HEALTH INSURANCE WOES.

[Grumpy Cat]

It's me, Angie, and I'm grumpy with a big headache! I needed some health insurance after I was made into a 24 hour a day cat mom. I was looking for short term insurance that would cover things like a car accident or an unplanned surgery. I'm pretty healthy without any chronic health problems, don't smoke, have never had any surgeries, got a clean bill of health at my last annual checkup, etc. I could find NO INSURANCE COMPANY (except Assurant Insurance that was referred to me by State Farm) in Kansas that had any "catastrophic" insurance. I finally was able to get a plan from Assurant that covers any "catastrophic" happening with a deductible of $5,000 and a monthly payment of $140. If it wasn't for this plan, I would have been thrown into an Obama Plan with a monthly charge of around $275 and a deductible starting around $7,000!!!!!! I knew the Obama Health Care was bad, but now that I'm having to actually look into health insurance (I've always had a job with good insurance benefits) I don't know how people are affording this crap! And if you don't get any health insurance then you will be subjected to the penalty which my agent said right now will be $95 then I believe will increase to $600! The plan I just bought doesn't fall under enough insurance for the Obama Plan so I will most likely be subjected to the penalty charge as well. I can't believe that people aren't more upset over this than they are.

What health insurance do you guys have?

 

[Judge]

And if you don't get any health insurance then you will be subjected to the penalty which my agent said right now will be $95 then I believe will increase to $600!

Unfortunately since you were terminated this late into the year, expect the penalty to be one percent of your income rather than merely the minimum $95.

(The tax penalty being based on whichever the greater number.) Whether it's based on adjusted gross income when you file, I'm not sure. I know there are some tax experts here...maybe they can weigh in. Who knows....you might even be exempt from the mandate given you were previously insured in the same year.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Unfortunately since you were terminated this late into the year, expect the penalty to be one percent of your income rather than merely the minimum $95.

(The tax penalty being based on whichever the greater number.) Whether it's based on adjusted gross income when you file, I'm not sure. I know there are some tax experts here...maybe they can weigh in. Who knows....you might even be exempt from the mandate given you were previously insured in the same year.

I remember you said you are going to take the penalty, Judge. Does that mean you pay out of pocket for all of your health problems?

 

[Ste11aeres]

It's me, Angie, and I'm grumpy with a big headache! I needed some health insurance after I was made into a 24 hour a day cat mom. I was looking for short term insurance that would cover things like a car accident or an unplanned surgery. I'm pretty healthy without any chronic health problems, don't smoke, have never had any surgeries, got a clean bill of health at my last annual checkup, etc. I could find NO INSURANCE COMPANY (except Assurant Insurance that was referred to me by State Farm) in Kansas that had any "catastrophic" insurance. I finally was able to get a plan from Assurant that covers any "catastrophic" happening with a deductible of $5,000 and a monthly payment of $140. If it wasn't for this plan, I would have been thrown into an Obama Plan with a monthly charge of around $275 and a deductible starting around $7,000!!!!!! I knew the Obama Health Care was bad, but now that I'm having to actually look into health insurance (I've always had a job with good insurance benefits) I don't know how people are affording this crap! And if you don't get any health insurance then you will be subjected to the penalty which my agent said right now will be $95 then I believe will increase to $600! The plan I just bought doesn't fall under enough insurance for the Obama Plan so I will most likely be subjected to the penalty charge as well. I can't believe that people aren't more upset over this than they are.

What health insurance do you guys have?

I have a form of health insurance provided by my State free-of-charge to low income people.
I don't know how it is in Kansas, but surely, with Obamacare, there must be some similar option out there for people in KS in your situation? Or maybe not, given that you haven't found such an option.

 

[Judge]

I remember you said you are going to take the penalty, Judge. Does that mean you pay out of pocket for all of your health problems?

In theory, yes. But my reality is that I confine my health expenses to simple expenditures like a few generic pharmaceuticals. Other conditions are more serious, but I live with them. I don't see myself living too many more years. It's a risk I'm willing to live with just so I can pay the bills and hope that some day my income might improve.

I know my cousin went uninsured while she was unemployed. No way she could float the cost and pay her mortgage and other expenses.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I know my cousin went uninsured while she was unemployed.

Sometimes there's just no choice.

 

[Judge]

Sometimes there's just no choice.

