[amboy49]

I had a conversation with my investment advisor today. I have been trying to actively plan for my retirement which was going to occur next June when I will be 64 and 6 months. My plan was to get on my wife's health insurance for 6 months and then pick up Medicare. Since my wife is 3 years younger than me I was assuming she will work until age 65 and maintain her insurance through her employer.
The depressing part of the conversation came when my investment advisor started telling me that he believes most, if not all, employers will begin dropping their insurance plans in 2015 as a result of the Affordable Heath
Care Act features. I had figured on my wife working until she turned 65 and being able to remain on her employer's insurance. Now that my wife may not be able to have health insurance thru her employer she thinks she may as well go ahead and retire when I do.

So much for having a plan.

 

[Setterman]

The Affordable Care Act is rigged. Some businesses may continue on their own insurance for a year or 2, but after that, nadda. The new Federal insurance requirements will make your present plan "non-compliant", so you'll be forced to join a subsidized, obscure, plan.

If you're 55-60 years old, you'll still have to pay a premium for maternity, cause all the young, meathead, druggies in Detroit need it, so you do too....only you're paying for there's, and they aren't paying anything cause their income is under the the income level.

Nevermind they've never been responsible for anything their whole life, but they have $3,000 in tatoos, a $400 I-phone, all the Dish/Direct TV multi-packages, jewelry up the butt, and can buy crack any time they want it..

OMG! we can't let them live in poverty!

 

[Brian in Oregon]

Obama and the Democrats have destroyed the health care system.

Unless Obamacare gets scuttled, prepare for the worst case scenario.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

And bingo, that's exactly what Obamacare does. It forces people to have insurance they don't need. Like men and old infertile women needing maternity coverage, etc.

 

[dmarbell]

Some employers will drop their plans. I'm not sure if it will be most. In many cases, the employers who are now covering health insurance will likely give the employees a stipend to buy their own plans in the marketplace, if they drop the group coverage. Otherwise, it will feel like a pay cut.

I believe the ACA might implode on itself as 2015 approaches, and the full effect of the price increases hits home on the millions of employees covered by company plans.

I wouldn't make wholesale changes in retirement plans based on a solution which is a year away, and is in tremendous flux right now.

But, although I have learned a lot about it, I am no ACA expert.

My own experience is not so good. My premium was scheduled to increase 180% for the ACA plan I was to be on January 1, 2014. I got a reprieve when the "keep your own plan" rule went into effect. Now I get to keep my 2013 plan for 2014, and the premium is going up a mere 23.6%. And, boy do I feel lucky!!

Danny

 

[APrice]

Employers should not be in the business of buying health insurance or providing pensions for present or former employees.

 

[StonewallRacing]

APrice, neither should the Federal Government.

Sw

 

[APrice]

Sw, the federal government IS an employer. And no, they should not either. Pay a wage that the market demands and don't take on "heritage costs."

 

[perezal]

Stinking Obama ruined my health care.

 

[gun1357]

City employees are having their health coverage cancelled at some local hospitals here is San Antonio. One has to wonder. The city is trying to reduce the number of employees and historically people have gone to work there for the benefits, not the pay scale. Ron

 

[Ross]

We all know O'Bobblehead (translation--Soros-Pelosi-Jarrett-etc.)doesn't care a hoot about your (our) health ins. all they want is this country BROKE. They don't even want the medical care act to work, what they do want is the ins. cos. so confused that they can't figure out how to offer anything, and then go broke & out of business.

They want socialism, subjects-not citizens. Gun control just part of their plan, if you (we) can't defend ourselves that just makes it even easier. They have just about all their ducks in a row now.

About our only hope is that the military and other LEOs have brains enough to uphold the constitution and refuse to go along with their plans to imprison\kill\make slaves of their own parents-siblings-friends-etc.

I worry about our children & grand children. Ross Puls

 

[bossbasl]

amboy49:Be mindful that anything told to you by a "financial advisor" needs to be verified by you. The financial industry is ruining the retirement plans of millions who are at or approaching Medicare age (65). Here are several things you may want to consider: (1) learn about money and investing yourself to create a safe, sustainable and comfortable retirement with cash flow increasing faster than inflation. If you don't, the alternative is to hand over your financial future to a financial advisor who will do nothing for you and almost guarantee a future decrease in cash flow and net worth; (2) you MAY wish to consider working to age 65 to avoid finding health care coverage prior to age 65. Or, if you wish to retire prior to 65 you can always enroll in your present employers COBRA coverage to get you to 65: (3) as for your wife to retire now vs. working until 65, this is a personal choice that only you and your wife can answer, but if she is in good health and wishes to work until 65, it will solve a significant cash flow problem to fund health care costs until reaching Medicare age. Best wishes for finding the best answers for you, but please don't trust your financial goals to a third party "advisor". bossbasl

 

[dmarbell]

I happen to agree with APrice on this one. We should disconnect health care coverage with employment. That connection, along with Medicare, has caused a lot of our problems, in my own opinion. Insurance companies negotiate on behalf of large groups of insureds for the best prices. Medicare pays relatively small amounts, on a case by case basis, for health care.

