3 ms·
Is the situation described for the woman in the article common? It sounds completely insane, I don't see how anyone could defend it. Minimum wage is $7.25, so
by zelos 10y ago
Is the situation described for the woman in the article common? It sounds completely insane, I don't see how anyone could defend it.
Minimum wage is $7.25, so at a guess say $20k/yr net? $800/month insurance is $9,600, nearly 50% of her income for insurance that would still have left her with a $70k bill after the haemorrhage?
Edit: I realise that's kind of the point of the article, but seeing those figures I don't see how _anyone_ below the middle class could get decent insurance.
- TheAdamAndChe 10y agoThis is why healthcare is such a huge political issue in the US right now. Tons of people are going into bankruptcy over medical bills, and tons of people are dying that shouldn't be. Many democrats want a single-payer system, and many republicans want a free market. Since we have a two-party political system that is behaving more and more partisan with each year, everyone is just yelling at each other and no solution is being found.
- creaghpatr 10y agoIn theory she's mandated to have insurance to prevent this type of thing from happening. If she couldn't afford it the government would subsidize her on the exchanges. In practice, she paid the ACA penalty to have the privilege of not buying insurance and then she got screwed for not having it.
- TheAdamAndChe 10y agoAfter the subsidies, chances are good that the amount she would still have to pay is prohibitively expensive. There is a baseline amount you have to make to get by, and at minimum wage in the US, chances are good you're hitting that baseline amount.