Patients Pay Before Seeing Doctor as Deductibles Spread

[Yo_Mama]

22. Well, the good part is that if you get ill and your income falls off

you will still get insurance and have reduced copays. That takes care of one of the problems in the system currently, in which ill people can't afford to keep paying their insurance premiums because they're out of work!

But there really is going to be a problem for many who literally have insurance but can't come up with the cash for payment. For those people, it is going to be hard to gain access to all but emergency care.

I think the doughnut hole is the best description. Higher income people will almost all be forced into the catastrophic plans, but they will have some reasonable chance of coming up with the cash to get treated. Plus, it is relatively easier to save for a high income person.

A family of 3 wouldn't have any cost-sharing reduction with income of 50K, and having to come up with $3,000 or $4,000 for medical care would be difficult for many and impossible for quite a few. If it's a kid with a medical problem they will treat the kid and chase the parents later, but if it is a parent with a medical problem, unless they can borrow or have a local charity who can kick in they are up the creek without a paddle.