Hello,
I have a question about the healthcare insurance in US.
I have heard that it is tied to your employment and the company provides for it.
So here are a couple of questions:
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Is there no way for an individual to get their own personal insurance and not be dependent on the company?
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What about freelancers, business owners and retirees? Do they forfeit their insurances?
An individual can sign up for a plan through their State’s health insurance exchange or the federal government’s HealthCare.gov website.
It is usually more expensive than getting it through an employer - but works to serve small business owners, freelancers, etc.
A few States (like Massachusetts) have semi-universal systems that cover all individuals that earn under 150% of poverty, independent students, newly unemployed, etc.
A lot of Americans are also covered under Medicare, Medicaid , Social Security and other programs.
Retirees aged 65 and older are eligible for Medicare - a semi-universal federal system that covers pretty much everything and accepted most places.
Also worth mentioning that your first couple points only became true with the Affordable Care Act passing in 2010. Prior to that it was practically impossible to get a private plan, insurance companies would deny coverage for any pre-existing conditions like diabetes or cancer, and the standard low-end plans at many employers were more expensive and covered less. The system is still a complete joke, but it’s better than it was before.
Indeed. Prior to 2010 - it was a roll of the dice. If insurance wasn’t provided through your work, you had to be lucky enough to live in a State with decent laws preventing some of these predatory insurance practices. Back then, the uninsured rate was close to 19%. Almost 1 in 5 Americans.
Today, that rate is 8.4%. Which hails the victory of the ACA because “91.6% of Americans have insurance” sounds nice. And compared to where we were 13 years ago, it is nice.
In reality, we have 28 million uninsured people, many of whom are children. There’s a long way to go.
While I’m personally satisfied with my level of coverage and standard of care, I don’t understand how we can comfortably accept a society that bankrupts our most vulnerable residents for being sick. I’m baffled how this wasn’t already solved or mostly resolved in my lifetime. Or at least seeing more states take on the Hawaii or Massachusetts health care models.
My state offers free insurance. I pay for my own insurance, so I’ve never used it, but most of the people I know use it and like it.
I’ve run my own business in the US for 16 years. Until recently I pay about $2000/mo for a family of 4. (Wife and I are in our early 40’s, kids are under 10). Recently my wife got new employment and it means we can insure the family with similar (slightly better coverage, (great coverage)) for less than half this amount.
- Yes, however it’s usually a little more expensive to get the same coverage, as the employer pays a part of employee’s insurance costs.
- Forfeit? No, they’ll still need insurance (you get a fine if you’re without insurance for more than 3 out of 12 months (at least, I think that was the case)).
There is a way, and it is required, but it is much more expensive; therefore people usually pay for the least amount of coverage.
If you fall under a certain income threshold you can get free healthcare through medicare/aid.
