There were private firefighters at one point, and rival factions would show up and fight over who would fight the fire, sometimes while the building burnt down. So there is a bad idea that has been tested.
@colintheriot That full article is spot-on and VERY worth a read.
Prime example: Given what's transpired income-wise this past year+, I am thankful for the ACA, but I (we) spent a half-day last December muddling through a damn application, accompanied on the phone with an experienced insurance agent, I can say it was barely worth the attendant tech frustrations and ongoing confusion and mistakes on our provider's end. And I'm a goddamn I.T. manager.
We were asked to accurately predict our income for 2017, and thereby what plan + premium we qualify for, when my wife is in the midst of altering her career. And when we settled on (guessed) a dollar amount, it was one that gave us some premium assistance for a plan that allowed us to keep our current doctors/hospital access, but put the kids on f-ing Medicare – meaning a different, unknown pediatrician. At least, I think. So we ended up deciding that it was worth it to spend $350+/month to separately enroll our kids in a regular plan, one that still had a $6,000 deductible. So we will still pay at least $8,000 this year.
And if the estimate is wrong by any significant amount (like a couple $thousand), we will have to make reimbursements at year's end. I'm glad we had an option other than nothing or Medicare, but I cannot think of a more byzantine and unsure way to go about getting it.
@Lord_John_Whorfin I'm impressed you spent only a half day! Took us better part of a few weeks, off and on, to figure out what to do in December. What a clusterfuck.
Prime example: Given what's transpired income-wise this past year+, I am thankful for the ACA, but I (we) spent a half-day last December muddling through a damn application, accompanied on the phone with an experienced insurance agent, I can say it was barely worth the attendant tech frustrations and ongoing confusion and mistakes on our provider's end. And I'm a goddamn I.T. manager.
We were asked to accurately predict our income for 2017, and thereby what plan + premium we qualify for, when my wife is in the midst of altering her career. And when we settled on (guessed) a dollar amount, it was one that gave us some premium assistance for a plan that allowed us to keep our current doctors/hospital access, but put the kids on f-ing Medicare – meaning a different, unknown pediatrician. At least, I think. So we ended up deciding that it was worth it to spend $350+/month to separately enroll our kids in a regular plan, one that still had a $6,000 deductible. So we will still pay at least $8,000 this year.
And if the estimate is wrong by any significant amount (like a couple $thousand), we will have to make reimbursements at year's end. I'm glad we had an option other than nothing or Medicare, but I cannot think of a more byzantine and unsure way to go about getting it.