5 ms·

So... sign up for Medicaid. When you become ineligible for that, you can sign up for a non-Medicaid plan. I fail to see the problem.

josefresco 13y ago
Yeah I fail to see the problem. When I left my salaried job to start my own business I applied for our state provided healthcare (MA) as my income was almost non existent. As my income increased I got bumped from plan to plan adding cost along the way. If you actually have $0 in income, Medicaid or the like sounds appropriate.
- bilbo0s 13y ago
  To be fair to Skolos... it does depend on what state he was in. But I agree... entrepreneurs should not be living in certain states. They are just bad places to be launching a startup.
  - josefresco 13y ago
    Didn't the Affordable Health Care Act essentially roll out nationally a model similar to the successful state models (like Massachusetts) making this a universal method? I claim ignorance here but was under the impression the systems worked similar.
    - bilbo0s 13y ago
      Nope... states can opt out. So you really need to check the rules in your own state. Like any other thing when starting a business.
skolos 13y ago
I think I was not clear - there is no problem with signing up with Medicaid. The problem is - I don't see how ACA adds anything to entrepreneurs. When I quit my job, we signed up for private insurance (family of 4 - $500 a month with decent coverage). That was pre ACA time. All I've got from ACA - my insurance got bumped to $680, which is OK and still much cheaper than any comparable plan on the marketplace. So my complaint is not about lack of options for entrepreneurs, my complaint is that ACA actually made my life marginally worse, not better. Also don't forget that jumping from plan to plan includes filling tons of forms, which takes quite a bit of time and frustration, which I would rather spend building my business.
- nknighthb 13y ago
  I doubt you really got "decent coverage" at that price, and I expect even at $680 the coverage will magically evaporate if shit hits the fan. That said, you've taken your own unusually strong position, observed that the ACA didn't change it, and extrapolated to all entrepreneurs. What does "entrepreneur" mean to you, exactly? Is "healthy and financially secure" a prerequisite in your view? I also don't know what "tons of forms" you're talking about, since that hasn't been the case in any situation I've personally observed since the beginning of the year, but you've now said you're in Texas, which is actively trying to thwart the ACA, so is even less likely to be representative.
  - jandrewrogers 13y ago
    Whether or not $680 is "decent coverage" for a family of 4 depends on age and perhaps the state you live in. Assuming that the family is young, that would buy one of the better pre-ACA plans in my state (Washington). I have no idea how old the parent is. Of course, that won't buy a comparable post-ACA plan. The ACA rather dramatically increased the costs of insurance even for plans that were unchanged by the ACA (~35% more at my current startup for the same plan). Other startups I know faced similar cost increases, which makes the argument that the ACA helps startups dubious.
    - gcb0 13y ago
      So you're saying that having a lower change of shit hitting the fan make for a better case of buying plans that disappear when shit hits the fan? Mindblowing.
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  > I think I was not clear - there is no problem with signing up with Medicaid. The problem is - I don't see how ACA adds anything to entrepreneurs. What is provides is better access to heath insurance plans. My employer's offering (UnitedHealthCare) is atrocious for $460/month for myself and my wife, so I went and got BCBS Illinois for $490/month, with much better coverage. I could not do this prior to the ACA. Sorry if it makes your life marginally worse, but it makes people's lives marginally better when they could not get insurance before, or were paying large sums for pathetic levels of coverage.
founder789 13y ago
Switching plans means: filling out forms, making calls, spending time on hold. Waiting for your mail to arrive to make sure everything is on track. Following up when something goes wrong. First with the insurance companies, then with every medical provider you deal with. If you're healthy and insurance isn't strictly necessary, maybe this isn't so bad. If you're like me, have a pre-existing condition and your well-being actually depends on receiving quality coverage, switching plans is scary. A few years ago I switched plans, and due to a bureaucratic mistake with a pharmacy relating to the transition, I ended up having to pay for a months supply of medication out of pocket, which cost me something like $4000 IIRC. So excuse me if I don't want to switch plans every time I change income brackets. By the way, as someone with a pre-existing condition, I strongly support the ACA. I think it's great. Understandably though, it isn't perfect.

