Well...my insurance premium is going up by $176.19 a month (and a Thank You)

[ScreamingMeemie]

Yep. $176.19/month.

Sucks that I have to pay that much more...no wait, it doesn't. Because it went up from $0/no health insurance. Because I will actually be able to walk into a doctor's office again. I won't have to scrape the money together to pay for prescription medications from overseas.

We won't be running out for quick meals as much (because I'm on a fixed income), and perhaps I'll have to cut back on spur of the moment purchases, but I am so very grateful for that. Because my son's health is more important than a burrito from Bullrito's or picking up the latest in the GTA series the very second it comes out. I can chuck out that crappy paper card that outlines his temporary catastrophic insurance that would only cover him in the event of a severe football injury/car accident/other issue that would hit above the ridiculously high deductible.

I am more grateful than you realize.

And...thank you...

To those of you who were lucky enough to qualify for insurance before ACA, I am sorry that your premium went up if it went up, but I thank you for helping me to carry the burden. I am sorry we don't have single payer, because that would have been best in my opinion.

For a lot of us, this is a life-saving opportunity.

I am in Texas.
I am not rich.
And yet, my health insurance premium allows me to walk into an ER, make a doctor's appointment, and look forward to the future.

I know there are problems. I know some of you are not happy. I know still others of you will look at this as an "I got mine" post, but this is literally the best thing that has happened in my life for quite some time. And there are times when I feel like I should be guilty about that. But why was it okay for me to only qualify for a high risk pool before? These are the times when I realize there are quite a few of us who are deemed as expendable, by both sides of the aisle.

[Ohio Joe]

1. Yup, I'm looking forward to my increase for the exact same reasons

It's been four years since I've been able to get insurance... It will be nice to finally be able to get myself treated.

[ScreamingMeemie]

37. I am so happy for you Ohio Joe...

Healthy Democratic voters mean more votes!

[LeftofObama]

2. Good for you!

[Kali]

3. excellent post!

so glad you (and many others) can get medical care now. I totally know how that goes - raised 3 kids without it, except for a couple of occasions when we qualified for our state version of medicaid after a major accident. I am so looking forward to the same thing!

[ScreamingMeemie]

38. It's been a long time coming for a lot people.

To good health!

[mbperrin]

4. Great! I spent 22 years self-employed where we had no insurance of any kind.

Last 3 decades, we've been lucky enough to have insurance by teaching.

Oh, and BTW - our premiums next year are unchanged, just like the previous 3 years. I suspect most of the hollering about premium increases on existing plans is just more Fox.

It IS great to be able to get the treatment you need.

[ScreamingMeemie]

39. I am glad to hear your premiums are not changing.

I think a lot of people also don't realize what falls under covered preventative care, which is a savings in itself for those who go for yearly colonoscopies. I have been breathing a huge sigh of relief. Going without is scary.

[dem in texas]

5. My daughter in Texas is getting insurance at a fair rate too.

My daughter had private insurance for $325 a month. It paid very little, her co pay was high and she still owes about $3000 to the hospital for an appendix operation. She was able to enroll for ACA but not sign up for the plan she wanted. But she has plan picked out, it covers more than her old plan, has lower deductibles and co-pays and best all after her subsidy, she will be paying about $60 a month. Right now her monthly insurance is her second highest expense after her house payment.

[ScreamingMeemie]

47. I am so glad to hear that.

I admit I was scared when I first logged in. I didn't want to get my hopes up. I just signed up for the plan I picked a couple of days ago because, while I could look at the plans, I wasn't able to sign up for one.

[BenzoDia]

53. That's reassuring news coming out of Texas. Good luck to you both.

[highmindedhavi]

6. Happy for you

Enjoy some piece of mind! My premium went up 40% but am so grateful to have it also. I wonder about all the money that is being redirected. Interesting times ahead.

[ScreamingMeemie]

51. I am hopeful that, as more people sign on, the costs go down.

I hope your premium levels out.

[bigwillq]

7. I am so happy for you!

I don't mind carrying the burden for you and your son.

This is an example of why I support the ACA, despite its flaws.

Cheers!

[ChazII]

36. Echoing what bigwillq said. n/t

[ScreamingMeemie]

52. .

And I hope it's the beginning of better things!

Also, WTG Giants! 2 in a row!

[airplaneman]

8. I am very happy for you.

I also realize the ACA was for the 50 million that don't have insurance and not for me as I have a 50% employer payed benefit. But even for me the biggest fear I had was if I was laid off I would be up shit creek but now the AHA will be there for me if I do get laid off. We both win on this one.
-Airplane

[ScreamingMeemie]

54. That's where I was.

My husband had amazingly good insurance. I didn't think twice about it. When he died, and the COBRA ran out, it became a nightmare. Partly my fault because I didn't educate myself.

[boston bean]

9. I'm very happy for people who were/are in your position.

I'm also concerned for those who aren't and are seeing increases that don't actually increase their access to healthcare.

[ScreamingMeemie]

55. Me too.

I only hope it's an open window to better things.

[Jasana]

10. No one should ever have to go without health insurance.

I'm very happy for you.

