Well...my insurance premium is going up by $176.19 a month (and a Thank You)

[mwooldri]

110. To me, $238 is cheap... but then I don't know all the details.

I've been cocooned with my employers' health insurance since I began with them. I have a family of four (including myself) - my bi-weekly payroll deduction is about $150. I have an in-network deductible of $2,400, and a total in-network out of pocket of $3,600. Out of network is significantly higher. My employer gives us $1000 each year into a Health Savings Account that can be used on expenses towards the deductible. I throw in $100/paycheck into the HSA... and in theory our medical expenses are covered for the year. So for a family of four, it's about $542 a month, no co-pays and planning ahead for those expenses that are most definitely going towards the deductible first.

If that person who makes $80k a year and is grumbling about $238 a month... it could be worse... insurance for a single employee is about half of what I pay... $271 a month... and that's covering everything and planning ahead for the deductibles, as I do for my family. If that person is healthier and is willing to risk the higher deductible, there are cheaper options. $95/mo is the cheapest it gets at work, same coverage but higher deductibles and no employer contribution to the HSA.

Despite this, I'm glad the ACA exists. It means that if I were to lose my job and my wife continues to work her 28hr/week (they pay her the equivalent of working 35hr/week) then we can still get health insurance through the exchanges. If I want to quit and go work for myself, I can still have health insurance and not be tied to my employer for health care coverage.

Granted, it's not the same as the UK's NHS. For certain procedures there is a wait time. In some cases, "going private" may be a good thing for those who can afford it. But the ACA is most definitely a step in the right direction and for me it appears to be a typical American solution to an American problem.