HHS finalizes rule guaranteeing 100 percent funding for new Medicaid beneficiaries

[Cal Carpenter]

7. Here's another example

Directly quoted from this post I made to you last night :

There is a large swath of people who will struggle to use their insurance with subsidies through an exchange. Here's an example. A family of 4 making around $40,000 can be expected to pay as much as $7,600 in a year between premiums, deductibles, co-pays, etc.

This is based on a link here: http://101.communitycatalyst.org/aca_provisions/subsidies (there is a ton of info on that site about many aspects of the program)

My math isn't quite exact but it is close.

Employer coverage provided outside of the Exchange for low-wage workers, as described in the article you posted in the OP, tend to be very minimal in coverage with high deductibles, copays, etc. The benchmark plans through the exchange are not exactly great coverage from what I can find, and better plans with lower deductibles, copays, co-insurance, etc are more expensive and the difference is not subsidized.

This is still not 'affordable' to many people in many situations. If one family member has a major emergency or serious illness, these amounts may be prohibitive, or may still result in serious debt. If unexpected expenses come up, car repairs for example, that could mean no money for copays for office visits or meds. $30 or $50 or $100 is not always there when you need it at such wages.

“People who cannot afford coverage” are defined as those who would pay more than 8% of their household income just on premiums. Being low-wage, living month to month, how important that 8% of your income may be. A whole lot of America lives that way. Their whole lives. Because wages suck (and that's a whole nother thread)

There are millions who will fall through the cracks. Some will get no insurance at all. Others who, in some nominal way, have 'insurance', will still be unable to access affordable health care in many cases, which has been a major problem all along.

eta: I realize this example is outside the range discussed above, but the point remains. Millions of Americans will still have no health care access.