On Sunday night, I wrote a short post soliciting stories from my readers about how Obamacare has already immediately impacted their lives. I asked that all of these emails be directed to ObamacareMakesMeSick@Yahoo.com. I expected a response; I didn’t expect it to be quite so overwhelming.
Over the last 24 hours, my inbox has been flooded with hundreds of emails. What you’ll read in this post represents a portion of them. I’m only one guy (with a fulltime job and twins) — I wasn’t able to go through every single message just yet. Some, I left out because the information was too specific and personal, to the extent that it would reveal the identity of the person who sent it. Some, I couldn’t include because they are simply (well written and accurate) editorials about Obamacare, but they don’t speak to the personal, physical impact of Obamacare on American families. Others, I just haven’t had a chance to read. I expect there will be a sequel to this post coming very soon. Thank you for your stories.
In the meantime, here are the tales of many, many, many real Americans. Share this with your friends. Every time some Statist nincompoop extols the virtues of Obamacare; every time they insist that the “Affordable Care Act” has done nothing but “help” low and middle income families; every time they babble incoherently about how Obamacare isn’t “perfect” but it’s still “better” than what we had before — show them this. Challenge them to read what is happening out there. This isn’t abstract. It isn’t academic. It isn’t a matter of ideology. It isn’t even an issue of constitutionality (although it’s that, also). This is about people. People with kids, and bills, and health problems. This is about people who can no longer afford their health coverage, their mortgages, their lifesaving medication. This is about doctors and nurses leaving medicine behind, driven away by destructive bureaucratic interference. This is about moms and dads losing their jobs so that their employers can compensate for the financial burden of Obamacare. This is about people without insurance because of Obamacare, now being fined for not having insurance because of Obamacare. This is about business owners driven to the edge of bankruptcy. This is real. We heard a lot of fantasies about what Obamacare was “supposed” to accomplish, now it’s time to talk about what it’s actually doing.
So when they say you are “heartless” for opposing Obamacare, show them why it’s heartless to support it.
Sure, the President, the media, Hollywood and the DC elite have touted some “success stories.” But they are few and far between — and they come at a cost. This is that cost. For every person thanking his lucky stars for this new healthcare entitlement, thousands of low and middle income families are suffering.
Is that fair? Is that compassionate? Is that moral?
Notice a few things about the stories that follow: Many of the families facing financial ruin because of the ACA are young. Many are single mothers. Moreover, the vast majority of these emails are from women. I thought Obamacare was supposed to especially help women? Well, I guess for every Sandra Fluke, there’s a million Annes from Nebraska. The former, deeply concerned about getting cheap birth control on the tax payer’s dime. The latter, more worried about having access to affordable lifesaving medication for their children. With Obamacare, the former takes precedent over the latter.
This is insanity.
I’ll be printing this compilation out and sending it to the White House. Then I’ll send a copy to some of our legislators. These people can’t be allowed to hide from what they’ve done.
This is Obamacare (emphasis mine):
Meg, Georgia:
I’m a 12-hr night shift nurse in a hospital (the irony). I work part time so that my husband and I can trade off caring for our one-year-old (he’s a firefighter who works 24 hrs on- 48 off on a rotation). My manager called me and stated I would have to, because of Obamacare- related insurance cost restraints , etc (her words), either go up on the number of hours I work each week or become a per diem employee. Did I mention I’m 6 months pregnant? So, I had to decide whether to go up to working more hours than our family can handle or go “per diem” in which case I’d immediately lose all the paid sick leave I’ve been earning, hoping to use for maternity leave, as well as lose a short term disability policy I’ve been paying for which would also help with maternity leave. Guess which we chose? How on earth do you plan for the future with the future shape-shifting constantly on the whims of egomaniacal and out-of-touch politicians? Thank goodness for a supportive and geographically close extended family.
Lisa, Oregon:
I am a small business owner and have a family of 4. My health insurance costs are fixing to double and my deductible going up from 3000 to 10,000. Obamacare makes me SICK!
Sara, Colorado:
I have four children. My husband works for a small business that has never been able to offer a health plan. We treat most sickness using natural medicine, by choice. Since health plans never cover nutrition counseling, chiropractic, supplements, or anything else that could possibly keep us from getting sick in the first place, it has never made sense to take hundreds of dollars from our one household income to pay for coverage.
We are some of those poor souls without healthcare.
Under the new laws, we get to either pay for “coverage” that I guarantee we would only use in a catastrophic situation (we haven’t been on antibiotics in 7 years), OR pay a fine.
Neat. Thanks. Just what we needed in this economy. I would like for them to keep their “free” healthcare. I’ll keep using my essential oils and herbs and keeping my kids healthy and strong on my own, by the grace of God.
Trish, Virginia:
We received a notice from my husband’s health plan that the insurance we have now isn’t economical enough according to the Obamacare regs, We don’t know what will happen next. We have a low premium and a moderately-high deductible (which we meet very late in the year). I’m guessing higher premiums and deductibles are in our future.
Jess, Oklahoma:
We are losing our current health insurance at the end of this year. My husband’s employer is getting rid of it due to Obamacare. Our insurance currently covers my husband, myself, and our two daughters. My husband’s employer is having to replace our current insurance with a policy that is $400 more a month and an added $3000 deductible. The worst of it is that it will now cost him $100 more a month to cover me, his WIFE! Disgusting.
Nick, Florida:
My current health insurance policy for my family of four is $375/month. The cheapest I can find for relatively similar coverage is $784/month. I can “save” money by going with a high deductible plan and pay $630/month. How is that saving? I can’t afford health insurance at these prices, and my employer doesn’t provide insurance to employees.
