Being self-employed, we don’t exactly have a company health insurance policy. Hearing this and that about Obamacare has been nothing if not confusing. These are some of the objections I’ve heard and been curious about myself…
Health insurance companies won’t be able to deny anyone coverage? Doesn’t that mean their premiums will skyrocket???
Employers have to pay for full time employees to be covered? So then many companies will be forced to switch full time employees to part time??? (This isn’t about big, greedy corporations, it’s about the millions of small businesses who can’t afford something like this.)
Everyone has to have health insurance or they will be fined? So people who don’t qualify for a government program but also can’t afford high insurance premiums will be forced to buy them anyway???
My understanding is that the government needs all the young, healthy people paying for their health insurance in order to essentially pay for the older, sicker people.
With the health insurance marketplace opening up on October 1, it will be interesting to see what kinds of new options we’ll have. I’m not exactly holding my breath, though… I can’t imagine health insurance is suddenly going to become much more affordable.
I’m still not completely sure if the medical bill sharing co-ops we prefer to be a part of will qualify or not. I’ve been wanting to do a post on health insurance options for self-employed and low income families, but I’m going to wait and see how it all breaks down.
I did some rough calculations with the calculator provided – which makes sure to note that it is a very rough estimate until October 1, but wow, I hope it’s REALLY broken.
It says that for our family of 4, an “Unsubsidized annual health insurance premium in 2014 (would be) $11,091”
The calculator goes on to say that “Your out-of-pocket maximum for a Silver plan (not including the premium) can be no more than $12,700.” (The Silver Plan covers 70% and you’re responsible for the other 30%.)
I can pretty much guarantee we’re going to be getting some sort of government assistance with that kind of craziness. No way we can afford almost $1,000 a month for insurance…
No matter your current health insurance situation, you should know how the new laws will affect you, your friends, and family, starting on October 1 and then January 1, 2014. Check out the links below for more info.
Calculate A Rough Estimate of Your Health Insurance Costs In the New Health Insurance Marketplace