There was another thread about a woman in California whose income was $80,000 a year and she was complaining about health insurance that was going to cost $238.00 a month. All I could do was shake my head in disgust.

[Control-Z]

16. $238 a month is cheap.

It's hard to believe anyone could get insurance that cheap with 80,000 annual income.

[mwooldri]

110. To me, $238 is cheap... but then I don't know all the details.

I've been cocooned with my employers' health insurance since I began with them. I have a family of four (including myself) - my bi-weekly payroll deduction is about $150. I have an in-network deductible of $2,400, and a total in-network out of pocket of $3,600. Out of network is significantly higher. My employer gives us $1000 each year into a Health Savings Account that can be used on expenses towards the deductible. I throw in $100/paycheck into the HSA... and in theory our medical expenses are covered for the year. So for a family of four, it's about $542 a month, no co-pays and planning ahead for those expenses that are most definitely going towards the deductible first.

If that person who makes $80k a year and is grumbling about $238 a month... it could be worse... insurance for a single employee is about half of what I pay... $271 a month... and that's covering everything and planning ahead for the deductibles, as I do for my family. If that person is healthier and is willing to risk the higher deductible, there are cheaper options. $95/mo is the cheapest it gets at work, same coverage but higher deductibles and no employer contribution to the HSA.

Despite this, I'm glad the ACA exists. It means that if I were to lose my job and my wife continues to work her 28hr/week (they pay her the equivalent of working 35hr/week) then we can still get health insurance through the exchanges. If I want to quit and go work for myself, I can still have health insurance and not be tied to my employer for health care coverage.

Granted, it's not the same as the UK's NHS. For certain procedures there is a wait time. In some cases, "going private" may be a good thing for those who can afford it. But the ACA is most definitely a step in the right direction and for me it appears to be a typical American solution to an American problem.

[etherealtruth]

17. No one should ever have to go without healthcare

Though i support the ACA as a step in the right direction ... it is the health care I am for!

[Jasana]

23. Excellent point.

I should have thought of that myself. Oh well, no one is perfect. I'm a former accountant who did a lot of work in both HR and payroll and I'm so used to thinking of it as health insurance. I need to wrap my brain around better terms.

Health care is a human right. (Yeah... that sounds a lot better.)

[etherealtruth]

28. Oh I didn't mean it as an attack on you ...

Your post just triggered that thought. i think we all know and believe this to be true ... its hard to remember to say it!

[Jasana]

29. Didn't see it as an attack. In fact, I'm glad you replied. nt.

[LWolf]

20. Wrong.

No one should ever have to go without health care, and no one should ever be bankrupted by the cost of that care.

High quality health care should be universally, abundantly available, free at point of service, and fully funded completely by taxes.

No one NEEDS insurance when health care is a right instead of a commodity.

[Jasana]

26. See my post #23...

Your words have wisdom.

[LWolf]

31. #23

[ScreamingMeemie]

57. Agreed. But I couldn't get that, without insurance or cash up front.

Now, I can at least access care.

[LWolf]

59. I'm very glad that

you can access care. I hope you can pay for it after without too much trouble.

[ScreamingMeemie]

63. Getting in at this point is what's important to me right now.

Then getting on my maintenance meds again. The silver plan I have picked out has an 1800 deductible. Luckily for me, my car payments ended in August. Now let's hope my car lasts for at least 5 years.

[etherealtruth]

82. that is important

I am truly glad that you will be able to get the care you need!

Sadly, the cost of healthcare makes it impossible for many. Each and every person able to get the care they need and deserve is a victory to me.

[ScreamingMeemie]

85. This is a start.

Yes, for me, it's about realizing there's a "bill me later" option instead of a "pay up front."

[ScreamingMeemie]

56. That's what got me thinking on it again.

I do think, sometimes for some of us, it's about being able to prioritize. When I think of what I could do with 80K...

[Estevan]

116. My AT&Thief bill costs more than that...

[cilla4progress]

11. Even though we've jousted over ACA here,

I am sincerely happy for you, as well. Not only because it is ethical, fair, moral and just for you to have access to health care, but because I can relate, given the periods in my life where access was in doubt or threatened.

I hope this shakes out well for the middle class. I am hoping for an explanation from the Obama administration as to why there wasn't more transparency in terms of increased costs for some. Perhaps it was the only choice, politically, to get it passed. I probably would have supported passage, even knowing what I know now - that my own costs are increasing, but that it is life changing for so many.

So, I think it is the sense of violation of not hearing the truth in advance (and knowing the repubs will make hay of it) that is as disturbing as anything.

Again - this is clearly so important and meaningful to you, as you say, life-saving. For that I am eternally glad!



What say - TRUCE?

[ScreamingMeemie]

58. I hope it does too.

No worries. I can only hope that ACA is only the beginning.

[lupine25]

12. Posts like this....

....are what it's all about. When I read this part...

I know still others of you will look at this as an "I got mine" post, but this is literally the best thing that has happened in my life for quite some time.