Pam, Georgia:
Two of our doctors that we have been using for years made the decision to simply retire early and wash their hands of the whole system. One is nearing 70, but he had planned to practice for at least 5 more years, health permitting. Once he saw what was happening to the medical industry, he threw in the towel and will take a well-earned retirement. The other is younger, but he has invested well and was part of a group that has to turn away patients. He is, he told me, contemplating moving out of the country. He may practice again once he is free of the onerous burden of ACA. Another female doctor, in her 40′s, confided to me that she would retire if she could. She is trying to figure out a way. THAT is an effect that will ripple down to all of us, as we lose the priceless treasure of experience and caring. There will not be enough doctors to handle the caseload, so we will be shunted to PA’s. The wait time for an office visit will increase. We will ALL experience a drop in the quality of care, and that is a terrible price to pay when there were other solutions far less damaging to provide for lower income Americans.
KB, Illinois:
The company I work for has capped all 250+ part time employees to 25 hours a week so that even if they go over a little, they still won’t top the 30 hour “full time” designation. Employees who were struggling to pay bills while working 35 hours a week now get written up if they go over 25 hours a week. Thank you, Obamacare.
Kira, Idaho:
We were able to afford insurance for our family of six for our entire marriage (12 years) until the “Affordable” Care Act forced our insurance company to jack rates over a year in advance because they were already suffering added expenses from Obamacare. We had to cancel our insurance and have now been uninsured for over a year. We will not be enrolling in Obamacare, which means we are uninsured AND looking at a huge financial penalty, and we are just praying our four sons don’t do anything boyish and need to visit the ER.
Michelle, no state given:
So not only are we losing are affordable health care plan and are insurance premiums going up my pay will be cut because even though I am covered for insurance through my husband if I work to many hours my they have to provide me with health cage so the cut my hours or force me to go full time and cut my pay. Which if I have to go full time I might as well quit my job because why work full time if it’s just going to pay for daycare. Either way I’m screwed.
Elizabeth, Tennessee:
Insurance through my husband’s job will be 1/3 of his paycheck before taxes. We still have to eat and pay a mortgage on top of that. No money for anything else.
Amber, South Carolina:
Obamacare has already had a negative impact on our family and we don’t even know our rate increases for 2014 yet!
We are a one-income family since I choose to stay at home and raise our three children. My husband has a well paying job at an engineering firm where he manages their computers and servers. We used to have great health insurance with low co-pays and premiums. Our rates increased by 50% from 2012 to 2013. Our co-pays also went up while our coverage levels decreased. I’m scared to think how much they’ll go up come January.
Our doctors offices instituted new policies and it’s harder to get appointments, harder to get medication refills, harder to communicate with the doctors at all! Appointments are shorter, the doctors attention is distracted, it’s more red tape and less patient care.
Exactly what part of the “Affordable Care Act” is affordable? It’s not affordable for us at all!
Hey Matt,
Anonymous:
My husband works for my fathers small business, I got let go on maternity leave, we have a 17 month old son. There’s the background.
My father can’t afford to offer health insurance to insure us on the cheapest plan would cost around $15,000 a year. I make nothing, my husband makes around $42,000 a year, we don’t qualify for state insurance because my husband makes too much so we pay the state $182.50 a month for our baby to have insurance. Mind you we have a mortgage, a car, and all the bills and taxes associated with it, oh yea and we have to eat every now and then.
This “affordable” care comes out and they want $488 a month for just my husband and I. That’s insane how is that affordable.
Before I get the go get a job, or something about not working I have applied for hundreds of jobs . Everything from a greeter at Walmart to management positions, I was working for a management firm before I gave birth. I applied for a job that would pay slightly above minimum wage, would have to pay $300 a week in day care which would leave me $14.54 after daycare, with no medical benefits. Guess what I didn’t even get that!!! But the government feels that $488 on top of my sons $182.50 is affordable! How, how is that affordable?! My family’s business can’t afford to hire me because he can’t afford to keep his staff now with all that this Obamacare has stirred up!!!!
Kristin, no state given:
My husband works for a wonderful small engineering company. We no longer have prescription coverage and after our deductible still have to pay 80/20 instead of being covered 100% like before Obamacare.
Katie, Texas:
My husband and I are twenty-somethings with student debt up to our eyeballs, full time jobs and a toddler. We hover right above the ‘poverty line’, and we work our butts off to pay bills and provide for our child. We’re your typical middle class family.
My company provided insurance for us for an extremely good price of $95 a month. Since the ACA was signed in, it has gone up to $350 a month to be up to ACA ‘guidelines’. You might be thinking ‘just $350?’, and while it’s true that this seems like pocket change to you, for a young mom who clips coupons and works on a strict budget to put food on the table, it is devastating.
The saddest part is this: If I quit my job, I could get free insurance through Medicaid, food stamps and WIC. And you wonder why there is an epidemic of laziness and entitlement in this country?
Mike, Indiana:
So it is short and sweet. In order for my employment to become ACA compliant, they have taken away our cafeteria discount, our shift and weekend differential pay and our holiday pay. This is only for all hourly employees. Oh yeah, and I work in an ER in a HOSPITAL!
Lori, Tennessee:
My dad is 73. He lives on Social Security (that’s his only “income”) and his monthly Medicare premium is deducted from his check. Several years ago, he also purchased a Medicare Advantage Plan thru BCBS which he also pays a monthly premium. All his medical claims are now filed directly thru BCBS – that’s how an Advantage plan works – it takes the place of Medicare, and it gives you additional coverage (for medication, extended long term care, etc). Even though he gets extra coverage, he pays two premiums 1) standard monthly Medicare premium deducted from SS check and 2) monthly premium paid directly to BCBS.
In 2013, he pays $104.90 for Medicare and $95 to BCBS.
…BCBS sent him a letter telling him that his current plan is now going to cost $121 a month ($26 more a month). That increase itself is bad because it may mean he will have to drop the Advantage plan altogether.
What is worse is that Medicare has not announced what their 2014 premiums will be. Remember, it is open enrollment time. How can my 73 year old dad compare plans and their costs without knowing whether his Medicare premium is going to increase or not.
…The government/Medicare/HHS knows it is open enrollment time. How can they not publish the Medicare premium amount for 2014?
Only one scenario seems obvious to me. The 2014 Medicare premium is increasing and the gov’t wants to wait until the last minute to tell Seniors. I could be wrong, but something stinks here.
