I hate the ACA

[Janeway]

First, my husband was laid off 10 years ago and Cobra was $600 a month. If we opted not to have it, that was ok too. Now, it is illegal for us to not have insurance and we would be fined. AND, under the new ACA laws, our insurance was covering far less and cost more. The Cobra amount was $2000 a month. I decided to take a look at the healthcare.gov site. It took a long time to fill out and had tedious redundant questions. After I finally finished, it said we qualified and to call this number. I called and the lady wanted to go over the entire application with me. She accidentally deleted all my children so she said we would have to start over. I told her I would go online and add all the kids back in and call back. I carved out time to redo all that. Again, it directed me to call. I did. That woman went over the application without deleting anyone. Fine. But then she told me we would have a huge deductible and a $1000 a month premium, but that was just for the adults. The kids would qualify for medicaid so we needed to do another application for that. Realize my husband is out of work and only collecting some unemployment. $1000 a month is not possible. And since it came with a huge deductible, we would likely never be able to use it anyway.

 

I go over to apply for medicaid for the kids. This redefined redundant! Literally, I had to state what each person's relationship was to each person. I do not mean just DS15 is brother to DS12. I had to state DS15 was brother to DS12 AND I had to state separately that DS12 was brother to DS15. 7 of us in the household, all declaring their relationships to the other 6, that means 42 entries on how each person is related. This section was minor compared to the rest. I had to declare our home. Then I had to fill out a bunch of questions on what we use our home for, do we live there, etc etc. Except, each question had to be answered and then I had to click "done" and "next." I spent a few hours on this. Then, I got medicaid cards in the mail as well as several HUGE envelopes with tons and tons of things I was supposed to read.

 

Then someone calls me from the state to go over choosing a plan. I told them the kids got medicaid. They said they have to pick a plan anyway. And they had to ask me a series of questions to pick a plan. I said I saw the list and I just wanted to pick XYZ plan. They said I could not do that, i had to do the questionaire, over the phone with them. Then they informed me it would be 30-40 minutes per child and the questionaire had to be done separately for each child. In the end, my children got different plans so different places they were eligible to go. Fact is, where I live, the only place they can go and have covered is the ER.

 

Now, today, I get a call from the state telling me I had to do an orientation to medicaid. They said this would take 20 minutes per child! Not kidding! I told them I was busy and would be busy until after the holidays. 

 

The whole thing is degrading and time consuming. I would not even mess with it except I do not want to get criminally fined for not having health insurance.  I wonder how much they pay these social workers anyway? Because in the time I have put in this month alone on this and how much these social workers have been paid to give these mandatory over the phone lectures, I am guessing that my old COBRA payment could have just been paid and tax payers (which includes me) would save a bunch of money.

[Guest]

Oh boy. Ugh.

[hornblower]

is the ACA an allowed topic on this forum or does it fall under politics? 

[Slache]

I have a headache from this post alone. I am so sorry.

[BooksandBoys]

Public services are always a huge time suck. Medicaid, WIC, food stamps, all of it. Staying up to date on all the paperwork in order to stay eligible is a part time job in bad of itself.

Hugs.

[Janeway]

is the ACA an allowed topic on this forum or does it fall under politics?

It is not partisan so it is allowed. If something are disallowed because it is related to government, even school couldn't be discussed.

[freesia]

And the problem doesn't seem to be ACA, it seems to be bureaucracy.

[JustEm]

That is frustrating. I've had issues with medicaid but never had to do a questionnaire to pick an insurance provider for us. They have always sent a letter asking to either call or mail back a small 1 page form saying who I wanted the insurance provider to be and who the primary physician was.

