For those interested, http://www.lohud.com/videonetwork/274595......_check=1

http://www.lohud.com/article/20131030/ne......_check=1

Thanks for sharing Slide! I watched the video and it was a good interview.

Thanks General. I was happy with the interview

Nice shot of you browsing The Magic Café in the background

HA! That was just for you guys.

You spoke my sentiments pretty much dead on. I divorced a few years ago. During the marriage, my job (magician) paid for the mortgage, utilities, and food. Her's supplied the insurance, and back-up funds. When we divorced, I found myself in the cold regarding insurance. Age and pre-existing conditions made it financially impossible for me to afford it. I looked at the information regarding COBRA and could only shake my head in disbelief.

Although I have not yet signed up, I welcome the ACA.

Apparantly, the paper that interviewed you has made this a running series called, ‘Profiles in Health-Care’.

http://www.lohud.com/section/news02&temp......fordable

It’s interesting that given how wonderful you’ve told us the New York exchange is, that it doesn’t appear the paper has been able to actually find anyone who’s purchased health care from the site yet.

But here are a couple of other stories provided.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20131024/NEWS/310240056/Profiles-health-care-Young-healthy-artist-weighs-insurance-options-video-

“Soon my graduate-school loans will kick in, and I just moved to one of the most expensive areas to live in the country,” says Geibel, who relocated from Montana. “If I have to prioritize, health insurance gets the boot.”

http://www.lohud.com/article/20131008/NEWS02/310080058/Affordable-Care-Act-profile-Can-Carmel-mom-cancer-do-better-exchange-

“According to the on-site estimator, Imperati would pay $276 to $588 a month for a silver plan that would cover about 70 percent of her expenses or as much as $847 a month for a platinum plan that would pay 90 percent of her costs. “That doesn’t sound affordable to me,” she said. Imperati’s income, in the $40,000 range, qualifies her for a subsidy of about $54 monthly, according to an estimate from an online calculator.”

I just went to the federal healthcare.gov site and it looks like they have been doing some work on the website. I am very happy that ACA is the law. Looks like my wife and I qualify for federal subsidies based on our income, so that will make a good health insurance policy very affordable. Got off the phone with the VA and they said they would cover me on everything but the problem is that their is no guarantee that the funds will be there given that funding for the VA is limited. It's a safe bet to get a private health insurance policy for myself as well given that my wife and I both qualify for federal subsidies judging by the chart they have up (we have not got back official word on whether we qualify, but it looks like we do given the new data that has been put up on the healthcare site). Of course, my wife and I will have to pay for a portion of the private health insurance as well, but you can have any federal subsidies you qualify for sent directly to the private insurance company to help ease the monthly cost of the policy.

"It’s interesting that given how wonderful you’ve told us the New York exchange is, that it doesn’t appear the paper has been able to actually find anyone who’s purchased health care from the site yet. "

It was weeks ago ( I was going to say look at the date when I first posted this, but I think that has been deleted) and the exchanges hadn't been open for long and they had trouble finding anyone who wanted to go on the record. So...limited pool and pretty early in the game.

The amount recieved in federal subsidies depends on a percentage of how far you fall from the federal poverty line. So those closer to the federal poverty line will qualify for a larger subsidy than those that do not fall as close to the federal poverty law. The reasoning behind this is because those who fall further from the federal poverty line can afford to pay more for health insurance than those that fall closer to the federal poverty line, so those who fall further from that poverty line should not recieve as much in taxpayer subsidies than those that are closer and don't have as much income to pay for health insurance as the others.



Yeah a crooked corporate executive can't fire you because you are your own boss and an entrepreneur yourself. It's nice to have freedom and not have a simple opinion expressed used as a reason to deprive you of a living. Probably the reason why others don't go on the record is either because some don't support it because they saw their premiums go up with their current employer group plan (which from what I understand group plans received a discount prior to ACA than individual plans) or they don't have as many choices through their employer as they did before because their employer dropped some of the other insurance companies while keeping some others or because they like the law but if they express their opinion their boss will fire them.

That's why I got tired of working for other people and went to work for myself, that way I can go to work and not have to deal with un-necessary BS office politics or somebody stabbing you in the back to get themselves promoted or you get fired for expressing an opinion that's not controversial by any means but they just didn't like your opinion or they just fire you simply because you have toe jam. You go to work for somebody else and you get treated pretty bad these days and their is very little security or stability in working for somebody else. Might as well not even bother with it and just start your own business. You yourself are more dependable and stable than anybody else who might employ you, plus you will treat yourself better than what an employer will treat you.