I didn’t think Seniors were going to have to bear the cost burden of Obamacare too, but I’m not surprised.
April, Alabama:
My name is April and I am a 25 year old stay at home mom of two boys from Alabama. My husband busts his back working two jobs and we barely, make ends meet. Two weeks ago we received our letter from BCBS regarding our 2014 premiums. Right now our premium for our family of four is $352 a month. As of January 1st, it will jump to $686. Our mortgage is $714. I could have another house for what we will have to pay for insurance. That is if we can pay it at all!
Angie, North Carolina:
We priced healthcare thru the new system and because we’re not on welfare, it would cost us a whopping $1800 a month for coverage. It sucks because our current coverage thru work doesn’t even cover well child visits or immunizations for our kids.
On top of it all, Obama and his lackeys worked into their Healthcare Reform Bill additional taxes for “landlords”. We had to move due to a job change and the market was so horrible in North Carolina we would have had to take a loss on our home. Instead we rented it out and thanks to Obama, now have to pay TAX on the rental money paid to us….not rental PROFIT, ALL RENT paid. Never mind that we are not making a cent on the deal – in fact when property taxes and homeowners insurance are factored in, we are losing $700 a month. The additional tax ON TOP of the rental “income” and personal loss just feels like he’s pouring salt in the wound.
DeEllen, Arizona:
We are going to have to pay the fine because there is absolutely no way we can afford insurance for our whole family here. It is an extra $600 a month here. And who knows if what I have is even Obamacare compliant.
Sherry, Michigan:
My name is Sherry and I am a 27 year old Wife and Homeschooling mom of 2 from Michigan. Our family is at the peak of health, I work out, eat healthy and the last time I was hospitalized was in the 1st grade from an injury. My husband and children are both very healthy and at the peak of health as well.Because of the New Obamacare law, my husbands company will only be covering employees but not their children or spouses. That leaves myself and my two daughters to find care on our own. I went onto the Marketplace website and I was quoted 525 dollars with a 3,000 dollar deductiable to cover me and my girls. My husband through his work will be paying 240 dollars a month just for him with a 1500 dollar deductiable. We make a little less then 60K a year. Paying over 700 bucks a month to be covered is outrageous. Our Premiums from last year to this year have more then doubled! What makes me upset is My parents are both in their early 60s and both has battled cancer these past few years, have health problems up the wazoo are paying very close to what our family is paying. This is ridiclous and I hope people realize what a mistake Obamacare really it.
Jan, Idaho:
Keeping this short and sweet. I’m Jan, a female from Idaho. I live on my pension plus Social Security, which I started drawing this year at age 62. Been treated twice for cancer in the last five years. My current Blue Cross policy is not great, but it’s what I could afford. It is not acceptable under the ACA, however and I’ll be losing it just after the first of the year. Preliminary inquiries into another policy point toward a doubling of my annual deductible (from $5,000.00 a year to $10,000.00) and a more than $200.00 increase in my already-substantial monthly premium payments.
This increase is not something that I can afford. After my current coverage is deactivated in the next couple of months, I will be uninsured, for the first time in my life. I have accepted that fact, and come to terms with it. The ACA? I will not comply. I will pay the fine, instead.
Obamacare will be the death of me.
Julie, Washington:
We have been self employed since 2002 and have bought health insurance for us since then. Received notice from our insurance in Sept. that our policy does not meet the new ACA requirements and they have chosen another plan for us starting Jan. 1, 2014. Currently we pay for the both of us $539, with a $10,000 deductible. Our ‘new’ plan will have only a $5000 deductible but the monthly payment
for the both of us goes to $1095.12! We can not afford that. $500 is the max in our budget now. From what I have been able to see from the horrible website, we will probably have to go on Medicaid.
Christy, Alabama:
We own a small business. Actually, my husband runs an internet sales business. He used to own a small janitorial cleaning service. The economy of 2008 (and forward) kind of wiped that out…..after almost 20 good years. We purchase our health insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. We have to buy from them individually. Our premiums right now are $420/month. We just got our notice that we can’t keep our plan, and if we want to get the plan that is closest to our old plan, it will cost us $1005/month. That is about the same as our mortgage. We need a new van for our growing family of 8. We would like to redo our kitchen. Neither of these are now an option. We will also have to dial back our spending every month. Imagine those decisions on a massive scale across America…… I can hear the crash already.
Laura, Utah:
My family’s health insurance skyrocketed. Our health insurance is now $300 more than my mortgage! We are hanging on to our insurance. We will not support a socialist nation!
Melanie, California:
I got our new rates in the mail a few weeks ago, we pay for it ourselves, and found out that our monthly rates are going from $700 a month to $1000 a month for a family of 5. “Ok, that’s not too bad, I guess. It sucks, but we will make it.” Then I look closer at our coverage and start crying. I haven’t cried for 7 years before this day. We have a $5000 deductible that we have to pay before the insurance will cover anything!!!!! This includes doctor visits and prescriptions! What is the monthly premium for if we still have to shell out all the money every time our kid gets pink eye? Maybe we should cancel our insurance and save our $1000 a month and pay the fine for not having insurance. Then at least we would be able to afford going to the doctor if we needed to, since we will pay for it either way. But wait, I have surgery scheduled in January. We are screwed, there is no way out. I hope the end of the world happens soon. I really do. Thanks for the opportunity to vent and express my sadness at what has happened to our once great country.
Tom, no state given:
I am a 58YO self employed person with a pre existing condition. Diabetic since age 14. Presently I am covered by a Wisconsin high risk pool (HIRSP) at a rate of $427.00 per month with a fairly decent prescription plan and a $5000.00 year deductible. This ceases to exist on 12/31/2913. Under Obama care a similar plan with a $4500.00 deductible and higher co pays on everything. I cannot afford it.
Marisa, California:
Here is my sad story. 
