IRS: Cheapest Obamacare Plan Will Be $20,000 Per Family

CNS ^ | 1/31/13 | Matt Cover

[SoFloFreeper]

In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year.

Under Obamacare, Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS.

The IRS's assumption that the cheapest plan for a family will cost $20,000 per year is found in examples the IRS gives to help people understand how to calculate the penalty they will need to pay the government if they do not buy a mandated health plan.

[Lou L]

It costs $500,000,000 to get a drug or compound to market.

Some estimates place the cost of drug development between 800 million and 1.1 billion.

[fhayek]

Well, there is that, of course. But, if someone is sick, they don't (understandably) ask what their cost options are. They ask for the best possible care. If you want the best house, or the best car, you are constrained by the cold realities of the marketplace. But with health care, you ask for the best, regardless of your economic status, largely because there is someone else who will foot the bill. We get a new drug, or a new technology, and everybody wants it. Again, I get that, but the system becomes overburdened by it.

This is why I hate this 'health care is a right' nonsense. Suppose they come up with a treatment for, I dunno, diabetes. It's a miracle treatment, but it costs a billion dollars a patient. But, health care is a right, so someone HAS to pay for it, even if it bankrupts your economy. The absence of market forces will do these sorts of things.

[saleman]

“an MRI cost like 2-3 grand alone”

I had a simple MRI on my foot 6 mos ago. 3,000 bucks. BC/BS paid 400. I paid 250 co-pay. If I hadn’t had insurance then they would have charged me 3,000. If I could get the same deal that the insurance co gets I wouldn’t need insurance.

[dsrtsage]

The only people get free obama care are obama phone ladies, everyone else gotta pay

[JimRed]

But if millions decide not to be insured, won’t that defeat the promise of Obamacare, that everyone will have health insurance???

The goal of Obamacare is to put private health insurance out of business, leaving government as the sole provider. Then they've got you by the balls.

[Kenny Bunk]

“....an MRI cost like 2-3 grand alone.....”

If medical and hospital accountants ran the bus company, it would cost 10 Grand to cross town. At one point there were so many competing MRI units in my town, that they were doing no-prescription walk-ins for $300!

At the same time, in took 18 months to get one in Canada. There must be some sort of instructional value to this.

[rightly_dividing]

My wife had an MRI Tuesday that cost $4200.

[Deepest South]

“If I could get the same deal that the insurance co gets I wouldn't’t need insurance.

Very interesting point you have there.

[saleman]

Yea, it’s called capitalism. The old supply and demand thing.

[Slings and Arrows]

It costs $500,000,000 to get a drug or compound to market.

$0.5 to $1.5 billion and 10 years on average, with the clock on the patent ticking the whole time. Out of every 10,000 compounds that enter the clinical testing phase 1-2 will make it to market.

[itsahoot]

I am of the opinion that we cannot afford the medical technology that has been developed.

Strangely though the Mexicans can afford the medicines that we can't afford here.

Maybe the problem is that healthcare is overpriced. An hour in a surgical room designed especially for Heart Cath can cost you $100,000.00.

[Kenny Bunk]

Yea, it’s called capitalism. The old supply and demand thing.

If the demand is artificially stimulated by free medical care, or if the supply is artificially limited by regulation or collusion, the Law of Supply and Demand gets a bit warped in the process.

The co-pay of $250-300 is in many cases, the realistic value of the service! The physician-owned MRI units charge the insco $4500, or whatever they can get away with. In their defence, such as it is, when the Gonzalez brothers ... all 18 of them...get their MRIs for "free," the MRI company graciously waives the co-pay and probably only bills the funding agency a low, low $2800 each!

I claim that the medical accounting theory is all screwed up ... like oil depletion allowances... entertainment business practices ... municipal road contracts, etc. The main thing screwing it up is that millions receive medical services for free, while thousands pay for insurance and make co-payments. That's hardly "capitalism" in action.

[saleman]

Yea. I talked to my Dad about this very thing last night. He is a 50 year practicing pediatrician. Semi-retired now, you want to get him pissed start talking about regulations, medicaid, insurance etc. He doesn’t even like to think about it. Says he pays office employees to handle that, he just can’t deal with it. At the end of the day they’ll be a stack of papers on his desk and he just signs.

His biggest thing is Doctors who won’t take Medicaid. Probably 60% of his practice is medicaid. He needs to refer a patient many times he can’t cause he can’t find a specialist who will see them.

Growing up, kids in school thought we were “rich”. Far from it. At one time he was the only pediatrician in 3 counties who took Medicaid. Every medicaid patient was a net loser money wise. When you factor in all the no pays then it was a balancing act just to pay the bills. It’s not the kids fault. What’s he supposed to do, tell a sick 6 yo he can’t see them?