By Sheryl Rowling
Dear Readers,
We hear a lot of contradicting media hype on ObamaCare. Without getting into the details of ObamaCare (which I can do in a future column), I wanted to share this unsolicited letter that I received from a client. It was enlightening to me!
Wishing all of you a healthy and happy l’shana tova.
Money Maven
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Dear Sheryl,
I would like to offer our “real life” experience with ACA. As you know David and I have owned and operated our engineering company for almost 25 years. When we changed our business model in 2003, going from having employees to using independent contractors, our insurance became more expensive. It continued to increase over the years. Our current premium is $3253 per month ($39,060 annually) for a very good policy. Our policy covers me, David and our son Aaron who is 22 years old and just wrapping up a mechanical engineering degree at UCSD. Our two daughters, ages 24 and 26 have graduated from college and are both working in their chosen fields and both receive medical benefits through the workplace. For each of our daughters the process of finding employment took about about a year after college graduation. During that time we were thrilled, thanks to the ACA, to be able to keep them on our policy. As with most policies, it doesn’t matter if you have one child or a dozen, the cost is the same fixed amount. So, we were able to keep Rachel and Sarah on our policy with no additional cost. This gave us all tremendous peace of mind.
Last April I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a shock as I have basically no history of cancer in my family. We were very glad to have such an excellent policy in place. It covered biopsies, MRIs, multiple tests, the two surgeries I needed and is now covering six cycles of chemotherapy. It will cover radiation. We didn’t have to worry about this most unexpected, difficult diagnosis sending us into bankruptcy. We feel very fortunate to be able to afford the hefty premiums.
I discovered yesterday that Blue Shield will no longer offer the policy that we have come 2014. However, it is being replaced with a policy (Blue Shield platinum) that will allow me to keep ALL my current doctors and the cost for our family will be $2005 per month ($24,060 annually) a savings of $1250 per month. We will not need to complete any additional paperwork and I will not have to worry about being denied coverage because of my “pre-existing condition”. In comparing our current policy with what we will be getting the changes are minor (e.g.. we now pay a $75 co pay for the emergency room; the new policy will require a $150 co pay). Considering our last visit to the emergency room was in 2007 I don’t consider the increase a problem. We will not have to worry about a lifetime cap should my battle with cancer become protracted also thanks to the ACA.
I have read that our experience is not unusual. In New York and California people are finding that their insurance premiums will be going down.
These are the facts and David and I are very grateful for Obamacare and how it has helped our family.
Sincerely,
Diane
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Rowling is a certified public accountant, personal finance specialist, and principal of Rowling & Associates. She may be contacted via sheryl.rowling@sdjewishworld.com