A reader comments on the ongoing ACA problems:
While I’m not among those that want to throw the ACA out completely, I still believe the health care _insurance_ system is completely broken.
All these $100/month people?! In what imaginary place is that? The first year (last year) I was on non-employer sponsored coverage, it was about $800/month. This year, it was over $1000/month. Next year, it will be $16000/month. That’s a 25% increase over last year to this year and a 60% increase from this year to next. And this is Minnesota.
And this is for a plan that has not paid any money yet, despite surgery and many thousands of dollars in bills, because the deductible is so high. If next year goes like this year, I will pay $20,000 for the privilege of being insured, and the only “benefit” I will get is “discounted” bills from the doctors but bills I have to pay nonetheless. At this rate, I will go broke before I can qualify for Medicare. Medicare, which if I can make it that long, may be the only chance I have of saving my financial health.
I’ve read that for most people in the America these days that life is a one strike and you’re out game — i.e. one health care disaster and you’re homeless.
So it’s not ACA that’s really broken, but rather a question of why rates continue to rise.
