Many people who sign up for one of the “Health Care Exchange Plans,” will discover that “The Plan” for which they signed, DOES NOT allow them to go to the doctor or the facilities or seek the services that formerly sought.
The irony will be, that, they will therefore DROP “The Plan” and “Pay The Penalty *TAX*”.
BUT ... in fact, they WILL NOT PAY THE PENALTY TAX because of their income tax status, and instead, the penalty will be *effectively waived for them.*
So, after all this Leviathanic-Mess, the very people who Queen Kathleen assures us, will be “covered,” will actually:
- not be covered
- receive a waiver or compensation
that pays their penalty for them
- return to the medical services that
they formerly sought
To wit: For them, no change, while we get to pay for the mountain of bureaucracy that administers all that.
Hourly workers who normally get a tax refund will see the penalty deducted from what they expect to receive.
I wonder if those who don't work or subsist on low wage jobs will still get their earned income tax credit payback, or if that will be confiscated, too.
“So, after all this Leviathanic-Mess”
I was on their website the other night, after getting a letter that my current health plan will rise up to $1140/mo. (family of 5, was $380/mo. four years ago!!). Oh, and my deductibles are doubled.
I only got so far on the website that I see their “Affordable Health Care” plan (”silver” package) will be about $1320 a month!
I started going through the various list of providers, but in pdf format, and just listing the names of the providers, and with about a dozen beginning with the letter “A”, I gave up. Will talk with my business insurance folks to see if they have a clue on this mess.
A lot of doctors will not sign up as providers for the exchange, and some of the exchange plans are limiting provider enrollment. The result will be long waits and poor access. The only way for many on the exchange to get care will be the ER, unless they pay on their own.
For the young and healthy, the penalty/tax or no tax refund will be a no brainier.