Dayhoff Soundtrack: NY Times: Many See I.R.S. Fines as More Affordable Than Insurance

Sunday, January 03, 2016

NY Times: Many See I.R.S. Fines as More Affordable Than Insurance - By ABBY GOODNOUGH JAN. 3, 2016

Many See I.R.S. Fines as More Affordable Than Insurance - By ABBY GOODNOUGH JAN. 3, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/us/many-see-irs-fines-as-more-affordable-than-insurance.html?ribbon-ad-idx=15&rref=us&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=U.S.&pgtype=article

[...]

Two years after the Affordable Care Act began requiring most Americans to have health insurance, 10.5 million who are eligible to buy coverage through the law’s new insurance exchanges were still uninsured this fall, according to the Obama administration.

[....]

Susan Reardon, 61, of Kalamazoo, Mich., said she was leaning toward going uninsured this year. She calculated that she would have to spend more than $12,000, including premiums of nearly $500 a month and a $6,850 deductible, to get anything beyond preventive benefits from the cheapest exchange plan available to her.

Ms. Reardon, whose husband is old enough to be covered by Medicare, said she would rather pay out of pocket for the drugs she takes for fibromyalgiaand the handful of doctor appointments she tends to need each year.

If something catastrophic happens, she said, “I feel like it’s better just to die.”

As for the tax penalty, which could approach $1,500 for her?

“Come and get me,” Ms. Reardon said.

[...]

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