...it made me think of everyone else in the same boat as you. I mean I work for a company that provides great health insurance (Costco...and for the record there was no change to my plan as a result of the ACA, either up or down and I have the letter from corporate HR to prove it) but to think that someone's best moment they've had in a long time is FINALLY getting insurance is touching. Makes all the talk, all the activism, and the raising awareness, and pretty much outright fighting for healthcare improvement, somehow worth it. That's what it's all about, end result. And in this case, many are finally able to reach that state where they have the economic security of health insurance. I'm glad that you were able to reach that and no you shouldn't feel guilty for it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

60. About Costco...

My dad and I were just talking about it the other day after a shopping trip there. Costco is one of the only stores I have visited where the employees always seem happy to be there and happy to help.

Thank you lupine25

[tavalon]

105. I don't want to derail this joyful and good conversation

but the last two times I went to Costco, they were pushing American Express, a company I have no respect for. I was surprised because, other than never being able to get out of there in under $100 and feeling like I'm at Disney world because of the swarms of people there (yes we love our Costco) I've always loved Costco. I was surprised at that alliance.

I am glad your benefits didn't change. Mine did, for the worse, but unlike some of my fellow employees, I know where the blame lies and it's not with ACA, it's with my penny pinching company. Unfortunately this isn't a contract negotiation year or they would have been in the hot seat at the table.

[BenzoDia]

13. That's wonderful news! Thanks for sharing it.

[ismnotwasm]

14. That is awesome

[pnwmom]

15. Here's is one of the best articles explaining why the ACA will also benefit

all of the previously insured.

Right now, Texas has the most uninsured of any state. That means that all the insured people are paying for that care -- often very inefficient emergency room care -- in the form of higher premiums.

In other words, before ACA the insured were already paying more because of the uninsured (who frequently use hospitals anyway). In Texas, people with insurance had annual premiums that were $2700 a year more than they had to be -- because they were all helping to carry the costs of the uninsured.

And having too many uninsured patients also affected the quality of care all patients --even insured patients -- received. If a hospital had too many uninsured patients, then it couldn't offer the same quality of care that a fully financed hospital could offer. TO ANYONE.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/eichenwald/2013/10/truth-obamacare-already-insured

I’m not sure if the folks pushing this line are trying to deceive their listeners or actually don’t understand the impact of what they are suggesting. Here is reality, spelled out simply in a report issued by the Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas, which is composed of major health-care providers, businesspeople, medical economists, and other experts—folks who, unlike politicians, actually know what they are talking about when it comes to this topic. It states:

The uninsured are often unable to pay for medical services they receive. These expenses are passed on to others through higher medical fees and insurance premiums.Since many uninsured and underinsured individuals obtain primary care at emergency rooms, they risk overburdening of the local trauma system. This impacts the finances and ability of emergency rooms to handle trauma. The overuse of an emergency department can even lead to increased local taxes.

In other words, when people complain that they don’t want to be subsidizing “freeloaders” through Obamacare, they don’t understand that they are already paying for the care of the uninsured. And these are not small amounts. In fact, since emergency rooms are the most expensive forms of front-line care, the cost is very high, far more than the cost of a visit to a doctor’s office.


SNIP

And once again it is the citizens of states most opposed to Obamacare who are refusing expansions of Medicaid who are taking the biggest shellacking: Texas residents are paying $2,786 more in premiums for family policies provided through employers. Montana, $2,190. Alaska, $2,248. Idaho, $2,152. North Carolina, $1,828. The other states I mention also take big hits—New Mexico, West Virginia, and Oklahoma residents are all paying about $3,000 more for premiums on employee-provided policies.

[Thinkingabout]

40. K & R

In the past few weeks I have heard GOP members saying one could go to emergency rooms and the was not any cost, might not be a cost to the person receiving care but as you say it gets passed to those insured or through tax payers. Now there will be a distribution of cost to all.

[DhhD]

93. New Mexico has accepted the Medicaid Expansion recently.

[pnwmom]

96. good to hear!

[DhhD]

94. Code Red Task Force in Texas

http://www.coderedtexas.org/

Has the findings on healt care from the Task Force.

[calimary]

113. A single line from your post here that blows shit all over the GOP's objections:

"In other words, when people complain that they don’t want to be subsidizing “freeloaders” through Obamacare, they don’t understand that they are already paying for the care of the uninsured." No DUH! That's the whole point. You're already paying for all the so-called "freeloaders," dumb-ass! That's THE reason why we need the Affordable Care Act.

[pnwmom]

117. And they're paying MORE. That's what's so incredibly stupid.

Even on a selfish basis, they should be in favor of providing expanded Medicaid, for example, rather than the continuing expensive alternative of over-using emergency rooms.

[SoapBox]

18. Great news!

One would think that posters are getting married or having kids or hit the lottery but it still seems appropriate to say...

Congratulations!

[ScreamingMeemie]

64. I know...

It should be such a simple thing.

[etherealtruth]

19. Good ... this is what is supposed to happen

If (again that is if) my employer sponsored health insurance goes up because of the ACA (because more folk are able to be insured) I am OK with it.

[LWolf]

22. I am not.

I've always had employer sponsored health insurance. Insurance does not equal care. When the cost of the insurance leaves nothing for deductibles and copays, the insurance company keeps getting paid while the insured don't get care.

I already can't afford care. I don't need to pay the insurance company MORE to continue to go without care.