Yes. You juggle with what you actually have, and can rationally budget. Not with what government thinks you can or should budget.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

I have a form of health insurance provided by my State free-of-charge to low income people.
I don't know how it is in Kansas, but surely, with Obamacare, there must be some similar option out there for people in KS in your situation? Or maybe not, given that you haven't found such an option.

Are you meaning Medicaid?

 

[Grumpy Cat]

I know my cousin went uninsured while she was unemployed. No way she could float the cost and pay her mortgage and other expenses.

I have to have something because if you have to have an unplanned surgery it could wipe me out. Or if I had a car accident that landed me in the ICU. (I don't even want to think about it.)

 

[Ste11aeres]

Are you meaning Medicaid?

Yes. It goes by a slightly different name in my State. According to Wilkepedia, each State has "broad leeway to determine who is eligible". I just had to prove that I was a citizen, and had low income.

 

[Judge]

I have to have something because if you have to have an unplanned surgery it could wipe me out. Or if I had a car accident that landed me in the ICU. (I don't even want to think about it.)

Don't we all?

But it's not about what you need. It's about what you actually have. You need to ponder such things in the present as an unemployed person rather than a gainfully-employed person.

The one big thing you have going for yourself is that you have the likelihood of regaining employment that people like myself don't have. You're middle-aged with experience in the most desirable sector of our economy- healthcare.

You need to crunch the numbers. Determine if you can afford it in the interim.

Ste11aeres brings up a critical point though. You're really at the mercy of what can be done in Kansas. Options vary with geography. And the devil is in the details per your own state. A critical consideration is to investigate the primary basis of charges. Whether earned income or asset-based. And "broad leeway" in between....

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Yes. It goes by a slightly different name in my State. According to Wilkepedia, each State has "broad leeway to determine who is eligible". I just had to prove that I was a citizen, and had low income.

It looks like I don't qualify. The only way is for me to get pregnant, but I may have a job before the nine months is up. Such is life.
(Waldo doesn't count - even though he could eat me out of house and home.)
That reminds me - Waldo also had good health insurance and now I guess I lost that too.

 

[Judge]

It looks like I don't qualify. The only way is for me to get pregnant, but I may have a job before the nine months is up. Such is life.
(Waldo doesn't count - even though he could eat me out of house and home.)
That reminds me - Waldo also had good health insurance and now I guess I lost that too.

It just seems to me that your entire situation is weighted almost exclusively by how long you may be unemployed. Your lawsuit could take a very long time to resolve, whatever verdict is rendered.

If you're paying month-to-month, it may only really count for as long as you are unemployed. Something you shouldn't lose sight of. It may be counterproductive to look at annual premiums and co-payment considerations when you'd only be counting on such coverage while actually unemployed.

I see you as a good prospect for getting another job, although in this economy it likely means for less money. Just a reality of the times. But you would likely land work with a reasonable healthcare plan and cost. It's only a dire situation if you remain unemployed for a very long time as I did.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Don't we all?

But it's not about what you need. It's about what you actually have. You need to ponder such things in the present as an unemployed person rather than a gainfully-employed person.

The one big thing you have going for yourself is that you have the likelihood of regaining employment that people like myself don't have. You're middle-aged with experience in the most desirable sector of our economy- healthcare.

You need to crunch the numbers. Determine if you can afford it in the interim.

Ste11aeres brings up a critical point though. You're really at the mercy of what can be done in Kansas. Options vary with geography. And the devil is in the details per your own state.

Normally I would be thinking you're right, Judge. However, I have applied for several jobs and they aren't knocking down my door even though I have years of experience in several different fields. I have no BSN and I have been terminated. I'm finding that both factors are a big deal when I fill out the applications because there are specific questions relating to them. I'm getting the feeling that I'm being weeded out with those two questions - the termination one being a major problem. The way the questions are set up there is no way to explain exactly what happened. I really need that wiped off my record.

 

[Flinty]

I'm getting the feeling that I'm being weeded out with those two questions - the termination one being a major problem. The way the questions are set up there is no way to explain exactly what happened. I really need that wiped off my record.

"This is the subject of an active court proceeding which must be kept confidential."?

Also, before you overbash ObamaCare, what if you had been terminated before it existed?

"I have chronic IBS."
"No health care for you!"

