Premium prices under Obamacare - WaPo

[Bill USA]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/06/finally-the-actual-prices-for-insurance-under-obamacare/

Premium subsidies may be one of the most complicated parts of the Affordable Care Act to understand, and that says something when you’re talking about a 2,000-page law that overhauls the American health-care system.

They’re also crucially important to the health care law, the factors that determines how much health insurance will cost under Obamacare and whether Americans will decide that price tag is affordable. So, today, we’re going to use a brand new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation to explain how the subsidies work. Get. Excited.

Kaiser’s report is arguably the most in-depth look we have at how much health insurance will cost under Obamacare, using actual rates that insurers will charge in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

“Our aim here was to really start making it tangible for people,” says Larry Levitt, one of the report authors. “So much until now has been hypothetical, with simulations and models. Now that we have real premiums in 17 states and D.C., we could start looking at what consumers in real circumstances would pay.”

That includes this chart, which shows us how much a 40-year-old who earns $28,725 (250 percent of the poverty line) would be expected to pay for medical care in 18 cities.



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[ForgoTheConsequence]

1. Interesting.

I make about that. Not sure I could afford an extra 250-300 a month after rent, student loans, and food. Luckily as of now I have decent insurance from my employer.

[Doctor_J]

2. Holy crap. This says that $12,000/year is considered "above the poverty level"