ResultsThat's $400 per month after the subsidy. I'm very surprised her budget is so tight she can't afford $400 a month on $49K per year.The information below is about subsidized exchange coverage. Note that subsidies are only available for people purchasing coverage on their own in the exchange (not through an employer). Depending on your state's eligibility criteria, you or some members of your family may qualify for Medicaid.
- Household income in 2014:
- 316% of poverty level
- Maximum % of income you have to pay for the premium, if eligible for a subsidy:
- 9.5%
- Health Insurance premium in 2014 (for a silver plan, before tax credit):
- $5,755 per year
- You could receive a government tax credit subsidy of up to:
- $1,100 per year
(which covers 19% of the overall premium)- Amount you pay for the premium:
- $4,655 per year
(which equals 9.5% of your household income and covers 81% of the overall premium)
$400/ month for what? If the deductible is high, then it could be likely that continuing to pay cash out of pocket is preferred to cash out of pocket plus $400/month down the toilet.
Great analysis but $400.00 per month is a lot of money when these fools expect healthcare for free.
The actual premium pricing I have seen has been significantly higher than what the Kaiser calculator predicts. Their estimates may not always be accurate.
But she also probably has to pay for the $250 per month of ADHD medication under that plan, since the deductible won't be reached. So the monthly cash flow out is $650 per month before any other medical costs, which she will also have to pay out of pocket, except for the zero cost checkups, vaccinations, etc.
Also, as a self employed person she has to pay all of the FICA and Medicare out of her income. So instead of seeing a 7.65% tax rate, she pays 15.3% off the top directly to the federal government. That's another $625 per month, $312 more than somebody who is not self-employed pays.
Finally, for all its problems, Medicaid is usually a generous insurance program from the user's point of view with low or zero deductibles and copays. So Medicaid is way more appealing than a typical ACA insurance plan. The next bad effect we'll see will be people who adjust their income to stay under the thresholds which cause them to lose their subsidized or free plans.
In King County, WA average rents for a 2 bedroom apartment are $1200 a month. After taxes, she probaby clears $3k. That doesn’t leave a lot of money to pay for power, water, maybe a car paymnet, and raise a growing kid. $400 a month would be a big hit.