I have had Blue Shield for the last 3 years. Never missed a payment, only go to the doctor once maybe twice a year. Never have prescriptions. Perfectly happy with my insurance life. Then ObamaCare came into effect…Now my insurance company has dumped me as of January 2014. The only other insurance that is offered to me is Covered California. So I called them and for WORSE insurance coverage, my monthly payment is going to go from $149 to $283!!! For just me!! A healthy 31 year old!!!! So forget it, I am going to go on Medi-Share.
Jill, Texas:
I am a stay at home Mommy of 3 babies. My Husband’s insurance that he has through his job covers our whole family, and it USED to be affordable. A couple weeks ago, they called a meeting at his job to let them know that we “will not be affected by Obamacare” and “will get to keep your existing insurance plan”. Yet our deductibles went from $700 to $2,500… “In order to meet the new federal regulations”, essentially making every doctor’s visit or medical issue an out-of-pocket expense. So we have affordable Healthcare coverage, it just doesn’t cover us.
Destiny, Oregon:
We’ve had benefits through my husband’s employer (Wells Fargo) for the eight years we’ve been married. We’ve had two kids during that time, one under Bush’s presidency, one under Obama’s (this last April). The first baby cost us $200 in medical bills. The second baby cost us $8,000. Yep. Eight thousand dollars. In the last three years we have seen our deductible raise significantly (it’s now at $6,000) and our premiums raise just as much. About $400 is taken out of my husband’s check every two weeks, and we have to have six thousand dollars in medical bills before they pay for anything. It never used to be that way. When we got married, our deductible was $300 per person.
Susan, Colorado:
As a 40 year old diabetic, I’ve already been given my death panel details. After I spend $2500 on diabetic supplies, which usually occurs in the 1st quarter of the year, the death panel gets to decide whether I continue to live or whether I die a slow agonizing death.
I’ve lived in Australia under their socialist healthcare and while paying a huge tax (a 12 pack of coke is $35), this doesn’t include the income tax they pay. Then they pay $120 for a doc visit, and then they are reimbursed by the govt about 1/2.
I’d still rather deal with an insurance company than have to deal with the govt!
Katie, no state given:
Our insurance premiums more than doubled and we could no longer afford to have me on it. I found out I ws pregnant shortly after we had to drop my coverage, leaving me uninsured.
Paula, no state given:
I am a stay at home mom on a tight budget. My insurance is going up by 197%. How on earth is this “affordable”?
Gayle, Virginia:
I am an adjunct instructor at a community college in Virginia. As a
result of Obamacare, the Virginia Community College System decided to
limit all adjuncts to 9 credit hours of teaching per semester in the
fall and spring and 6 hours in the summer. I used to teach 15 credit
hours per semester until this policy kicked in last semester. As I
like to tell people, Obamacare forced the college to cut my hours in
order to avoid having to provide me with insurance that I neither want
nor need. Incidentally, I am the only adjunct at my college who is
certified to teach the courses that I teach, which means the college
is unable to offer the two additional courses that I would have been
teaching. I’m screwed. The college is screwed. The students who needed
those courses are screwed.
Lindsay, Texas:
Our government and their ridiculous views have screwed me. I was laid off this past April from the mortgage company I worked for. I filed for unemployment and then became sick with serious heart and intestinal issues and am currently in need of an arterial bypass on my Superior Mesenteric Artery and an intestinal reroute and bypass to avoid any further issues. Unfortunately, until I’m right on “Deaths Door”, I can’t have it done because as a single mom, I can’t afford what will be probably a $250k surgery.
See, in Texas, you don’t qualify for Medicaid if you make more than $251/mo for a family of 3. That said, I had to apply for Obamacare. Imagine my surprise when I was informed that I don’t make enough to qualify for Obamacare and they referred me to apply for Medicaid.
So now, I’m here. Waiting for what will eventually kill me because I fall in between and don’t qualify for either option. I’m the poster child for who Obama said he was helping. The single mom who is struggling to get by. I continue to make my mortgage, buy groceries and pay utilities. My father helps me with my prescriptions for now but he’s on disability and can’t help much. I’ve called the Governors office to speak with an Aide or Chief of Staff, yet funny how nobody can return a phone call. Ever.
Sandy, North Carolina:
I teach at a community college in NC. Because of Obamacare, all of the part time instructors’ hours were cut by 50% so the college wouldn’t have to offer health insurance to us. O-care says that prep time and time for grading papers must be factored in even though we do not get paid for that. So those of us that were teaching 20 hours got bumped up to over 30 hours because of that, which meant that the college wpuld have to offer benefits. So, of course, they cut our hours in half. And there is no waiver or opt-out provision. I, along with others, do not need their benefits. I have health insurance from another source. People are leaving the teaching profession to get fulltime jobs elsewhere. It’s a shame. I am so angry at Congress for voting for this disaster and also at the media for distorting the facts about the UN-Affordable Health Care Act. What a misnomer that is. I wish a reporter would ask me how it has affected me and my friends. I’d give them an earfull.
Janene, Oregon:
My husband is a self employed contractor and I work part time as an orthodontic assistant. Obamacare has been hurting our family since they first passed it. We provide our own health insurance and when it passed our insurance company raised our rates (almost doubled) with less coverage. So I shopped around and found a cheaper and better plan for about $150 more than what we were paying. Our insurance is now costing about $520 a month for our family of four with a $5000 deductible per person. I liked this plan though cause the doctor visits were covered and just tests, labs, etc had to have deductible met before they paid. The preventative visits were covered in full and immunizations too. A few weeks ago I got our renewal for January 2014, our insurance rates are doubling again with less coverage. Now our monthly payment (after providing dental and vision for my children) is about $1000.00 a month. Now we get 4 doctor visits covered a year, but our new deductible is $6250.00 a person. None of us have ever met our $5000 deductible except when I had our second daughter. Preventative is covered and vision is covered for kids. I have to provide dental insurance for children now too- which costs more than the 2 cleanings and exams that I pay cash for now. I basically work part time to help pay for our health expenses, but if I worked a full time job I would be working and gone from children more just to pay for their daycare. It is important to us to raise our children ourselves and not by other people. My husband and I are finally getting back on our feet from the big market crash and now we are faced with $1000/ month for healthcare. It is ridiculous that I am expected to pay $1000 while others get health coverage for free. Our family has pride in what we do and we do not want the government’s help. We live in an entitlement community. Most people don’t work, collect welfare or disability, get food stamps, and are on our state health program. We could have applied for all of these in the past, but we will always find a way to live on our own. If the government would take everyone’s entitlements away no one would die- they would be forced to find a way to live!!
