Slate: "The Ryan proposal compels Americans to buy insurance—just like Obamacare does."

[Mac1337]

Yeah, with emphasis on "affordable". My premiums took another steep hike this year. In just two years it has gone up 44%! Insurance companies gladly go along with any mandate ACA imposes on them. What do they care? I am paying.

[OWC Jamie]

Dakota wrote:
Let me know when someone comes up with a plan to give me my entire healthcare premiums (myself +employer) and lets me go out and shop for my own. Does Ryan's plan do it? If not, I am not interested.

Sounds a lot like the Ma. plan.
choice1.Buy your own insurance
choice 2. if you can't afford it there are subsidized state authorized plans which have costs based on income
choice3. have no insurance and pay a tax penalty ( $800 , I think )
Play or Pay.

sounds like you want choice 1. which is fine except some of these plans MAY end up affecting what companies can and or choose to do business in a state unless a national care plan can supercede state rights to regulation.
I don't even want to consider the wars over that.

[Grace62]

Dakota wrote:
Let me know when someone comes up with a plan to give me my entire healthcare premiums (myself +employer) and lets me go out and shop for my own. Does Ryan's plan do it? If not, I am not interested.

Aren't you free to drop your employer plan? The only time I've had mandatory coverage through an employer was when I was in the teacher's union, and it was only the dental plan that was mandatory, and I didn't pay anything towards the premium. (Paid a lot out of pocket for the option medical plan though.)

You could ask for a raise and then shop on your own, there are plenty of employers who will pay cash in lieu of benefits. But you won't get the significant group discount your employer likely has.

[Mac1337]

Can I waive coverage? Of course. But if I do I want to see that $10,000 my employer is ostensibly paying on my behalf in my paycheck, and be tax deductible. Whose plan does that? Can you do it this in MA, Bill?

[OWC Jamie]

Dakota wrote:
Can I waive coverage? Of course. But if I do I want to see that $10,000 my employer is ostensibly paying on my behalf in my paycheck, and be tax deductible. Whose plan does that? Can you do it this in MA, Bill?

I think the answer to your question is it depends on what your employer wants to do - they have to pay $300 into the state system if they don't have benefits or pay a significant portion ( that same $300, I think) there's also another charge/fee they have to pay.
If your question is " can I force my employer to offer me what I want rather than what they want" I think the answer is 'no'.


I'm self insured in a group plan ( self-employed).

Every place I worked before was pretty much up front about what my insurance policy was costing them / month.

Only place I didn't even ask I had the Blue Cross Blue Shield absolute bestest policy. I could probably live on what that plan costs today. :-)

[Mac1337]

What I am asking is revenue-neutral to the employer, if they are telling the truth. ALl we need is a simple change to tax laws. And no, $300 a month would not cut it. It is more like a $1000 a month. That is what they claim it is costing them now.

[Grace62]

To make it expense-neutral to your employer you're going to get less cash than the dollar value of your benefits, assuming your employer pays payroll taxes on your salary.

[OWC Jamie]

Dakota wrote:
What I am asking is revenue-neutral to the employer, if they are telling the truth. ALl we need is a simple change to tax laws. And no, $300 a month would not cut it. It is more like a $1000 a month. That is what they claim it is costing them now.

12K a year wouldn't bump you up into a higher tax bracket ?
- to lose on an expense

so, you want 1K to go out and buy cheaper insurance ?
and pocket the difference ?

good luck with that. your co-workers would consider that a raise.

[Grateful11]

rgG wrote:
[quote=swampy]
Seniors already "buy in" to their Medicare coverage. I currently pay close to $400 a month total between my A,B & D Medicare coverage and my Medicare private supplemental coverage.

Maybe Ryan is trying to show some bipartisanship and compromise by including a requirement that everyone purchase insurance coverage. You'd think the libs would be happy about that.

So, Swampy, would you rather have the Medicare coverage you have now, or a voucher system. Be honest, which one would you choose for yourself.
I would like to know, seriously. Coming from Swampy, someone that has already walked in the Medicare
shoes, I would like hear what you think about the voucher vs. std. Medicare.

[swampy]

Personally, I don't know enough about the voucher plan to weigh in on it.