I happened to discuss this afternoon the story of one man who works in a wholesale business in Pennsylvania. This fellow is in his early sixties. He is unmarried and has no young children. He earns roughly $36,000 per year. At the moment, his health insurance is mostly provided by his employer. It is an HMO policy that provides good coverage. Each month, this fellow has to pay roughly $40 which is his portion of the premiums.
This guy has just learned what his health insurance costs are going to be moving forward. The cost for the insurance plan paid by his employer is skyrocketing up. On top of this, the older employees are getting hit with big premium increases as are those who smoke. The cost for the policy for this man is rising by over 100% for the same plan as last year. His employer is not simply dropping the plan, however. Instead, that company is picking up a cost increase of roughly 45% above what it paid for employee insurance in 2013. Even with that increase, however, the employees are now going to have to pay 30% of the monthly premiums. That means that for the guy in question, his monthly cost is going from 40 to about 250 dollars, a sum he cannot afford.
Keep in mind that this fellow cannot go to the exchange (assuming it was working) and buy subsidized insurance. Remember, you cannot get insurance if your employer furnishes you with coverage, even in part. That really does not matter, however, since the premium on the exchange combined with the subsidy would put the cost of insurance out of reach for this guy.
The end result is that due to Obamacare, our friend will no longer have insurance. On top of losing that coverage, he will also have to pay the penalty of roughly 350 dollars for failing to have coverage.
Let's hope he does not get sick.
This guy has just learned what his health insurance costs are going to be moving forward. The cost for the insurance plan paid by his employer is skyrocketing up. On top of this, the older employees are getting hit with big premium increases as are those who smoke. The cost for the policy for this man is rising by over 100% for the same plan as last year. His employer is not simply dropping the plan, however. Instead, that company is picking up a cost increase of roughly 45% above what it paid for employee insurance in 2013. Even with that increase, however, the employees are now going to have to pay 30% of the monthly premiums. That means that for the guy in question, his monthly cost is going from 40 to about 250 dollars, a sum he cannot afford.
Keep in mind that this fellow cannot go to the exchange (assuming it was working) and buy subsidized insurance. Remember, you cannot get insurance if your employer furnishes you with coverage, even in part. That really does not matter, however, since the premium on the exchange combined with the subsidy would put the cost of insurance out of reach for this guy.
The end result is that due to Obamacare, our friend will no longer have insurance. On top of losing that coverage, he will also have to pay the penalty of roughly 350 dollars for failing to have coverage.
Let's hope he does not get sick.
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