# I don't find it to be a very Affordable Care Act. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134 "2016-03-06T19:11:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/1 "2016-03-06T19:11:26Z")
Greetings all. Mods and others, I am not sure where this post goes, I have just spent a bit of time re-reading the Board rules and reading various posts but still have a vague feeling that this doesn’t belong on this Board whatsoever. Okay so I made something less then $50,000 dollars in 2015. I have about $10,000 dollars in un-reimbursed out of pocket medical expenses, basically paid for all my medical care without getting anything from my Insurance. In addition to the above; When I had my taxes done I discovered that I owe the IRS the entire Affordable Care Act subsidy, about $7,000! I don’t have much to add, I was looking for a place to unload a bit, I don’t really expect sympathy etc. Other then that I find the whole business very discouraging! .zuer-coli ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/2 "2016-03-06T19:24:36Z")
> [@zuer-coli](#): > > Greetings all. > > Mods and others, I am not sure where this post goes, I have just spent a bit of time re-reading the Board rules and reading various posts but still have a vague feeling that this doesn’t belong on this Board whatsoever. > > Okay so I made something less then $50,000 dollars in 2015. I have about $10,000 dollars in un-reimbursed out of pocket medical expenses, basically paid for all my medical care without getting anything from my Insurance. > > In addition to the above; When I had my taxes done I discovered that I owe the IRS the entire Affordable Care Act subsidy, about $7,000! > > I don’t have much to add, I was looking for a place to unload a bit, I don’t really expect sympathy etc. Other then that I find the whole business very discouraging! > > .zuer-coli I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that perhaps you’re doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/3 "2016-03-06T19:48:43Z")
> [@zuer-coli](#): > > Okay so I made something less then $50,000 dollars in 2015. I have about $10,000 dollars in un-reimbursed out of pocket medical expenses, basically paid for all my medical care without getting anything from my Insurance. > > In addition to the above; When I had my taxes done I discovered that I owe the IRS the entire Affordable Care Act subsidy, about $7,000!l Sounds to me like you’ve got pretty shitty insurance and/or are bad with money. My annual pay is comparable to yours. In 2015, I paid exactly $312 in premiums to my provider, I spent exactly $1000 out-of-pocket on doctor’s visits and procedures, and about $50 a month on my prescriptions, and I received a $900 tax refund from the IRS. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/4 "2016-03-06T20:48:23Z")
> [@zuer-coli](#): > > In addition to the above; When I had my taxes done I discovered that I owe the IRS the entire Affordable Care Act subsidy, about $7,000! > .zuer-coli Fire your tax provider. They screwed up big time. Hire someone competent and refile. You say you had insurance. So, there is no penalty. What subsidy did you get? ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/5 "2016-03-06T21:14:20Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Fire your tax provider. They screwed up big time. Hire someone competent and refile. > You say you had insurance. So, there is no penalty. What subsidy did you get? OP did not says he had to pay the penalty. He said he had to repay about $7,000 of the subsidy. That might add up in a limited set of circumstances… 1. he/she is 60+, so medical insurance is costly due to age 2. perhaps a smoker, which would bump up the premium 3. single, so would be eligible for less subsidy, 4. and underestimated income, so was getting too much subsidy 5. and lives in an area with particularly high medical costs so the bills rack up quickly 6. had medical expenses near the out of pocket limit, without going over. In any plan as complex as the PPACA there will be winners and losers. It is not going to be sunshine and unicorns farting glitter rainbows for all. ---
**Author:** ![Boogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Boogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boogly)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/6 "2016-03-06T22:59:25Z")
Without knowing more details I’m going to assume somebody screwed up; either your tax preparer doing the return or you choosing what insurance you have. At the very least I’d go to a CPA to have him look over your paperwork to make sure your return was done properly. ---
**Author:** ![Boogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Boogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boogly)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/7 "2016-03-06T23:22:07Z")
Damn it I’m too late to edit my previous post. I should not have said that your insurance choice was the problem but you should look into your insurance to see if they can help you out. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/8 "2016-03-07T02:16:16Z")
