Here's my ACA rate INCREASE for those who doubt...

[moriah]

214. No offense, and I do realize that this is a large increase for you....

.... but HSA plans are designed to be supplemented by contributions to an HSA, ideally enough to meet your deductible at least, more if you could do it. If you'd been contributing enough to put your $1500 deductible away every year, that'd be $283 you were budgeting for your health care for a month. Most people don't supplement them with an HSA, though - skating by on a cheap plan as long as they're healthy and not saving for when they aren't. With catastrophic expenses covered, all a person really has to save for is their yearly out of pocket expenses with modern HSAs.

There's a Silver plan for about $300 in Nebraska that has copays instead of needing to exhaust your deductible before seeing your PCP, the ER, an urgent care clinic, or using a prescription. The deductible is high, but most people never touch it under those plans. There's another Bronze plan about the same price as the $2500 HDHP they're trying to transition you to that has a $4500 deductible, but has two PCP visits at a $60 copay a year without having to touch the deductible, as well as ER and urgent care copays that do not touch the deductible. The only prescriptions that go into the deductible are forumulary brand-name drugs or specialty drugs. Both have a $6350 out of pocket maximum so cover you for catastrophic coverage, costs that theoretically no longer need to be taken into account for your health savings goals.

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I don't deny that healthy single people who are making more money than average are taking a hit here. When I was advocating for this legislation, I expected my group policy rate to go up quite a bit, like it had done every year prior. Sadly, I don't get to complain about that increase, because I lost my job for being sick too much.

I have to say, though, I have far more sympathy for the people trying to support a family on the incomes that the single people would be making to be over 400% of the poverty line, though. They're being told their insurance is "affordable" if only the worker's premium is 9.5% of their income, not their family -- so don't qualify for subsidies even though their household incomes are well under 250%.

Not saying I don't feel for you. I just feel for people trying to support kids on what I used to make (which would have put me over 400%) and insure them as well, and kind of feel for them more. Again, I mean no offense, and people shouldn't say you are lying.