 

I hope it all gets figured out soon

[OneStepAtATime]

First, my husband was laid off 10 years ago and Cobra was $600 a month. If we opted not to have it, that was ok too. Now, it is illegal for us to not have insurance and we would be fined. AND, under the new ACA laws, our insurance was covering far less and cost more. The Cobra amount was $2000 a month. I decided to take a look at the healthcare.gov site. It took a long time to fill out and had tedious redundant questions. After I finally finished, it said we qualified and to call this number. I called and the lady wanted to go over the entire application with me. She accidentally deleted all my children so she said we would have to start over. I told her I would go online and add all the kids back in and call back. I carved out time to redo all that. Again, it directed me to call. I did. That woman went over the application without deleting anyone. Fine. But then she told me we would have a huge deductible and a $1000 a month premium, but that was just for the adults. The kids would qualify for medicaid so we needed to do another application for that. Realize my husband is out of work and only collecting some unemployment. $1000 a month is not possible. And since it came with a huge deductible, we would likely never be able to use it anyway.

 

I go over to apply for medicaid for the kids. This redefined redundant! Literally, I had to state what each person's relationship was to each person. I do not mean just DS15 is brother to DS12. I had to state DS15 was brother to DS12 AND I had to state separately that DS12 was brother to DS15. 7 of us in the household, all declaring their relationships to the other 6, that means 42 entries on how each person is related. This section was minor compared to the rest. I had to declare our home. Then I had to fill out a bunch of questions on what we use our home for, do we live there, etc etc. Except, each question had to be answered and then I had to click "done" and "next." I spent a few hours on this. Then, I got medicaid cards in the mail as well as several HUGE envelopes with tons and tons of things I was supposed to read.

 

Then someone calls me from the state to go over choosing a plan. I told them the kids got medicaid. They said they have to pick a plan anyway. And they had to ask me a series of questions to pick a plan. I said I saw the list and I just wanted to pick XYZ plan. They said I could not do that, i had to do the questionaire, over the phone with them. Then they informed me it would be 30-40 minutes per child and the questionaire had to be done separately for each child. In the end, my children got different plans so different places they were eligible to go. Fact is, where I live, the only place they can go and have covered is the ER.

 

Now, today, I get a call from the state telling me I had to do an orientation to medicaid. They said this would take 20 minutes per child! Not kidding! I told them I was busy and would be busy until after the holidays. 

 

The whole thing is degrading and time consuming. I would not even mess with it except I do not want to get criminally fined for not having health insurance.  I wonder how much they pay these social workers anyway? Because in the time I have put in this month alone on this and how much these social workers have been paid to give these mandatory over the phone lectures, I am guessing that my old COBRA payment could have just been paid and tax payers (which includes me) would save a bunch of money.

I cannot imagine how high your irritation/frustration/aggravation must have climbed...ugh!

[Ailaena]

We have Medicaid and this was very far from my experience. I filled out a quick application online, verified my no employment, got a card in the mail, get a letter every year asking if anything has changed. I can't remember where you live, but I don't want to go there.

[maize]

If we had a government healthcare plan that everyone was eligible for we wouldn't have to do all of this vetting eligibility stuff.

 

The ACA is not to blaim for our messed up healthcare system. The system has been messed up for a very long time.

 

ACA was an attempt to fix a leaking ship by patching just a few little holes while ignoring the gaping cracks throughout.

Edited December 23, 2016 by maize

[Carol in Cal.]

Imagine if you were illiterate or ESL.  It's so hard to get public benefits for a well-educated, organized person.  Ugh.  (((Janeway)))

[Guest]

Hmmm. I've had the opposite experience. For us, buying a policy on the marketplace was much simpler than through DH work. All we had to enter were ages and non-smoking. For work, we had to list every damn doctor visit.

 

ETA--the policies all suck but they were easy to apply for.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Moxie

[Janeway]

Imagine if you were illiterate or ESL. It's so hard to get public benefits for a well-educated, organized person. Ugh. (((Janeway)))

I was thinking that too!! I hate government things that are too complicated and limit access to every day people!

[Guest]

I was thinking that too!! I hate government things that are too complicated and limit access to every day people!

Like taxes!! It should not take a special degree to understand taxes!

[Elizabeth 2]

Like taxes!! It should not take a special degree to understand taxes!

Oh if only i could like this a million times over.  

 

My SIL mother is an accountant in the UK.  She was explaining it to me. I then explained (relatively briefly) about the municipal, state, and federal level taxes, plus simple things like houses, cars and medical insurance and how they are associated.  She then said all of the jokes about American accountants and taxes make so much more sense.  