My employer sponsored health insurance comes with a cap, so that we pay some of our premiums already. When that insurance goes up, we'll be paying more, and I'll still be getting the same nothing.

I'm glad some people will have more access to care.

I'm not going to pretend, though, that it's okay for others to pay more and still not get care.

[etherealtruth]

27. You are correct ...

Until very recently your situation was mine ... I paid my portion of the premiums knowing that I could use it only for catastrophic care. Deductibles and co-pays made health care costs prohibitive. (the only thing that changed for me was an approximate 30% pay raise)

I thought some benefits were explicitly written in to the ACA ...? This is something we need to look into.

i would guess we would both agree with this: Americans have a right to healthcare ... NOT health insurance. I am hoping the ACA is simply a first step (in the right direction).

[LWolf]

32. We are certainly in agreement on that.

Health CARE. It should be a right.

[ScreamingMeemie]

65. Thank you etherealtruth...

I hope, as more people sign up, the costs end up going down.

[riverbendviewgal]

21. wonderful news....So happy for you.

It is good to have peace of mind that you and your son can be treated and not only in an ER ROOM

Here is a hug and a toast

[ScreamingMeemie]

67. Down here, the ER rooms would not treat us without cash up front.

Unless it was a life and death, need to be stabilized situation.

I did have a high risk insurance plan on my son, that would get him in the door (ended up paying $2500 out of pocket for a football injury, but at least they billed it). Me? I didn't even bother.

Thank you riverbend!

[Politicub]

24. This is what it's all about

My dad was a laborer and we didn't have insurance when I was growing up. He worked hard his entire life.

An emergency surgery for my dad took us to the brink of losing our home, which my dad built with his own two hands. If not for funds for the indigent, we would have lost everything.

Oh, and my dad's condition would have most likely been caught with preventative care and an annual checkup.

I am lucky to have insurance through work, but I'm glad the option is there if I ever lose it. No more getting turned down for pre-existing conditions. All insurers on the exchange must sell a policy to you.

Even if all people can afford is a bronze plan, they still get preventative care. And in the case of my dad, a $5k deductible is a lot more manageable than a $150k hospital bill.

I'm for single payer, absolutely. But the ACA will help many until single payer is a reality in the US.

[ScreamingMeemie]

69. The pre-existing thing was huge. And I was misinformed at first, thinking there would

be no ceiling on what they could charge. The fact that previous health doesn't figure in at all is amazing.

[Thucydides]

25. Cheers, good health to you!

[ScreamingMeemie]

70. Thank you Thucydides...

[Ruby the Liberal]

30. Great post. K&R

[INdemo]

33. And if the state of Texas like Indiana would accept federal funding to

offer subsidies or expand Medicaid your premium would be "0". But because this Tea Bagger governors of these states want ACA to fail. They think by boycotting these funds it will make this happen.

[ScreamingMeemie]

71. I'm going to be pounding the pavement for Wendy.

I am still quite stunned that the premium was so low for really good coverage and deductibles.

[SaveAmerica]

34. I was the 100th rec - just 1 of lots of reasons we worked so hard to get a Dem in office!!

Thanks for sharing, I'm pretty thankful for your coverage!!

[ScreamingMeemie]

73. Thank you SaveAmerica!

[grantcart]

35. I am so happy for you

Question

Did you get it through the ACA website?

When did you use it?

[ScreamingMeemie]

75. I did. It took me about a week to get in, on Chrome.

Early morning worked out for me. 6 a.m. I cleared the entire history on Chrome. Since I was able to get in the first time, I've had less difficulty getting in. I admit that I was impatient as all get out.

[quadrature]

41. how much is the deductable?

just curious what plan you chose.

[ScreamingMeemie]

77. I chose the Humana (they had more providers available)

Silver 1800/2900 max deductible. $25 copay $35 specialist $17 prescriptions.

[passiveporcupine]

134. I have a few questions

Meemie, I'm very happy to hear you have finally gotten affordable health insurance for you and your son. I am grateful to ACA for the many many people who really needed insurance and couldn't get it. But I do have a few questions about the Humana plan you chose (as an example of all the exchange plans).

You say you get preventive "care", but isn't it really just diagnostics? You don't actually get any care or treatment with your freebies...just diagnostics to see if you need to pursue any health issues.

You have an $1800 deductible each year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that apply before you get any actual "preventive care or treatment", including prescriptions? And if that's true, doesn't that mean for most lower income people, who can't even come up with 1800 a year for medical costs (if they chose your plan), these plans are really not health "care" plans, but only catastrophic plans?

Maybe I don't understand how these plans work, but I thought the deductible had to be paid first (except for birth control...I think that is covered...thank goodness). Paying 2K a year for premiums, with 1800 for deductible, means getting any actual help with medical care still means you have to pay 4K plus a year. How many low income people have enough disposable income to do that? I personally don't.

I have Medicare now and I am paying all of my disposable income just for the premiums, and don't have anything left for care. And I found out that the "free" yearly exam required by ACA even for Medicare is not what you think it is. You are not allowed to talk to your doctor about your previous health issues. It's just a checkup where your doctor checks your vitals and helps you determine if you are healthy or not. No discussion allowed that would be considered "treatment". I wasn't aware of that till I went in for my first "supposedly free" yearly exam under the new ACA rules, which I need to do once a year to get my prescriptions refilled...and found out the cost for what I needed would be $350, not free. Fortunately Medicare does one thing right. The deductible for doctor care is separate from hospital care. And much lower.

