Last updated on 2013.09.30
Reading the South Dakota Medicaid Task Force's final report, I find this really good example of how the Affordable Care Act can save working families good money.
A family of 3 with income below 138% FPL ($26,344) will likely incur the following out of pocket costs for a Silver Plan (assuming premium costs of $9,000 per year):
- Family Pays $526 Premium (2% of Income)
- Government Pays $8,474
- Maximum Out-of-Pocket Cap - $4,500
- Premium Plus Out-of-Pocket Cap - $5,026
- Required Actuarial Value: 94%
Under this example, a low-income family with significant Medical expenses during a particular year could potentially face significant out-of-pocket costs, although the maximum out-of-pocket costs will not exceed $5,026 [South Dakota Medicaid Challenges and Opportunities Task Force, final report, 2013.09.16, p. 15].
If you're a couple with a growing child at that income level, you look at that deal and shout, "Where do I sign up?!" You get health insurance for under $50 a month, for all three of you. You can afford to go in for preventive care. That out-of-pocket cost is probably lower than any deductible and copay from any current health coverage that you can afford.
The Medicaid Task Force's report refrains from (read: the Governor told them not to) making a recommendation as to expanding Medicaid under the ACA. But that example of making health insurance affordable for a family making $26,000 a year shows how the ACA will make a positive difference in working South Dakotans' lives.
As we all now know, Obamacare is a winner! Now, all Democrats have to do is beat the hell out of NOem, Thune and the rest of these knuckle draggers for their insistence on not providing health care for those that need it. Get the big stick and beat them on them. Also, while we are at it, get another big stick and beat them for being communists. Yep, NOem and Thune are communist in their thinking that for work you eat. That is the communist way and that is their way, so if the shoe fits, wear it. Their support for cutting SNAP and the reasons for doing so, is shameful and downright un-American.
Republican desperation rises proportionate to the positive experiences of the ACA. The annual rise in health care costs has diminished dramatically. Republicans hate that. Imagine - conservatives hate that market forces are bringing down costs.
They see that steam train a-comin', Deb! Nothing is worse for Republicans than when we turn the abstract into the concrete.
Jerry, every Dem running needs to run with that vehemence next year. They need to play as hard as the Koch-Tea Party did in 2010 to press its point and throw the bums out.
You know, after thinking about it for awhile now, the Republican fear of Obamacare is that it will work and is working in many ways.
Republicans over the years have called for the end of Medicare and even Social Security, while at the same time their family members were most likely collecting both.
My parents were FDR Democrats and told me that "if the Republicans hate it, it must be good for the common man".