The way ObamaCare is working, it’s quite possible that a third of Americans who currently HAVE health insurance may lose it. This includes people who had employer-funded coverage who stand to get dropped, as well as those who have private plans that are no-longer in compliance and who now must sign up for one of the “better” plans.
Whatever you do, if you lose coverage, think long and hard before signing up for one of the other plans. If, after reviewing those plans, you decide that you can afford a plan that will prevent you from going broke if you have a medical disaster, then by all means do what you must do to hedge yourself against that eventuality.
But let’s say that you fall into one of the following categories:
(a) You cannot afford any of the new plans;
(b) You can afford the premium for one of the new plans, but the plan you can afford will not be sufficient to provide the financial hedging that you need if you have a medical event.
In such a case, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. In that event, the rational decision is to take the path that allows you the most control over your own money.
That means:
(1) Don’t bother purchasing insurance.
(2) Take the amount you would otherwise spend on premiums and save it. You can still put up to $2,500 into a Health Savings Account (HSA), pre-tax. If your employer has Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), you can sock pre-tax money away into those. And with some new rules coming down, you may be able to carry $500 in FSA money over to the next year. Beyond that, stick as much money as you can into an envelope.
(3) Be proactive in seeking physicians with whom you can arrange private payment in the event you will end up needing to do this. Many will work with you. Try to cover as many bases as you think you will need–a primary care doc, a dentist, a pediatrician, a general practitioner, a cardiologist, an orthopedic surgeon, a neurologist, a dermatologist–and get ahead of the curve.
While ObamaCare is a disaster, it can also be a great opportunity for Americans to seize the initiative and become a free country again. Breaking the chains of the financial-medical complex–while not the only step necessary–is an integral step toward that end.
My husband is self-employed and I am a SAHM. He makes a perfectly good income but private health insurance costs that were astronomical have skyrocketed even further. We are considering Samaritan Ministries. Have you heard of it?
Not familiar with that one. MrsLarijani and I were considering Medi-Share, which is probably similar to the one you are considering.
We opted to continue with my insurance. Due to subsidies and other funny games the government is playing, my out-of-pocket premiums went down even though the total premium went up.
But when we reach a certain critical mass, we are bailing. From there, it will be either Medi-Share or radical savings and aggressive negotiating for private payment arragements.
I have personal friends who are members of Samaritan Ministries. They are extremely happy with the organization. I have the paperwork to join on my desk.
As of right now, I still have insurance through my work. I’ve made it very clear to my boss that if they decide to quit providing insurance at work, I want the money they were spending on insurance to provide my own through Samaritan Ministries.
Amir, I have heard internet rumors that Medi-Share has had some financial difficulties. Don’t know any more than that. I can give you a name if you want to know more.
http://samaritanministries.org/
also … if you take routine meds, contact the manufacturer. they will often work with you. when i was a single mom and had no insurance, i used a local health clinic. they helped me complete the forms to get my daily asthma meds.
even now, with insurance, my pcp will often look up alternative meds, when necessary, to find the least expensive choice.
oh, and my pcp will give us free samples when possible. especially when i was a single mom, i always asked for free samples.
My current employer doesn’t provide health insurance, which is ironic since I work at a hospital. I work for a contractor rather than the firm which owns the hospital.
I’ve yet to venture onto the exchange website. I’m weighing my options. I’m not thrilled about possibly being dependent on the government for my health coverage. However, family history doesn’t work in my favor as I’ve developed several hereditary health issues in middle age and could sure use some kind of coverage. My medications are all generic, but even they aren’t as cheap as they used to be.
I’m using Christian Healthcare Ministries right now. It’s very reasonable.
The sharing plans like Christian Healthcare Ministries are accepted under Obamacare. In other words, you will not get penalized for having no insurance if you are a member of one of these plans.
If you like your insurance, and lose it, you can keep liking it, even though you don’t have it any longer.
Obamacare was a disaster for our insurance plan with Blue Cross. I couldn’t believe the horrible deductible and co-insurance levels. We had to drop it. There’s just not enough value in it anymore. We changed to Samaritan Ministries, a healthcare sharing ministry which is exempt from the Obamacare fines. There are a few sharing ministries to choose from, something for everyone I think. This is a great alternative which is cheaper, provides more logical coverage, and brings some sanity back to healthcare. I wrote some comparison pages to help explain these ministries.
Samaritan vs CHMinistries and Samaritan Ministries vs Medishare. It might give everyone a start on deciding which option is best for them.