Alicia, Florida:
Obamacare is not affordable. Our Govt credits are $425 a month. Full premiums range from $900-$1400 a month before the govt credits. The $900 plan has a deductible of $6250/$12,500 and then 60/40%. The $1400 plan has no deductible with a 90/10%.
I can’t afford to pay the lower premium because the outrageous deductible would keep me from being able to afford to actually go to the doctor.
I can’t afford to pay the higher premium, period.
Christine, no state given:
The company my husband works for started in the 1970′s– and by one guy out of his garage. Text book story. Now it is one of the largest small business in our town, and employs around 200 people or so? Long story short, it used to be that after 5 years of employment with the company, all dependents under the employee are completely covered through the company and pay no monthly premium, AND receive money in a health savings account. We JUST hit 5 years this September, but thanks to Obamacare, his company can no longer offer that same benefit. We get a discounted premium, which sure…is better than it was, but I was really banking on saving that entire amount. There were employees who have worked there for over 20 years that now have to PAY their dependents’ premium that have not done so for years. Lest we also not forget the individuals who have been let go in order for them to be able to afford our now crappier health care plans. There are no words.
Abby, Kentucky:
Weren’t we all told, multiple times, that if we had health insurance we liked, we could keep it? Continue to go to our doctors, yada yada? Yeah, I thought so. Here is the introductory paragraph from the letter I just received from my health insurance carrier, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield:
“Dear (insert my name here):
Thank you for choosing Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield for your
individual health coverage. Changes from health care reform (also called
the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) continue to take effect in 2014. To meet
the requirements of the new laws, your current plan will no longer be
offered. But you have options and you can count on us to provide you with
a plan that’s right for you.”
I currently pay $407.70 PER MONTH on an individual plan for the privilege of having health insurance. My deductible is $7,000.00. I had the misfortune of a cancer diagnosis in 2004. According to Anthem, I have
been in their highest “tier” since then and will be until 15 years past my last cancer treatment. My family has had to steadily increase my deductible each year to even be able to afford the insurance as premiums rise every year. So, I currently pay almost $5000 annually for insurance which is essentially useless because the deductible is so high. I am insured for the catastrophic and that is about it.
Anthem’s “plan that’s right” for me is to increase my premium to $432.69
per month and my deductible will now be – wait for it- $12,600.00 per year. $12,600.00!!!!!!! But it gets better. My insurance agent called me and strongly suggested I join the Kentucky Health Co-Op. Told me I don’t want to stay with Anthem. That the Co-Op will have better rates for me. When I countered by saying that I don’t want anything to do with the Co-Op, even if it costs me more to stay with Anthem, he informed me that as of December 1, 2014, Anthem will no longer provide nationwide coverage. Their coverage will only be INSIDE the state of Kentucky. All of my surgeons and oncologists are in Nashville, Tennessee, at Vanderbilt. Yeah for me!!!
He went on to inform me that at this point, Humana (another insurance carrier in Kentucky) doesn’t even have all their licensing in order to move forward under the ACA, but from what he is seeing, they will not even be competitive with their rates. Who knows if they’ll even stay licensed in Kentucky so there’s a company probably off/out of the market.
When I queried my agent about the Kentucky Health Co-Op’s provider network, or what happens if the whole Obamacare thing gets repealed and you’re with the Co-Op, he said nobody has the answers to any of that. He said, and I quote, “Basically what you’ve got is a bunch of people that have been given a whole lot of government money to start this co-op and nobody knows anything about them.” Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?!! Can’t wait to entrust my health to them……
…So, contrary to what Mr. Obama promised me, I can not keep my current health insurance plan because it will no longer be offered. I CAN stay with my current health insurance carrier if I: 1)pay more money; 2)have a $12,600 annual deductible; AND 3)no longer see my doctors of choice after
next year.
Or, I can go with a company funded by the government that no one knows anything about. And I have about 20 days to make my decision. Sure hope that damn website is fixed by then………
Sarah, California:
Right now we pay close to 900.00 for individual healthcare in the state of CA. My husband is a business owner and investor. I’m a PROUD stay at home mommy. I’m currently (newly) pregnant and I have PPO insurance. My deductible is 5000 for me and 5000 for my daughter. My daughter was born with a heart defect called a VSD and she sees a cardiologist often. We received the ” renewal” and it will go up to 1300 premium for all 3 of. I have to stay on the 5000 PPO because there are only 2 Ins companies in the state if CA that offer PPO’s for individual healthcare plus MATERNITY which is Blue cross and blue shield unless I switch to an HMO which I refuse to because of my daughters’ condition and I had a difficult pregnancy. I don’t want ANYONE to tell me which doctors I can see etc. This year in June I miscarried and met my deductible. And now I’m pregnant again and will have to pay 5000 next year as well to have my baby. I’ve tried to use the website only to have it crash on me 5 times!! And the time I did get it to work my premium will go up 300!!!! We live on a budget like everyone else and this is groceries in our house and diapers on my baby. It’s a lot! This OBAMACARE IS THE STUPIDEST idea yet and thousands of business owners will be affected and already have!!! I did not vote for this and because other people can’t afford healthcare other people that do suffer!! It’s not fair!!!
Patti, no state given:
My family with sick kids is being destroyed by Obamacare. I made a video in August explaining how. At the time we were at 19k in OOP medical and are currently at just under 23k in OOP medical billed. We still have a surgery next month, too. 17 years of chronic illness, and this is our worse year financially, though not our worst medically.
