“The deductible, $3,000 a year, makes it impossible to actually go to the doctor,” said David R. Reines, 60, of Jefferson Township, N.J., a former hardware salesman with chronic knee pain. “We have insurance, but can’t afford to use it.”
In many states, more than half the plans offered for sale through HealthCare.gov, the federal online marketplace, have a deductible of $3,000 or more, a New York Times review has found. Those deductibles are causing concern among Democrats ”” and some Republican detractors of the health law, who once pushed high-deductible health plans in the belief that consumers would be more cost-conscious if they had more of a financial stake or skin in the game.
“We could not afford the deductible,” said Kevin Fanning, 59, who lives in North Texas, near Wichita Falls. “Basically I was paying for insurance I could not afford to use.”
In other words, they are what used to be called Major Medical Insurance, useful only when one had a catastrophic illness or accident.
Exactly Marie. When the company my wife worked for made her insurance comply with Democare, her deductible went from $150.00 for the year to $6,000.00.
Yep, and when they get a catastrophic illness like cancer, many cannot continue paying that high deductible year after year for treatments, scans, and follow up care.
But, but, but, they have insurance! Hope and change, too! Just not the insurance they hoped for and there’s nothing to change it now! Go Demmies, go.
Here are some comparable deductibles:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obamacare-enrollees-reeling-high-deductibles-192300944.html
Part of the problem is that while we speak of “health insurance,” what we actually mean and want is pre-paid (preferably by someone else) and cost-shared health care.