By all means, google Denmark best for upward mobility and click on the first thing that pops up. Read the charts at the bottom of the page - it may open your eyes to some truths about the US.....along the lines of what I tend to discuss. RobOriginally Posted by Alan
yea how this is usually talked about is "intersectionality", the term is all the rage. That while you may not be in a particularly privileged position - as a white male you are still in a better position than say an African American male in the same economic situation. You are still less discriminated against say in hiring etc. than they would be. So there's still racial privilege there. Even in poverty there can be racial privilege. I don't wade deep into those discussions, because I view it as walking into a war zone. But that's how it's done, that there are various forms of privilege that exist as part of the social structure in existing society (race, class, even gender) and you can still have privilege even if your not a rich white hetrosexual non-trans male. Now the existence of privilege or being privileged in some way does not necessarily equal being "an enemy".I'm actually flattered in a strange way that ANYONE could blanketly cast me in the role of the enemy. Seriously. I may be the college educated white male but whatever privilege that is supposed to mean or grant me just didn't pan out in my case.
Trees don't grow on money
I don't know, but DH and I can get down and dirty frugal (especially him--I swear that man could lively richly on $12,00 a year) but for our extensive household of pets.
But I'll have to check out those states that expanded Medicaid as you said, my state isn't one of them.
Yes. Health care costs have been rising for decades. The olden days when people paid the doctor in eggs and chickens and went to hospitals only to die are long gone. My late husband's cancer diagnosis cost $10,000 - just the diagnosis. I'm sure the treatment (VA) was in the hundreds of thousands.
How would I know? I'm not spending hours on the computer trying to get a quote. Maybe in a few months I'll have an idea. I'm sitting on quite a bit of cash right now, so I can show a lower income for several years and get a subsidy if I want.
And Rob, all I hear from you is excuses. My Father use to tell me if things didn't work out like I planned, I didn't plan well enough. No one is keeping you down but yourself. Do you really believe the Man is keeping you down all these years. Did you contact Bae and take him up on his offer? Are you looking at areas in the country that are hiring? Have you looked at work that pay's better? You can get a job in fast food in St. Louis and make more that $20,000 a year. You could probably be management material in no time.
I'm retired and pay a fixed percentage of former employer supplied insurance. My insurance cost went down slightly.
I was wondering if one of the reasons folks insurance is going up under the ACA is because their previous insurance did not meet requirements for coverage and the increase will provide a better plan with improved coverages or lower deductibles?
"what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver
I received a letter from my private insurance carrier - Blue Cross - saying that my policy will be cancelled on Dec 31 and I needed to purchase a new policy on the Calif exchange. According to the news this morning over 2 million people in the US - 800,000 in New Jersey alone - are having their policies cancelled at years end and must buy new policies. In my case, a new bronze level policy will cost about 2 - 3 times what I am currently paying and have a much higher deductible - about $3000 higher than my current $4000 deductible. However, being lucky (or unlucky depending how you look at it), as a vet with a service-connected injury/disability I can use the VA healthcare system for a very low cost. So that is what I'll do while I try to find a more affordable private policy. I am also very lucky in that, while low income enough to qualify for Calif's expanded medicaid program (but don't intend to sign up), I have a fair amount of financial assets so that I can afford to pay for the increases in my private insurance since I don't qualify for any subsidies. And even more lucky that I am very healthily and very fit so can get a job doing anything (and I hear Bae is hiring ditch diggers :-) ) if I don't want to spend down my retirement savings. Of course going back to work may actually kill me after all these years off :-)
Yes, that is a big part of why rates are rising as many people, myself included, don't have ACA required levels of coverage. For example my policy doesn't cover maternity or childbirth stuff or mental illness - two thing I don't need but will have to have under the ACA. However, from what I've seen, the new plans are not only much more expensive for monthly premiums, but they have much higher deductibles and out of pocket expenses too. Also many of the bronze level plans only cover 60% of your costs even after your deductible of $6 k to $7k is met. So some people, even emloyed people, may see price increases that way too. Sometimes double what they pay now. At least that is in my case.
Another reason prices are increasing is that insurers now need to cover all those people who have pre existing conditions and need high cost medical care. So, according to the Blue Cross CEO, they need to raise rates for many people with previously low rates to compensate for that.
And a third reason I think prices are increasing is because there is nothing in place but the goodwill of private insurance companies to stop them from increasing costs. No provisions to keep costs low under the ACA. And with Uncle Sam willing to foot much of the bill, and a mandate that says you must buy insurance, you've taken away any incentives for insurers to keep rates low. Except out of the kindness and generousity of their hearts of course :-)
It occurs to me that the primary beneficiaries of the ACA might be the insurance companies.
I know that this is counter intiutiive, but I keep checking the prices at aetna, and they keep going down. The last time I looked, the one I would get for $335 before is now going for $260.
That being said, yes, I do have to cover things that I don't need, which increases the prices. But, we also qualify for the subsidies, so there is that. Well, technically, we currently qualify for medicaid. It's probably the only benefit I'll utilize until we're on our feet.
And DH and i are both looking for jobs, running business contracts, and also looking at "basic work" like working at the grocery store.
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