Obamacare Enrollees Lament: ‘We Are Paying More’

Un-Affordable Healthcare

  Nobody Understands Obamacare’s Higher Costs Better Than The Americans Who’ve Faced Enrollment

INDIANA ENROLLEE: ‘There Is Nothing Affordable In This Act’

AR Woman: ‘The best plan we could find on the exchange…increases our monthly premiums by 50 percent to $600 a month, raises our deductible to $8,000, and adds a $12,700 out of pocket maximum’ “Our current plan—the one slated for the Obamacare guillotine at the end of this year—costs us $400 in monthly premiums with a $7,500 deductible. That amounts to a potential maximum annual cost of $12,300. The Obamacare plans are nowhere near this cheap. …The best plan we could find on the exchange…increases our monthly premiums by 50 percent to $600 a month, raises our deductible to $8,000, and adds a $12,700 out of pocket maximum. We don’t qualify for subsidies; it could cost as much as $20,000 a year. … They’ve taken away our choice. They’ll soon take a sizable chunk of our savings. But at least I’ll have maternity care.” (Wanda Buckley, Op-Ed, Forbes, 4/30/14)

KY Man: “A policy that has similar coverage to what we had would cost us around $1100.00 a month. This is a 100% increase for me and my wife.” (Sen. McConnell, Constituent Mail)

NY Man: Obamacare premiums ‘a huge challenge’ “Michael Kennedy, who runs two family-owned dog-grooming salons near Albany, said changes to his cut-rate insurance coverage mandated by ObamaCare had more than doubled the cost, from $132.99 to $325.92 a month per person. And when he checked the cost of buying an ObamaCare policy instead, it was ‘basically the same price, or even more,’ he said. Kennedy, 46, said that he and his wife clear only about $60,000 a year from their Pink Dog Parlor and Resort business, and that paying the new, higher premiums will be ‘a huge challenge.’ ‘It’s like another 100 dogs we need to groom,’ he said.” (“Here Are The Big Losers In Obamacare,” The New York Post, 1/2/14)

UT Woman: “We cannot live with this. I am very unhappy and frustrated with this new Obamacare. We not only cannot have the same insurance we had in the past, but the plan we must choose is overwhelmingly expensive for us. We are paying more and getting so much less.” (Sen. Hatch, Op-Ed, Deseret News, 3/23/14)

NY Cancer Patient: ‘I’m being railroaded, that’s why I’m so furious’ “The sickest customers tend to be the most upset, like Abigail List, a 53-year-old therapist in Manhattan, who said she had to choose one of the most expensive plans, costing $300 more a month than others, so she could have coverage for her longtime cancer doctors at NYU-Langone Medical Center. ‘I’m being railroaded, that’s why I’m so furious,’ Ms. List said.” (“In New York, Hard Choices On Health Exchange Spell Success,” The New York Times, 4/13/14)

VA Woman: ‘It’s not as good and way more expensive’ “Cynthia Rutzick, 49, who has her own law practice in Oak Hill, Va., said that the policy she had been buying for years through the state bar association was already offering the benefits mandated by the health law. But the policy, which cost $1,500 a month for herself, her husband and their two children and included 94 percent of the physicians in her area, was canceled. The new one, which costs $1,600 a month for her and her two children (her husband is going on Medicare next year) includes 82 percent of area physicians. Her broker said plans like her old one don’t exist anymore. ‘So I had a blue car, but could not go out and buy another blue car,’ she said. ‘I have to buy a red car, and it’s not as good and way more expensive.’” (“Second Wave Of Health-Insurance Disruption Affects Small Businesses,” Washington Post, 1/11/14)

KY Woman: “My rates ... have been 172.14...  As of April 2014 my rate will go to 418.00… I want to know if you think this is fair? I am not getting any extra coverage for my rate increase and am leading a very healthy lifestyle. ... There is not going to be much left at the end of the month to go out and spend elsewhere by the time we pay all of our bills.” (Sen. McConnell, Constituent Mail)

IN Woman: ‘There is nothing affordable in this act’ “The part-time college instructor has rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that made it expensive — and potentially impossible — to purchase health insurance on her own when insurers were allowed to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and charge more based on health history. But while Kaser was able to get coverage through the ACA's new health exchanges, she doesn't think the law has lived up to its name. ‘There is nothing affordable in this act,’ said Kaser, who — with her husband — is paying about $1,400 a month for coverage.” (“Affordable Care Act Not So Affordable, Some Hoosiers Say,” Indianapolis Star, 3/25/14)

