I've posted a fair amount of schadenfreude-laced facebook barbs about McConnell's trifecta of FAIL in the recent round of health care votes. Scorn turned to glee about John McCain... Delight in Trump's continuing tally of (not)WIN... and, of course, a blessed moment's reprieve from concern about the destruction of health care for those who need it the most.
My ACA coverage isn't cheap. We make too much money for a subsidy and we live in California. It costs almost $800 a month. Every month. That's a lot. More than some folks' mortgages in other parts of the country. It's the single highest monthly bill I have (after my own mortgage).
However, Kathy got sick last year. Took her to the ER. Gall bladder had to go. Come to find out, the hospital we went to wasn't "in plan." They wanted us to sign a statement of responsibility for the uncovered portion... of a $192,000 bill.
STOP.
$192,000.
$192,000 / $751 = 255 months. That's 21 years of premiums. We had only been paying for TWO YEARS.
That's how insurance works. You never know when an otherwise healthy member of your family will really NEED to be covered. So you pay. Sometimes a lot, because YOU WILL NEED IT SOMEDAY.
Side note: Before the ACA, her benefits might very well have been denied after a bean counter determined she had a heretofore unknown "pre-existing condition"... or else, our premiums would skyrocket (as they did THREE TIMES IN ONE YEAR before the ACA). But no. We pay 31 dollars more per month than before.
P.S. We didn't end up getting the procedure done at that first hospital. Rather, we drove 10 minutes to the same hospital where Kole was born... and ended up owing about $5,000. Not awesome, but $187,000 more awesome than we would have been without the ACA.
It's like that for most people. States say you have to have auto insurance. No one complains. But mandate that you pay for health insurance and suddenly we live in a Soviet gulag.
Grow up. We have the ACA because partisans refused to join the rest of the civilized world in creating a single-payer solution that ALSO allows for supplementary private insurance. That's how EVERYBODY, but us, does it these days.
STAHP with the bluster and noise. If you hate the ACA, it has very little to do with how it has affected you personally and EVERYTHING to do with right-wing propaganda and Obama derangement. Good news is, mental heath is covered under the ACA. You should see someone about that.
My ACA coverage isn't cheap. We make too much money for a subsidy and we live in California. It costs almost $800 a month. Every month. That's a lot. More than some folks' mortgages in other parts of the country. It's the single highest monthly bill I have (after my own mortgage).
However, Kathy got sick last year. Took her to the ER. Gall bladder had to go. Come to find out, the hospital we went to wasn't "in plan." They wanted us to sign a statement of responsibility for the uncovered portion... of a $192,000 bill.
STOP.
$192,000.
$192,000 / $751 = 255 months. That's 21 years of premiums. We had only been paying for TWO YEARS.
That's how insurance works. You never know when an otherwise healthy member of your family will really NEED to be covered. So you pay. Sometimes a lot, because YOU WILL NEED IT SOMEDAY.
Side note: Before the ACA, her benefits might very well have been denied after a bean counter determined she had a heretofore unknown "pre-existing condition"... or else, our premiums would skyrocket (as they did THREE TIMES IN ONE YEAR before the ACA). But no. We pay 31 dollars more per month than before.
P.S. We didn't end up getting the procedure done at that first hospital. Rather, we drove 10 minutes to the same hospital where Kole was born... and ended up owing about $5,000. Not awesome, but $187,000 more awesome than we would have been without the ACA.
It's like that for most people. States say you have to have auto insurance. No one complains. But mandate that you pay for health insurance and suddenly we live in a Soviet gulag.
Grow up. We have the ACA because partisans refused to join the rest of the civilized world in creating a single-payer solution that ALSO allows for supplementary private insurance. That's how EVERYBODY, but us, does it these days.
STAHP with the bluster and noise. If you hate the ACA, it has very little to do with how it has affected you personally and EVERYTHING to do with right-wing propaganda and Obama derangement. Good news is, mental heath is covered under the ACA. You should see someone about that.
Comments