Where we used to pay 4-5k in medication copays for their meds from 2005-2010, we are on track to pay 10k this year. We’ve paid out over $7,000 and still have 2 1/2 months to go. Our insurance has paid almost $300,000 for those meds. By the end of this month it will reach $320k. When you add in what insurance has paid in medical, it’s some $340k, so we have good insurance.
We received a letter several months ago from my husband’s employer stating that their health plan costs will increase $7.4 million in 2014. I have pictures of the letter on my blog. Www.carholicteapartyhippie.blogspot.com
A medication protecting my son’s kidneys from damage had a copay of $131 for 5 yrs prior to the passing of Obamacare. The copay skyrocketed to $532 since the law passed. I have pictures of invoices on my blog.
From 2005-2010, we had very little cost increases. In 2014, premiums will have increased $3066 since Obamacare passed. Luckily, the employer pays about half, but raises aren’t being given. I suppose paying increased premiums is our raise.
From 2005-2010, our deductible increase $50 ($10/yr). Since the law passed, it has increased $1,200 ($400/yr). From 2005-2010, our out of pocket max increased $500 ($100/yr). Since Obamacare, our out of pocket max increased $3000 ($1000/yr)
A copay for a blood product my son infuses weekly has increased 100% where it had stayed the same for 5 years prior to the law.
The drop in flex spending from 5K to $2,500 harms my family. We used the tax savings to pay for other medical bills. We’d already racked up $2,500 in OOP medical by Jan 19 of this year.
The medical device tax. Our insurance now pays more for the catheters my son uses every 4 hours, the pumps we use for infusion and for all the medical supplies sent to use by home health. The tax is passed on from the manufacturer to the home health to the insurance and then to is by way of higher premiums, copays, deductibles and OOP Maxes.
Before Obamacare, we had an 85/15 plan. Last year it was dropped to an 80/20 plan. So we now pay more out of pocket!
Our local hospital posted a 51 million dollar loss because of having to implement Obamacare. They laid off 950 people and have frozen raises. We’ve noticed a decline in the quality of care. Doctors who would never talk about politics are now telling us it’s the worst it’s ever been, that they are miserable and it is collapsing. Nurses aren’t happy. They are overworked because they are rotating lay offs. Just what every patient wants. Healthcare providers who are unhappy.
Sunny, no state given:
I am on Medicare Advantage Plan. Aetna, HMO is my carrier. If I were to have gotten sick in 2013 my out of pocket expenses would be $3400. Those out of pocket expenses should I be hospitalized and also need nursing home care, will be $6700 for the coming year 2014.
Dawna, Oregon:
Just before ACA came about, my self employed husband had been looking into leasing another truck (or several more trucks), hiring some drivers, and expanding our business. As soon as they passed the ACA we had to decide against it–there was just no way to predict what it was going to cost us, and what the profit margin might be, and whether it would be worth the additional risk with the new insurance laws. Each time they tacked on something new to the ACA we would get another letter from our insurance company informing us that the premiums were going up. over the past 7 years they have almost doubled , from 256/month pre-ACA to 449 currently. Our current insurance plan is no longer offered because it does not comply with Obamacare (we had a high deductible plan with a health savings account). We looked into how much insurance will cost after the first of january and we have Moda (formerly ods) and they are still the least expensive option after looking at the Oregon insurance exchange, however our premium will go UP $123/month AND our deductible more than doubles to $10,500 instead of 5k AND our out of pocket max increases from 9k to 12k approximately; so, that is an additional $1500 or so premium per year for half as much coverage. Oh, and there’s a subsidy available which would cover the premium, which would be great if we WANTED to be FORCED to go on WELFARE, and even though the subsidy would cover the premiums it does not even begin to cover the additional $5,500 worth of deductible we need to come up with for our family of 8–and that also does not take into account how much harder my husband has had to work to bring in less money than we were making before.
My husband and I have 3 children, 2 attending college. We have private insurance through Blue Shield and our premiums will be going from $400 to over $1200. I just checked what Covered California (ACA) is offering and out premiums would be over $1400. My husband is retired and on a fixed income. I work part-time. We work our butts off for every penny we make and spend wisely and take care of our health. I’m angry that we are forced to pay for others who have taken a different path than us and for whatever reason are poorer and unhealthy. I’m not unwilling to help others but to pay 4 times more(according to the examples on the ACA web site) is just wrong. We do not qualify at this time for any monthly tax credit on ACA. We are seriously trying to decide if I should quit my job to qualify for the discount or keep on working to pay the extra cost just to keep away from ACA for as long as we can.
Holly, Arizona:
My husband was an independent contractor and for the past few years we’ve purchased a wonderful health insurance policy through Humana. For $350 per month we had a $5,000 family deductible in case of catastrophic illness and chose to pay $100 for urgent care out-of-pocket every once in a while (we are almost never ill). This plan suited our needs and budget fantastically. The letter came in the mail October 1 from Humana; our plan will no longer be offered because of Obamacare.
I have still been unable to register to see exactly what Obamacare would cost us despite trying to log on at all hours of the day and night, but a reliable government-sponsored cost estimator put the least expensive plan for our family at $1,200 per month with a deductible twice as high as the Humana plan. Though our income ($92K) puts subsidies firmly out of reach for our family of six, I can assure you that we don’t have $850 dollars at the end of the month to spend on WORSE health care coverage than we have. On top of a high tax burden, we have ridiculous student loan payments (stupid to borrow in hindsight but without the MBA we wouldn’t have the job). We don’t have cable, we have a smaller food budget than food stamp recipients (we eat quite well, by the way), drive old beater cars, and are firmly lower middle class. I have 4 kids 6 and under. I could enter the workforce but my salary would never equal let alone surpass the cost of child care (not to mention the fact that we worked hard to obtain an income that we assumed would support having me stay home with the kids, until inflation and taxes made our income shrink). We have no way to make that $850 come out of the woodwork.
