Saturday, April 5, 2014

People With Insurance To Pay $63 Per Year For Those With Preexisting Conditions

By Cornelius Nunev


Starting in 2014, everybody with coverage through a company will have to fork over $63 each year to cover the price of getting insurance for people with preexisting problems. It's a part of the Affordable Care Act, one of the many expenses that law will impose.

Tax to pay for preexisting problems takes impact in 2014

It is certainly true that people with preexisting conditions, or preexisting medical problems, most likely should be able get insurance coverage. If they're willing to pay premiums, why shouldn't they be allowed to have it?

Because of the Affordable Care Act that was passed by the Obama administration, insurance businesses can no longer exclude those with preexisting conditions. The money has to come from someplace to help pay for it though.

The requirement will not start until 2014, but between 2014 and 2017, $25 billion will need to be raised to cover all of it. The only people left to pay for the extra costs are those who already have insurance and the companies who are forced to purchase it for employees.

Yearly cost of $63

Everyone presently insured will have to pay a fee, according to ACA's text, in order to pay for the preexisting problems. Every business that gives insurance to employees will have to pay the fee, and about 190 million people who get insurance through companies will end up having to pay the fee.

The fee will differ by the business; large firms will get the largest bills, smaller companies will get smaller bills from Uncle Sam. The fee is $63 per insured person, which according to Salon.com is assessed annually. Assuming all of it is passed on to employees, that's an extra $5.25 per month. Not exactly the main difference between the lifestyle of Croesus and starving in the street and taking payday loans just to pay the rent, but still a dent.

On the bright side, the fee declines annually after that, dropping from $63 per head in 2014 to $50 the next year, until it phases out entirely in 2017.

Stealing money to give to others

The ACA also says that $700 billion needs to be raised over ten years on top of the $25 billion to cover preexisting condition costs. A number of people end up losing cash when they have to cover others to get health insurance, no matter how nice of an idea it is.

According to the Washington Post, health insurance premiums are increasing everywhere because of the health care law. People can be ready to pay a lot more. HR consultancy Mercer did a survey that found 10 percent of businesses with over 500 employees increased health insurance premiums last year. This year, that number was up to 12 percent of businesses.



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