How I'm getting hosed by Obamacare

That last post wasn't me.

You have been trolling... you haven't done job of hiding that fact.

I am not happy about Obamacare, but I certainly am getting a benefit from it. I am in my 60s and was paying about $1,200/mo for my health insurance. I own a ~$2M house a couple of blocks from the beach in California. I have over $2M in my retirement accounts. I own my own business. I have structured my finances so most of my income is capital gains, not ordinary income. I certainly don't have any financial need for a health insurance subsidy. Nevertheless, because of my income structure, with Obamacare I have gone from $1,200/mo health insurance cost to almost $0/month health insurance cost. It's a stupid badly written law with perverse incentives, but it's putting an extra $14,000/yr in my pockets. Thank you do-gooder liberals.

Ummm, republicans were the ones who based the credits on MAGI.

You just pay a brothers healthcare, thatsall this is so do it fool

First, you're overstating the penalty for 2014. it's one percent of your income over the "threshold income" (probably about 20000). So your penalty is closer to $250 - a bargain compared to the cost of health insurance.

Second, there's a laundry list of hardship exemptions that you can find on Healthcare.gov or the IRS web site.

Third, Your income is so low you probably qualify for a nice subsidy anyway.

If you're objecting to Obamacare as a matter of principle, I guess I sympathize with you. But please stop whining.

alanson wrote:

First, you're overstating the penalty for 2014. it's one percent of your income over the "threshold income" (probably about 20000). So your penalty is closer to $250 - a bargain compared to the cost of health insurance.

Second, there's a laundry list of hardship exemptions that you can find on Healthcare.gov or the IRS web site.

Third, Your income is so low you probably qualify for a nice subsidy anyway.

If you're objecting to Obamacare as a matter of principle, I guess I sympathize with you. But please stop whining.

1) If that is true, I'm slightly less angry. That was not my understanding of things.

2) I will certainly be applying for an exemption.

3) We make more now (~$70k) that certainly pushes us outside the subsidy. Unless Obamacare isn't interested in my current income, I'll be paying full price.

4) I mildly objected to Obamacare on principle in the beginning. Taking money from my pocket moves it from principle to practice and increases my level of objection to strong. Stop whining? So I should just bend over and take it? Sorry can't do that.

What about all the other government services that you pay for, but don't use? Do you object to those, too?

angry voter wrote:

I graduated from a state school with $35k in debt, paid of $10k last year (graduated in June, btw), and wanted to have it paid to what I consider a reasonable level before just paying the minimum payments. That way if sh*t hits the fan I\'m only dealing with $10k or so of debt instead of $30k.

If the shit hit the fan wouldn\'t it be better to have money in investment accounts to pay your debt payments over having 10k in debt with no way to pay it? Once you put your money towards your debt, it is gone and you can never get it back.

Serious questioner wrote:

What about all the other government services that you pay for, but don't use? Do you object to those, too?

Yes I object to those services as well. What kind of lunatic would support helping the poor and downtrodden? It's their fault they're poor, they need to pull themselves up by the boot straps. As the Bible says "Don't give a man a surgeon, instead give him a scalpel and a surgical text book so he can figure it out himself. Amen."

2/10

I'm surprised this many people are biting. If a real person with this profile paid for actual health insurance through a company, then it would be astronomically higher than Obamacare.

I am not sure if you realize this, but every single policy decision involves a trade-off.

You don't like it because it effects you negatively for the time being.

You don't seem to care about the millions that this helps, like those with pre-existing conditions that couldn't get coverage before, those with low incomes that couldn't afford coverage before.

Sorry if it delays your ability to build wealth.

At some point you will be buying insurance and having everyone with insurance will make that cheaper.

You may even get sick at some point, lose your job and then be thankful for the Obamacare subsidies pre-existing condition coverage rule.

or maybe not.

No plan is going to be a plus for all people at all times. That would be easy to decide then.

Making decisions on who to help and has to pay is not easy.

It's the angry people that start thread, not the happy people.

