Escape Routes From ObamaCare

by JASmius



I didn't even know about either (1) short-term health insurance or (2) that it hadn't been banned by the Unaffordable Care Act.  I guess that'll be the subject of O's next imperial decree.

In the mean time, it's proving to be the healthcare equivalent of the Underground Railroad:

Short-term health coverage is flourishing as a cheaper alternative to ObamaCare, reports say.

The Wall Street Journal reports sales of short-term health insurance have surged since ObamaCare took effect in 2014 — and continue to grow even though people buying the coverage face bigger penalties because the coverage doesn't meet ObamaCare "standards".

i.e. It's a means of coming closer to buying only the coverage consumers NEED or can afford versus ALL the coverage for which O-Care "standards" forcibly gouge them.

"This is saving me a ton of money for the year," Robin Herman, a marketing firm owner in San Francisco, tells the Journal, adding plans that comply with the health law's rules cost more than her old pre-ObamaCare policy and are "just not affordable." [emphasis added]

Let's pause a moment to savor the delicious irony of that comment, shall we?  Ahhhhhhhhhh.

The average monthly premium for a family of three on a short-term plan is about $283, or about $500 less per month than coverage through a major medical plan, CBS News reports, citing online marketplace eHealth.

"That $500 difference is a car payment, that's a mortgage payment," Nate Purpura, vice president of consumer affairs at eHealth, tells CBS News. "If you do the math on it, a lot of times people are figuring it's a wash, or they are saving money on a monthly basis."

The caveat - and remember when the full term, caveat emptor ("Let the buyer beware") was one of the many SOPs of being a functioning, independent adult human being (which ought to be on the endangered species list today) - is that you get what you pay for, as short term plans don't cover prescription drugs and sometimes don't include coverage areas like maternity care, and they are throwbacks in they don't cover pre-existing conditions (which is why their premiums are so affordable).

But their best feature is that they are a healthcare insurance CHOICE, a rare, valuable, and disappearing commodity on the downhill, slippery slide to single-payer.

I'd say savor them while you can, but since short term health insurance policy sales have more than doubled over the past two years, it appears that admonition isn't necessary.