and no max out of pocket. Now I have a PPO with no cap and a max out of pocket of $6500.

So, before the ACA, I could have paid $6K a year with the potential of going into medical bankruptcy owing hundreds of thousands of $ if I had a catastrophic health problem. After the ACA I pay $4K per year with the potential of a max of $11K per year if I have a catastrophic health problem.

While I am not happy my rates are going up, I am much more relaxed knowing I don't have to worry about the what ifs. A friend of mine recently died after a two year battle with colon cancer. The last three months were spent in a hospital. The bill was way over $1 million. She was thankful for her better health insurance.

If your premiums are $4000 per year, you are either 20 years old or are getting a federal subsidy. If you are getting a subsidy, fine. But that is just the system shifting the costs from you to someone else (me and other tax payers). It is a zero sum game, for every winner (you) there has to be a loser. You said you had a job, but quit it because now you can get subsidized healthcare. I really don't have a problem subsidizing the less fortunate, but I do have a problem subsidizing your early retirement. Kind of like when I am in line at the grocery store and the person in front of me is using the food stamp benefit card to pay for their purchases. If the purchase is staples, I am fine. If they are getting lobsters, steaks and cracked crab, not so fine. You using the ACA to subsidize your early retirement is a not so fine in my book.