After the dust had settled from the government shutdown, I decided to look into the Affordable Health Care Act myself… specifically, CoveredCA since we are California residents.
I heard the rumors about websites not functioning correctly, and sadly, I was not an exception. After seven or so attempts, where the site stalled just after I successfully signed up on the site, I did a google search and discovered that CoveredCA has a problem with Google Chrome.
Funny enough, all things Apple seem to work with the site, and I was able to use the site without problem using Safari browser on my PC.
I was incredibly pleased with the results and signed up right away.
Currently, my family pays just over $940/month for health insurance through my wife’s employer for two adults and a child (coverage for me represents the lion’s share of our payment).
After reviewing what “Obamacare” had to offer, we have decided to keep my wife and son the same; however, I will go through CoveredCA. Here is why…
The monthly cost for my coverage under the Affordable Health Care Act? Approximately $360/month. And, most importantly, this is without any need-based reduction. This is the standard for anyone who does not qualify for government assistance.
Our total for the family, including my wife/son’s coverage? $440/month.
What are the terms of my insurance? All pretty good.
Details: no deductible, 1 no cost physical per yr, primary care visit copay $20, $40 urgent care co, $5 generic med copay, $20 lab testing copay, $40 xray copay, (HMO) $250 copay outpatient surgery and $250/day hosp stay up to 5 days or PPO 10%, $15 preferred brand drug deductible, $4000 max out of pocket annually
We will be saving $6,000 in 2014. Even if there is a few hundred dollar a month increase in 2015 as was told to me by a friend, this is still a large amount of savings.
So, I say don’t knock it until you try it… and if you currently have solid insurance and have not been told it is being restructured or cancelled, I hope that your rates don’t go up too much.
Why the big savings? I suppose this could be attributed to a few things. One, it could be that we were just lazy to find a much more affordable health plan for our family. Or, two, maybe the Affordable Health Care Act is all that it has been touted to be.
I encourage you to apply and share your findings in this blog post!
Too early to tell what will happen.
My employer sent me a notice that had four options:
1) accept an insurance plan from them (pricing will not be available until Nov 1)
2) use a spouses plan for insurance and opt out.
3) take a look into the Exchange to find a plan (which may be subsidized based on income)
4 opt for no insurance and pay a penalty of $285 – I believe it’s monthly but the paper didn’t say.
So, I don’t have enough information to make a decision yet. I know I can’t afford to pay more than I am though this could sent us over the edge financial. We will see.