Quote:
Originally Posted by mav1178
Which is why I hate the whole discussion of comparing healthcare across state lines, because it's just like car insurance, it varies wildly based on whatever your state does (or did not do).
Most of the US that signed on to ACA is using what the federal government put together. In many states that was reduced to a single healthcare option...
For me in California, what I was offered before and after using Covered CA didn't change anything.
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That's fair. There are a lot of variables that have to be considered. I checked on Covered CA's website for the cheapest insurance I could find for my brackets (because I had done this with my states previously) and the cheapest I found was $681 which was only $100 less (still better than my state) than the cheapest I could find in my state. I didn't bother to look for one that closely resembled my current plan because I didn't have time but I imagine the difference would be somewhat consistent.
My biggest argument is that I want the ability to change if I want to. I recently left USAA (which a lot of people think is one of the best insurance companies out there) because they screwed me over on some home owners insurance stuff twice. I want the flexibility to do just that without feeling price pressure. I believe a federal mandate for universal insurance would eliminate that flexibility. On top of that, in order for universal health insurance to be truly successful (financially), everyone must be on it or at least the bulk of the population. And based on my experience with public insurance and the overall cost burden on myself, I'm a hard no to the universal/ACA option.
To me, it seems like Covered CA is onto something good (but less ideal for higher incomes), however, I have not looked at the how the subsidies have impacted state spending so I can't say how effective it is.