Comment by asnyder | Hacker News Reader

Comment by asnyder | Hacker News Reader

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Yeah, but if you qualify for Medicaid now based on your current income then you should enroll, as it's expansion (increasing the income levels) was part of the ACA too, assuming you're in a sane state. At the point in which your income goes above the Medicaid cut-off you should still be eligible for some subsidies up to a certain point. After that, depending on what state you're in your monthly premiums on an exchange plan will be very very reasonable. Anywhere from $50 - $300 for Silver plans, again based on your state, and if you qualify for a subsidy then obviously that's reduced.

Don't quite understand why you think it doesn't work for entreprenuers. I myself left a cushy job around 10 months ago to do a new start-up and I signed up on the NY exchanges nicely, with a monthly outlay of a very reasonable $150.

Especially compared with the prior situation which was that as a freelancer, if you were lucky you could get individual coverage for around $500+... assuming no pre-existing conditions.

In NY, it was illegal to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions, which meant it was higher there than other states in which it was legal. I used to live in NYC and was under Freelancers Union insurance, which ran about $400 a month with a $10k deductible and 30% coinsurance. Moved to Nashville and was able to get better insurance for about $200 a month. (I'm insured through an employer now, so I have no idea what it looks like post-ACA).

I had individual coverage as a freelancer for $130 per month.

I got coverage under the ACA as a freelancer for myself and my wife at $420 a month.

> Yeah, but if you qualify for Medicaid now based on your current income then you should enroll, as it's expansion (increasing the income levels) was part of the ACA too, assuming you're in a sane state

Do they care why your income is low? For instance, if I lose my job, and decide to take a year off before looking for another job, could I go on Medicaid for a year? Or is it like unemployment benefits, where they get testy and stingy if you aren't trying to get a job?

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