Affordable Care Act tore me up

[drwelfare]

Paid my taxes last week, owed mostly the ACA fine only, had to pay near the max amount this year.

During the time between preparing and paying I had some bad illness which I went through, and tooth pain. Thought was on my mind that I could get this fixed (even got estimate on the teeth) but that money needed to go towards my healthcare fine instead. Got annoying knowing I had priorities when I was wrapping a towel and belt around my head to lessen the pain so I could sleep.
I had no major issues last year, just cuts I fixed myself.


So anyone else get a beating from the fines?

[Rukh]

Why didn't you get health insurance?

[Aori]

Why don't you have insurance? Anything requiring a hospital visit or god forbid a stay is going to kill you if the fine does.

[Hammerfest]

I've been impacted by what the ACA has done to medical insurance rates.

[Malachi256]

I've been impacted by what the ACA has done to medical insurance rates.

This. Paying more for less.

To be expected - I'm glad there are people who couldn't get insurance before who can get it now. Still sucks, though.

[drwelfare]

Why didn't you get health insurance?

Costs would be greater than the fine, and if I had it last year it would have gotten no use.
Would not even hit the deductible, and would be better off paying for things out of pocket.

I would like the idea of medical costs paid to be deducted from the ACA fine amount, so I can spend that $190 getting those teeth out and have that off my fine at the end of the year.

[Dareous]

Paid my taxes last week, owed mostly the ACA fine only, had to pay near the max amount this year.

During the time between preparing and paying I had some bad illness which I went through, and tooth pain. Thought was on my mind that I could get this fixed (even got estimate on the teeth) but that money needed to go towards my healthcare fine instead. Got annoying knowing I had priorities when I was wrapping a towel and belt around my head to lessen the pain so I could sleep.
I had no major issues last year, just cuts I fixed myself.


So anyone else get a beating from the fines?

I did and I knew it was going to happen (only came out to like $450 fine), but then again I don't care because I am moving back to Canada this year and I will be paying $0 a year for healthcare premiums/deductibles instead of the $500 a month just for my wife's (can't afford healthcare for my wife and myself and shes the one with all the health problems atm).

I suggest you find as cheap a healthcare that you can afford as each year that ACA fine will go up (as much as double I think).

[Rukh]

Costs would be greater than the fine, and if I had it last year it would have gotten no use.
Would not even hit the deductible, and would be better off paying for things out of pocket.

I would like the idea of medical costs paid to be deducted from the ACA fine amount, so I can spend that $190 getting those teeth out and have that off my fine at the end of the year.

You should probably go ahead and actually get insurance. Nobody thinks they'll need it until they do. That's essentially why it's a bad idea to leave health insurance to the market.

[taliey]

Max amount? Where are you getting this number? It's the higher of 325 or 2% of your tax income, prorated monthly.

[Torgent]

This. Paying more for less.

To be expected - I'm glad there are people who couldn't get insurance before who can get it now. Still sucks, though.

And that's a temporary fact. The reason insurance rates are so high is because hospitals charge a ton. The reason hospitals charge a ton is because some people don't pay and hospitals still need to make their money. With many more people having insurance, hospitals receive their money more reliably and can then lower the rates they charge to insurance, who should then lower the rates they charge to consumers.

[fooliuscaesar13]

I've been impacted by what the ACA has done to medical insurance rates.

This. My monthly fees have gone up for me and my family, plus I have a deductible now. It's definitely not more affordable for me personally. Forcing the country into an aggregate system did nothing but benefit the Healthscare industry.

[Dendrek]

People who say they're paying more I have sympathy for. People who say they need medical help who don't have insurance and who complain they can't pay for the medical help they need because they're getting fined for not having insurance... I hope the irony doesn't make your headache worse.

[Crissi]

My issues with insurance are administrative and billing, which was shitty prior to ACA. Anyone who thinks private is necessarily better didn't just deal with Aetna over charging me for out of network when I used an in network facility because they read an out of network Drs name. Why the f would you have a dr who works at a facility you approve of not be in network also?

Private insurance is every bit as incompetent as the govt folks.

[Torgent]

Costs would be greater than the fine, and if I had it last year it would have gotten no use.
Would not even hit the deductible, and would be better off paying for things out of pocket.

I would like the idea of medical costs paid to be deducted from the ACA fine amount, so I can spend that $190 getting those teeth out and have that off my fine at the end of the year.

OP: You are exactly what is wrong with our insurance market. You believe it to be cheaper to pay the fine and out of pocket for dental work, so you don't get insurance. Now fast forward a few months, you are in a serious accident and are hospitalized. Congrats on life-crippling debt while the rest of us pay for you!

[Celista]

Why don't you act like a responsible adult and get health insurance. Or are you just going to claim bankruptcy if you get into an accident or are diagnosed with a serious illness?

Irresponsible. Grow up.

[Crissi]

Also, managed to spend more than the fine in health care needs this year, so I won't ever just go without and pay the fine

[fooliuscaesar13]

And that's a temporary fact. The reason insurance rates are so high is because hospitals charge a ton. The reason hospitals charge a ton is because some people don't pay and hospitals still need to make their money. With many more people having insurance, hospitals receive their money more reliably and can then lower the rates they charge to insurance, who should then lower the rates they charge to consumers.

I'll sit here and hold my breath while the healthcare industry lowers their rates because of an influx of money.

Truth is, cost reduction will never happen unless it is legislated.

Edit: I'm all for everyone being covered, I just don't feel the ACA was the right solution.

[Dareous]

This. Paying more for less.

To be expected - I'm glad there are people who couldn't get insurance before who can get it now. Still sucks, though.

Forcing insurance companies to insure people who are already sick literally saved my wife's life. That's the one good thing about the ACA and eventually America will sort out all the other problems with the Healthcare system.

[taliey]

Forcing insurance companies to insure people who are already sick literally saved my wife's life. That's the one good thing about the ACA and eventually America will sort out all the other problems with the Healthcare system.

I mean there's generally high support for nondiscrimination, children being on their parents plan until 26 and no lifetime coverage cap.

[Cthulhu 2020]

Since you can't be denied health insurance for preexisting conditions now, just let your teeth all rot and get insurance and have them all replaced at once.

Or, you know, get insurance now to take care of what problems you do have. Thank god you can get insurance with pre-existing conditions thanks to the ACA, eh?

Also, if you can prove that buying insurance would have given you financial hardship, you wouldn't have had to pay the fine. If buying insurance wouldn't have caused you financial hardship... why not have insurance? I was raised knowing that having insurance was just a thing you did. Before the ACA, sudden medical bills were the #1 source of bankruptcy, at over 2/3 of all personal bankruptcies occurring due to someone without insurance suddenly being hospitalized.