What if Obamacare (ACA) is repealed?

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Alvin Tostig

Recycles dryer sheets
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So for many of us on this board who are planning ER or for those that recently ER'd, how would this impact you?

I'm counting on the ACA to be in place, because I can't imagine they will take this away from the millions of people who have pre-existing conditions, kids who can be under their parents plan until 26, early retirees, etc.

I hope to ER in mid-year 2017, but what if it's actually repealed before then? What are our choices? The GOP, if they get in, has never come up with any tangible alternative, but the candidates want to repeal this immediately. And if they do, can ACA be dropped, without an alternative plan finalized?

So for those like me, does the elimination of the ACA weigh into your retirement date or strategy and what will be your backup plan?
 
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If you retire before Medicare age most people will have uncertainties in their health insurance. Where you live will also have a massive impact. For example, I live in MA and if ACA goes away I imagine MA will want to go back to something similar to the mandated scheme it had in place before ACA. However, as an MA state retiree I get my health care from a state program and when I had the choice of ACA or paying more for the state program I went with the state because I felt it was more stable and would not be affected by changes at the federal level.
 
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Alvin Tostig said:
So for many of us on this board who are planning ER or for those that recently ER'd, how would this impact you?

I'm counting on the ACA to be in place, because I can't imagine they will take this away from the millions of people who have pre-existing conditions, kids who can be under their parents plan until 26, early retirees, etc.

I hope to ER in mid-year 2017, but what if it's actually repealed before then? What are our choices? The GOP, if they get in, has never come up with any tangible alternative, but the candidates want to repeal this immediately. And if they do, can ACA be dropped, without an alternative plan finalized?

So for those like me, does the elimination of the ACA weigh into your retirement date or strategy and what will be your backup plan?
Click to expand...

From a practical matter it won't happen as early as 2017. New administrations and legislative representation, post election, won't be in place till early 2017. And there would be extreme push back (JMHO) to repealing it instantaneously- with no transition period for people to find alternative insurance.

That said, it is something to watch. All elections have consequences... good and bad.
 
Just my feeling, but I don't think ACA will go away entirely. Everyone will be able to get insurance for a price they can afford. ACA will cost the government a lot so I could see them doing a means test/added tax on those that can afford to pay. I know this view isn't popular here, but "millionaires getting free medical insurance" is getting more press and making the "rich" pay "their fair share" is always popular in Washington.

So the question is do you really want to count on the politicians in this area to fund your insurance in retirement prior to Medicare? Kind of goes along with are you counting on full SS to fund your retirement when you reach that age? I'm counting on Medicare and somewhat on full SS, but I'm already that age, so the future is now for me. I am also paying 25% tax on 85% of my SS even though that wasn't originally part of that law. Bottom line is I might want to have a little more put away if the future was in 10 or 20 years. I would sure want to at least have a backup plan like the ability to cut expenses or go back to work.
 
Alvin Tostig said:
So for many of us on this board who are planning ER or for those that recently ER'd, how would this impact you?

I'm counting on the ACA to be in place, because I can't imagine they will take this away from the millions of people who have pre-existing conditions, kids who can be under their parents plan until 26, early retirees, etc.

I hope to ER in mid-year 2017, but what if it's actually repealed before then? What are our choices? The GOP, if they get in, has never come up with any tangible alternative, but the candidates want to repeal this immediately. And if they do, can ACA be dropped, without an alternative plan finalized?

So for those like me, does the elimination of the ACA weigh into your retirement date or strategy and what will be your backup plan?
Click to expand...

I have faith that the politicians will continue to not live up to all their political election promises they spout off as they realize once they get in office that history will judge them by their actions.

This issue does not affect us, as we have company retirement plan, but that could always go away and we would be in the same boat, needing a universal health plan like Medicare but at an earlier age.
 
Hopefully NY (my state) will come up with something if the ACA goes away. If not then I would get a catastrophic policy. On the plus side, then I could do more Roth conversions.
 
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I had an individual policy. I figure I should still be able to get one since I have no medical issues that should prevent it. I know some will be in a much tougher position.
 
Is there any point in fretting about this now? The ACA appears to be on an unsustainable path (based on several different available metrics--cost to taxpayers, participation by insurers, cost to participants, growth of total medical expenditures, etc). Some of these problems pre-date the ACA. Regardless, after the election we will either officially "have" the ACA but with significant changes, or we will have a thing with a new name that has significant changes. Either way:
1) We'll have to adapt to it
2) Each of us won't be alone, but in a boat with millions of other people
3) There's insufficient information available now to allow us to plan except that:
3A) Having more money in savings will offer more flexibility than having less money. Or, if there is means testing, then it could ultimately be less useful (see rule 3).
4) The ACA has changed public perceptions and expectations in several ways, and the political process will likely reflect these changes. My own opinion is that many of these changes will have adverse impacts on the US as a whole, but the details, causes, ramifications are not relevant to the immediate short-term questions in the OP.
 
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I read this yesterday. Pretty interesting on how difficult it may be to just repeal it like some suggest.


http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/kent...c12e4b0ffe6f8eb38de?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592


From the article:

But a funny thing happened on the way to the governor's office: Bevin's anti-Obamacare rhetoric started to tone down as Election Day approached. And in the months since he's been chief executive of Kentucky, instead of ripping up Obamacare out of his state, Bevin is making alterations to how the law works there and leaving its core elements and benefits in place.
 
Alvin Tostig said:
So for many of us on this board who are planning ER or for those that recently ER'd, how would this impact you?
Click to expand...

Alvin, how close are you to Medicare age? We're a decade+ away so ACA is a big concern for us. Specifically, the pre-existing condition can be a problem and, in a related fashion, the total cost of coverage.

On the other hand, wild horses couldn't drag us back to w*rk. In this election year, I do worry about the ACA issue, but it's largely beyond my control. Actually, this is true for the whole healthscare mess, even more to worry about fundamentally, but also beyond my control. So, I'm learning to avoid worry by avoiding the daily news nonsense.

Practically, DW and I can control a few things. We try to live healthy lives by eating well, some exercise, and avoiding the BS of w*rk. These bring us a high-quality of life, regardless if they actually "prolong" our lives. Makes life more worth living while we're here.

We also try to reduce our cost of living on a ongoing basis without a big impact on the joy of living. We don't need to bribe ourself with stuff and novel experiences now that we are out of the w*rking grind.

Finally, as a tactical measure, we are burning our after-tax savings first (instead of IRA's) so that we can minimize our MAGI and capture as much of the ACA subsidy as possible while it exists. In our situation (modest egg nest but high initial burn rate), we want to capture as much of the ACA subsidy as possible and not concern ourselves too much about ROTH converting to minimize RMD impact later. We're just trying to enjoy the early part of our retirement without tanking our savings. Folks with bigger $$$ and estates may take the opposite approach.

FB
 
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