Shoebacca wrote:

If a real person with this profile paid for actual health insurance through a company, then it would be astronomically higher than Obamacare.

You mean through the exchanges. Obamacare is purchased through an insurance company although via an exchange. They didn't build a whole new company to sell and service these policies like my hyper-paranoid brother-in-law seems to be certain of.

Ugh, "probably never use." Maybe, but say you get in a car accident or get cancer. Guess what, without insurance you are getting a gigantic bill that you will never be able to pay on your salary. Who foots the bill then? Right, the rest of us.

I do agree, the ACA is not the final answer...this is why there needs to be single payer. Problem with this f-ed up system is that it still is all about making money and not about caring for people. Need to get rid of for profit insurance companies--such BS.

By the way, your $450 goes to private insurance with this plan...just like it would have before obamacare.

I'll enlighten you with something that you clearly don't know, don't understand, and won't believe. My family and I have a $5000 out of pocket deductible...a direct result of O'Idiot's Healthcare program, the one that was so big and had so much to read that "nobody's read it". Basically I have to pay for those who can't as a regular middle class guy. O'Idiot lied, again!

too good to know wrote:

You're complaining about saving the 3 or 4 thousand on insurance you didn't have to pay?

That is completely false. How do you live with yourself? End of conversation.

Shoebacca wrote:

2/10

I'm surprised this many people are biting. If a real person with this profile paid for actual health insurance through a company, then it would be astronomically higher than Obamacare.

You're right, it typically is angry people who start threads. Maybe a lot of people who have worked hard to earn their money but have to "delay their ability to build wealth" as you say and instead pay for Deonte and Obamaniqua's health insurance. Meanwhile they drive their escalade to the store and use their food stamps to buy groceries and then pick up a dime bag on the way home.

Oh You Know wrote:

angry voter wrote:

I graduated from a state school with $35k in debt, paid of $10k last year (graduated in June, btw), and wanted to have it paid to what I consider a reasonable level before just paying the minimum payments. That way if sh*t hits the fan I'm only dealing with $10k or so of debt instead of $30k.

If the shit hit the fan wouldn't it be better to have money in investment accounts to pay your debt payments over having 10k in debt with no way to pay it? Once you put your money towards your debt, it is gone and you can never get it back.

Maybe, but likely not.

If the shit really hits the fan, the derivatives domino could easily bring down the banking system (including the investment houses). Not only would stocks & bonds crash, decreasing the hypothetical $10k, but also there is a huge risk of bail-ins in the next crisis. Bail-ins mean the depositors (which are legally creditors) would be first in line to pay to cover the bad bets of the institutions, way before the governments & taxpayers do (unlike the bailouts in the last crisis). Many developed countries, including the U.S., have put these policies & laws in place - many just in the last 7 years. These changes are not being advertised. People should be aware of the new risks. If you have a savings account, or investment account, the bank or firm holding your assets is not legally a trustee - you are legally making them a loan, THEY legally hold the assets on their balance sheet in their name, and if they have a bunch of bad bets to pay off, the laws say the assets you thought were yours are going to be used to pay off the bad bets. Look to Cypress for an example of what could happen to "depositors" under the new laws.

Oh, and FDIC and SIPC insurances are horribly underfunded for any kind of systemic crisis. So, even if they are honored, it will be with newly-created money, which will further decrease the value of the if the currency being issued.

As for keeping the debt, maybe fine under normal times. But the student loan debt is unlike a lot of other debt in that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to discharge in a bankruptcy. Additionally, it is likely government-issued. Even harder to get rid of. In a banking crisis you could be in a world of hurt with your assets gone, or severely impaired, and debt that can't even be discharged in bankruptcy.

Truth be told. wrote:

I'll enlighten you with something that you clearly don't know, don't understand, and won't believe. My family and I have a $5000 out of pocket deductible...

[/quote]

Ummm, you chose to buy a plan with a $5K out of pocket to save yourself money. This is a decision YOU willingly made. In the meantime, stop your childish whining.