Here are my top 10 reasons for not enrolling, plus five suggestions for what you might do instead. You weigh the pros and cons, then decide the cost-benefit balance best for you.
1) The Obamacare health insurance policies cost significantly more – likely more than the penalty (tax). Most people can expect to see their premiums double.
2) The Obamacare health-insurance policies limit your choice of doctors.
3) The Obamacare health-insurance policies limit your choice of hospitals. For example, several major state-of-the-art, internationally known cancer treatment centers are excluded.
4) Your out-of-pocket costs will skyrocket, with the new Obamacare health-insurance policies doubling and tripling the deductibles you must pay before coverage will kick in.
5) Your medical privacy is lost when you enroll, and your medical information becomes controlled by government agencies.
6) Your personal financial and health information may be seriously compromised by the security flaws in the Healthcare.gov website.
7) You are at risk of identity theft by providing your personal information to the “Obamacare navigators,” a significant number of whom have been found to have criminal backgrounds.
8) Enrolling in the Obamacare health exchange may lead to compromises of your Second Amendment rights, as medical databases collect information on gun ownership.
9) Obamacare enrollees are finding it difficult or impossible to cancel their plan if they find a better option.
10) Obamacare policies are basically “managed care” with limitations on your options – and financial incentives for your doctor to restrict your care.
If you do not enroll in Obamacare, what options do you have to protect your health and pocketbook? Here are some solutions that put control back in your hands and allow you to decide how to spend your own money for the medical care you choose:
1) Purchase a very high-deductible, catastrophic medical insurance policy.
2) Use the savings in premiums every month to put money into your self-funded “medical expense savings account” that you control. Even if this account is not tax deductible, the fact that you control how you spend the money is what is critical to your health.
3) Consider joining a religious group cost-sharing program. Examples of these are Liberty Healthshare, Christian Care Medishare and Samaritan Ministries.
4) Seek out cash-pay medical practices, imaging centers and hospitals that offer discounts for cash – pay for services you choose, not for insurers’ promises, or denials, which are becoming more and more common.
5) Purchase a high-deductible international health insurance policy that for much lower premiums offers you the option of medical services in lower-cost countries such as Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand, India and others.
