While most of the country haggles and laments over the busted government website for health care, Gail Roach simply picked up the phone and asked a specialist to walk her through her options.
Roach, 57, said she found plenty, and suddenly she realized she would have the opportunity to walk away from her retirement health care package that required her to pay $509 a month for her premium.
Roach has Type 2 diabetes, which drove up her costs. However, through the Affordable Care Act, she found a policy offering a monthly premium at only $70.
After cashing in on a tax credit and taking advantage of a feature called the Cost Sharing Benefit, Roach saw her premium drop to a measly $1.11 a month.
"I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. But it was within my budget," Roach said.
Yeah, I am going to have to imagine that a buck eleven is within just about EVERYBODY'S budget.
Now this woman lives in Pittsburgh, and the Republican Governor, Tom Corbett, is fairly dedicated to making sure his constituents have health insurance. So this woman's experience is not exactly comparable to the experiences that others will have. However it IS an indication of just how well the new law can work when people in your state are not trying to actively sabotage it.
You know, like my state.
(H/T to Politicususa.)
Sick of the stories about people having to pay more or all of the Woe-Is-Me-And-My-Cancelled-Health-Plan stories. Seems like all the stories fall apart under a little extra scrutiny. Must be some kind of concerted effort. Wonder if the Koch brothers are paying people to tell these stupid stories. That's what I want to know, if that's true or not. Because who would go to the media and tell these ridiculous tales unless they had an incentive!
ReplyDeleteWhere to start with you? Educate yourself!
DeleteTry searching:
Mediamatters.org
Rachel Maddow
Ezra Klein
http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-facts.php
http://obamacarefacts.com/koch-brothers-facts-obamacare.php
There are just so so many fact-based information sources out there.
Fox is NOT one of them - they outright lie, without any shame or embarrassment. They part of the GOP who stated at the beginning of Obama's presidency: they will do anything and everything to make him a one-term president. They obviously failed in that, but that doesn't keep them from still blocking anything and everything Obama stands for. Including shutting down the government, hurting millions of people, especially their favorite 'small business'.
EDUCATE YOURSELF.
Don't be 'oh my gosh I cannot believe someone would do that.'
They do and they will until you and I are out in the street begging.
FIGHT.
I think President Obama's speech struck the right tone, and when more and more people's experiences with Obamacare are positive, we'll stop hearing all the bullshit the GOP and Tea Party spew because their lies will come to mean nothing.
ReplyDeleteThe people I've spoken with and my own family had a great experience with the toll free number and the navigators made things so easy, I almost prefer the phone over a website.
Walgreen and other pharmacies have helpful information, forms to compare plans and sign up. Even our Democratic Reps offices are signing people up.
I can't wait for all the fixes to go into effect so everyone gets covered.
For every person who pays $1.11 per month with a serious condition, somebody else will be paying extra to make up the difference. That's the way it has to be or the system would collapse. You can't have the feel good stories without the disaster stories.
ReplyDeleteAnd isn't this what Obamacare as supposed to end? The rest of us paying extra to make up for somebody who couldn't afford their Dr bills? All this is, is a shell game.
Oh. My. God.
DeleteWhat you describe is also known as "How ALL insurance works".
Known, that is, by people other than you.
And it's not going well.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/day-1-of-obamacare-yielded-six-enrollees-233817649.html
Yup, it's all a giant con game.
ReplyDeletehttp://truth-out.org/opinion/item/19692-obamacare-the-biggest-insurance-scam-in-history