Join Early Retirement Today
Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Just saw this ACA newspiece
Old 06-07-2018, 11:46 PM   #1
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 133
Just saw this ACA newspiece

A article I just read on USA Today.

https://usat.ly/2M7irjG

I hope the thread does not get locked on political grounds.

As a individual with a preexisting condition approaching FIRE these types of stories cause me great concern. While I have appx $1900/mo in my retirement budget for healthcare it’s irrelevant if you can’t get healthcare. (Age 51)

I am, of course, getting ahead of myself. However, what happens if you can’t get healthcare? Does it become a Medicaid situation? Or is it simply “go back to work” to get the insurance.
Conundrum is offline   Reply
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 06-08-2018, 06:55 AM   #2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
pb4uski's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,263
I guess that to me the principal of the DOJ declining to defend laws that it "doesn't like" is more disturbing and an erosion of the rule of law. Having practiced in Asia during part of my career I came to have a great appreciation for the rule of law in the US.
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
pb4uski is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 07:24 AM   #3
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
easysurfer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,130
Nothing surprises me anymore .

That's all I can say without saying what I really feel .

I've learned the with ACA and health care, best approach is to wait and see to avoid whiplash as no one really knows how things will end up in the back and forth. My approach is go with the law of the land, until things change.
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
easysurfer is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 07:36 AM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
MRG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 11,078
Look back pre-ACA for examples.
MRG is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 07:55 AM   #5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
athena53's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,322
Quote:
Originally Posted by easysurfer View Post
I've learned the with ACA and health care, best approach is to wait and see to avoid whiplash as no one really knows how things will end up in the back and forth. My approach is go with the law of the land, until things change.
I agree with that! I remember when Trump signed an Executive Order that was something like, "Do a study of the ACA and come up with a solution that's cheaper and better". From the FB posts I saw, you would have thought that all the ACA policies had been cancelled by the stroke of a pen. They later recommended some changes (one of which truly scared me as it would have alleviated some of the higher rates younger people were paying to subsidize the costs of older insureds, in the hopes of getting more younger people to sign up). The hysterical posts I saw on FB were again full of falsehoods. I followed the postings of a consultant who was the Healthcare Insurance Guru at his firm and whose sole job was to advise clients buying health insurance for their employees. He was always good at separating the "maybe" from the "definitely".

Take a deep breath and wait to see what happens.
athena53 is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 07:58 AM   #6
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Beach and Mountain
Posts: 1,087
Not defending the AG's actions or disagreeing. The logic given was that the mandate had previously been used by SCOTUS to consider the law a tax and therefore constitutional. Since the new tax law invalidated the mandate, AG feels the law is no longer constitutional. That's the logic.

Personally, I will not be a happy camper if I lose my health insurance before Medicare in 4 years. Cost is a huge factor but even greater is that DW is a cancer survivor and no one would insure her. I am almost uninsurable as I used to be obese, used to be pre-diabetic and I used to have sleep apnea. And, and I am old so I am subject to using more insurance.
Z3Dreamer is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 08:04 AM   #7
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 873
DH and myself have the wait and see attitude. The ACA was one of the reasons we retired early. Although the cost is very high. Almost $20k per year for both of us. We did plan for this in retirement. Much better off than others. With the new VA benefits coming out, DH might be able to switch over to VA health care. We will give that a few months for that program to get going before checking into it more.
kimcdougc is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 08:07 AM   #8
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Tampa
Posts: 11,226
Counting on the ACA to go on. Also have pre existing conditions. We shall see. Will not lose sleep over it for now. 6 years to go for me. DGF already on Medicare.
__________________
TGIM
Dtail is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 08:07 AM   #9
Recycles dryer sheets
jetpack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 437
The real problem is the high cost of health care, not the high cost of health insurance. Getting free or lower cost insurance doesn't deal with the fact the price of health care is too high.
jetpack is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 08:20 AM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
MRG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 11,078
Quote:
Originally Posted by jetpack View Post
The real problem is the high cost of health care, not the high cost of health insurance. Getting free or lower cost insurance doesn't deal with the fact the price of health care is too high.
+1000000

Besides the premium increases I've noticed that meds I used to get with a prescription now require prior authorization or step therapy. I love it when the insurance company knows more than my doctor.

