Fourteen years ago, I was working for a collapsing telecom company that had just shut down the division I worked for and laid off about 70 of us. Three months later, I began my career here at Blue Cross, and as a cancer survivor, you might imagine I was VERY interested in getting health insurance coverage.
As I sit here in mid-April, I can’t help but think of all the times in the past four years I’ve been confronted by folks who got HUGE tax bills at the end of the year because they bought their health insurance on healthcare.gov, made some errors computing their income and got hit with a surprise bill. This is a great time to review how the Advanced PremiumTax Credits on healthcare.gov work and how to avoid getting nailed with a huge tax bill at the end of the year.
Just a few days ago, we got this post on Facebook:
“I want to start by saying thank you for helping my autistic son out so much for so long. He has made significant progress at the therapy center he goes to and he now has hopes for an independent life. But…I can’t afford you anymore. Last year, my son’s insurance went up significantly. We just received the letter, like last year, saying it was going up again a significant amount again next year. I cannot fathom paying anymore in insurance, which his alone is already more than my mortgage. More than my mortgage…How is it possible for anything to actually get better for my family at this breakneck pace… My son needs help….And I’ll probably stick with you….Because you’re the only safe option for my son.”
Last week, I took a well-deserved vacation. As I perched on the balcony of a nice condo on a balmy October day, enjoying an amazing view of the Gulf of Mexico and people below swimming, sunning and playing, my phone started going crazy. I mean crazy.
Last week, we began trying to explain why these new “Repeal and/or Replace” healthcare bills are so prominent in the political universe and so important right now. We began that discussion with a short history lesson on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA), and now we know that a massive re-regulation and federalization of the individual health insurance market was the root of the opposition who are now trying to pass the current healthcare bills.
I’ve always said that I can handle bad news as long as I know it’s coming. I think most people would agree with me on that one. Just don’t ambush me with bad news, and I’ll be ok.
