Has anyone subscribed to the Obama care insurance?

[dwalt]

I would retire this year IF it was as good as what I have at work. (and mine now is really good) and affordable. Other wise I'll have to  work four more years. I'm  not looking forward to that. BTW this is not open for politics.

[Wayne Goodwin]

I haven't yet . Guess i need to try and see . I thing some of us have and did better than they thought .

[Wayne Goodwin]

Soo far I haven't qualified . I like around 3 hundred dollars of unpaid doctor bills to qualify . I guess I shouldn't have kept my doctor paid ..

[Wayne Goodwin]

I guess I will never walk again . Doctor said I had to get my weight down before a doctor would operate on my knee . Gonna try my best to . But at the age of 63 , don't really see a reason to being  that I have few years to live .

[Lucinda Stone]

I have this same issue...  I have done a cursory look at it and I would qualify for a good amount of subsidy, but I also had about 47 different plans to look at...   right now, insurance is relatively painless--- the company picks the carrier and it's always been a great plan, the premium comes right out of paycheck (pre-tax I think)

if I do retire earlier, I might see about COBRA for a while, expensive yes, but it would give time to really explore the Obamacare...

and from what I've gathered from other friends, Medicare is no walk in the park either.....

[Wayne Goodwin]

Now I know what is written below isn't the obamma care . It's just to show how much the cost has ridden sinse last year ....

My doctor faxed my perscription in for my insulin for Medicare part D . Last year that same  prescription cost $105 dollars for 3 moonth supply . I went to wher I order from and found it was gonna cost me $750 dollars 3 month supply . No way I can afford that . Doctor is trying to help . If I can't get it a little cheeper I will just quit taking it and let my health deterate .

[dwalt]

Yep it sux to have to make all these choices.  I haven't looked yet but I heard if more of the younger ones don't get it it will be pretty pricey for us older ones.

[Karin M Fichtner]

I have been on Medicare for the last two years, and up until now, I have had no problems with it. I have a supplemental policy with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield that picks up whatever Medicare doesn't pay for. I have only seen two bills in two years....and one was a mistake that I called to their attention and they fixed. The other was an ambulance bill leftover from when they took me from the hospital to the nursing facility last year after my knee replacement. That was only $100. Now....since the government is involved.....I am told I need to be aware of the fact that my Medicare won't cover as much as it did, and some procedures will not be covered. I was told this by two of my doctors. I have not incurred any major expenses since the ACA went into effect. I know my girlfriend....who doesn't qualify for Medicare until this coming August....and who hasn't had insurance since her husband lost his job about 6 years ago....has tried over and over to get something accomplished on the ACA website, to no avail. She has decided to pay the fine and wait til August for the Medicare. My son-in-law waited to see if he was going to get his policy cancelled or the premium increased, and had not heard a thing. They did get a letter back in early November from Humana telling them that maybe they might want to check the ACA site for cheaper insurance. After Christmas, he got a letter stating that his wife and daughter's policies were almost double what they have been. Then, two days later, $1600 was withdrawn from his checking acct to cover his and their insurance....almost $500 more than he was expecting! He was shaken. He went from having money to not having money....in one day. So since he cannot continue to pay these new rates, he is going back on the ACA site to try again. He admits he hasn't given it a serious try since October, when he tried several times with no success. He is older than Wendy by 13 years, so his rate didn't go up much. My grandsons-in-law are planning on paying the penalty rather than buy the insurance; they can't afford the premiums. I was pleasantly surprised that my Anthem premium did not go up after the first of the year. I held my breath....but so far...so good.

[Wayne Goodwin]

I read that people. on  certain incomes would stay on medicare and be put on medicaid automatically,

[blithe spirit]

I guess many people have different circumstances but for me it's going to be great for me. I haven't signed up yet but I have it the works. My insurance from work is still in force until the end of March. Then I will switch. I did go on the website and had to find out if I qualified for a subsidy ( tax credit) or not...I do based on my estimated income for 2014. Then I looked for a plan as close as I could find to my current one and I was able to find one that will be less expensive then my COBRA after the tax credit. What's nice is that you don't have to wait till the end of the year to get the credit...and you can apply it directly to the insurance premium on a monthy basis.
I have a Blue Cross HMO with my school and I contacted them to see when I needed to apply in order to have seamless coverage. They will do it for me and just switch it from my school paying the premium to me paying it. I will go to their office 30 days ahead to get it all all in the works.
I am quite pleased with my results...my school has always paid the total cost of my premuims...after March I will be paying them but the cost is comparable to what the school paid and with the tax credit I will be able to afford it. I won't qualify for Medicare till for several years...I am 61.
My Mom has Medicare and her supplement is Tricare for Life which is the retired military dependent insurance...there hasn't been any change for coverages for her...she is diabetic and has a few other health issues...she is 80.

[blithe spirit]

I have a nephew who is 30 who owns his own business..He had one of those policies that fell into the "if you want to keep it you can"...because he so young and no health issues the premium was really inexpensive and he thought he wanted to keep it...until he fell and broke a couple of vertebrae in his neck and needed surgery and discovered back surgery wasn't covered along with several other off the wall things like cancer treatment. He is the process of getting another policy through ACA and while it is going to be more expensive then the former policy it is also is going to actually cover real stuff that is needed.
So he is going to be able to get his surgery and be able to go back to work. He is very happy right now.

I know of several other folks who have been pleasantly surprised when they got over the fear of trying to get on the site and has found the info they needed and have paid their first premiums.

[Wayne Goodwin]

Ok you file , you get the extra funds to help pay for insurance . What happens the next year and here after . Will that extra help be there or have to pay full price ?

[blithe spirit]

Insurance companies and the govt. use things called acturial and life charts to make estimates about premiums, future income taxes, social security and disability payments. And not to be maudlin but these folks that create this tables bet that a certain number of us are going to die at a fairly consistent rate...added to that these are tax credits...money I will be paying throughout the year and given to my insurance company to cover the cost of my premium. I'm not an acturial...but have you ever hear of many health insurance companies going belly up.. I know this is much more complicated than this and there are some assumptions that have to be made...and I also know there are lots of politics involved ( sorry dewalt) but I also think once people have access to affordable healthcare and most people will, despite what the naysayers say, they are not going to give it up for more defense spending, more subsidies to various corporations that have the deepest pockets..etc.