josefresco 13y ago

Yeah I fail to see the problem. When I left my salaried job to start my own business I applied for our state provided healthcare (MA) as my income was almost non existent. As my income increased I got bumped from plan to plan adding cost along the way. If you actually have $0 in income, Medicaid or the like sounds appropriate.

bilbo0s 13y ago
To be fair to Skolos... it does depend on what state he was in. But I agree... entrepreneurs should not be living in certain states. They are just bad places to be launching a startup.
- josefresco 13y ago
  Didn't the Affordable Health Care Act essentially roll out nationally a model similar to the successful state models (like Massachusetts) making this a universal method? I claim ignorance here but was under the impression the systems worked similar.
  - bilbo0s 13y ago
    Nope... states can opt out. So you really need to check the rules in your own state. Like any other thing when starting a business.

skolos 13y ago

I think I was not clear - there is no problem with signing up with Medicaid. The problem is - I don't see how ACA adds anything to entrepreneurs. When I quit my job, we signed up for private insurance (family of 4 - $500 a month with decent coverage). That was pre ACA time. All I've got from ACA - my insurance got bumped to $680, which is OK and still much cheaper than any comparable plan on the marketplace. So my complaint is not about lack of options for entrepreneurs, my complaint is that ACA actually made my life marginally worse, not better. Also don't forget that jumping from plan to plan includes filling tons of forms, which takes quite a bit of time and frustration, which I would rather spend building my business.

nknighthb 13y ago
I doubt you really got "decent coverage" at that price, and I expect even at $680 the coverage will magically evaporate if shit hits the fan. That said, you've taken your own unusually strong position, observed that the ACA didn't change it, and extrapolated to all entrepreneurs. What does "entrepreneur" mean to you, exactly? Is "healthy and financially secure" a prerequisite in your view? I also don't know what "tons of forms" you're talking about, since that hasn't been the case in any situation I've personally observed since the beginning of the year, but you've now said you're in Texas, which is actively trying to thwart the ACA, so is even less likely to be representative.
- jandrewrogers 13y ago
  Whether or not $680 is "decent coverage" for a family of 4 depends on age and perhaps the state you live in. Assuming that the family is young, that would buy one of the better pre-ACA plans in my state (Washington). I have no idea how old the parent is. Of course, that won't buy a comparable post-ACA plan. The ACA rather dramatically increased the costs of insurance even for plans that were unchanged by the ACA (~35% more at my current startup for the same plan). Other startups I know faced similar cost increases, which makes the argument that the ACA helps startups dubious.
  - gcb0 13y ago
    So you're saying that having a lower change of shit hitting the fan make for a better case of buying plans that disappear when shit hits the fan? Mindblowing.
toomuchtodo 13y ago
> I think I was not clear - there is no problem with signing up with Medicaid. The problem is - I don't see how ACA adds anything to entrepreneurs. What is provides is better access to heath insurance plans. My employer's offering (UnitedHealthCare) is atrocious for $460/month for myself and my wife, so I went and got BCBS Illinois for $490/month, with much better coverage. I could not do this prior to the ACA. Sorry if it makes your life marginally worse, but it makes people's lives marginally better when they could not get insurance before, or were paying large sums for pathetic levels of coverage.

founder789 13y ago

Switching plans means: filling out forms, making calls, spending time on hold. Waiting for your mail to arrive to make sure everything is on track. Following up when something goes wrong. First with the insurance companies, then with every medical provider you deal with. If you're healthy and insurance isn't strictly necessary, maybe this isn't so bad. If you're like me, have a pre-existing condition and your well-being actually depends on receiving quality coverage, switching plans is scary. A few years ago I switched plans, and due to a bureaucratic mistake with a pharmacy relating to the transition, I ended up having to pay for a months supply of medication out of pocket, which cost me something like $4000 IIRC. So excuse me if I don't want to switch plans every time I change income brackets. By the way, as someone with a pre-existing condition, I strongly support the ACA. I think it's great. Understandably though, it isn't perfect.