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Obamacare is not a plan, it's a law that set minimum standards for health insurance plans, created marketplaces to cross-shop plans across providers on a single

Obamacare is not a plan, it's a law that set minimum standards for health insurance plans, created marketplaces to cross-shop plans across providers on a single website, and created a system where you can receive government subsidies towards their cost if your income is low enough. At $45K, you would receive subsidies towards your insurance premiums. I've bought my insurance on the ACA marketplace since it opened ten years ago. There's no difference I can see between the plans offered on the health insurance marketplace and those offered directly from the websites of the same insurers that offer coverage in my state (Blue Cross, CVS Aetna, United, Ambetter, etc). The very highest deductible "catastrophic" plan offered on the marketplace in California for a 29 year old has a $9450/year deductible, which is also the maximum out-of-pocket expense for the year if you have this plan. A $100K deductible plan does not exist, and when you enroll during the annual enrollment period or after a qualifying life event, plans take effect the day you make your first payment, not months later. I'm 10 years your senior and pay less than $350 per month with a lower deductible than the plan quoted above, with no government subsidies.

notaustinpowers 2y ago
I use Obamacare in the rural southern way, referencing ACA and healthcare.gov, lol. I'm also in Georgia which may have different regulations regarding the deductibles. I remember looking at the plans around 2 years ago and realizing that there was no way I could afford the premium, let alone the yearly deductible. I just took another quick look at a non-Healthcare.gov site. Insurance for me would be $313/month with a $9,100 deductible. But it does not cover doctor visits, generic drugs, or specialist visits until after I pay the full $9,100. Why would I want to pay $313/month for essentially no coverage until I spend 20% of my income towards a deductible before I see any benefits?
- dangrossman 2y ago
  You get an annual doctor visit for free with any insurance plan. There is no deductible or copay. There are other categories that are covered with no deductible. My wife had a $13,000 IUD insertion under anesthesia at a hospital due to complications, and this cost her $0 with insurance, without having met her deductible, since reproductive health is covered with no out of pocket cost under all ACA plans. I'm on healthcare.gov looking at Georgia's plans this year for someone with $45K of income. You have options starting at $129/month. Many of these sub-$200 plans get you doctors visits for $40-60, prescription drugs for under $25 each, mental health treatment for under $60 per visit. This is all without hitting your deductible at all, they're day 1 prices. If you paid the cash prices for many of these doctors, specialists, therapists, they'd be many times higher than the insurance negotiated costs. Look under the "covered costs" estimates for things like mental health treatment, diabetes maintenance, broken bone treatment, etc and you'll see that the estimated annual cost for the insured is often half or less the plan's deductible -- which tells you that hitting the deductible is not when the savings start. I don't think my wife or I have ever hit our out-of-pocket maximums in a year, yet the insurance has saved us more than it's cost in most years. You're going to start interacting with the healthcare system a lot more than you have in your 20s once you're in your 30s. We all do at that age. And if you have even the worst ACA plan, you'll start to understand what it's doing for you regardless of the deductible.
- phonon 2y ago
  This is the cheapest plan I could find in GA. It said it would subsidize the $357/m cost down to $113 for $45k 40 year old Male non-smoker, single. It seems quite a bit better than what you are suggesting. (I used https://www.healthsherpa.com/ https://www.healthsherpa.com/ to more easily check out available plans.) It covers preventative care, and after the $9100 deductible, it seems to cover pretty much everything with $0 copay, as long as its in-network. (You also get their negotiated rates when you go to the doctor, I assume.) https://d3ul0st9g52g6o.cloudfront.net/2024/GA/sbc/2024_58081GA001005101.pdf https://d3ul0st9g52g6o.cloudfront.net/2024/GA/sbc/2024_58081...

notaustinpowers 2y ago

I use Obamacare in the rural southern way, referencing ACA and healthcare.gov, lol. I'm also in Georgia which may have different regulations regarding the deductibles. I remember looking at the plans around 2 years ago and realizing that there was no way I could afford the premium, let alone the yearly deductible. I just took another quick look at a non-Healthcare.gov site. Insurance for me would be $313/month with a $9,100 deductible. But it does not cover doctor visits, generic drugs, or specialist visits until after I pay the full $9,100. Why would I want to pay $313/month for essentially no coverage until I spend 20% of my income towards a deductible before I see any benefits?

dangrossman 2y ago
You get an annual doctor visit for free with any insurance plan. There is no deductible or copay. There are other categories that are covered with no deductible. My wife had a $13,000 IUD insertion under anesthesia at a hospital due to complications, and this cost her $0 with insurance, without having met her deductible, since reproductive health is covered with no out of pocket cost under all ACA plans. I'm on healthcare.gov looking at Georgia's plans this year for someone with $45K of income. You have options starting at $129/month. Many of these sub-$200 plans get you doctors visits for $40-60, prescription drugs for under $25 each, mental health treatment for under $60 per visit. This is all without hitting your deductible at all, they're day 1 prices. If you paid the cash prices for many of these doctors, specialists, therapists, they'd be many times higher than the insurance negotiated costs. Look under the "covered costs" estimates for things like mental health treatment, diabetes maintenance, broken bone treatment, etc and you'll see that the estimated annual cost for the insured is often half or less the plan's deductible -- which tells you that hitting the deductible is not when the savings start. I don't think my wife or I have ever hit our out-of-pocket maximums in a year, yet the insurance has saved us more than it's cost in most years. You're going to start interacting with the healthcare system a lot more than you have in your 20s once you're in your 30s. We all do at that age. And if you have even the worst ACA plan, you'll start to understand what it's doing for you regardless of the deductible.
phonon 2y ago
This is the cheapest plan I could find in GA. It said it would subsidize the $357/m cost down to $113 for $45k 40 year old Male non-smoker, single. It seems quite a bit better than what you are suggesting. (I used https://www.healthsherpa.com/ https://www.healthsherpa.com/ to more easily check out available plans.) It covers preventative care, and after the $9100 deductible, it seems to cover pretty much everything with $0 copay, as long as its in-network. (You also get their negotiated rates when you go to the doctor, I assume.) https://d3ul0st9g52g6o.cloudfront.net/2024/GA/sbc/2024_58081GA001005101.pdf https://d3ul0st9g52g6o.cloudfront.net/2024/GA/sbc/2024_58081...