Using the federal poverty line for everyone seems moronic, given the vastly different costs of living in the country. Of all of the stuff that was overdone on this thing, it's amazing they took such a simplistic approach to that.

Probably some of those who don't support it aren't on group plans, but are among the millions of people who were on individual plans that are no longer available.

Come on Lobo, you're a lawyer and I know I have paid my lawyer a pretty penny to write my Operating Agreement and Articles of Organization and to write a contract for my company to use. Lawyers don't seem to do too bad for themselves. Now, I do understand it's not always easy sometimes for even a lawyer to turn a profit, but I imagine that my lawyer probably does better than me by a long shot (at least I think my lawyer does). There are some good plans avaiable on the federal health care website and they are getting around to fixing the website.

Shocking as it may seem, my objections aren't based on my own personal situation. It's a stupid oversimplification to use the same qualifying standard for people who live in parts of the country that may have radically different costs of living.

And millions of people don't have the option at was promised to them - that they could keep their existing plan. Many of them are...well, less than happy about that.

Limited pool to interview would be correct. With almost 20,000,000 residents it looks like NY has so far signed up a whopping 12,000 people or so with private insurance.

http://nypost.com/2013/10/25/most-ny-oba......edicaid/

“This week, The Post’s S.A. Miller and Carl Campanile reported that only a third of the 37,000 New Yorkers who enrolled in health care through the state’s new exchange signed up for private insurance. Nearly two-thirds opted for Medicaid, a state program partly funded by the federal government.”
“That’s just what’s got many insurers worried. Because to pay for ObamaCare’s benefits, they need a great many more healthy people to sign up.”

Also Bill, be careful where you get sick.

http://nypost.com/2013/10/23/out-of-netw......e-plans/

“Individuals shopping for health insurance in the ObamaCare marketplace (in New York) are in for sticker shock: They’ll have to pay 100 percent of the bill if they dare use a doctor not included in their plan’s network, The Post has learned”

Better make sure that if you’re in a life threatening emergency that you make sure they take you to an ‘in-network’ provider! Just pray that one is nearby and that you're not unconscious.

At this rate, the partial shutdown won't be the main topic of conversation in November '14.

Lobo, I can only guess that these differences in cost of living will theoretically level themselves in the same way they are counting on the volume of people who sign up will level the field based upon varying degrees of health and how much use someone gives the plan.

It also doesn't take into account that people can be transient. If they were assessed in one economic location, would they then have to be re-assessed if they move somewhere where the cost of living is different. That sounds overly complex. I am not familiar enough with the system to know... perhaps if someone moves they have to reapply based on the state in which they live??

That's part of the problem Michael, and I appreciate your giving ACA good grades in your situation, but my costs have doubled and will continue to rise. I'm retired and don't need these cost increases. I don't think anyone knows how this will all shake out because I firmly believe that few in Congress read the *** thing in the first place. I don't't accept that the government doesn't know how many people have signed up. They can track anything on the planet and they can't give us accurate numbers? The last I heard is that more folks were signing up for medicaid than anything else because it costs nothing. I heard it reported, I'm not saying it as fact (before the usual suspects slam me). Anyway, good luck to all of us.

Hey Bob! I applied for some long term care insurance just as you advised to some of the forum members here. I think it's a good idea personally, especially for my wife (I hear that it's women who mostly end up in assisted living facilities). I am waiting to hear if the insurance company will accept me and it looks like they are going to accept my wife. My company is paying for it as part of employee compensation. Probably best to get the policy now while we are still young and have a cheaper rate (though those rates can go up).

Assisted living care is expensive! My wife and I may never use the policy, you never know, but I still think it's a good idea to have that insurance to protect assets and pass those assets down to the next generation. I don't want to spoil the next generation where they are afraid to work, but I want to make sure any assets my wife and I leave to the next generation in our family will be able to have the money to get ahead (like going to college and getting a good education) and help themselves (and that means they have to work).

General, you're doing the right thing. Make sure you lock in a rider that increases your and your wife's coverage by a certain percentage each year, compounded, in my case it was increased by 5% each year. Absolutely right in getting in while you're younger to save premium dollars. Sure, you're paying an annual cost that adds up over the years, in my wife's and my case, at $2000/year combined for pretty good coverage, let's say I pay forty years, or $80,000? You're smart enough to be able to figure out how much money you and your wife could go through with nursing care costs in the $5k per month per person or higher range.

Good move. If you want any additionl info, PM me.

And we're all laughing and having fun, right? Hah! Let's hope for a wake-up call in 2014. Read into it what you want But the size for keeper flounder must be increased by then.