[PrincessMommy]

Good outrief.  Now I'm stressed out.  What a huge PIA.

 

[JustEm]

We have Medicaid and this was very far from my experience. I filled out a quick application online, verified my no employment, got a card in the mail, get a letter every year asking if anything has changed. I can't remember where you live, but I don't want to go there.

This is how it is for us too. Very simple. The only time it gets annoying is when we get a new caseworker. They always lose something and end up sending a benefit ending letter. But a simple phone call and resubmitting paystubs fixes it

[DragonFaerie]

NM

Edited December 23, 2016 by DragonFaerie

[JumpyTheFrog]

I haven't read all the replies.

 

Here is a link to a podcast episode that discusses all the ACA exemptions. (https://radicalpersonalfinance.com/obamacare-tax-penalty/) Besides health sharing ministries, many people are exempt and don't realize it. I listened to it a few weeks ago and here are some of the exemptions I remember (some details may be wrong):

 

-If you had a close family member die in the last few years.

-If you are caring for an elderly relative and have unexpected expenses.

-If you are homeless.

-A few other financial circumstances.

 

In all, there were about ten categories of people who are exempt from the penalty. I urge everyone to listen to the episode (most of the exemptions are covered in the last half of the podcast).

[Janeway]

Like taxes!! It should not take a special degree to understand taxes!

Exactly!!

[Lanny]

OP, It is always better to have medical insurance, in case of an emergency or accident, but I think one of the exemptions from the Penalty,  if one does not have coverage, is if one cannot afford to pay the premium for the coverage?

Edited December 23, 2016 by Lanny

[goldberry]

DD was on the state child healthcare plan about 10 years ago.  The application process was very similar to what you just described.  Tedious with multiple layers of paperwork.  Way before ACA though.  

 

We no longer qualified for it after a couple of years.  And then, just a year or so ago, we got something in the mail verifying her enrollment. ???  I made several phone calls trying to cancel, because I didn't want to get prosecuted for fraud or something because we didn't qualify.  After several months and more phone calls, I finally had to send a certified letter.  All this to have her removed from a plan we never applied for and did not qualify for.

 

:banghead:

Edited December 23, 2016 by goldberry

[Carrie12345]

Yes, dealing with insurance is miserable.  It's always been miserable for dh's HR people, and now it's miserable for me with .gov.  But I'm incredibly grateful for the ACA.  I mean, I'd like universal health care a million times more, but this is what currently keeps my family safe and healthy without bankrupting us (yet.)

[ThisIsTheDay]

First, my husband was laid off 10 years ago and Cobra was $600 a month. If we opted not to have it, that was ok too. Now, it is illegal for us to not have insurance and we would be fined. AND, under the new ACA laws, our insurance was covering far less and cost more. The Cobra amount was $2000 a month. I decided to take a look at the healthcare.gov site. It took a long time to fill out and had tedious redundant questions. After I finally finished, it said we qualified and to call this number. I called and the lady wanted to go over the entire application with me. She accidentally deleted all my children so she said we would have to start over. I told her I would go online and add all the kids back in and call back. I carved out time to redo all that. Again, it directed me to call. I did. That woman went over the application without deleting anyone. Fine. But then she told me we would have a huge deductible and a $1000 a month premium, but that was just for the adults. The kids would qualify for medicaid so we needed to do another application for that. Realize my husband is out of work and only collecting some unemployment. $1000 a month is not possible. And since it came with a huge deductible, we would likely never be able to use it anyway.

 

I go over to apply for medicaid for the kids. This redefined redundant! Literally, I had to state what each person's relationship was to each person. I do not mean just DS15 is brother to DS12. I had to state DS15 was brother to DS12 AND I had to state separately that DS12 was brother to DS15. 7 of us in the household, all declaring their relationships to the other 6, that means 42 entries on how each person is related. This section was minor compared to the rest. I had to declare our home. Then I had to fill out a bunch of questions on what we use our home for, do we live there, etc etc. Except, each question had to be answered and then I had to click "done" and "next." I spent a few hours on this. Then, I got medicaid cards in the mail as well as several HUGE envelopes with tons and tons of things I was supposed to read.

