NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Uninsured Americans who passed on signing up for Obamacare say the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was anything but affordable – and the reason they didn't buy health insurance prior to this week's deadline was because of the high cost of coverage. However, most didn't even bother to get a quote or determine if they qualified for a subsidy, according to research from nonpartisan Market Strategies International.
A large majority (70%) of U.S. adults who have been without health insurance for at least six months said they didn't plan to enroll before Monday's deadline. Of those, 81% said the high cost of healthcare coverage was one of the reasons why, but less than a third (32%) had actually visited a federal or state exchange website. And 29% ignored the issue altogether, not even discussing healthcare insurance with friends or family, much less looking to obtain a quote.
The ultimate irony? Almost 85% of those saying cost was a concern would have been eligible for a subsidized plan offering a discount.
"What we found is that those individuals who were the primary reason behind the ACA and its subsidies -- the low-income, uninsured -- seem to have made the assumption that health insurance remains unaffordable to them, often without exploring whether a subsidy would help them afford it," said Susan McIntyre, managing director of healthcare at Market Strategies International.
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/family/family-health/uninsured-who-passed-obamacare-said-it-was-because-cost-most-didnt-both?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO
The point I am making by posting this article is to show the unforgivable price of Republican bullshit. They are hell bent on confusing people and discouraging them from signing up. They can spew forth complete falsehoods with unwavering certainty. Apathy is a problem among the American people. And GOP is counting on this. They are counting on people who are too busy living life to bother checking for themselves so they go by what they hear from others. I'm talking about ordinary every day Republicans, not just the politicians and media personalities. The ones who spew forth horseshit to their friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and anyone else.
For example, I promoted the ACA websites, phone numbers, and some basic info on how to sign up for insurance in a place that has a lot of uninsured people. I was promptly shouted down by hostile TP extremists claiming the government is going to
force poor women to have abortions since its cheaper than birth and ration out care with long waits and
sharing your private personal data with law enforcement and risk deportation. I couldn't believe that this info was being delivered with complete seriousness and how aggressively these guys were trying to stop people from even considering the possibility of insurance. Of course they spewed the falsehood that you don't need insurance during the open enrollment period if you're healthy, you can wait to buy it at the hospital if something happens to you.
I was able to get a handful signed up, with a few more promising to check out the websites and do their research first. There are people right here on DU who don't know that private marketplaces and brokers even exist as an alternative to the government sites.
This affects real people's lives. I challenge and remind all of you to
NEVER let this type of BS go unchallenged anywhere you may see it in your personal lives. Please make sure people in your sphere of influence at least know where to get the correct info, even if you're unwilling to push them towards signing up.
Remember Medicaid signups are year round and have no deadline. People can still sign up with life changing events(birth, divorce, job change, spouse job change, adoption, etc) . And open enrollment starts up again in less than 6 months. Private exchanges and brokers exist. Some will even help with subsidies. We can bring down the uninsured rate in this country. New health care providers are opening up every day, at least in blue states like MD.