We are unwilling to be uninsured and pay the penalty, so we talked about bankruptcy or leaving our lovely home for an apartment. Alternatively, through the grace of God my husband was able to find a new job with a company that offers great benefits (our costs will go to $750 per month but it will be considered a Cadillac plan). He starts tomorrow.
The worst part of this scenario is not that we can no longer control our destiny by choosing to purchase just the coverage we need at an agreeable cost. It is not that my husband literally quit a great job because Obamacare created impending financial doom for our family. No, the worst part is that this scenario is being repeated in the homes of contractors and small business owners across America. We’re lucky–my husband is a Senior Recruiting Manager and knows how to find jobs easily. What will happen to those who can’t?
Donald, Montana:
My rates for a family have jumped 15% this year before it was fully unveiled! no next year the provider for my employer is saying we won’t be covered at all by them in 2014, June. My employer is looking into options now, all of which are predicted to be a 20%+ jump yet again.
James, Ohio:
I’m a manager at a national convenience store chain. My company has restricted all part time and new hires to under 30 hours a week, and even made it part of the management team’s bonus plan. Fortunately, they are not requiring the demotion of current full time employees (yet), however, if we lose a full time employee, we are required to basically hire two part time workers to replace them. Yes, we are hiring more due to this. But it is all part time workers. The only people who are eligible to move to full time are promoted assistant managers and store managers.
It seems to me the ACA is designed to force people to work multiple jobs, then use one of those jobs to pay for their own healthcare?
In addition, my insurance plan currently costs about $120 a month. I just learned that my new insurance plan, starting next year, will cost me about $330 a month, with higher deductibles. This effectively means that instead of paying 4.6% of my wages for insurance, I will now be paying 13% for worse coverage. This amounts to me taking home about $50 less a week.
I’m still trying to figure out how the first letter of the acronym ACA is “A” for Affordable. It should be “R” for Robbery.
Bev, Washington:
We just found out that according to the ACA law, that the spouse and children of the employee are not eligible for any tax credits or subsidies, even though we have the income to be eligible. Reason being, the law states that the employer only need offer coverage for the individual at 9.5% of income – this doesn’t include family coverage. Since my husband’s employer offers him individual insurance at 9.5% or less, we are disqualified from entering the exchange and getting tax credits. The family coverage will be at 11% of our income and doesn’t matter how high it gets, we have to either pay it or go without insurance.
Emily, Arizona:
My insurance is currently approx. $600/mo. for me and my three children. We have insurance through my work and sometimes I feel like I work just to provide that benefit to my family. I only make $1000 per month. So, after paying insurance and taxes, I don’t take home much. I got a notice a few weeks ago that my current insurance does not meet ACA standards and will be cancelled on the renewal date. For me to get similar coverage to what I currently have, I will be paying $1150/mo. thanks to Obamacare. I will now be going to work solely to pay for my health care and even then I don’t make enough.
Our children are 2, 3 & 4 and we had made a decision for me to only work part time until they are in school because we felt it was important to be the ones teaching them as they grow up. At this point, we aren’t sure what we are going to do. We are looking into me going to work full time, but full time day care for 3 toddlers isn’t cheap. We are still considering all our options and trying to figure out what would be best. I don’t know who the ACA is helping, but it is certainly not helping my family.
Amanda, Texas:
My husband works in medicine, and is a master’s-degreed specialist. He’s been in his field of work for ten years now, and has worked in medicine for a total of 25 years. Until two years ago, he has always been a hospital employee, with full salary and benefits and medical coverage. We moved to be closer to family, and for the first time he was hired as an “independent contractor” rather than as a hospital employee. The group hiring him cited the “coming changes in medicine” as the reason they would no longer be hiring folks like him as hospital employees. Now we pay our own payroll taxes, and buy our own healthcare out of pocket, and have no employer contribution to retirement, so it’s the equivalent to a 25% pay cut. Of course, many self-employed folks face this scenario, but they at least enjoy the benefits of working for themselves and calling their own shots and potentially reaping the profits, whereas my husband does the same work, reports to the same people and, pulls the same hours, with much less to show for it. In the past two years, he has witnessed many changes such as these within the healthcare industry and firmly believes it is fundamentally changing to accommodate the new dynamic of Obamacare. Our healthcare insurance premiums have increased twice over the last six months, and this was before Obamacare even went into effect. We paid very high premiums, had incredibly high deductibles that ensured that all of our office visits were also out of pocket, and expected to pay substantially more for the privilege next year. So for now, we have dropped out of the fray and into a medical sharing arrangement, which saves us some cash and for the time being, exempts us from the requirement to purchase insurance.
My father worked for the same manufacturing company for 34 years. During that time, he worked his way up from an entry level lineman to managing the entire plant and was only ten years away from retirement. The Great Recession decimated their construction dependent business and over time they reduced their workforce from several hundred to a skeleton crew of a few dozen. The company was holding on for dear life, with the hopes of weathering the challenging times and rebuilding as the economy improved. But when Obama was reelected, and all hope of the repeal of Obamacare vanished, it was the final straw and the plant closed. To be clear, the owners specifically cited Obamacare as the reason they were closing up shop for good. My father was fortunate to find new employment, but at half his previous salary, in a new state, and with a company that does not offer any medical benefits. He rents out his mortgaged home in his previous home state because he is underwater on the home and cannot sell, so was forced to cash out his retirement to buy a smaller home in the new locale. He works more hours, for less pay, has no prospect of retiring anytime soon if at all, and after enjoying good health and good insurance for most of his life, faces his later years and the potential for increased health problems with no medical insurance at all.
Rachael, Alaska.
My husband works for the teamsters union. They take $6 off his check for every hour he works to put in the welfare trust. It equals to about $900 a month. It was covering my husband, myself and our two children. Now since Obamacare the structure has changed and they can no longer cover use all. Our choice was to cover my husband and I or my husband and the children. I am no longer covered unless I choose to pay an additional $800 that we cannot afford. If we chose to cover me we would be paying basically $1700 a month for health insurance. Even if we choose to drop this plan and search for more affordable care we would still be loosing the $900 until next year when contract negotiations would take place. This is the case with more than 70% of their work force because most of the families’ wives don’t work or work where insurance isn’t offered. I hope all the union loyalists that pressured all of their employees to vote democratic are happy with what’s happened.
