My wife and I are 65 and 64 years old, respectively. We have had private health care coverage with our insurance company for many years. Over the last five years we had to repeatedly increase our deductibles and co-pays to try to maintain some stability to our costs. My wife does go on Medicare next month and we purchased a supplemental Medicare advantage plan to protect our family from any catastrophic expenses. We are both on Social Security now and have a comfortable fixed income.
We currently pay $326 per month for my insurance (with a $7,500 deductible) but was informed that this plan will be discontinued at the end of this year, being replaced with a bronze affordable care act plan ($10,000 deductible). The monthly premium will go to $628 per month. We may or may not be eligible for a medical tax credit to offset some, if any of this increase. The light at the end of the tunnel is that next year I will be able to go on Medicare, with a supplemental plan….
I find it hard to believe that we are in the minority and wonder how other families are able to absorb such extraordinary increases, let alone the major increases in deductibles. I have never felt that I was entitled to health care coverage and accepted that responsibility. It just seems that all of the health care providers, hospitals and insurance companies are positioning themselves to protect themselves and investors before the Affordable Care Act becomes law. Health care should be available and “affordable” without all the added hoops to jump through with the IRS. Can you imagine how much bigger, complicated, and expensive the accountability departments in our government will have to become to administer this cost saving action of reduced health care costs?
Marc Owenby
Everett
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