Really - the Health Reform Bill Is Good | 41 comments (41 topical, 0 hidden)
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the bill changes the rules so that you can stay on your parents' health insurance until you turn 26.

if your parents don't have health insurance, the bill gives subsidies to anyone making less than 4 times poverty level.  So if you make less than $48,000 in a year, you will get subsidies to use on the exchange.  THIS IS ACTUALLY A GREAT THING - once you're on the exchange, you stay on the exchange for life, even if you get a job where the employer pays for insurance, or go to a college that offers student insurance.

If you make less than $16,000 in a year, you qualify for medicaid.  So you're covered.

This bill is the worst for people who make $50,000 and are self-employed - they don't get subsidies but are required by the mandate to pay for insurance.  This sucks, and a lot of my friends a few years out of college are stuck in this no man's land.  

But this flaw isn't enough to justify killing the bill.

by dotkommissar on 03/18/2010 06:54:52 PM EST

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the no-man's land (none / 0)

Is exactly what this bill is trying to address, from my POV.  Self-employed people will have the opportunity to join exchanges.  The Senate bill puts caps on the delta between the cheapest plans and the most expensive, so even people with pre-existing conditions will be able to buy insurance even if they are self-employed.  This is going to end up being the best thing to help the future of our economy and improve people's lives as more and more people find themselves out of the corporate cocoon.

 

The bill has so many good things going for it, I really don't understand the Liberal opposition to it at this point.  Of course there is very little of that now it seems.  I found out at my caucus the other night that most Democrats are 100% behind passing the bill.  Are you right to want more? Yes.  But it's not in the cards right now. 

by qsoundrich on 03/19/2010 04:03:34 PM EST

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yes but (none / 0)
what i mean by the no-man's-land are people who make slightly more than 4x poverty level, so they don't qualify for any subsidies.  They still have to abide by the mandate, and they have a choice between cheap catastrophic coverage or a plan on the exchange with premiums that run between 10%-12% of their income.  

It's kind of rough to tell people fresh out of undergrad who manage to snag $50,000 a year freelancing that on top of student loans and federal/state taxes, they are required to write a $6,000 check for health insurance so that the national risk pool can be balanced.

Don't want to get stuck in there.  Better to intentionally make $3000 less, qualify for subsidies, and only pay 8% of your income in premiums.

by dotkommissar on 03/19/2010 06:05:35 PM EST

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er (none / 0)
nix that last bit about taking less income - i just realized the math probably makes it a wash in the end.

by dotkommissar on 03/19/2010 06:08:03 PM EST

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Really - the Health Reform Bill Is Good | 41 comments (41 topical, 0 hidden)