- Joined
- Oct 12, 2009
- Messages
- 23,909
- Reaction score
- 11,003
- Location
- New Jersey
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Libertarian - Right
So at the risk of thread derailment.....
My brother, hard core workin man, drives truck, does masonry, plumbing, framing and just about any other tough job that can be done with your hands. hasn't had insurance since he left the Marine Core 25 years ago. Under Obama he get's catastrophic insurance, it costs him like $110 a month and his deductibles are really, crazy high, but if he ever gets mouth cancer from chewing tobacco all these years, the $50,000-$100,000 dollars it would have cost him to have it treated is now paid for. He doesn't have to sell a lifetimes worth of tools (his livelihood) to pay for treatment....His out of pocket, $10K? I don't see how this isn't a steal?
Well first the catastrophic plan is only available to those under 30, and your brother sounds like he's more like late 40's early 50's, so he'd have to get one of the regular plans. Depending on how much he makes he may have to pay a deductible of $6,000 or so and yes, it's a steal because healthy people subsidize the remaining $94,000 (using your example). However it's not that great yet ... the solution so far has been to subsidize and continue to subsidize. Newer cancer treatment drugs are insanely expensive and $100,000 won't even begin to pay for the treatments.
Obamacare's Out-Of-Pocket Caps Waived Until 2015: ForbesHuffington Post said:While insurers and premium-payers will be happy with the delay—whose legal justification is dubious once again—there are groups that grumbled. Specifically, groups representing those with chronic diseases, and the pharmaceutical companies whose costly drugs they will use. “The American Cancer Society shares the concern” about the delay, says Pear, “and noted that some new cancer drugs cost $100,000 a year or more.” But a big part of the reason those drugs cost so much is because manufacturers know that government-run insurers will pay up.
“The promise of out-of-pocket limits was one of the main reasons we supported health reform,” says Theodore M. Thompson of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society . “We have wonderful new drugs, the biologics, to treat rheumatoid arthritis,” said Patience H. White of the Arthritis Foundation. “But they are extremely expensive.”
The progressive solution to expensive problems? More subsidies. But subsidies don’t reduce the underlying cost of care. They only excuse the high prices that manufacturers and service providers already charge.
This is why many have claimed insurance rates will increase because those who are on Obamacare will increase, the amount of chronic illness will exceed by far the amount of subsidies available in the system to have the healthy pay for those who cannot pay, therefore the healthy must pay MORE to even it out. I guess if you're healthy it kinds sucks to have to pay more, but if you're chronically ill, it's one less thing to worry about.