Although I consider myself a conservative, I think that to repeal the Affordable Care Act would be irresponsible. The Affordable Care Act allowed me to drop our group health care plan and by paying key employees more, they were able to enroll in health insurance at more affordable rates than through our employer provided plan. If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, there is no way the insurance rates will come down enough to make up for the tax credits currently being used to offset the insurance premiums. In the end, this could be a disaster for employers, as in the future, the Republicans will be voted out of office, and the liberals will be back in power. Then the $15 minimum wage will inevitably be passed, and small business will really suffer then.
—Brad Olson
Health care is a mess and unaffordable. It is not health care. It is catastrophe coverage. Premiums have increased over 100 percent. Deductibles to over $7,500 per person. No middle-income family can afford this and smaller companies are doing all they can to avoid offering coverage.
—John C Krebs
I have not had insurance since 2011. I am co-owner of a very small cafe/convenience store in rural Kansas. I also work 32—40 hours a week at our school as head cook. I bring home a paycheck from that job 10 months a year. It is just enough to make my house payment, utilities, car insurance, and put some groceries on the table. We have not taken a salary from the cafe since we opened in 2010.
Here's my idea. The healthcare "reform" was a failure to people who were low income, self-employed, and trying to find coverage for their families. I am glad it forced insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions. I am very disappointed that it is a requirement to have coverage for such things as pregnancy when the person who is being insured has taken measures to not become pregnant ever again. That is a complete abuse of power.
Secondly, I don't see how paying $375 or more per month, a 20 percent co-insurance, and a $5,000 deductible is affordable. If you do the math, I would be paying over $950 per month (putting $2,000 for co-insurance and $5,000 for deductible in an account plus the premium) for "affordable health care." I bring home about $1,100 dollars per month, 10 months a year.
I am 51 years old, I have no major health issues, I went to the doctor twice last year, both times for normal cold/flu issues, and I still have to follow all the "rules" if I were to find a policy. All I want is a major medical policy that would cover if I needed to go to the hospital if I fell and broke my leg, or something along those lines.
My husband will be covered under Medicare this fall. He is 64.
We are in the "gap" where my kids are on their own, my mother is still healthy and lives on her own, and we don't make enough money to qualify for the tax credits, but can't afford a real policy either.
My personal opinion is that insurance companies should be allowed to offer individual policies to people like us, with no government regulations, like were offered before ACA was implemented. If the government wants to force the insurance companies to provide a group policy to those that have pre-existing conditions, don't make the average citizen pay for it with high deductibles and high premiums.
—Wanda Waldeck