If you make enough money, even 15% of your income for health care may not seem unreasonable...but when you make 25K or less (25% of our population's household income is 25K or less), $1800 is 7% of your yearly income and that is a huge amount to someone who does not have much in the way of disposable income. I still think these plans leave a lot to be desired for low income people, because for most of them, the deductibles are too high for them to be "usable". We need to keep pushing for a system like Medicare for everyone, where the doctor deductible is affordable so people can actually get care before it becomes an emergency or requires surgery or hospitalization...and the hospital deduction is higher for "catastrophic" care. Otherwise, a lot of people are going to be paying for health insurance they can't use, and it won't help them stay healthier.

We now will have a doughnut hole for people who are making too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to pay the high deductibles on the exchanges to get the actual preventive care they might need to stay healthy.

I'm not suggesting ACA is bad by any means. It's certainly a better option for many. I'm all for it. It's a very necessary step in getting this country on the right track, and it's essential to save lives now for those who really need it now. But it is just a first step in a long struggle to get to a health system (single payer) that actually provides "affordable and preventative treatment" not just catastrophic coverage, and brings down the cost of health care in this country by removing the God profit from it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

136. I am happy to answer...

Preventative visits are at no cost and they are certainly not "freebies," because we are all paying a premium for those visits. Preventative care=a check up.

For a patient like me, with RA and a heart condition, knowing that I won't be charged $190 for the office visit (outside of the costs for the labs/tests that they will force me to have before prescribing or treating) is a savings. Knowing that cholesterol checks, blood pressure checks, cancer screenings, immunizations, and diabetes screenings are not going to cost is a savings:

https://www.healthcare.gov/what-are-my-preventive-care-benefits/

I think it is hard for some to realize that, today, it is impossible for me to visit a doctor because fees are charged up front--to make sure one can pay them--before you see the doctor.

My father is on Medicare; he went for his physical last week and it was no cost. It was not a visit with a PA or nurse practitioner. I would doctor shop if you feel you are not getting the care you deserve from your doctor.

One RA treatment for me (Remicaid) can cost upwards of $2500 (if I could actually have one). At four treatments a year, that can get expensive. While ACA is not perfect, having the ability to be billed for the service (with insurance kicking in 80% after deductible is far better than not having the service at all.

Prescriptions fall outside of the deductible for this plan. The cost per generic is $17 without having to hit a deductible. Currently, I spend about $350/month to order medications from a "Canadian drug company" (it's actually India) to attempt to keep my heart and blood pressure in check. It hasn't been working so well. I cannot wait for January 1, 2014.

Is ACA perfect? No. Is this going to save me money? Yes. It's going to save my life quite possibly.

As I stated in the OP, single payer is how I wish things were. This is what we have. This is going to help me. The prescription savings alone are amazing.

http://apps.humana.com/marketing/documents.asp?file=2105090

[passiveporcupine]

140. I'm glad to hear the prescriptions are not held up by deductibles

And it does sound like you are one of the really fortunate people who have desperately needed health insurance, but couldn't afford it or were denied for pre-existing conditions. Very very happy for you.

I know a couple of other people who have been saved by it too, and that's why I'm all for it...as a stepping stone to a better system for all.

[kestrel91316]

42. I'm in the same boat. I didn't have insurance - now I will be able to afford a

decent policy. Yes, the premiums, deductible, and copays will put a little strain in my budget. But I'll cope. I'm used to getting by on a shoestring.

The rich folks complaining about premium increases can learn a thing or two from those of us who know how to budget out of necessity.

[BenzoDia]

48. That's awesome that you're gonna be taken of.

It's so encouraging to read about people like you and ScreamingMeemie.

[kestrel91316]

76. I got priced out of the market over 6 years ago and have gone without medical care, working my ass

off to stay healthy. I'm almost 57, so this is coming when I REALLY need it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

78. Congrats kestrel

A couple of the posts I have seen include incomes that I would die to make. I'm used to budgeting for necessities. The deductible will be tough, but it gets us in the door.

[kestrel91316]

86. And remember, when you have insurance most providers provide the service and then

hash out the billing with insurance companies, and THEN you get billed for the balance due, and can pay that over time. No more of this crap of having to come up with every penny in cash before they will treat you or see you.

Because they don't know right then and there what portion you will need to pay vs what the insurer will pay.

So deductibles are nothing to panic over.

[redstatebluegirl]

43. Great News!

I went a year and a half without insurance, not a long time but it was awful! I went to bed every night hoping I did not get sick. Yes my insurance went up about 50 a month, small price to pay so people who do not have it can get insurance.

Rich people in Washington take great health care for granted. All Americans deserve the same care regardless of how much money they make.

[ScreamingMeemie]

79. Thank you redstatebluegirl.

I do think those Washington folk, and quite a few of our governors are completely out of touch with who we are anymore.

