What happens if people dont buy insurance then get very sick?

[ErikJ]

Will they be able to buy a policy then to get covered? Or will they just let them die like before ACA? How does Massachusetts Romneycare handle that? I asked an ACA advisor on the phone yesterday and he didnt seem to know for sure.

[Swede Atlanta]

1. Good question......

If the ACA follows normal "open enrollment" procedures, i.e. enrollment/purchase is only available during a defined window each year except for additions/modifications that may be triggered by the birth of a child, death of an insured, divorce or marriage, then likely they could not purchase until the next open enrollment period.

That seems logical to me and would encourage people who are sitting on the sidelines not to think they can log on the night they fall off a ladder and crack their skull open to get insurance. Insurance needs to be a perpetual thing because you never know when you might need it.

I have a long-term care policy that I pay religiously every quarter. I am still a relatively young and healthy individual but I don't know when and/or if I will need the benefits of the policy.

It is about being pro-active about future potentials.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Good question. It defeats the purpose of paying premiums if you can get care for free.

Thus the mandate and penalty for not joining the community in participating.

I've yet to see anyone make a legitimate case for not participating.

If one can't afford it, one gets subsidies.

[Fumesucker]

4. Supporting an industry that I blame for the death of family members makes me break out in hives

Is that covered under the ACA?

[NYC_SKP]

16. I think I'll just refuse to pay any kind of insurance, car, home, health because they aren't perfect

And they're evil corporations.

And if I get sick I'll go to the ER and let other fuckers pay for it, and I drive safely, let the other guy pay for it when there's a wreck.

That's the progressive thing to do, right?



Medical industry or insurance industry, millions die due to mistakes, it will always be so.

It doesn't relieve anyone of the responsibility of participating in the community.

Single payer isn't free either. And with a full public health care system there will still be wrongful deaths.

[Fumesucker]

19. In my view deliberately causing the death of sick people goes just a little beyond imperfection

YMMV of course.

[doc03]

6. You could still get a subsidy and not be able to afford it, especially in areas with a

high cost of living.

[doc03]

3. I have been wondering about that also. You can't be refused if you have a pre-existing

illness so you should just be able to wait until you're sick then buy it.

[upaloopa]

5. You have to wait until an open enrollment period.

If you get sick without insurance and you are not in an enrollment period you can't buy insurance then.
That would be like buying car insurance after you have an accident to cover the damage resulting from the accident.

[Journeyman]

8. And even if a policy is bought during open enrollment, it won't take effect immediately. . .

Like the Open Enrollment Period we're in now, insurance bought today won't be useable until January 1.

That might be alright, if you have a slow acting cancer, but tell that to your gastroenterologist when you're sitting at home with a bleeding ulcer.

[doc03]

23. So if you don't buy insurance you die. n/t

[upaloopa]

24. Why do you say that?

You can pay out of pocket or rely on other people to pay for you.

[doc03]

25. Few people can pay medical out of pocket and if you don't have insurance and only can get in

during enrollment periods who are those other people?

[upaloopa]

26. The cost of care if not paid for by the patient or insurance

is covered by government through taxes on everyone.
In a way if you don't have insurance you have a single payer system. I say cut out the middleman and just have single payer for all.

[doc03]

27. That will never happen the insurance industry owns Congress. n/t

[karynnj]

7. There was a discussion of this in the 2008 primary debates

Edwards and Clinton, who supported a mandate, asked Obama. His answer was that there had to be a steep buy in cost if you did not get insurance when the law went into effect -- or else many people would game the system.

Incidentally, on the other side, the question was if there was a mandate what would the penalty be? - the answer now is at MOST a relatively small fine.

I think it is an interesting question for those who get no or substandard insurance. It is really hard to really have them incur the cost of their choice -- which would be a huge debt rather than the government paying.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

9. Death squads

[hughee99]

13. Yes. The difference between having insurance and not having it,

is the difference between having your fate decided by a "death panel" or a "death squad".

[riqster]

10. It's insurance. You don't have it, you are fucked.

And, eventually, everybody else in the pool is likewise fucked with higher premiums.

[jwirr]

11. I think we the taxpayers get to pay for their treatment if they cannot do it.

[NightWatcher]

12. you go to the ER, then hospital, then a BIG bill is mailed to your home, like today.

They have to treat you, then they bill you, then you go broke paying or are unable to pay at all. If you are in a Medicaid state and you qualify for assistance, you get some help up and to the point of sometimes the bills go away completely.

It's what happened to me

[SoCalDem]

14. They will show up at the ER, get treated and then be hounded for eternity

by bill collectors...and they will be fined for not having it.. Eventually they will declare bankruptcy, become poor, and when the next sign up time comes around, they will get a subsidy & join in..

[lamp_shade]

15. Current open enrollment ends 3/31. As I understand it, next open enrollment is 10/15 - 12/7...

just like Medicare (this could vary by state).

Ask.com may not be the most reliable source, but their answer seems to agree with what I've been hearing/reading. http://healthinsurance.about.com/od/reform/f/Why-Not-Wait-Until-Im-Sick-To-Buy-Health-Insurance.htm

[pnwmom]

17. They must enroll by March or they have to wait till the end of the year.

They don't get their own personal enrollment period if they decide to skip this one -- UNLESS they have a job loss or lose their insurance involuntarily sometime after March.

But if they choose not to sign up for insurance, or they lose theirs because they fail to make the payments, then they're stuck till the next enrollment period.

And then they'll have the same options they do now -- the emergency room and any free clinic they can find.

[FatBuddy]

18. There has to be some form of punishment

[NYC_SKP]

20. See reply #14.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4033604

[liberal_at_heart]

21. how about instead of punishing people we just work towards getting single payer?

I am so sick of hearing democrats who are willing to punish people who don't do what they want them to do.

[philosslayer]

22. Why are you so concerned?

If you get sick, you get insurance to cover the treatment. Why is that a concern of yours? Does it affect your insurance? The point is that people who need it get the care they need when they need it.

[NuclearDem]

28. Let em die! YEAH! WHOO!