"Deductibles are too damn high!" - Granite Grok

“Deductibles are too damn high!”

Obamacare -Year of the SnakeYeah, politicians and their promises.  All we hear from the sycophants of Obama and Obamacare is that it is “affordable” for low income folks to buy an Obamacare insurance policy – and now we know that TANSTAFFL still applies because as Government artificially lowers that rate for the Have-Nots, the premium prices necessarily rise for everyone else. But those same sycophants will NEVER want to willingly talk about deductions.  Here is the  post from the NY Times, well, because they deserve it and finally having to admit (emphasis mine, reformatted):

Many Say High Deductibles Make Their Health Law Insurance All but Useless

I just LOVE saying this: we TOLD you so! The Laws of Economics can only be distorted for so long and in so many ways before they snap back on you like an oversized rubber band.  Unfortunately, it isn’t on the sycophants but by the folks that have to deal with it – herein the actual results of what Obama and the Democrats have wrought:

WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials, urging people to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, have trumpeted the low premiums available on the law’s new marketplaces. But for many consumers, the sticker shock is coming not on the front end, when they purchase the plans, but on the back end when they get sick: sky-high deductibles that are leaving some newly insured feeling nearly as vulnerable as they were before they had coverage. “The deductible, $3,000 a year, makes it impossible to actually go to the doctor,” said David R. Reines, 60, of Jefferson Township, N.J., a former hardware salesman with chronic knee pain. “We have insurance, but can’t afford to use it.”

And it is similar with Expanded Medicaid Expansion but differently – they can’t use it as more and more doctors and hospitals aren’t taking patients under that plan.  My doc has had that sign out front for years.  So what good IS Government healthcare insurance when you can’t use it?

In many states, more than half the plans offered for sale through HealthCare.gov, the federal online marketplace, have a deductible of $3,000 or more, a New York Times review has found. Those deductibles are causing concern among Democrats — and some Republican detractors of the health law, who once pushed high-deductible health plans in the belief that consumers would be more cost-conscious if they had more of a financial stake or skin in the game.  “We could not afford the deductible,” said Kevin Fanning, 59, who lives in North Texas, near Wichita Falls. “Basically I was paying for insurance I could not afford to use.”

He dropped his policy.

In effect, he was just giving money to the insurance companies for a product that could not be used.  Now, be sure that the Democrats will use this to cry for single payer, but never forget that they rigged this system in the first place.  No matter that the NYT writes “and some Republican detractors”, remember this: not a SINGLE Republican voted for this bill that is hurting so many people.

As the health care law enters its third annual open enrollment period, premiums and subsidies have been one of the administration’s main selling points. “Most Americans will find an option that costs less than $75 a month,” President Obama said.  Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the secretary of health and human services, issued a report analyzing premiums in the 38 states that useHealthCare.gov. “Eight out of 10 returning consumers will be able to buy a plan with premiums less than $100 a month after tax credits,” she said.

Big deal.  Many are now finding out the obvious – you get what you pay for (or in this case, what others are forced to pay for you).

But in interviews, a number of consumers made it clear that premiums were only one side of the affordability equation. “Our deductible is so high, we practically pay for all of our medical expenses out of pocket,” said Wendy Kaplan, 50, of Evanston, Ill. “So our policy is really there for emergencies only, and basic wellness appointments.” Her family of four pays premiums of $1,200 a month for coverage with an annual deductible of $12,700.

So, how many in those lowest quintiles can afford $13K before their Obamacare policy starts paying off?  In effect, she’s paying $27K when premium and deductible are added together.  This is “affordable” for the normal middle class family?  This is what the Democrats have created?

Betcha that NO moderator for a Democrat debate would DARE bring this up!

Ms. Burwell said the administration had “seen high levels of satisfaction with the marketplace.”

Not from reading this, for sure.

..Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University who supports the health law, said the rising deductibles were part of a trend that she described as the “degradation of health insurance.”  Insurers, she said, “designed plans with a hefty use of deductibles and cost-sharing in order to hold down premiums” for low- and moderate-income consumers shopping in the public marketplaces. But the deductibles are so high they may be scaring away some consumers.

Hey, just like the airlines!  Basic fares at the lowest cost but lots of new fees come online (re: checked baggage, leg room, et al) push your actual price up.  It all has to be paid somewhere – but Obamacare is the Government’s version of “bait and switch”.

Alexis C. Phillips, 29, of Houston, is the kind of consumer federal officials would like to enroll this fall. But after reviewing the available plans, she said, she concluded: “The deductibles are ridiculously high. I will never be able to go over the deductible unless something catastrophic happened to me. I’m better off not purchasing that insurance and saving the money in case something bad happens.”

And this next bit – thanks to Chief Justice John Roberts, with the economics of above, we now see the funnel that leads to…..wait for it……higher Government revenues!

People who go without insurance next year may be subject to a penalty of $695 or about 2.5 percent of their household income, whichever is greater.

Yes, we live in the Land of the Free – but not free to decide to do nothing in healthcare (else the Obama Tax Man cometh).

Karin Rosner, a 45-year-old commercial freelance writer who lives in the Bronx, pays about $300 a month, after a subsidy, for a silver insurance plan with a $1,750 deductible and a limit of $4,000 a year on out-of-pocket expenses.  She is extremely nearsighted and has an eye condition that puts her at risk for a detached retina, but has put off visits to a retina specialist because, she said, she would have to pay the entire cost out of pocket.  “While my premiums are affordable, the out-of-pocket expenses required to meet the deductible are not,” said Ms. Rosner, who makes about $30,000 a year.

And see that income, about $30K/year?  That puts here solidly into the middle of American wage earners – the very middle class that the Democrats keep saying “We’re here to help you!”.  Er, no, they’ve screwed you over but are pleased to have done so.

Mr. Fanning, the North Texan, said he and his wife had a policy with a monthly premium of about $500 and an annual deductible of about $10,000 after taking account of financial assistance. Their income is about $32,000 a year. The Fannings dropped the policy in July after he had a one-night hospital stay and she had tests for kidney problems, and the bills started to roll in.

Josie Gibb of Albuquerque pays about $400 a month in premiums, after subsidies, for a silver-level insurance plan with a deductible of $6,000. “The deductible,” she said, “is so high that I have to pay for everything all year — visits with a gynecologist, a dermatologist, all blood work, all tests. It’s really just a catastrophic policy.”

Right – $4800 / year to pay for the luxury of paying all her medical costs herself.  Just consider this yet another version of the Crony Capitalism created by Obamacare.

Another consumer, Anne Cornwell of Chattanooga, Tenn., said she was excited when Congress passed the Affordable Care Act because she had been uninsured for several years. She is glad that she and her husband now have insurance, because he has had tonsil cancer, heart problems and kidney stones this year. But with a $10,000 deductible, it has still not been easy.

When they said affordable, I thought they really meant affordable,” she said.

What, you ACTUALLY BELIEVED THEM?  Silly person, tricks are from DC.  How’s that make you feel now?

What’s worse is that the Democrats give you no choice, no freedom to do what is right by your and your family.  After all, they are the SMART People!

Right?

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