[stage left]

44. I am so happy for you.

And I'm happy for me. Just this July I reached 65 and qualified for Medicare. I'm a diabetic who has gone without health Insurance for over ten years. I've gone to the doctor only when I had to go. Every couple of years, I would get an A1C test. My doctor was good enough to do it at a very reduced fee. I'm sure there are many more people like me...and you. I'm glad they can now have insurance and get some care. I'm hoping my present governor will be defeated in the next election by the Democratic candidate, Vincent Sheehan and he will expand Medicaid so even more people will be able to go to the doctor.

[ScreamingMeemie]

80. That's what I am hoping as well. I will work like heck to see Wendy in office here in Texas.

I am glad you made it to Medicare, and I'll fight like heck to see you keep it.

[stage left]

133. Go Wendy. You have better hair than Governor Good Hair

And a much, much, better brain under it. I'm pulling for her. I've been writing and calling and signing petitions supporting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Snap. I've tried to post information on Facebook about the Affordable Care Act to counter some of the endless rightwing lies and distortions posted there. My posts are usually met by a resounding silence. My sister seems to get the hostile responses.

I'm going to see if I can work for Sheehan's campaign in some way. Nikki Hayley is just a terrible governor.
Thank you for fighting the good fight. It's wonderful being among people who are doing that.

[spanone]

45. k&r...

[ProSense]

46. Kick for all

the uninsured who haven't registered yet.

Congrats.

I'm planning to do it this week.

[BenzoDia]

49. Excellent news. Good luck to you.

[ScreamingMeemie]

81. Good luck! I hope th experience runs smoothly.

I know my brother was able to get in today, so here's looking at the tech issues slowly working themselves out.

[ProSense]

91. Thanks. n/t

[Rain Mcloud]

50. That is wonderful news and i predict that it will get better.

Having put the medical industry on a budget will get their collective boot off of the throat of the Nation's GDP.
Inflation should be more manageable.
Yes,come one,come all naysayers,i went out on that dreaded proverbial limb.

For the first time in a long i time,i have some optimism.
Health care will be affordable not just for the in between people but the young and the working poor and previous to the ACA something like 70% of the GDP was set to be gobbled up by the healthcare industry by 2050. No more.

The tables seem to be shifting on the GOP and their Shithead CEO pedantry.
People are waking up finally that they only care about their good ol' boy club and who wish a slow and painful death to those over the unproductive age of forty,or minorities who seem to feel that they should have the same level of benefits and recompense for the jobs they do.
Meanwhile the fiscal conservatives and blue dogs are still on the center stage crowing about de-regulated fair market values(now there are very low metrics on the descriptions of the word monopoly)and record corporate profits and record CEO compensatory packages as if they invented the concepts all by themselves.

I feel optimism that David might finally slay that giant.
Electric cars sales are approaching .10% of the market at unattractive prices with few places to charge outside of the home.
Sustainable energy is finally making a dent in the fossil fuels and nuclear power stranglehold some 40 years after the original earth day.
If the country utilized 100% renewable energy resources(going by 2007 import figures for imported oil)we would stop hemorrhaging 450 billion dollars per year to antagonistic regimes in the breeding grounds for people who would like to destroy us and our way of life.

I left a good job about 13 years ago and went to work for a local school district because my kids needed health insurance,i was terrified every time that they went out to play.
Now it looks like i will be able to leave in about seven years with a modest retirement and finally go to college and yes,i will get to take my healthcare with me to a better paying job with opportunities for advancement and hopefully start doing what i love to do instead of cleaning up children's vomit and swabbing stools all day.

Me? I am delighted to read your story,because i can understand where you come from.
I am delighted for everyone else who has had to hold the shitty end of the stick for so long to support the lollygaggers born to their lofty positions take months long vacation cruises,sailing in the oceans of sweat from our brows and the blood from our backs.
The trick has always been;how to turn that stick around?

[ScreamingMeemie]

83. Here's to you getting to do what you want to do, instead of what you have to do.

I think the tides are turning too.

[Rain Mcloud]

92. Thanks!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

61. The more important points...

1. Your governor did not expand Medicaid.
2. Your governor refused to participate in the health care marketplace ("exchanges&quot .
3. Your governor wants to force you to go through the *federal* health care exchanges where you may only qualify for a few of the subsidies if you're low income because, again, your governor did not expand Medicaid.

Bottom line: Your governor and Texas state Republicans are the scum of the earth. Hope they burn in hell.

[ScreamingMeemie]

84. The "more important part" for me is taking care of my son. I'm sorry, but I qualified for subsidies.

More than just "my" governor (who we are going to work like heck to replace with Wendy) did not expand Medicaid, and that is not what this post is about.

I am happy that affordable health insurance makes it easier for me to seek care. It is a start.

And please don't call him "your governor" again. A good many of us Texans refuse to acknowledge his existence.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

99. Of course it is more important that you are covered and your family now has coverage...

I'm expressing my anger over the fact that there is so much hatred in this country, that's all. No harm, no foul.

[tavalon]

103. Yeah, Guvner Goodhair cares about no one but himself and his hair.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

62. happy to read this and happy for you and your son. I know what a relief it is. The security of

knowing that it is there IF you need it. I pray you never do.