Rebecca, Oklahoma:
My delivery job is a 60-hour/week position (seasonally) for which I annually earn 40,000 evil dollars. After getting off work at 5:00 today, I will look for a secondary position to make up for the inflated cost of my healthcare under this law. I am exhausted, but an audiobook I read recently suggested that I do what is important to me before the day starts. That’s why I wrote this e-mail at 4:00am.
Joanna, no state given:
I am a RN. Obama care is costing my hospital so much that we have had to rearrange the staffing grid to a point that I feel it is dangerous to do my job. Also, my take home pay after taxes and insurance for my family is less than 50 percent. This year I am forced to drop dental and vision because the health insurance alone is $800.00 a month. My husbands company refuses to insure me because I have access to insurance at my employment; a new change brought on by the new legislation. My company will insure him for an additional 200.00/mo above the family premium. This means we have two sets of family deductibles and two max out of pockets to meet. My family will forgo vision coverage because I now pay a monthly Obama tax of $5.25 per insured body each month; $26.25/ mo for me. I was under the impression that Obama Care was supposed to increase access to insurance. It has done precisely the opposite for this hard working, two income, middle class family!
Jane, Ohio:
Insurance going up $500 next year. That’s already after going up the previous year and a $5000 deductible. Grateful that my husband has a job with benefits, but as we we have 4 kids, with 2 in college, we budget our money (unlike the government.) That $500 will be discretionary money that we don’t spend next year – travel, dinners out, etc.
Linda, Delaware:
I run a small business that has suffered ever since this administration has taken over. I am a sole proprietor with no employees. I do not have health insurance nor plan on having it. I take care of my health holistically and am happy to do so. Now I will have to pay a substantial fine which will only grow over the years because I choose not to have health insurance. The socialist policies of this administration are destroying this nation.
Gail, Missouri:
Recently hired as a substitute teacher in our local school district. First day of work I was handed a letter from the superintendent: “Due to the Affordable Care Act substitutes will no longer be able to work more than 4 days a week…”. My son teaches in this school district. He says this not only affects the substitutes but the teachers AND most importantly, students since no teacher needing a long term sub will be able to get consistency for their students.
Deedie, Kentucky:
Although I have not and will not signup for obamacare, my health insurance rates are going up over $200/month. My plan is no longer available and my deductible will be raised from $5,000 to $8,000.
Joe, Pennsylvania:
I own a small insurance brokerage in Exton, PA (couple miles south of Valley Forge). We employe 10 very good people. Before the Affordable Healthcare act was passed, the cost of health insurance for our staff was the third highest expense in our budget. Now, if I was a heartless yet savvy business owner, I would force those 10 employees on to the new Obama care. I could reduce my expenses significantly! However, knowing a little something about insurance (33 years in this biz) I would never subject my valued employees to that fate. But I can tell you that many of the small guys I insure are considering doing it because they need to cut costs in this poor economic environment.
This isn’t a gripe about me losing commission. (Although, the way the plan is sold through “navigators” and NOT fully licensed insurance professionals gives me pause.). We haven’t sold much health insurance over the years because it’s become a no win proposition. Expensive for my clients due to dwindling availability and reduced compensation as the insurance carriers are trying to make a profit.
This is a bad situation which is going to get much worse with rising costs to consumers and deteriorating service from the government.
One last note. The Feds have a poor track record when it comes to universal insurance coverage (think National Flood insurance), just ask the people that are STILL waiting to be paid from the effects of hurricanes Katrina, Irene and Sandy. Why do we think they will do a better job in serving our needs as regards to serious illness and disease?
Janis, Texas:
My daughter and I are currently on COBRA through my ex-husband’s electrical workers union. Under Obamacare, my premiums will actually go DOWN (from $895 to $544 per month), but my deductible will increase from $400 to $6,000 per person! Since we are both relatively healthy, I will be paying $544 per month for “coverage,” while also paying ALL of my medical expenses, unless we have a catastrophic injury or illness. Sucks.
Cody, Illinois:
It wasn’t until I read your post yesterday that I realized what has been going on with my scheduling system at work. It was “updated” recently with a new feature that alerts me and tries to stop me from scheduling part-time employees more than 31 hours. Now some of these employees want more than 31 hours, sometimes I need additional coverage, etc. This past week I scheduled a part-timer for 32+ and found out the day of his shift that the system deleted his shift because he had “too many” hours so he didn’t show up that day. I double checked to make sure he didn’t just miss his shift but sure enough when I checked the scheduler it was in red as deleted. This is affecting my ability to have people to help my customers as well as affecting the employees who want or need 31+ that are not full-time. Most are part-time for school reasons and many have health insurance with their parents still so they don’t need health insurance from our company at this point. We also received a huge cut in the amount of hours we have to spend on employees which I’m assuming is to try and prevent us from giving extra labor to part-timers. Obamacare makes me sick!
Susan, Texas:
I work at one of our many public schools here in Texas. I am not a teacher but also not an administrator so I make very paltry wage. Because of Obama’s Affordable Healthcare Act my insurance went UP over $100 this year. In response, I had to go to a different plan with a higher deductible and less coverage. BUT, before I did this I wanted to get my “free” preventative testing done. What the insurance companies don’t tell you is that it is only free if they don’t find anything. In my case it was a colonoscopy and I was told by my doctor that since I was 50 years old I needed to have this done. “But don’t worry,” he said “it will be covered under preventative care.” Then the bills started rolling in because my test didn’t come back “perfect”. That was their word, not mine. Long story short, this “free” preventative care cost me nearly $2,00
Jaron, Pennsylvania:
Back before ACA, my entire family was covered under my employers group plan at no cost to me. Keep in mind that when I say no cost, I m