 

Then someone calls me from the state to go over choosing a plan. I told them the kids got medicaid. They said they have to pick a plan anyway. And they had to ask me a series of questions to pick a plan. I said I saw the list and I just wanted to pick XYZ plan. They said I could not do that, i had to do the questionaire, over the phone with them. Then they informed me it would be 30-40 minutes per child and the questionaire had to be done separately for each child. In the end, my children got different plans so different places they were eligible to go. Fact is, where I live, the only place they can go and have covered is the ER.

 

Now, today, I get a call from the state telling me I had to do an orientation to medicaid. They said this would take 20 minutes per child! Not kidding! I told them I was busy and would be busy until after the holidays. 

 

The whole thing is degrading and time consuming. I would not even mess with it except I do not want to get criminally fined for not having health insurance.  I wonder how much they pay these social workers anyway? Because in the time I have put in this month alone on this and how much these social workers have been paid to give these mandatory over the phone lectures, I am guessing that my old COBRA payment could have just been paid and tax payers (which includes me) would save a bunch of money.

 

 

I honestly don't understand why the cost for the two of you was so high--unless that was NOT counting in the subsidy that you get based on income. (Because when my family of three was on it, our premium was about half of that.)

 

Medicaid used to be a one page application. Following the passage of ACA, it was changed and is something like 20 pages, in a font so small that it is difficult even for the seasoned workers to read and find information. NO ONE can be expected to read and complete the form in the way that it's meant to be completed.

 

And yes, this is just one more mess created by ACA.

 

The social workers do not get paid nearly enough for the work that they do. Many of the people at the 1-800 numbers, when they started, came from other government jobs and had NO clue what to do with the information on the forms. (Thankfully, that's changed over the past few years.) Unfortunately, they are at the mercy of a horrible law and software created by companies who know nothing about health care, government benefits, or much of anything else -- and each state implements different software. Efficiencies vary by county and vary by state, depending on any number of things, but one county can be fantastic with skilled workers, and the next county can be flying by the seat of its pants with one or two inexperienced workers whose only priority can be meeting deadlines without the knowledge of how the different rules work.

 

I know this because it was the only job I had that I have ever hated. I enjoyed working with the majority of my clients, but the regulations--which often contradicted other parts of the same law--were surely the worst thing the government has ever implemented. Ever.

[TranquilMind]

What an appalling story. This is our government at work.  No wonder we are trillions in debt if this convoluted mess is the way everything is handled. 

 

I'm sorry.  That sucks. 

[Carol in Cal.]

What an appalling story. This is our government at work.  No wonder we are trillions in debt if this convoluted mess is the way everything is handled. 

 

 

Aaaand, this is why I have never joined the clamor for single payer.  Because then we would have to trust them for it all, and they are so freaking incompetent, with no downside risk to remaining that way.

[TranquilMind]

What a crock. Actually, this is what happens when every god darn thing had to be politicized. " no wonder we're trillions in debt"? Really, go to the politics board where your comment belongs.

 

Time is money. Inefficiency costs a lot of money.

 

I'm certain you could at least agree that what she went through was rather inefficient, at the least. 

 

(Not in the politics group, but I will be happy to discuss it with you on the Current Events group if you have more to say).

 

Edited December 23, 2016 by TranquilMind

[TranquilMind]

Aaaand, this is why I have never joined the clamor for single payer.  Because then we would have to trust them for it all, and they are so freaking incompetent, with no downside risk to remaining that way.

 

I know.  It is scary to trust them for anything.   At least with our taxes, our life and health aren't at stake. Just our money and time. 

 

Edited December 23, 2016 by TranquilMind

[historically accurate]

I am sorry you have gotten the runaround. I think it really, really depends on who you get. I've heard of it being super easy, and it being a bear.

 

My ACA experience consisted of one approximately 20 minute phone call, and everything was done. Easy Peasy. I didn't go through the website since the Blue Cross guy who rejected me told me to call because I had a weird situation. Cancelling was another easy call, and it was done.

