And Obama Care...

Here's the actual link: https://www.healthcare.gov/

Yep - still no help for those of us working our asses off and making barely a living wage in jobs without benefits -- or self-employed. One more "benefit" of island living. My only choice for health insurance remains purchasing "international" insurance as part of a group.

Here's the actual link: https://www.healthcare.gov/

That link is useless to anyone living here. Choose "Virgin Islands" as your location and it says, "If you live in the Virgin Islands, you’re not eligible to use the Marketplace to apply for health insurance. Check with your territory’s government offices to learn about health coverage options."

It ought to just have a big flashing red banner that says, "You are SOL!"

Sorry, I am really bitter about this. "All Americans must have health insurance... except you!!"

When I checked the other day it did not say that. Will have to recheck.

I believe the VI Government had a choice whether to or not to participate and opted no.

Found the article:

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2013/07/12/no-obamacare-health-insurance-exchange-usvi

And for those who are interested, here's a news video clip from Guam two days ago which further explains the particular issues of the US territories:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zJC7uq47ZQ

Alana: The VI decided to take the pay-out and use it for Medicaid, known here as Medical Assistance. This means if you are eligible for Medicaid, your bills will be covered. If you actually wanted to buy affordable insurance, you are out of luck. Not only is there no affordable insurance, the expensive stuff just went up.

P.S. The people who were eligible under Medicaid before and couldn't get their medical bills paid weren't paying for them anyway.

i went to the site the other day and put in the vi's and it sent me to the sight for map, which i hear is really hard to qualify for.

there are so many unknowns for those who can get this

speee1dy: It's all in the article.

If local funding sources come through for the 45 percent match, a total of $419 million in federal funds will allow the V.I. Human Services Department to start enrolling Virgin Islanders whose incomes are between $6,500 and $8,500 yearly, up $1,000 from previous limits, in phases stretched over one year.

The 45% match is going to be a problem.

good grief, not much of a help is it

Screwed again by our VI Government.

Screwed again by our VI Government.

I can't necessarily agree. Watch the Guam news report video. It's rather more complicated than a simple local government "screwing".

So, if we're self employed and single, what option for healthcare do we have?? No one in the VI is writing individual policies AFAIK...

This one of the primary reasons we're moving, unfortunately.

Screwed again by our VI Government.

I can't necessarily agree. Watch the Guam news report video. It's rather more complicated than a simple local government "screwing".

The Guam report is not totally honest either. They blame the problem on the Federal Government for treating the territories different from the states. Yes they do. The territories DO NOT PAY INCOME TAXES to the federal government. That is where the federal government gets most of its revenue. The territories expect the same benefits as the states without having to pay for it!

So, if we're self employed and single, what option for healthcare do we have?? No one in the VI is writing individual policies AFAIK...

Our options, assuming we make more than the $8,500 a year that would allow us to qualify for Medicaid, are:

(1) Pay for everything out of pocket and hope nothing serious happens.
(2) https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,185065,185065#msg-185065 (not a US-based insurance provider)
(3) Lie about living in the states and obtain insurance through an exchange or private insurance provider there. If you are found out, your claims will be denied, and you can be prosecuted for insurance fraud.

In all of these cases, it's still a good idea to sign up with MASA or a similar service to prevent a catastrophic bill if you need to be transferred off island for medical care.

As far as I know, there are still no other options for health insurance for self-employed single folks living in the Virgin Islands. Another cost of paradise.

As far as I know, there are still no other options for health insurance for self-employed single folks living in the Virgin Islands. Another cost of paradise.

And there haven't been for decades which it seems maybe a few people aren't aware of.

so I guess you need to pass it to understand was the word given. Now you need to try to get to understand that you will not get anything except be screwed!

What a government mess.

Billd

We should expect that a new huge program would have some problems at the beginning. However the real problems are taking place in the states where Republican governors have sabotaged it by NOT setting up insurance exchanges and allocating proper funds. Those governors should be treated as the criminals that they are. The other major problem is the right wing Republican congress who just want to destroy this President, even if it means destroying the country.

Bottom line, Congress should have just enacted universal medical insurance for everyone, just like Medicare. That is what the President really wanted.

Interesting poll result. 40% of the well informed public said they hated "Obamacare", but liked the new "Affordable Care Act"....

We should expect that a new huge program would have some problems at the beginning. However the real problems are taking place in the states where Republican governors have sabotaged it by NOT setting up insurance exchanges and allocating proper funds. Those governors should be treated as the criminals that they are. The other major problem is the right wing Republican congress who just want to destroy this President, even if it means destroying the country.

Bottom line, Congress should have just enacted universal medical insurance for everyone, just like Medicare. That is what the President really wanted.

Interesting poll result. 40% of the well informed public said they hated "Obamacare", but liked the new "Affordable Care Act"....

I take it that you are a democrat:)

lol mtdoramike.

a lot of complaints about the high deductibles and the high co pays. those are the biggest complaints i have been reading about. people who dont have insurance now dont have it because they can not afford it, so how are they supposed to afford the high deductables of the cheap plans?

lol mtdoramike.

a lot of complaints about the high deductibles and the high co pays. those are the biggest complaints i have been reading about. people who dont have insurance now dont have it because they can not afford it, so how are they supposed to afford the high deductables of the cheap plans?

I don't think anyone is getting something for free, THE REST OF US ARE PAYING FOR THEiR HEALTH INSURANCE!
Where do they think the subsidies are coming from! As David Stockman, former OMB Director reiterated today ' This is the worst law passed in four decades and will bankrupt the county'.

If the younger folks don't sign up for the high costs and deductibles, the entire law will implode on itself. No need for anyone to do anything but sit back and watch this train wreck occur.

The only real winners under Obamacare are the insurance companies! The losers are the younger people who are being forced to subsidize the cost of insurance for the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions.

agree with both of you

The only real winners under Obamacare are the insurance companies! The losers are the younger people who are being forced to subsidize the cost of insurance for the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions.

Sounds like Social Security to me, I'll bet if you look back to when that program was started, it was also a very unpopular program as well. Now, people couldn't live without it. Whether this will be the same situation is up in the air. I don't so much have a problem with the program so much as I do with them ramming it down our throats right after a fellow named Paulson and Bush addressed the country and stated how much financial trouble the country is in and we had to bail out everybody and their brother. But that wasn't enough, we needed to take advantage of a bad situation and create another HUGE entitlement program. Like someone stated not to long ago, "Never let a good crisis go to waste".

Kind of like history repeating itself because the Social Security program was born out of the great depression and again "Never let a good crisis go to waste". This is the democrats playbook.