This diary is about questions, not observations or my opinion, though that said, IMO, I place responsibility for the current state of health care access mainly at the feet of the Right. My questions are about how the ACA will function in Pennsylvania, where our Governor, Tom Corbett, has declined to expand Medicaid under ACA.
My questions: How will ACA in Pennsylvania, where Governor Tom Corbett has declined to expand Medicaid, affect me in my circumstances?
These are my circumstances: I'm a 61YO uninsured single woman. I've been uninsured for several years. I've also been underemployed for several years. In 2013, my gross yearly income will be about $9,000. I have five employers. My hourly rate is decent, but my employers limit heavily my hours.
In the article I linked below (I'm not sure if you can reach the article from the link; apologies if you cannot, but the web address is accurate), I read about ACA provisions in Pennsylvania that concern me--they alarm me, actually.
I'm not clear about how these provisions are going to affect me, and I was hoping that some Daily Kos members can help me. The article states that under the individual mandate, this October people will begin selecting health plans. I believe they are called "exchanges." From what I'm reading in this article, since I'm not eligible for Medicaid in Pennsylvania, I will be required to pay for insurance under one plan or another--bronze, silver, gold, or platinum. The problem is that I'm priced out of these programs. According to this article, the yearly cost of the silver program is about $2,400. I don't know what the bronze plan would cost, but I assume it's just as unaffordable for me, based on my income.
My concern is that I'm required by law under the individual mandate to subscribe to one of these plans, regardless of my low income. As perverse as it sounds, I'm better off continuing to be uninsured, because I have no income available after my living expenses for insurance priced this high. I can't come near being able to afford it. As long as my enrolling, at my low income, isn't mandatory and I won't face some kind of penalty for declining to enroll, I'll get along. I keep myself very healthy. The only health insurance program I can afford is called "Don't Get Sick." My weight is ideal, my labs and numbers are in the healthy range, and I'm not on any prescription medications. Aside from that, I just hope my luck will hold out until I turn 65, though it looks to me that by that time, Medicaid may not even exist.
So my question is: If I decline to enroll in any of the ACA programs--bronze, silver, gold, or platinum--because I just don't have the money and I don't qualify for Medicaid, will I face a penalty? Or can I continue uninsured?