2017 Obamacare Deductibles: $7,150 for individuals, $14,300 for families
This is such a screwed-up time to be pushing for more healthcare reform! On the one hand, with Obamacare on the chopping block, HEAL California squarely stands with the millions of people with pre-existing or chronic conditions who had no chance to get insurance before Obamacare. We also stand with those who’ve benefited from the Medicaid expansion – people who were completely left behind just a few short years ago. For these people, Obamacare has been a literal lifesaver. That’s why we believe repeal is utterly outrageous and irresponsible.
But on the other hand, while Obamacare has been a lifesaver, it’s also been a burden in ways that cannot be ignored! One of its biggest burdens has been ever-higher out-of-pocket costs.
If you have employer-provided insurance and a $1,500 a year deductible, you’d better thank your lucky stars. Do you know what the 2017 Obamacare maximum deductibles are?
$7,150 for an individual and $14,300 for a family. Yes, that’s what you have to cough up every year before your insurance kicks in (and that’s on top of your monthly premiums).
Average cost of a funeral – $7,000
If you’re wondering which is cheaper – your deductible or your funeral – it’s the funeral, coming in at only $7,000 on average.
So when you find yourself sitting in a hospital hallway and your surgeon’s office manager comes by to collect your deductible in advance, remember, the choice is yours.
Yes, out of pocket costs are higher than they’ve ever been, and spiraling ever higher whether we get health insurance through work or through Obamacare.
They are so high that failing to collect the patients’ share upfront presents a big risk for medical practices and hospitals alike. So “point-of-service collections” are now required in advance of care by nearly 75% of healthcare providers.
According to Richard Gundling, a Senior VP at the Healthcare Financial Management Association, “For providers, there’s more risk with these higher deductibles because the chance of being able to collect it later diminishes.”
Insured but still can’t afford healthcare? Get a loan.
When nearly 7 in 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in savings, more and more of us are forgoing care because we’re unable to directly pay these upfront costs. And we’re also unable to finance them – it’s hard to get a bank loan to cover medical expenses. So now new healthcare loan products like Carepayment are being rolled out as a “win-win” for patients and doctors. This is the same “consumer loan” BS that led millions of Americans into billions of dollars of educational debt – wage slaves to financiers. Absurd!
Moving beyond repeal to real solutions
In spite of all this, we still oppose repealing Obamacare. Millions of Americans desperately need and want the chance to buy health insurance, even with high up-front costs and limited doctor choice. 30 million Americans will be negatively – even disastrously – impacted by a repeal.
And they know it. 75% of Americans don’t want repeal at all! But that doesn’t mean that we don’t want something better. In fact, 58% of Americans support replacing Obamacare with a federally funded healthcare system according to a 2016 Gallup poll.
We need to fight repeal but also move beyond simply defending Obamacare. We need to admit to and challenge its dysfunction. It does have problems – many problems. We deserve better! Improved, Expanded Medicare for All is the answer. Learn more at HEAL California.
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