Hurray for Health Reform By PAUL KRUGMAN

[amandabeech]

39. $2500 a year for a worthless policy will be cheap.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has a calculator for what it expects premiums to be.

I'm single and almost 57. Two years ago, the calculator showed that I would pay $950 a month for a gold policy. Now it is showing $1100 for a bronze. If I make over $46,000, I will get no subsidy. If I stay under $46,000, I will pay $550 a month for a lousy policy under the subsidy.

I pay full freight on income taxes because I have no dependents and have never been able to get the money together to buy a home due to uncovered medical expenses.

I may be able to make over $46,000, but until I make $20,000 more, roughly, I will come out behind because my total insurance payments plus the tax on the income that I will need to pay the premiums comes out to that amount.

I have almost zero chance of getting a job that will either pay the higher income or have a group policy in which I will pay less.

I'm really going to be careful between 59 and whenever I will be allowed to get Medicare. Even though Medicare is a lousy policy, it isn't as expensive as my ACA policy will be.

I realize that some people will be helped, but I realize that, as ususal, I will receive little or no help from these "helping" programs.

I'd be better off if Obama had put in the catrastrophic policy, which is $619 for lousy coverage, and focused on getting the economy going again instead of leaving the economy to rot while he got wrestled to the ground by himself and the republicans on health care.