Category: health insurance

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (which was also called ACA or Obamacare) was passed on March 21, 2010. President Barack Obamacare signed it into law on March 23, 2010. People were able to sign up for “Obamacare” plans on Marketplaces starting in October of 2013. Those plans kicked in on January 1, 2014.

Because of Obamacare, Americans who previously were unable to afford health insurance coverage were able to do so – some for the first time in their lives.  People with low-income qualified for subsidies that could be used to cover part or all of the premiums of plans found in the Marketplace.  Medicaid was expanded (in several states) to cover more poor people.

In this blog, I will give a timeline of what it was like to attempt to get health insurance coverage before Obamacare.  The timeline is based on my own experiences as an adult who was trying to find affordable health insurance that actually covered things.

Continue Reading “What Health Insurance Was Like Before Obamacare”

Shawn and I signed up for “Obamacare” yesterday, and we got a really good health plan for a very affordable price. I wanted to share this story for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted our story to serve as a counterpoint to the hysteria that is being passed around about canceled health plans and skyrocketing rates.

The other reason I wanted to share our story was because it directly relates to our efforts to get out of debt. We got a health plan that covers both of us for just a little bit more than the cost of a plan that was only covering me.

Continue Reading “Our “Obamacare” Story”

Health insurance is kind of backwards. If you are extremely wealthy, then you might be able to get through life without having health insurance coverage. I mean, Bill Gates is unlikely to have concerns about being unable to pay for an extended hospital stay or the cost of the ambulance that took him to the hospital.

What if you aren’t extremely wealthy? You are simply not going to be able to pay your medical bills out of pocket.  The only way you are going to be able to pay for your health care needs is if you can get insurance coverage. Theoretically, health insurance is supposed to be there to help you pay for (at least some) of your medical bills.

Continue Reading “Insurance Rate Change”