Health Insurance Frustration

999tigger

She can also choose to go and work for another employer who doesnt do this if she has the skills they want. It makes perfect sense why an employer would want a healthy workforce.

Saying its an intrusion into your personal life is nonsense. Its about a discount she will not get. Dont take the discount.

Danilynn1975

999tigger wrote: »

She can also choose to go and work for another employer who doesnt do this if she has the skills they want. It makes perfect sense why an employer would want a healthy workforce.

Saying its an intrusion into your personal life is nonsense. Its about a discount she will not get. Dont take the discount.

healthy workforce? by who's standard? yours may not be their idea of healthy. your sex life is a contributor to health, so is your marital well-being, relationships with friends, family and others. where does it stop being ok?

liberty and control of your own body once given away are not given back.

stephaniels0416

newmeadow wrote: »

stephaniels0416 wrote: »

Because of the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer deny people coverage - even those with a pre-existing condition. That's part of the problem with Obamacare. I'm a healthy person that only uses my insurance for my annual exam and birth control prescription, but my plan went up $45/month this year because so many people that didn't have insurance now qualified for free or discounted healthcare last year while healthy people weighed their options on whether they'd get coverage or wait until it was required this year. The intention was for the healthy people's premiums to offset the non-healthy people's premiums, but it didn't work out that way.

I'm not saying this as my opinion, my mom works in healthcare on the plan administration side. It also wasn't supposed to matter where you lived, you'd pay the same amount for the same plan, but if you enter the zip codes around metro Detroit (where I'm from and she lives), the wealthier zip codes have higher premiums for the same sex/age/income demographics.

Yes, the whole situation is disheartening. I'm reasonably paid and securely employed right now but when I wasn't and had to pay out of pocket for my health insurance, it was $600 a month. And it was nothing special, just run-of-the-mill health insurance.

And that was 8 years ago.

The costs must have risen significantly since for the folks who are now in a similar situation.

My state used the tax return figures from the previous year to determine which individuals were eligible for subsidized healthcare. The currently unemployed who were employed the year before totally get left out in the cold with no options.

Exactly. Or what happens if you lose your job and therefore your health insurance during the year? Last year you had a good income, and so far this year you've made enough that you don't qualify for any of the discounts, so good luck finding the money to pay for a bottom of the line worthless plan or pay the penalty on your taxes at the end of the year.

The tax penalty isn't fair either. It's a percentage of your income (2.5%) that is scheduled to go up every year for inflation regardless of whether you get a raise or $325 per person - whichever is higher up to the national average premium for a bronze plan*. So here I am paying $425/month doing what I'm supposed to, but someone else can decide they'll just pay the penalty and what I pay into the program ends up being a lot higher than than what they end up paying in. So, the person that follows the rules is the one that gets penalized by having to pay more? How is that right?

*ETA these are the 2015 rates. 2014 is less and 2016 is higher.

brower47

Danilynn1975 wrote: »

999tigger wrote: »

She can also choose to go and work for another employer who doesnt do this if she has the skills they want. It makes perfect sense why an employer would want a healthy workforce.

Saying its an intrusion into your personal life is nonsense. Its about a discount she will not get. Dont take the discount.

healthy workforce? by who's standard? yours may not be their idea of healthy. your sex life is a contributor to health, so is your marital well-being, relationships with friends, family and others. where does it stop being ok?

liberty and control of your own body once given away are not given back.

It. Is. A. Discount.

Discount = Mandatory

MindySaysWhaaat

Packerjohn wrote: »

gothchiq wrote: »

Ipersonally feel that it is not your employer's place to do this. I suppose it must be legal, but oh my God. It's your body over which you should be sovereign. You don't belong to them body and soul. They hire your labor for 8 hours a day. This is more than a little intrusive on their part and it makes me angry. Sadly, you and I as workers have no control over this. So considering that you're faced with this nanny-state crap, I suppose that it's in your best interest to steer clear of all nicotine products and to monitor your BMI so that you qualify for the lower rate. I hope it's feasible for you to do this and maintain at a healthy weight.

Given the rates she is paying, the insurance is partially paid by the employer, so it's in the employer's best interest to lower the cost of this benefit as much as possible. She does not have to work to take the discount.

