SCOTUS upheld the individual mandate... Everybody panic!

[theda_b]

Roberts' decisive vote was based on the premise that the individual mandate is in fact a tax. Opponents object to paying a tax for not buying something, effectively forcing them to buy insurance

Comments

[anonymous]

heya, what is the financial hardship exemption? poor peoples minds need to know. :=)

[miladyelizabeth]

I'm pretty sure if you qualify for the hardship exemption, you qualify for Medicaid or some other low-income option in most states.

[theda_b]

There is a window between 133% of FPL and a sufficient income to buy insurance. NY is one of the highest priced insurance markets, so it could theoretically happen here for people in the $15-18k range. I should try to dig up stats on Romneycare to see what percentage of MA's population is exempt for financial hardship.

[miladyelizabeth]

Yeah, my coverage in CT is $450/mo with a $3000 deductable, which means paying $8500/year. Unfortunately, going without coverage is not an option for me, so I simply have to budget for healthcare at the detriment of other important things in life. :(

Looks like the new legislation will cap out-of-pocket costs to about half of what I'm paying now, if I'm reading this correctly.

[that_xmas]

What's good policy at the state level doesn't necessarily work at the Federal level.

It'll be interesting to see the fallout of this, as the bill was sold to us as "not a tax". Roberts has kicked the health-care ball back into play for this Presidential election and given Romney a "largest tax increase on the poor and middle class" talking point.

[theda_b]

But the poor are exempt and most of the middle class are already insured. Then again, taking points are all most people need to get all up in arms because stopping to think for half a second is just too much for us.

And the bill should never have been sold to us a "not a tax." It should have been sold to us as a tax credit for health insurance. And everyone loves a tax credit. Even if a credit for doing something and a tax penalty for not doing it are exactly the same thing at the end of the day.

[miladyelizabeth]

I get rejected everywhere for preexisting conditions (Hear that Repubs? They just decline you. No they don't have a six month preexisting window, that's a myth for some of us), and I make more than the ($14K?) cap for the state high risk pool. Instead, I pay an arm and a leg for coverage as a small business owner, which I can only do in a few states, thus my being stuck in CT. I have spent over $8000/yr on health care the past few years, despite having nothing serious happen. I'm hoping this will let me have a few insurance options to choose from!

[theda_b]

Yes, this should help you quite a bit. My pre-existing conditions don't usually get me denied outright, they just double or triple my premiums. Whee!

I'd never even consider taking a full time job without insurance, so I'm not sure how many employers are really going to have a problem with the requirement that they offer coverage if they have more than 50 full time employees. I can't think of a single business this would affect, but I'm sure there must be some somewhere.