[ScreamingMeemie]

87. Thank you TA!

Here's to hoping for only preventative care for all of us.

[davidpdx]

66. Kick and 150th Rec

[MADem]

68. Heheh...I'll bet you disappointed a few people who eagerly clicked on your link!!!

I am very happy for you, and for anyone who needs insurance and can now get it.

I could be one of those cheap "No Soup For YOU" basstids, because I am not in your shoes-- I'm covered under TRICARE so what happens with the ACA doesn't affect me, personally, or my immediate family.

However, I did have a relative who lost his job, was diabetic on several pricey meds, who then had a stroke--not a little stroke, a SERIOUS stroke. This would have spelled disaster for him, were he not covered under the predecessor to the ACA, the little Bay State "test bed," RomneyCare.

He got the best care anyone could want, from hospital to rehab to nursing home to outpatient therapy...and he could have had more "at home" services that he didn't bother to take (family decided to rally round and give him some help, as we do).

He's up and about now--not as good as new, but way better than he would have been had he been left without care.

I think medical care should be a right for all of us. Not nose jobs or ass lifts, necessarily, but the basic kind of stuff that keeps us healthy and fixes us when we're sick. Surely we can do this--it's just the right thing to do. Why the cheapass wingnuts can't see this, I just will never know....

[ScreamingMeemie]

89. Your last paragraph is so correct...

I think we can do this. And when those who vote R see this working and the sane among them realize they been lied to...

Well, I cannot wait for that day.

[Jefferson23]

72. All the best to you and your family....that's what it's all about. n/t

K&R

[JimDandy]

74. Aw... I'm so happy for you. n/t

[99Forever]

88. Good for you!

And good for the millions that will also finally have health care again. You deserve it.

Heck, everyone deserves health care. Everyone.

[ScreamingMeemie]

90. Everyone.

Agreed.

[Jake2413]

95. Yes this a good thing

This thing called ACA…….

[ScreamingMeemie]

120. It is.

...and I hope it leads to even better.

[davidwparker]

97. I'm glad to have my health insurance go up if it allows more coverage.

As a liberal, I don't mind sharing what I have.

It's about community.

[tavalon]

104. Last night at work, one of my fellow nurses was grousing

because our insurance premiums are going up and we are losing a number of benefits. She said that she's mad that she has to pay for other people's insurance. I said that it was the hospitals choice to change our benefits and that she has been paying for other peoples benefits for a long time. They've been going to the ER, destroying their own credit but leaving the bills to the taxpayer because they couldn't afford them. I said I suspected this was the first step down the road to universal health care, not really knowing how she (a previous Canadian, would feel). She was still grumbly but did admit I was right on both counts and universal health care is a good thing (she called it socialism but then said it only cost her $2 to have her first baby in Canada, so?).

One thing I've been careful about for some time is calling this ACA rather than Obamacare. When people ask what ACA is, I say it's the Affordable Care Act. Hard to grump about affordable health care.

[ScreamingMeemie]

122. Thank you david...

And when I finally "write that book..." (inside joke in my family), I hope to share even more of what I have.

[Heather MC]

98. BRAVO!!!!!

[IrishAyes]

100. Beautiful OP. Just beautiful.

I had to go w/o health insurance for many years because it was a question of eat or buy insurance. With a sturdy constitution and careful nutrition, I squeaked by until old enough for Medicare. But I'm telling you, it made me feel so much more valued when I could make a rare visit to the doctor when needed. If I'd had a child to worry about before that, I don't know how I could've stood it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

123. I got the best temporary policy I could for him and crossed my fingers.

I did a lot of "home health care" for myself. I never thought it would happen to me, and I was stunned when I found out I wasn't insurable. I am so glad that no one will have to ever hear those words again.

[defacto7]

101. Another deserved kick!

[BlueStreak]

102. This is what it means to live in a nation.

I'm willing to pay more so that those with fewer resources can have real heath care.

I just wish our leaders would talk to us like adults.

And, BTW, because you (and millions more) will have coverage in 2014, the nation's total health care spending should start going down 2015 and beyond, and that should benefit all of us long term, if we can find a way to keep the profiteers from running away with the money.

[ScreamingMeemie]

124. I went on healthcare.gov with a not really political (just enough to talk bad about Obama)

friend. They would save quite a bit on a family of 6. I am hopeful that more and more people will put aside their hatred and try the exchanges...they'll find out they have been lied to often times.

[tofuandbeer]

106. Brilliant post! :)

[emsimon33]

107. We are all in this together!

I am so happy for you.

[ScreamingMeemie]

125. Thank you emsimon

For the first time in a long time, I feel like I matter.

[flamingdem]

108. Great!!!

[TxDemChem]

109. I'm happy for you.

My insurance at work went up by $8 per month. However, as my Depo and well woman are fully covered, I have saved about $425 a year just going to my gynecologist. Thus I pay $96 more in premiums, which still gives me a savings of $329 just for my lady parts. Damn good deal!

[ScreamingMeemie]

126. .

I am so happy to hear that. Well woman visits save lives. Yet, they are so expensive. And we all know how, here in Texas, our Republican government voted to shut down the clinics that served a good majority of low-income uninsured women across the state.