DECLINED TO ENROLL: ‘Just Couldn’t Afford It'

KY Man: ‘I went from being very hopeful and excited to do this to being infuriated’ “Drew Lacy, 32, a self-employed carpenter in Louisville… enrolled last fall in a plan with monthly premiums of about $200 after a subsidy and what appeared to be a $250 annual deductible. But   in December, his broker informed him that Kynect had miscalculated because of a programming error. …Mr. Lacy’s deductible, he learned, would actually be much higher; other out-of-pocket costs would be higher, too. Put off by the error, he canceled his enrollment and did not explore other options. ‘I went from being very hopeful and excited to do this to being infuriated,’ he said, standing in his carpentry shop in a former distillery.” (“Looking At Costs And Risks, Many Skip Health Insurance,” The New York Times, 4/21/14)

WA Woman: ‘If given a voice — Do you want to participate or not? — I would have said no… But I don’t remember being asked’ “Ms. Williams, who earns less than $40,000 a year at a small marketing firm in Seattle, said she did not want to hand over what little discretionary money she had after rent and other living expenses to an insurance company. … She qualified for a subsidy to help buy coverage through Washington’s marketplace, but said that she still would have had to pay around $135 a month for the least expensive plan, with a $6,000 deductible that she said made it unfeasible. … ‘If given a voice — ‘Do you want to participate or not?’ — I would have said no,’ Ms. Williams said. ‘But I don’t remember being asked.’” (“Looking At Costs And Risks, Many Skip Health Insurance,” The New York Times, 4/21/14)

CA Woman: ‘I was very hopeful’ about Obamacare, but ‘the premiums were still very high, and I just couldn’t afford them’ “Beth Engel, in Ventura County, knows the tax penalty for those who don’t have insurance would be much cheaper than paying for premiums. The 32-year-old mother of a nearly 3-year-old daughter, describes herself as among the early supporters of the ACA. ‘I was very hopeful’ when the Affordable Care Act passed, she said. … Engel, works part time as a hotel clerk and qualifies for tax subsidies that reduce premiums for her and her toddler to about $200 a month. But she chose not to buy insurance for herself this year. ‘I found that the premiums were still very high, and I just couldn’t afford them,’ says Engel.” (“What Obamacare? Meet 4 People Choosing To Remain Uninsured,” Kaiser Health News, 4/25/14)

NC Woman: ‘Can't afford the $200 monthly premium and $6,500 deductible in the plan she found on the federal health insurance exchange’ “Eliezer works an average of 29 hours a week and isn't considered a full-time employee. She said she can't afford the $200 monthly premium and $6,500 deductible in the plan she found on the federal health insurance exchange — even with a premium subsidy. Instead, she pays cash to see her doctor for gastrointestinal pain but can't afford to get the problem diagnosed.” (“Obamacare Falling Short On Insuring The Uninsured,” AP, 4/21/14)

CA Man: ‘I really don’t see the point of it because it’s so expensive’ “Steven Petersen, 40, of Los Angeles said he looked into his options, but couldn't afford $240 a month, the lowest premium he could find. ‘My mom's been calling every day saying, “You need to get health insurance,”’ said Petersen, who manages a West Hollywood health store. ‘But I’m a pretty healthy guy, so I really don’t see the point of it because it’s so expensive.’ He'd prefer a cheap catastrophic coverage plan, but those are only offered to consumers under 30 years old or people with hardship exemptions.” (“What Obamacare? Meet 4 People Choosing To Remain Uninsured,” Kaiser Health News, 4/25/14)

VT Couple: Paying Obamacare penalty ‘would be more affordable than monthly premium payments of $250 and an annual policy deductible of $7,000’ “Chris Brzezicki, of Barre, said the penalty for himself and his wife, Carol, would be more than $400. But that would be more affordable than monthly premium payments of $250 and an annual policy deductible of $7,000 offered under Vermont Health Connect, Brzezicki said. ‘Do you know we’re driving 16-year-old cars?’ asked Brzezicki, a bread and pastry baker in his early 50s who said he earns $15 an hour. An extra $250 a month would be used on a newer car, rather than health insurance, he said.” (“Number Of Vermonters Without Health Care Unclear,” AP, 4/21/14)

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