Obamacare- | Imamother

amother

Wed, May 14 2014, 4:50 pm

Does this plan make sense- cuz the way it sounds I won't be able to afford having a baby. I pay 500 a month with a 1700 deductible.
Plus I have to pay 20 percent of the medical bill. This seems okay for regular doctor visits but hospital stays and procedures will put me in huge debt.

Say I need a c section and the baby is preemie so it stays in nicu for two weeks- I don't have 20 percent of that! And that scenario is not that far fetched and totally possible

busydev

Wed, May 14 2014, 4:53 pm

amother wrote:

I cant say for sure, but usually once your deductible is met for the year your done paying out of pocket. thats my understanding anyway. so until you reach $1700 out of pocket payments (this may or may not include co pays) you pay 20%. after that you are 100% covered. of course one would have to see the specifics of your plan to say for sure.

also often times hospitals are happy to work out payment plans and/or cut down the bill.

ssbarnes

Wed, May 14 2014, 5:46 pm

So Obamacare has this HUGE push to get everybody "insured" and it's all over the news that they hit their target of 8 million people to sign up.

However, these inexpensive policies that people bought have high deductibles and high co-pays which they can't afford. Which means that they are basically still uninsured.

Busydev, you have to pay the deductible before the insurance pays anything. Then they are paying 80% and you are responsible for 20%.

Ashrei

Wed, May 14 2014, 5:57 pm

Is there at least a maximum out of pocket? Like after paying 20% long enough, let's say you totaled $3k (for example) including deductible out of pocket, maybe insurance will pay 100% after that....

?

busydev

Wed, May 14 2014, 5:58 pm

but 500 a month (for a single person) isnt one of those cheapo ones and $1700 isnt a high deductible. Isnt there a cap on most plans of how much out of pocket?

(im no expert tho, wasn't eligible to get a plan on the marketplace tho I did check them out)

suzyq

Thu, May 15 2014, 10:39 am

There usually is a cap for out of pocket expenses, but it could easily be more than the $1700 deductible. I think ours is $10,000 annually.

Think1st

Mon, Jun 02 2014, 10:24 am

amother wrote:

500 x 10 = 5000
+1700
6700
+20% another few 1000
All cash may be less

or read this

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/d.....4.htm

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com.....556/1

Last edited by Think1st on Mon, Jun 02 2014, 10:31 am; edited 1 time in total

MaBelleVie

Mon, Jun 02 2014, 10:27 am

Is that the only plan you were offered? It makes sense for many people, but not for someone who plans on giving birth or has any other unusually large medical expenses.

Before you switch, call up the company and clarify the details of your plan. As someone mentioned, there is often a cap on out of pocket expenses.

Mon, Jun 02 2014, 10:45 am

I'm paying an extra $100 a month for a more reasonable plan in the long run. And I have to keep track of my income - at a certain point, if I make a dollar more than x amount, my deductible will go up an extra $4500 - so unless I make another $5000 that year, I'm going to be in trouble. Still haven't figured out what I'm going to do about it... I might just stop sending bills, depending on the time of year. Will see closer to the time.

Good luck. These plans irritate me to no end! (And then, when you finally call the insurance company to talk about something, you have to sit on hold for 45 minutes. Even medicaid answers quicker than that!)

Think1st

Mon, Jun 02 2014, 12:11 pm

kb wrote:

Talk to a good CPA, if you start a home based business, You may be able to deduct a nice percentage of utilities & rent/mortgage, as well as some travel expenses,