The step therapy damn near killed me. Next time I'll be the judge of if I'll take that medication.
MRG is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 09:32 AM   #11
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8,359
IMO, the demise of ACA is akin to the age-old discussions about SS or Medicare going belly-up.

It's one of those things that can drive you crazy if you let it but in the end nothing of substance ever seems to change.

Wish I had a dime for every calamity-in-the-wings that the media shovels out.

A few tweeks maybe, but once these things get entrenched it's really, really hard to undo them.
__________________
Living well is the best revenge!
Retired @ 52 in 2005
marko is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 09:42 AM   #12
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,681
I remember what I paid for HI in 2009 when I first ERed, and how the premiums rose nearly 50% in 2 years. Even with recent increases, without the small ACA subsidy I'd still be paying a little less than what I was paying in 2011 before I ditched the policy for a bare-bones policy you can't buy today because it is not ACA-compliant.


And all of that was before I was diagnosed with Diabetes 3 years ago. Without insurance, my biggest cost would be one costly prescription drug I take daily, costlier than all the doctors and labs I visit each year. And I'm still 10 years away from Medicare.
__________________
Retired in late 2008 at age 45. Cashed in company stock, bought a lot of shares in a big bond fund and am living nicely off its dividends. IRA, SS, and a pension await me at age 60 and later. No kids, no debts.

"I want my money working for me instead of me working for my money!"
scrabbler1 is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 09:56 AM   #13
Recycles dryer sheets
ceciledian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 81
Quote:
Originally Posted by marko View Post
IMO, the demise of ACA is akin to the age-old discussions about SS or Medicare going belly-up.

It's one of those things that can drive you crazy if you let it but in the end nothing of substance ever seems to change.

Wish I had a dime for every calamity-in-the-wings that the media shovels out.

A few tweeks maybe, but once these things get entrenched it's really, really hard to undo them.


This IS the real calamity if the DOJ were not to defend. Maybe it doesn’t affect you but for those it does it’s a big deal.
ceciledian is offline   Reply
The other side of the story on Vox
Old 06-08-2018, 10:15 AM   #14
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 170
The other side of the story on Vox

Vox just published an article that speaks to this issue. Bottom-line, some people in states such as Texas have filed to have the whole ACA ruled as "unconstitutional" because of the recent tax law changes and the fact that within those changes they "repealed" the part where every individual MUST have minimum coverage, or, they would pay a "tax".

So now, Texas has filed a lawsuit that says if the health insurance requirement piece of the law is gone (because of the recent tax law changes), then all of the ACA must be held invalid and unconstitutional.

Currently, most legal scholars think this is a weak argument. We shall see.

the Vox article can be read at this link......
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...it-texas-trump
DatumPoint5 is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 10:20 AM   #15
Recycles dryer sheets
kite_rider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 127
Quote:
Originally Posted by jetpack View Post
The real problem is the high cost of health care, not the high cost of health insurance. Getting free or lower cost insurance doesn't deal with the fact the price of health care is too high.
Worried that this will sound politically biased, but this was a key point that my congressman Greg Walden (who was the chairman of the House Energy Subcommittee on Health at the time) kept bringing it up in one of the few 'town hall' style meetings he held with local constituents after the 2016 election. I fully agreed with that assessment.

But after a year and a half of political control in Washington, I'm still waiting to see legislation that addresses this. Instead, seems most of of the political action has been around dismantling previous legislation. So who is going to attack the high cost of healthcare?
kite_rider is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 10:35 AM   #16
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
pb4uski's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,263
Quote:
Originally Posted by DatumPoint5 View Post
....Currently, most legal scholars think this is a weak argument. We shall see. ....
It seems weaker than weak to me.
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
pb4uski is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 11:06 AM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 9,358
I'm taking a hope for the best, plan for the worst scenario. We have a small business that could qualify for group rates and no pre-existing conditions, so I guess we'll ramp that back up just in case. The front runner for California governor is a single payer advocate, though that could take years to implement state-wide. Hopefully California will at least have a no pre-existing condition exclusion before then even if the ACA goes away. Plan B is to find a hobby / non-profit kind of job with insurance. Plan C is move to a state without pre-existing condition clauses or Europe until Medicare age so we'll continue to get the house decluttered and in shape to rent out if need be. We have some family reasons why Europe might be a good choice anyway and that was one of our original options, pre-ACA.

