It's always cost ~$2k a month, the only difference is the previous administration thought everyone else should be "temporarily" paying for her plan.

I feel like we need a perpetual PSA here that moving money from person A to person B obviously doesn't make anything cheaper.

Guy from Poland here. What happened to ObamaCare? I thought you got finally a primary healthcare for all?

Excuse me, but how in the world were you able to afford 1200/month, you know that's like cheap rent right?

You go without coverage of course. Unfortunately.

(It's getting late, Jeff. I'm heading to bed myself.)

I'm so, so sorry to hear this. Can you share which state you're in?

You're still allowed to visit the same PCP although it might not be covered, or covered out-of-network with a higher patient responsibility.

> But I can't imagine what people have to sacrifice to keep any kind of coverage (with high deductible and horrible coinsurance and prescription drug coverage) for their families if they don't have a decent income :(

These increases are specifically a lapse in subsidies for high earners -- those with a "decent income." People under 400% of Federal Poverty Level still qualify for the subsidies.

This is misleading.

Health insurance premiums cost about as much as buying a new car every year. Healthcare is generally on top of those premium payments.

Have you been on an ACA bronze plan? I wouldn’t consider it a Cadillac plan nor did I find it covering lots of unnecessary things.

> The end result is we all have Cadillac plans that most people don't need.

That's right, those pesky things the ACA says should be covered like emergency services, ambulances and prescription drugs is definitely the issue here. You've definitely found the problem.

I can't believe people keep repeating this lie. Did no one live prior to the ACA where you could easily go bankrupt because your insurance decided it didn't cover things like hospital bills? Because I sure as fuck remember, considering that's what bankrupted my parents.

You don't need it until you need it, and needing it often comes in the form of a lightning strike from blue sky. The counterargument is that having everyone pay a higher amount makes it feasible to actually have this coverage available, when needed, without bankrupting the insurance companies, because the rare astronomically expensive care is covered by the premiums paid by the vast majority of people who are relatively healthy and are unlikely to need it.

Now whether the on-paper prices for medical care in this country actually have any relationship to objective reality is an entirely separate question of course. In general coming from an outside perspective, combining healthcare and for-profit motives in a single system seems particularly likely to lead to all kinds of perverse incentives, but, it's the system that exists, and it seems unlikely to change any time soon.

> laundry list of

That’s a meaningless statement, look for an actual percentage here.

Healthcare costs have been spiraling for decades in the US, the ACA didn’t impact the long term trends to a noticeable degree. Actual healthcare reform could drive down costs but that would mean a fuck load of people in medical billing getting laid off. Instead you’re paying for your doctor to talk with your insurance provider often for longer than they spend working with you, that’s the ultimate issue with US healthcare costs.

That’s how insurance works. You pay for a plan you likely don’t need so everyone older than you is reasonably covered.

If young people elected to get a barebones plan while in good health, who would subsidize them when they grow older?

The main point of health insurance is to cover things that most people don't need. Prior to the ACA, most health plans had lifetime coverage limits which could leave patients with serious conditions financially ruined or unable to access care. The ACA removed those limits so naturally coverage is now more expensive.

This is factually incorrect and in fact the opposite of what a Cadillac plan means.

Obamacare plans are actually the opposite: they are high deductible with limited networks.

Obamacare plans typically have deductibles between $5,000 to $9,000, with a narrow selection of networks, and high premiums if unsubsidized.

This is the opposite of what a a Cadillac plan is (or used to be).

What did the ACA require that shouldn't be part of healthcare in one the wealthiest countries in the world?

Annual check ups? Cancer screenings? Maternity care? Basic mental health? Forcing the insurance companies to accept patients with preexisting conditions?

These services should be available to everyone.

If a developed country cannot provide these things to its citizens it's a failing state in my book.

[delayed]