this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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An individual can sign up for a plan through their State’s health insurance exchange or the federal government’s HealthCare.gov website.
It is usually more expensive than getting it through an employer - but works to serve small business owners, freelancers, etc.
A few States (like Massachusetts) have semi-universal systems that cover all individuals that earn under 150% of poverty, independent students, newly unemployed, etc.
A lot of Americans are also covered under Medicare, Medicaid , Social Security and other programs.
Retirees aged 65 and older are eligible for Medicare - a semi-universal federal system that covers pretty much everything and accepted most places.
Also worth mentioning that your first couple points only became true with the Affordable Care Act passing in 2010. Prior to that it was practically impossible to get a private plan, insurance companies would deny coverage for any pre-existing conditions like diabetes or cancer, and the standard low-end plans at many employers were more expensive and covered less. The system is still a complete joke, but it's better than it was before.
Indeed. Prior to 2010 - it was a roll of the dice. If insurance wasn't provided through your work, you had to be lucky enough to live in a State with decent laws preventing some of these predatory insurance practices. Back then, the uninsured rate was close to 19%. Almost 1 in 5 Americans.
Today, that rate is 8.4%. Which hails the victory of the ACA because "91.6% of Americans have insurance" sounds nice. And compared to where we were 13 years ago, it is nice.
In reality, we have 28 million uninsured people, many of whom are children. There's a long way to go.
While I'm personally satisfied with my level of coverage and standard of care, I don't understand how we can comfortably accept a society that bankrupts our most vulnerable residents for being sick. I'm baffled how this wasn't already solved or mostly resolved in my lifetime. Or at least seeing more states take on the Hawaii or Massachusetts health care models.