 

[Judge]

I'm finding that both factors are a big deal when I fill out the applications because there are specific questions relating to them. I'm getting the feeling that I'm being weeded out with those two questions - the termination one being a major problem. The way the questions are set up there is no way to explain exactly what happened. I really need that wiped off my record.

You should probably discuss this in depth with your attorney. Ask about all the potential outcomes relative to your perceived need to discuss the matter with future employers. Don't hold back. Once the suit is filed you may not be in a position to discuss it all.

It may be financially unrealistic to rely on delaying seeking employment assuming only a favorable outcome of a pending lawsuit. I can tell you having underwritten personal injury exposures in California, litigation can be a lengthy, dirty and unpredictable process. And there's always a possibility that the terms of a settlement might prevent or limit your ability to even discuss it afterwards even if you technically win your case.

If you really feel unable to seek employment in your field while your case is in progress, you might consider seeking employment elsewhere in which you may have a much easier time answering/evading a prospective employer's questions. At least to seek something that pays your most urgent bills.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

"This is the subject of an active court proceeding which must be kept confidential."?

Also, before you overbash ObamaCare, what if you had been terminated before it existed?

"I have chronic IBS."
"No health care for you!"

First of all I haven't said anything about anything that would make a courtcase not confidential. The courtcase hasn't even started yet.

AND in my opinion Obama Care SUCKS!!!!!!

 

[AsheSkyler]

I am below the Federal poverty level and thus do not have health insurance. (Don't get me started on that other atrocity called Medicaid... For starters, it's only available to children and pregnant women in my state. And I'm neither. But they will see to it I don't procreate, they'd gladly relieve me of that burden! $#%^&**&^%...) So basically I'm doing without a few prescriptions and hoarding away grocery money so I can afford the more pressing of the two when I'm able.

I just got back today from the annual income tax seminar and I have some very strong and negative opinions about ObamaCare. Already did anyway, but it's becoming a more passionate and informed hate. It's gonna screw up a looooot of people in a few months, along with some other glamorous things passed. Not gonna be many happy people come tax-time! And I'm gonna have a lot of very angry people mad at me when I have to break news to them.

You're in luck, Angie. If you have gone without coverage for less than three consecutive months this year, no penalty for you. If it's been greater than three months when December 31st gets here, best of luck? You can visit Qualifying for an exemption from the fee for not having health insurance | HealthCare.gov to see a list of ways out of the fine. For you, it will probably be "insurance plan was canceled and taxpayer believes marketplace plans are unaffordable".

For the rest of us Americans, we will be judged by the cost of the Bronze plan. If the cost of the Bronze plan is deemed to take up over 8% of our gross household income, we're in the clear. Kinda. If you are too poor, you will need an official rejection notice from the marketplace saying so, and you will have to apply for a certificate exemption number somewhere on healthcare.gov so that number can be put on your tax return so you don't get slapped with a pretty little fine. (But that gets kind of muddled if you make too little to file in the first place. One part says you need the number, the other doesn't. Your call.) That $95 isn't exactly the yearly fee either. It's the minimum monthly fee. The max you're truly liable for is roughly the cost of a Bronze plan for twelve months, and at $95/month the maximum penalty is $1140, if that is greater than 1% of income above the filing threshold. Example, single person made $15,000 and threshold is $10,150. 1% = $49, thus $95 monthly fee since the flat rate of $95 is greater than $49. If you made $30,000, your penalty is $199/month. But it's capped at 300%! You won't owe any greater than $285/month this year! Isn't that so sweet of them to limit this year's fully maximum penalty to $3420 per person? *sarcasm* Oh, and it finishes increasing around 2016 at about $700/month, pending adjustments for cost-of-living inflation and should never exceed the cost of buying the Bronze plan.

One good thing is that the IRS cannot actively hunt you down (for now) if you have an insurance penalty and at most can offset your refund. However, if you wrongly estimate your income on the marketplace and receive a greater subsidy than you're supposed to, they can take almost whatever legal action they want from liens to levies to other things to get their money back.

And that's how they explained it anyway. The lady who taught ACA to us is well qualified, goes toe-to-toe with congress, and has been given her own personal insider to scratch heads with who's dedicated to studying ACA laws. This is how she explained her findings to us, and it was her own findings because the "experts" at the IRS had no clue what was going on.

*EDIT*
I'd like to add this link: Hardship Exemptions From the Fee for Not Having Health Insurance Coverage | HealthCare.gov
The list of qualifying hardship exemptions, including some of the incredibly vague options. (How closely related must this relative be who died??)

