Eight Ways to Opt Out of Obamacare

Breitbart's Big Government ^ | December 25, 2013 | Dr. Susan Berry

[2ndDivisionVet]

With the deadline to sign up for Obamacare having come and gone, many Americans have decided to “opt out” of President Obama’s signature health care reform law, choosing instead to pay the $95 penalty for sidestepping the individual mandate.

“For many Americans opting out of Obamacare is the best decision they can make, but it's important that they do it the right way—just refusing to buy health insurance and not having another way to pay for catastrophic medical expenses is a mistake,” Sean Parnell, author of the newly-released The Self-Pay Patient, told Breitbart News. “People who want to opt out should be looking at alternatives to conventional health insurance, such as joining a health care sharing ministry or purchasing a fixed benefits policy."

Parnell also strongly advises Americans against opting out and simply paying the “list” price for medical visits and prescription drugs without shopping around, or by relying solely on the local hospital emergency room for routine medical care.

“This approach leaves people who opt out vulnerable to sky-high medical expenses at inflated ‘list’ or ‘chargemaster’ rates, and can result in an inability to obtain needed care because of cost,” Parnell writes on his blog, selfpaypatient.com.

Instead, Parnell recommends the following eight options for those who have opted out of ObamaCare:

1. Join a health care sharing ministry, which are voluntary, charitable membership organizations that share medical expenses among the membership.

Parnell states that Samaritan Ministries, Christian Healthcare Ministries, and Christian Care Ministry are open to practicing Christians, while Liberty HealthShare is open to those who are committed to religious liberty.

Healthcare sharing ministries “operate entirely outside of ObamaCare’s regulations, and typically offer benefits for about half the cost of similar health insurance,” says Parnell. “Members are also exempt from having to pay the tax for being uninsured.”(continued)

[2ndDivisionVet]

Comments?

[bajabaja]

I am looking into a few Christian Ministry Health Care/Share options. Never been enrolled in one. Any Freepers had any experiences?

I have a doctor in a different state from my home state who is a specialist. Unlikely I will have to see him again, but he is one of the few or only ones capable/certified to handle what he previously fixed, if it arises again. I am happy to pay his fee directly, as last time. Worth every cent. I don’t fit into the ACA matrix h***.

[Alberta's Child]

Bump for later today. This looks like a very interesting article. Thanks!

[Kirkwood]

The author doesn’t have a medical degree.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Okay. Neither do I.

[Paulie]

bump

[funfan]

Nor does Obama or Sebellius.

[gattaca]

bump

[A CA Guy]

Maybe $95 if you are single.

The cost of the penalty is $95 or a percentage of your total FAMILY income (which ever is GREATER).

[ltc8k6]

The penalty is not “$95”, it’s considerably more complicated than that, and it increases in 2015 and 2016.

It’s explained well here:

https://www.bcbsri.com/BCBSRIWeb/pdf/Individual_Mandate_Fact_Sheet.pdf

[Kirkwood]

There is a lot of misleading information in the article.

[The_Media_never_lie]

It is insane that we should have to play games with our government in order to purchase what used to be readily available.

[ltc8k6]

For example:

If an individual has a household income of $50,000, the percentage would be 1% of the difference between $50,000 and the tax threshold (which is $9,350 for an
individual in 2010). Assuming the tax threshold is $10,000 in 2014, this individual would be subject to a percentage penalty of $400. Because this percentage penalty is greater than the flat dollar penalty for 2014 (which is $95), he would
pay the percentage penalty.

[TChad]

Bump for later reading.

[Old Sarge]

Bumpage for later

[Springfield Reformer]

What specifically do you find misleading? Not wanting to be argumentative, but I am curious.

[Mount Athos]

I’m probably going to join Samaritan ministries when my plan runs out

[rawhide]

...choosing instead to pay the $95 penalty for sidestepping the individual mandate.

This is a lie from the pit of hell! It is $95 or 1% of your income the first year, whichever is greater, and then increases the next year.

"Penalties start in 2014 for those failing to purchase health insurance under the new Affordable Care Act. The fines will start as low as $95 per year for an individual, or 1 percent of a person’s income. By 2016 the individual penalty will rise to $695 or 2.5 percent of income, whichever is higher, unless the individual meets a poverty test or is on Medicaid. This is the “individual mandate” upheld in 2012 by the Supreme Court as a tax, meaning the IRS will collect any penalties."

http://www.facethefactsusa.org/facts/pull-over-maam-and-lets-see-that-policy-please

Example: If you make $40,000, you pay $400 the first year as a tax. This tax increases to $1000 in year 2016.

Thanks John Roberts!

[Libloather]

I’ve gone Amish.

[ziravan]

Under the law, you will be granted a hardship exemption from the penalty if you receive a notice of utility shutoff.

Wait one month to pay your light bill until you get a shutoff notice. Viola! You, my friend, are exempt from paying the penalty. Rinse, Repeat with every January utility bill.