Pre-ACA we had a COBRA conversion policy but that is gone now due to being on an ACA plan. With the COBRA conversion we had guaranteed coverage. It was expensive, but with no but no pre-existing condition issues. But we don't have continuous coverage on the conversion policy any more due to the ACA, so there is no going back to that option.
__________________
Even clouds seem bright and breezy, 'Cause the livin' is free and easy, See the rat race in a new way, Like you're wakin' up to a new day (Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether lyrics, Alan Parsons Project, based on an EA Poe story)
daylatedollarshort is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 11:20 AM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Florida's First Coast
Posts: 7,662
I think because cost sharing was defunded in 2017 that the rates are going to skyrocket in 2019 OR the cost sharing will be passed on to the punters. Either way we will all bear the brunt of the cost. In 2018 the insurance companies absorbed that cost.

I want to know that if people do not have healthcare because they can opt out, not that the mandate was ever cost prohibitive though, and they get sick, and they still get healthcare from somewhere, who pays for it? I m not sure that is clear.

Whoever bears the brunt of the uninsured healthcare costs will surely kick up a fuss.

The biggest losers are us; the doughnut hole folk stuck between ER and Medicare.

Will taking away the ACA mandatory coverage minimums REALLY make a difference to the Insurance companies? They will STILL need to get customers from somewhere.
__________________
"Never Argue With a Fool, Onlookers May Not Be Able To Tell the Difference." - Mark Twain
ShokWaveRider is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 11:45 AM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Chuckanut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,169
Just my opinion, take it or leave it.

Any political party, policitican, medical society etc. that returned us to the days of old when pre-existing conditions were an on-going part of our medical insurance system, would be making a fatal mistake. Fatal to their cause as well as the sick.

OTOH, there are those who would game the system by only purchasing insurance when they knew they had a big bill coming up. This is unfair to the rest of us and is not the way insurance is supposed to work.

I would be in favor of requiring that all adults over 18 be required to participate in some basic form of insurance if they don't want to worry about pre-existing conditions. (Children under 18 have no control over the insurance decsion so they would be exempt.) No waiting period for newly enrolled people if they could not enroll before, but they would have to do it within 3 months.

If they don't have insurance, a reasonable wait time of a year after they buy the insurance. Perhaps combine the wait time with some allowance for earlier medical care requiring very large personal payments, sale of most if not all assets (including homes, boat, RV's. IRA's, 401K's, etc.) and then a BIG loan that could only be forgiven by doing something HUGE for the American people - Like volunteering to parachute into People's Republic of Lower Slobovia to spy on their nucleur program.

In other words, plenty of compassion for a situation that any of us could find ourselves in despite our best efforts, and big disincentives for those who would try to game the system.

As, I said, just the opinion of somebody not part of the insurance business. I may be wandering about in the Wonderland of Fools.
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy

The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
Chuckanut is offline   Reply
Old 06-08-2018, 11:51 AM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Chuckanut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,169
Quote:
Originally Posted by pb4uski View Post
I guess that to me the principal of the DOJ declining to defend laws that it "doesn't like" is more disturbing and an erosion of the rule of law. Having practiced in Asia during part of my career I came to have a great appreciation for the rule of law in the US.
This seems to be a practice that is encouraged by people on the extreme ends of the political spectrum - assuming that the practice benefits what they believe. My 2¢.
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy

The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
Chuckanut is offline   Reply
Closed Thread


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Just saw these pop up online... FIREmenow FIRE and Money 3 09-08-2016 08:21 PM
Just saw the funniest comedian EVER in vegas...you've gotta check him out thefed Other topics 1 01-11-2010 12:29 PM
I just saw a car blown up - in Amsterdam! donheff Other topics 0 09-05-2007 02:07 PM
I just saw United Flight 93... dex Other topics 52 05-08-2006 12:31 AM
Just saw a show on Public TV - Retirement Crisis ! Cut-Throat Other topics 7 12-22-2004 08:07 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:03 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.