Affordable Care Act

When President Obama promised and signed into law the Affordable Care Act, I was actually relieved. I thought, oh wow, now I can see a doctor and remain healthy. This law had a lot of promises. This program was supposed to bring a brighter future to those who could not afford health care insurance or had no access to it.

So what went wrong?

Let's see. The "affordable" part is based on the wage earner's gross income, not net (net is after taxes and deductions have been taken out). Other expenses the wage earner is responsible for is not figured into the "affordable" insurance. So, if the wage earner is paying $600/month in mortgage or rent, has roughly $250/month in utility bills (gas, electric, water, sewer, trash), and is incurring other expenses such as car maintenance or bus/train fare, these are not figured into the actual living wage the wage earner is making. Therefore, the required-by-law health care insurance is another crippling expense that is forced on the wage earner unless he/she wants to receive a tax penalty of astronomical proportions.

My insurance premiums have shot up from $0 to $75/month in just two years. All I have had in that amount of time is a sluggish thyroid and a case of bronchitis.

I'm having trouble seeing where this is "affordable."

Here in Missouri, we are required by law to purchase automobile insurance (liability is the minimum insurance the state will accept). Mortgage lenders require homeowners to purchase homeowner's insurance if they want a loan. Now, the general public is required to purchase health care insurance. Do you see a pattern here? Insurance companies are raking in millions. That's what I think.

Yes, I get the reasoning behind some of this. Car owners who actually had car insurance were getting into accidents with other car owners who did not have insurance and the offended insurance company was getting stuck with the bill. Car insurance companies were hollering, "Not fair!" I'm not sure why mortgage lenders began requiring insurance. Maybe they were getting tired of being stuck with burned out buildings that they couldn't sell?

The Affordable Care Act was supposed to open up access to health care for those who couldn't get it otherwise. Even with the monthly premium at under $100, I still have to pay a co-pay. While the physician co-pay is a reasonable amount, if I need to see a specialist, it shoots up to $45. Some of these providers charge that much for an office visit even without insurance. So, what am I paying for?

Even if the primary medical care is reasonably affordable, there is still the "extra" medical stuff that doesn't come free. Dental plans are expensive and don't cover anything more than the semi-annual cleanings and x-rays. Fillings are extra. Hope you don't need a tooth pulled, because no one covers that. Eye exams - forget about it. Now, to be fair, Missouri will cover these items for children under 18. You are on your own after that.

So, how are we supposed to get healthy if we can't pay for it? The Affordable Care Act hasn't eased anything for the poor - only made things worse.