 

I am thankful it was there for me since I couldn't get insurance elsewhere.  I am thankful it is there for you too, although I wish your experience had been a lot better.

[zoobie]

That sounds stressful! :grouphug:

 

COBRA has been crazy expensive, back before health insurance companies were jacking up their rates. It was $1200/mo for us in 2002ish. We were young and single and waited to see if we needed it and were able to avoid having to pay. I believe being eligible for COBRA counts as coverage, but I could be wrong.

[Scarlett]

I honestly don't understand why the cost for the two of you was so high--unless that was NOT counting in the subsidy that you get based on income. (Because when my family of three was on it, our premium was about half of that.)

 

Medicaid used to be a one page application. Following the passage of ACA, it was changed and is something like 20 pages, in a font so small that it is difficult even for the seasoned workers to read and find information. NO ONE can be expected to read and complete the form in the way that it's meant to be completed.

 

And yes, this is just one more mess created by ACA.

 

The social workers do not get paid nearly enough for the work that they do. Many of the people at the 1-800 numbers, when they started, came from other government jobs and had NO clue what to do with the information on the forms. (Thankfully, that's changed over the past few years.) Unfortunately, they are at the mercy of a horrible law and software created by companies who know nothing about health care, government benefits, or much of anything else -- and each state implements different software. Efficiencies vary by county and vary by state, depending on any number of things, but one county can be fantastic with skilled workers, and the next county can be flying by the seat of its pants with one or two inexperienced workers whose only priority can be meeting deadlines without the knowledge of how the different rules work.

 

I know this because it was the only job I had that I have ever hated. I enjoyed working with the majority of my clients, but the regulations--which often contradicted other parts of the same law--were surely the worst thing the government has ever implemented. Ever.

 

 

I don't understand why your premium would be $1000 a month.  That is how much my and my dh's is before the subsidy...but we got a full subsidy since dh is unemployed.

 

You better double check that.  It is a high deductible, but if you need it after deductible is met it is good insurance. 

[Janeway]

I don't understand why your premium would be $1000 a month. That is how much my and my dh's is before the subsidy...but we got a full subsidy since dh is unemployed.

 

You better double check that. It is a high deductible, but if you need it after deductible is met it is good insurance.

they said our income was too low for a subsidy but too high for Medicaid for the adults.

[maize]

they said our income was too low for a subsidy but too high for Medicaid for the adults.

This is the gap that occurs in states that did not expand Medicaid in conjunction with implementation of the ACA.

[goldberry]

they said our income was too low for a subsidy but too high for Medicaid for the adults.

 

Yeah... I hate to say it but that is a direct result of your state government trying to fight the ACA at the cost of its citizens.  It's very sad and I'm so sorry you are caught in it.

[goldberry]

Here's an article about this problem...

http://kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/the-coverage-gap-uninsured-poor-adults-in-states-that-do-not-expand-medicaid/

 

Although I realize it won't make you feel better, it may help direct your anger to the appropriate entity. 

[Scarlett]

they said our income was too low for a subsidy but too high for Medicaid for the adults.

 

 

Oh sorry....that is happening here in OK too, but we have a low income self employed insurance for the gap....

[bethben]

I had a similar experience with all of that when my DH was unemployed. We all wound up being approved for Medicaid, but the computer program automatically insured us with another very costly plan for myself and DH. It took multiple months and many many phone calls to get off of a plan we weren't even using. Even after we moved to a different state after canceling all plans we were on in the first state, we were getting cards from the previous state a year later. Another round of calls. I have never encountered such inefficiencies in my life. The amount of waste just in our family despite my efforts to correct the mess was quite a bit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bettyandbob]

The bureaucracy you have encountered is awful.

 

Many ACA problems are directly related to the decisions of individual states. Some state plans are easier than others.

[ThisIsTheDay]

Here's an article about this problem...

http://kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/the-coverage-gap-uninsured-poor-adults-in-states-that-do-not-expand-medicaid/

 

Although I realize it won't make you feel better, it may help direct your anger to the appropriate entity. 