For the OP. If the notifications are stressing you out can you contact the organization that is sending them, explain your situation and ask to be removed from the reminder mailing list?

I can't when it's emails coming straight from the top, because there are other e-mails that I get from them about things I have to know.

stephaniels0416

newmeadow wrote: »

stephaniels0416 wrote: »

newmeadow wrote: »

stephaniels0416 wrote: »

Because of the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer deny people coverage - even those with a pre-existing condition. That's part of the problem with Obamacare. I'm a healthy person that only uses my insurance for my annual exam and birth control prescription, but my plan went up $45/month this year because so many people that didn't have insurance now qualified for free or discounted healthcare last year while healthy people weighed their options on whether they'd get coverage or wait until it was required this year. The intention was for the healthy people's premiums to offset the non-healthy people's premiums, but it didn't work out that way.

I'm not saying this as my opinion, my mom works in healthcare on the plan administration side. It also wasn't supposed to matter where you lived, you'd pay the same amount for the same plan, but if you enter the zip codes around metro Detroit (where I'm from and she lives), the wealthier zip codes have higher premiums for the same sex/age/income demographics.

Yes, the whole situation is disheartening. I'm reasonably paid and securely employed right now but when I wasn't and had to pay out of pocket for my health insurance, it was $600 a month. And it was nothing special, just run-of-the-mill health insurance.

And that was 8 years ago.

The costs must have risen significantly since for the folks who are now in a similar situation.

My state used the tax return figures from the previous year to determine which individuals were eligible for subsidized healthcare. The currently unemployed who were employed the year before totally get left out in the cold with no options.

Exactly. Or what happens if you lose your job and therefore your health insurance during the year? Last year you had a good income, and so far this year you've made enough that you don't qualify for any of the discounts, so good luck finding the money to pay for a bottom of the line worthless plan or pay the penalty on your taxes at the end of the year.

The tax penalty isn't fair either. It's a percentage of your income that is scheduled to go up every year for inflation regardless of whether you get a raise or $325 per person - whichever is higher. So here I am paying $425/month doing what I'm supposed to, but someone else can decide they'll just pay the penalty and what I pay into the program ends up being a lot higher than than what they end up paying in. So, the person that follows the rules is the one that gets penalized by having to pay more? How is that right?

I hear ya. And some people have become so frustrated with the way it works they've dropped out of the workforce entirely and now derive their income from whatever subsidies they can collect.

I think it's the lesser of two evils for one to rise above it, unfair as it is, and for one to continue to earn one's own keep regardless of what so many others are up to. The shortcuts, the shenanigans, whatever.

If the time comes that I have to live off subsidies funded by working taxpayers, I will. But if I can avoid that and just keep plugging on and scraping by on my own, I will. In terms of fairness though, as you mention, I agree. It isn't.

The government is making it too easy for people to just sit at home and wait on a check to show up in the mail. If a person can net out the same amount of money sitting at home living off of government programs as they can going to work every day, paying for childcare, buying groceries, etc. it's very easy for some people to decided that's an acceptable way to live. Their children grow up thinking that's an acceptable way to live, and the cycle continues. I do think government programs are necessary, but I think they need to be updated so the people that truly need the help can get it and so they're not as easily abused by people that see them as an inviting alternative to being a productive member of society. Not everyone's moral compass points in the vicinity of North and unfortunately, it hurts everyone.

kgeyser

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Hearts_2015

MindySaysWhaaat wrote: »

GoPerfectHealth wrote: »

Hi, sorry this has you down. Hopefully you'll find a way to let it go so it doesn't bother you. I know that is the hard part sometimes.

I figured if I got it off my chest I'd feel better about it. I do, actually. I just didn't want to keep it in my head, and it's been interesting to see what others had to say about it.

You got this Girl!

I think it's great you wrote it out and got some positive feedback. Even continuing to write about it as in journaling your thoughts might help you keep the anxiety level about it down. Journaling helps me quite a bit ..I just randomly write down my thoughts and feel amazed how much clearer my thinking is when I've finished.

Focus on your goals and put this way in the back of your mind...

Take Care,
Hearts