[TxDemChem]

139. Their anti-women stance is ridiculous.

At 21, my doctor caught some abnormal cells on my cervix. We were afraid it was cervical cancer, but it was benign. I didn't have insurance at the time and was afraid that I wouldn't be able to afford treatment if it was indeed cancer.

I NEVER want any person to feel that their life has a price tag. If I pay a little more to help others, I am happy. Our health really is priceless.

[hunter]

111. Even for people whose rates are going up, it's a far better deal.

My wife and I thought we had good insurance... Sure it covered the small stuff. Prescriptions were ten dollars, the doctor was happy to see us for the usual upsets.

But then the big stuff hit. Not surprisingly if a person is unable to work full time it becomes difficult to pay the insurance premiums or to find less stressful work.

We struggled to pay COBRAs on top of the stuff our "good" insurance was stingy about that we had to pay for ourselves. Then the COBRAs timed out, and we graduated to uninsurability.

My wife was not fully recovered yet so she signed up for our state's high risk plan. It took a few months for her to be accepted. We insured our healthy kids separately.

We have insurance again through my wife's work, and she loves her job, but I have to feel bad for all the people who stay in jobs they loathe simply for the health insurance. As well as being horrible for the person caught in that situation, such a policy stifles innovation and small business in the U.S.A..

The ACA is a vast improvement for everyone. Many people think they have "good" or even merely "adequate" insurance, but haven't ever put it to the test.

From my own personal experience, being uninsured and uninsurable sucks.

I'd rather have a single payer system in the U.S.A. like real "first world" nations, but the ACA is better than what we had.

[ScreamingMeemie]

127. Thank you for this. I too, was on COBRA.

I had no idea that, if you did not sign up for insurance when the coverage period was up, you would become uninsurable.

The state high risk plans were a mess. I am hopeful that this opens the door to single payer.

I do confess that I was so very angry when single payer was taken off the table. My worry was ceilings on payments for preexisters. I had no idea they could not base coverage on past history.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

112. hear here!!

I am glad you're doing better!! Because when we help each other, we all do better.

This helps more than a neighborhood collection for one person.

I like govt organizing the social structure so that we CAN help each other--on a large scale.

[ScreamingMeemie]

128. It does.

And thank you, Blanche.

[UCmeNdc]

114. K&R

[renie408]

115. Us, too. We will be able to afford insurance for the first time in five years.

[ScreamingMeemie]

129. I am so happy for you, renie!

To your good health...

[rivegauche]

118. YAY!!! How wonderful that you're finally covered!

YOU are the reason that we needed this so badly --- you and countless others who didn't have coverage or who the insurance overlords refused to cover. I'm one of the forunate who has health insuranmce through my job. It will probably go up next year, but you know what -- IT ALWAYS GOES UP. Every single year of my working life, which is 30+ years, it has always gone up, never down, and I am healthy. People bitching about higher premiums must line on a planet where they regularly decrease. I am delighted that you and so many other people are getting some freakin peace of mind, FINALLY.

[ScreamingMeemie]

130. Thank you rivergauche.

When I had insurance through my husband, I did not really give it a second thought (besides complaining about premium increases). It has been a rude awakening and I am so glad that those words (unisurable--we don't cover preexisting conditions, have you checked the state's high risk pool?) won't be said to anyone else, ever again.

[krkaufman]

119. "both sides".... huhwuh?

These are the times when I realize there are quite a few of us who are deemed as expendable, by both sides of the aisle.

That closing thought lost me; not sure it fits, given that for which you are expressing gratitude was pretty much the result of entirely one side of that aisle.

edit: I'm definitely of the opinion that our politics has suffered a drastic shift to the Right over the last three decades, with the working class taking it on the chin -- for which the Democratic Party holds some responsibility, but I find generalizations of responsibility unhelpful, at best.

[ScreamingMeemie]

131. When I speak of "aisles..."

I am not speaking about Congress critters. I am speaking of politcs and belief systems as a whole.

When I tried to share my experience with people here, I often got a "well, you got yours..." in response from people, even here on DU, who don't care much for ACA--which I agree is not perfect, but which does give me a shot at life. When I discuss it with people in real life, I get equated with a 'welfare queen,' even though I'm actually paying for insurance. Both "sides" have told me that I can easily get "care" from an ER (which is a driver behind high insurance costs) and that is not true. It is impossible to get "care" for an RA flareup at an ER.

The point is, for quite some time, I've been feeling like I'm in this alone. That I don't matter. Seeing Obama refuse to budge on defunding ACA made me feel like I mattered again.

[Whisp]

121. ACA willl do so much to relieve Stress.

That in itself is health care.

Pleased for you, Meemie.

[ScreamingMeemie]

132. Thank you Whisp.

[indepat]

135. Your experience demonstrates why 'pukes hate Obama-care (ACA) with a malicious hatred

that defies all reason and rationality.

[arely staircase]

137. great post

btw I had no idea you were in Texas.

RockOn SM

[ScreamingMeemie]

138. I am a transplant. Born in WI, spent the majority of my adult life in MI,

and then moved down here (almost) 5 years ago.

[RainDog]

141. k&r n/t