 

Here's the article from kff.org about WHY the Medicaid gap exists--the ACA's attempt to force states to expand Medicad was found unconstitutional.

 

http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/a-guide-to-the-supreme-courts-decision/

 

 

The ACA is inherently flawed, and this is just one reason.

Edited December 24, 2016 by ThisIsTheDay

[Tanaqui]

Like taxes!! It should not take a special degree to understand taxes!

 

And it doesn't unless your tax situation is inordinately complicated. All it requires is that you have high school level literacy and the ability to handle arithmetic. Now, I'll grant you that many Americans do not read at a high school level, and math skills could definitely be better. Certainly the forms could be better written so they're easier for Americans with poor reading skills - indeed, we could enter the 21st century and have pre-filled tax returns like the modern, modern nation of Estonia. (But then we'd have people claiming that they can't trust the IRS. This is why we don't have nice things, people.) But it really doesn't require a degree to manage taxes, not for most people. Those people can be assumed to be wealthy enough that hiring an accountant isn't going to break the bank.

[ThisIsTheDay]

And it doesn't unless your tax situation is inordinately complicated. All it requires is that you have high school level literacy and the ability to handle arithmetic. Now, I'll grant you that many Americans do not read at a high school level, and math skills could definitely be better. Certainly the forms could be better written so they're easier for Americans with poor reading skills - indeed, we could enter the 21st century and have pre-filled tax returns like the modern, modern nation of Estonia. (But then we'd have people claiming that they can't trust the IRS. This is why we don't have nice things, people.) But it really doesn't require a degree to manage taxes, not for most people. Those people can be assumed to be wealthy enough that hiring an accountant isn't going to break the bank.

 

Well, I'll disagree with this. Our tax situation has never been "inordinately complicated." We file a 1040, have basic rental properties, occasional unusual income to report, and the typical deductions for kids, mortgage, charitable donations, and a few other uncomplicated private things. Even before the rental income, TurboTax didn't catch everything, and we ended up filing amended tax returns.

 

We have paid someone to do our taxes for years  and it's proven to be well worth the cost. I'd pay them twice as much as they charge. We are not wealthy by any stretch. Over the past ten years, our income has been right in line with or slightly above the average U.S. household income.

[Janeway]

And it doesn't unless your tax situation is inordinately complicated. All it requires is that you have high school level literacy and the ability to handle arithmetic. Now, I'll grant you that many Americans do not read at a high school level, and math skills could definitely be better. Certainly the forms could be better written so they're easier for Americans with poor reading skills - indeed, we could enter the 21st century and have pre-filled tax returns like the modern, modern nation of Estonia. (But then we'd have people claiming that they can't trust the IRS. This is why we don't have nice things, people.) But it really doesn't require a degree to manage taxes, not for most people. Those people can be assumed to be wealthy enough that hiring an accountant isn't going to break the bank.

We have one income, one house, and kids. Very uncomplicated. Yet, I messed them up in 2014 because I was not aware of two additional forms I had to file, one to claim an income and another to cancel that same income. I am stuck in this limbo trying to figure out how to fix this and the IRS keeps sending me money wanting near $4K additional. It is nuts! And I tried to fill out this additional form and it is too difficult.

[Janeway]

I'm sorry you're having such a tough time. It hurts to think of the millions who couldn't afford health insurance until the ACA, and the number of people( millions? I don't know) who are not able to afford it now.

Single pay, guys. Take the best ideas of the rest of the whole world, Congress, get your arses in gear and help the people. All the people.

I do not know anyone at all that benefitted from the ACA. Everyone tells me their premiums went up, the mandatory insurance is way too high to be paid, and insurance no longer is covering medications for things like Lupus and diabetes. Also, practitioners where I live are going over to cash pay only which means even if the insurance covers it, there is no one to go to that takes the insurance. And our insurance had switched to where they only cover in-network people. I wanted to get one of my children evaluated for ASD, something that I easily had done before ACA. But now, I was referred to a hospital 5-6 hrs away that had a more than a year long waiting list. Which is completely crazy because I live north of a huge metropolitan area that has 2 children's hospitals and many ASD programs, but not one of them took our insurance. So, we went without. 