Uninsured can get treatment by going to indigent care or directly to emergency rooms.

That leaves the self-insured, not represented by group insurance, and those who purchase their own insurance, to fend for themselves.

Let me illustrate. Some years ago, maybe ten years ago, I underwent an outpatient preventative procedure. The full amount billed was $1,696. I had my own high-deductible insurance plan, and had not met the deductible. I called after the fact to negotiate (not a position of power, I know), and told them I'd like to pay what a Medicare patient would pay. The nice lady in billing told me they couldn't do that, because Medicare would pay just $278 for the procedure. Since I was not on Medicare, I couldn't get that rate. This went on and on, and I agreed to a payment plan, yadda, yadda, and they wrote off a whole bunch of it. Not because I didn't have the ability to pay, but because I was giving them a hard time about paying.

Anyway, we should remove the incentive for employers to provide health insurance, and that will provide an absolute market based approach to health care. Everyone can buy their own insurance, with perhaps a subsidy from their employers.

Danny

 

[flashmax]

History must, once again, be recited for those of you who either forgot or never learned why health care was linked to employment in the first place. FDR, to control wartime economy, did wage and price controls. The government told the Aircraft plants, the Tank plants, the Cannon plants, the Rifle plants every producer of goods for the government exactly how much they could pay in salary. They also told every seller of goods what a 'fair' price for those goods was. To get the best and most productive workers companies started to offer 'side benefits' to enhance the fixed wages. Those included medical care for the employee and his family, paid vacation time, etc.

"""Employer-sponsored health insurance plans dramatically expanded as a direct result of wage controls imposed by the federal government during World War II.[19] The labor market was tight because of the increased demand for goods and decreased supply of workers during the war. Federally imposed wage and price controls prohibited manufacturers and other employers from raising wages enough to attract workers. When the War Labor Board declared that fringe benefits, such as sick leave and health insurance, did not count as wages for the purpose of wage controls, employers responded with significantly increased offers of fringe benefits, especially health care coverage, to attract workers.[19"""

So now we are here. The government knows best shills, who went along with the government when it caused the shift, want to tell us that now when the government wants to 'fix' the health care costs and provisions, that employers have no business linking health care to employment. You folks need to make up your mind.

Me I say the government has no right to tell ANYONE what they MUST BUY or WHAT THEY CAN SELL how much they can charge or how much they can pay. Get the damn government the HELL out of private enterprise. Look at Detroit and see exactly what ALL Government All the Time does to a City and a People. IS that what you want?

Don T

 

[CharlieAMA]

My question is- I'm 60, my bride is 55. She quit ovulating 8-9 years ago. I had a vasectomy 20 years ago. Do I still need, under Obamascare, birth control, contreception, the morning after pill and all that goes with that, or can I opt. out of that? LOL.

 

[Joe Potosky]

No opt out but I think you get free Viagra (after your $6500 deductible)!

 

[cubancigar2000]

In just a couple years, no employer will have health insurance benefits, they cannot afford it under this affordable care act. The companies who are unionized will close up

 

[1atatime]

I am an employer of less than 50 people. In a recent discussion with several other small business owners, the conclusion was that we would HAVE to drop our group plans due to the drastic penalties involved with ACA.

If our plans do not comply with ACA mandates as to coverage levels, we face a penalty of thousands of dollars per day. There is an exception for self insured groups, but with our small census, self insurance is not an option. All of us will be cancelling our plans as they renew in 2014. We are going to give our employees the same amount of money we were applying toward their health insurance, but, unfortunately, they are on their own for coverage.

Let's put it this way: The Dems & Obama showed up at our doorsteps and said, "I'm from the Government. I'm here to help." My question is, "help who"?

 

[bigdogtx]

Well,,,,,,,maybe the DEMOCRAPS should have read it BEFORE they voted on it,,,,,,,,remember in November.......

 

[RWT]

1atatime

That is what a lot of small companies will do.

But under the ACA the money you give them to pay for insurance will now be income and subject to SS tax, income tax and the employer will probably have to pay the W/C rate on it too.

ADDS UP TO MORE MONEY FOR THE GIVERMENT FROM THE PRODUCERS.