Healthcare costs and the future

[v-girl]

I don't get it either. I also don't get why it shouldn't be required to vote but that's another debate.


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[poky]

I don't get it either. I also don't get why it shouldn't be required to vote but that's another debate.

At its root, it's simple. Voting is supposed to be FREE (as in beer). Directly requiring anything to vote that requires money, no matter how little, runs counter to that.

[diggitydot]

At its root, it's simple. Voting is supposed to be FREE (as in beer). Directly requiring anything to vote that requires money, no matter how little, runs counter to that.

Yup, this. And when you consider that to obtain a government issued ID, you need a birth certificate, that adds to the costs and run around for people who lack the resources.

[HouseofWool]

Yup, this. And when you consider that to obtain a government issued ID, you need a birth certificate, that adds to the costs and run around for people who lack the resources.

That makes sense, but the argument that is made in Wisconsin is that people don't have the ability to get the ID card. I'm not sure what the correct answer is, but I don't think having to prove you are who you say you are is fundamentally wrong.

/tangent

I have no idea what will happen with the ACA exchanges. I am curious if small employers will stop offering insurance to employees and instead offer a stipend to get coverage through the exchanges. I am grateful to have coverage, but I am afraid to use it because my deductible is 5k and there is no way I can afford to pay that. And there are things that I would like to have addressed. But right now it will take me years to get enough money saved up and afford it.

[diggitydot]

That makes sense, but the argument that is made in Wisconsin is that people don't have the ability to get the ID card. I'm not sure what the correct answer is, but I don't think having to prove you are who you say you are is fundamentally wrong.

If the state issues IDs and copies of birth certificates free of charge, I don't see a problem.

But really, the more hurdles people have to jump through to exercise their basic, fundamental right to vote means people will become disenfranchised and not engage in the process on any level. People lacking the money, knowledge, or ability to go to the county courthouse to buy an official copy of their birth certificate or ID won't vote. And that isn't an accident.

[HouseofWool]

If the state issues IDs and copies of birth certificates free of charge, I don't see a problem.

But really, the more hurdles people have to jump through to exercise their basic, fundamental right to vote means people will become disenfranchised and not engage in the process on any level. People lacking the money, knowledge, or ability to go to the county courthouse to buy an official copy of their birth certificate or ID won't vote. And that isn't an accident.

I'm not sure I agree with you entirely. We had a huge problem in Milwaukee with people registering to vote with false addresses, using the names for dead people, and registering to vote in multiple precincts. http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwauk...199446341.html

We do have the ability to register to vote at the polls, so that may be part of what needs to change. But that will also discourage voter turn-out. Change of ANY kind to have people prove who they are is likely to have a negative effect in the near term. But, if the new norm is to ensure that your child gets their photo ID, in a generation, I would think that would and downward trend would be reversed.

Hell, give the ID's away and charge slightly more for me to have my driver's license to compensate. I'm okay with that.

[v-girl]

Hell, give the ID's away and charge slightly more for me to have my driver's license to compensate. I'm okay with that.

Me too. And now people will need the ID for healthcare purposes.

[SuzySunshine]

So we got our 2014 benefits package last night - we use the high deductible HSA plan through DH's hospital and it barely changed, went up a few bucks a month - their contribution to our HSA didn't change and the overall total we can put in the HSA goes up by the government amount. Our deductibles stay the same, $3k in network, $6k out and our annual max is $12,700k (up from $11,900).

For those of you with HSA, we can put more then the max in right? But you can only put the max in pre-tax??

[spotty_dog]

Why would you put more than the pre-tax max into an HSA?

[SuzySunshine]

Because our annual out of pocket max is $12,700 - its an investment, why not always have your annual out of pocket max there in case you needed it? I know you could invest it elsewhere too, just wondering. We don't right now because we're saving in lots of different places...

[spotty_dog]

OK. Our HSA has absolutely horrible interest, and I think the ones that let you invest more profitably tend to have a lot of fees, so for us the bang for the buck is in having a robust taxable investment account.

We're currently battling with the IRS actually over our HSA contributions. They didn't get the memo about the contributions going to the correct account. Sigh.

It looks to me like an HSA is like an IRA -- you can't use that vehicle for anything but your tax-advantaged contributions. If you over-contribute, you have to withdraw the excess. Sorry!

If you want to have $12k in the account, you could just take a couple of years to get there. Not sure if you knew that it stays put, it's not use it or lose it?