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How Obamacare hurts a plain old middle class family

June 8, 2015 By Christine Field

This post may contain affiliate links.

I stayed up to watch the vote on Obamacare on December 24, 2009.  Of course I had heard all the gloom and doom coverage running up to the vote.  I wanted to see the workings of our representatives myself because I knew history was being made.

After it passed the media coverage only intensified. Not only had they not read it but no one knew how to implement it or how it would work or how to build a website to make it run.                       IMG_0974

But we had private insurance through my husband’s job so we figured it would only minimally impact us.  Au contraire.

Of course our rates soared.  Perhaps even more painful was our deductible became enormous.  So the net effect of the President’s promises was that we’re paying a heck of a lot more money.

Then something new started happening which I’m sure more will experience.  The employer organization started an incentive program that went something like this:  Everyone had to go to a health screening and had to earn a certain number of points in order to have a “discounted” premium rate.  If your score didn’t measure up, you had to pay higher premiums.

Wait a minute.  This affordable care act was supposed to save us money and not penalize pre-existing conditions.  Everyone covered. Everyone pays less. I never could make the math work on that one.

I shudder to think what would have happened if we had this level of “qualification” when my husband was having radiation treatments that cost $8000 each 5 days a week for 8 weeks.

Isn’t the idea of insurance to share the risk?  So for the 20-30 years that we paid premiums when we were all well should balance out when we do have health problems.

Now we are not sharing the risk.  We are just flat out paying for others who don’t want to pay anything. And those who pay get helping payments from the government, but of course they screwed that all up too.

The net effect of all this is more people on Medicaid.  They get everything and they pay nothing.  Historically Medicaid has been the safety net for the truly poor who had no options.  Now it’s so common and so costly that states can’t pay for it.  My own state, Illinois, has been as much as 18 months behind in paying providers.  Why practice medicine anymore?

What’s the alternative for plain old middle class people like us? Last time I checked the insurance exchanges for the “affordable care act” our premium would be $1918 per month to buy comparable coverage.

Affordable?  Heck no.

Fair? Heck no.

And so we remain where plain old middle class people are in this economy.

Screwed.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Health and Beauty, Health insurance Tagged With: health insurance premiums, middle class, Obamacare

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Hi, I’m Christine

Have you been a wholehearted mother, but time, toddlers and teenagers have moved on? If you are wondering what comes next for you, you’ll feel right at home here.

Or, are you a mom for whom family life has been non-Pinworthy and parenting has been downright painful? I hear ya. There are many of us around.

Are you looking for a life full of exploration and adventure after the nest empties, but maybe you have no idea how to go about doing that? Stick around! We’ll explore adventures together to help you gain more clarity for your own path.

After a couple decades of writing books and articles about parenting, homeschooling and adoption, speaking to homeschoolers and other parent groups, and reaching out to the mom in the trenches who was trying to make the best of it - my kids grew up. Some grew up and grew away. I was determined to find a way out of the pain, emptiness and lack of direction.

For many of us, the journey starts with something we moms are not accustomed to. After years of caring for and serving others, sometimes we forget the beauty and wonder of US. We need to spend some time getting to know the parts of ourselves that have lain dormant, and take the time to explore interests and passions that we set aside.

I’d like to invite you to get the “What’s Next for Mom” workbook and jump into this growing tribe of Moms who are emptying the nest and filling the life! Let’s reignite your Mojo after Mothering!
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About Christine

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At Real Mom Life, my passion is to provide resources and reassurances for moms facing the surprising challenges of family life. In my writing and speaking, I explore solutions to unexpected issues in adoption, homeschooling, special needs, and more while encouraging moms to extract the maximum joy out of each day. Read More…

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