[lauraw4321]

I have 2 close family members who benefitted from ACA. They had preexisting conditions and could not afford health insurance before ACA.

[maize]

And it doesn't unless your tax situation is inordinately complicated. All it requires is that you have high school level literacy and the ability to handle arithmetic. Now, I'll grant you that many Americans do not read at a high school level, and math skills could definitely be better. Certainly the forms could be better written so they're easier for Americans with poor reading skills - indeed, we could enter the 21st century and have pre-filled tax returns like the modern, modern nation of Estonia. (But then we'd have people claiming that they can't trust the IRS. This is why we don't have nice things, people.) But it really doesn't require a degree to manage taxes, not for most people. Those people can be assumed to be wealthy enough that hiring an accountant isn't going to break the bank.

I've known too many highly intelligent well educated people who have had tax filing complications to agree with this; it does not take being wealthy to have a situation requiring in depth knowledge of our ridiculously complex tax laws. There are lots of things that can complicate taxes that don't only apply to wealthy folks.

 

I've always done our taxes using online software, and we have mostly straightforward stuff, but some years it has made me want to scratch my eyes out.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I am just so sorry. Anyone who thinks that people even ing aid are lazy has never been part of the practically full time job it is to jump through the right hoops. I pray things improve for your family.

[JustEm]

I do not know anyone at all that benefitted from the ACA. Everyone tells me their premiums went up, the mandatory insurance is way too high to be paid, and insurance no longer is covering medications for things like Lupus and diabetes. Also, practitioners where I live are going over to cash pay only which means even if the insurance covers it, there is no one to go to that takes the insurance. And our insurance had switched to where they only cover in-network people. I wanted to get one of my children evaluated for ASD, something that I easily had done before ACA. But now, I was referred to a hospital 5-6 hrs away that had a more than a year long waiting list. Which is completely crazy because I live north of a huge metropolitan area that has 2 children's hospitals and many ASD programs, but not one of them took our insurance. So, we went without.

My family benefited from it. Previously, we could not come close to affording insurance. Now, because we live in a state that expanded Medicaid, we have full coverage. It is wonderful. I wish there was a way for us to be able to pay a reasonable amount for a decent plan instead of getting it for free and putting that burden on to other taxpayers but as of right now that isn't an option.

[maize]

I do not know anyone at all that benefitted from the ACA. Everyone tells me their premiums went up, the mandatory insurance is way too high to be paid, and insurance no longer is covering medications for things like Lupus and diabetes. Also, practitioners where I live are going over to cash pay only which means even if the insurance covers it, there is no one to go to that takes the insurance. And our insurance had switched to where they only cover in-network people. I wanted to get one of my children evaluated for ASD, something that I easily had done before ACA. But now, I was referred to a hospital 5-6 hrs away that had a more than a year long waiting list. Which is completely crazy because I live north of a huge metropolitan area that has 2 children's hospitals and many ASD programs, but not one of them took our insurance. So, we went without.

Just the provision allowing children to stay on their parents' insurance longer has been immensely beneficial to my younger siblings.

 

The Medicaid gap issue is obnoxious and deeply problematic but I don't personally blame the states for not allowing themselves to be strong-armed into financial obligations they did not sign up for; the ram-it-down-their-throats aspect of the legislation was profoundly problematic.

 

But gosh darn it folks, we shouldn't be fighting across political parties over implementing real healthcare reform in this country when we have real live people suffering every day from the status quo. Let's go ahead and do the decent thing and expand Medicare to everyone, unless the private insurance industry lobbyists want to personally foot the bill for all the current uninsured/underinsured/bleeding every penny for insurance folks in the country.

Edited December 24, 2016 by maize

[chiguirre]

they said our income was too low for a subsidy but too high for Medicaid for the adults.

That is because you live in Texas which didn't accept Medicaid expansion. The states run Medicaid with federal money transferred to them for most of the funding. The bureaucratic run around is the Texas Lege's fault, not the federal government's.

Edited December 24, 2016 by chiguirre