 

[Judge]

I am below the Federal poverty level and thus do not have health insurance. (Don't get me started on that other atrocity called Medicaid... For starters, it's only available to children and pregnant women in my state. And I'm neither. But they will see to it I don't procreate, they'd gladly relieve me of that burden! $#%^&**&^%...) So basically I'm doing without a few prescriptions and hoarding away grocery money so I can afford the more pressing of the two when I'm able.

I just got back today from the annual income tax seminar and I have some very strong and negative opinions about ObamaCare. Already did anyway, but it's becoming a more passionate and informed hate. It's gonna screw up a looooot of people in a few months, along with some other glamorous things passed. Not gonna be many happy people come tax-time! And I'm gonna have a lot of very angry people mad at me when I have to break news to them.

You're in luck, Angie. If you have gone without coverage for less than three consecutive months this year, no penalty for you. If it's been greater than three months when December 31st gets here, best of luck? You can visit Qualifying for an exemption from the fee for not having health insurance | HealthCare.gov to see a list of ways out of the fine. For you, it will probably be "insurance plan was canceled and taxpayer believes marketplace plans are unaffordable".

Thanks for sharing.

Unfortunately the bad news is that I'll have to file the penalty. The good news isn't good...but unless I make some real money to the end of the year the penalty will likely be a moot point for me. Easily my worst year in the market.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

I am below the Federal poverty level and thus do not have health insurance. (Don't get me started on that other atrocity called Medicaid... For starters, it's only available to children and pregnant women in my state. And I'm neither. But they will see to it I don't procreate, they'd gladly relieve me of that burden! $#%^&**&^%...) So basically I'm doing without a few prescriptions and hoarding away grocery money so I can afford the more pressing of the two when I'm able.

I just got back today from the annual income tax seminar and I have some very strong and negative opinions about ObamaCare. Already did anyway, but it's becoming a more passionate and informed hate. It's gonna screw up a looooot of people in a few months, along with some other glamorous things passed. Not gonna be many happy people come tax-time! And I'm gonna have a lot of very angry people mad at me when I have to break news to them.

You're in luck, Angie. If you have gone without coverage for less than three consecutive months this year, no penalty for you. If it's been greater than three months when December 31st gets here, best of luck? You can visit Qualifying for an exemption from the fee for not having health insurance | HealthCare.gov to see a list of ways out of the fine. For you, it will probably be "insurance plan was canceled and taxpayer believes marketplace plans are unaffordable".

For the rest of us Americans, we will be judged by the cost of the Bronze plan. If the cost of the Bronze plan is deemed to take up over 8% of our gross household income, we're in the clear. Kinda. If you are too poor, you will need an official rejection notice from the marketplace saying so, and you will have to apply for a certificate exemption number somewhere on healthcare.gov so that number can be put on your tax return so you don't get slapped with a pretty little fine. (But that gets kind of muddled if you make too little to file in the first place. One part says you need the number, the other doesn't. Your call.) That $95 isn't exactly the yearly fee either. It's the minimum monthly fee. The max you're truly liable for is roughly the cost of a Bronze plan for twelve months, and at $95/month the maximum penalty is $1140, if that is greater than 1% of income above the filing threshold. Example, single person made $15,000 and threshold is $10,150. 1% = $49, thus $95 monthly fee since the flat rate of $95 is greater than $49. If you made $30,000, your penalty is $199/month. But it's capped at 300%! You won't owe any greater than $285/month this year! Isn't that so sweet of them to limit this year's fully maximum penalty to $3420 per person? *sarcasm* Oh, and it finishes increasing around 2016 at about $700/month, pending adjustments for cost-of-living inflation and should never exceed the cost of buying the Bronze plan.

One good thing is that the IRS cannot actively hunt you down (for now) if you have an insurance penalty and at most can offset your refund. However, if you wrongly estimate your income on the marketplace and receive a greater subsidy than you're supposed to, they can take almost whatever legal action they want from liens to levies to other things to get their money back.

And that's how they explained it anyway. The lady who taught ACA to us is well qualified, goes toe-to-toe with congress, and has been given her on personal insider to scratch heads with who's dedicated to studying ACA laws. This is how she explained her findings to us, and it was her own findings because the "experts" at the IRS had no clue what was going on.

And that's why the Obama Plan SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Imo)