> [@zuer-coli](#): > > Greetings all. > > Mods and others, I am not sure where this post goes, I have just spent a bit of time re-reading the Board rules and reading various posts but still have a vague feeling that this doesn’t belong on this Board whatsoever. > > Okay so I made something less then $50,000 dollars in 2015. I have about $10,000 dollars in un-reimbursed out of pocket medical expenses, basically paid for all my medical care without getting anything from my Insurance. > > In addition to the above; When I had my taxes done I discovered that I owe the IRS the entire Affordable Care Act subsidy, about $7,000! > > I don’t have much to add, I was looking for a place to unload a bit, I don’t really expect sympathy etc. Other then that I find the whole business very discouraging! > > .zuer-coli Your post does not make sense to me. If you had the cheapest high deductible ACA or other health insurance and had a health crisis I get the 10,000 deductible. You get what you pay for. But what I don't get is the 50,000 income = 7,000 ACA penalty. The ACA penalty fee only comes into effect if you DO NOT have ACA or other health insurance. Beyond this it's a max penalty of 8.05 % of income after deductibles for 2015 so your max penalty would be around 4000 not $ 7,000. I also don’t get why you are paying any penalty at all if you have (as you state) insurance in place. Either your accountant is on heavy duty drugs or you are leaving some critical bit out of this vignette. > [@](#): > > For plan years beginning in 2015, Rev. Proc. 2014-37 increases this percentage from 8 percent to 8.05 percent. The ACA provides premium tax credits to help low-income individuals and families afford health insurance purchased through an Exchange. The percentages in this table will be adjusted annually after 2014. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/9 "2016-03-07T02:58:02Z")
I would be very surprised if had received $7,000 = ~$580 a month in subsidies and yet had to repay it all despite making less than $50,000. That sounds like way too much of a subsidy unless you have tons of dependents, in which case you’d be eligible for at least some subsidy with that income level, I think. You would have had to report that your expected income was effectively the minimum as well when applying for the subsidy. It just doesn’t make much sense. Something is wrong. Were you doing all the calculations yourself? Was someone else doing them for you and not using software to assist them? ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/10 "2016-03-07T12:23:38Z")
I hate the system ---
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/11 "2016-03-08T00:25:17Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > OP did not says he had to pay the penalty. He said he had to repay about $7,000 of the subsidy. > That might add up in a limited set of circumstances… > > 1. he/she is 60+, so medical insurance is costly due to age > 2. perhaps a smoker, which would bump up the premium > 3. single, so would be eligible for less subsidy, > 4. and underestimated income, so was getting too much subsidy > 5. and lives in an area with particularly high medical costs so the bills rack up quickly > 6. had medical expenses near the out of pocket limit, without going over. > In any plan as complex as the PPACA there will be winners and losers. It is not going to be sunshine and unicorns farting glitter rainbows for all. 1. This one 2. non-smoker, but high blood pressure & diabetes 3. Likewise this one 4. I think this is the single biggest factor, 2014 income $27,000 5. North Central Indiana, I don’t have a basis for comparison. 6. This one too! I was somewhat supprised at the number of folk who seem to have mis-read the part about paying back the subsidy. I had my taxes done at one of the well known national preparers, they used their no doubt proprietry software, still might be a good idea to have it double checked. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/12 "2016-03-08T00:41:09Z")
> [@zuer-coli](#): > > 1. > > I had my taxes done at one of the well known national preparers, they used their no doubt proprietry software, still might be a good idea to have it double checked. Not a bad idea - [even the big national chains make lots of mistakes.](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/07resconfbloom.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/13 "2016-03-08T00:42:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Sounds to me like you’ve got pretty shitty insurance and/or are bad with money. > > My annual pay is comparable to yours. In 2015, I paid exactly $312 in premiums to my provider, I spent exactly $1000 out-of-pocket on doctor’s visits and procedures, and about $50 a month on my prescriptions, and I received a $900 tax refund from the IRS. It would be helpful if we knew what your circumstances are, age, total medical expendature etc. I don’t claim to be the most financialy prudent person, however I fail to see how you arrive at the conclusion that I might be bad with money based solely on the informantion provided. Prudent or proflagate, medical expenses would have been the same. ---
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/14 "2016-03-08T00:45:53Z")
> [@Boogly](#): > > Without knowing more details I’m going to assume somebody screwed up; either your tax preparer doing the return or you choosing what insurance you have. > > At the very least I’d go to a CPA to have him look over your paperwork to make sure your return was done properly. As far as the Insurance, as I recall there weren’t many choices, not more than one plan per provider, all w/ high deductable. ---
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/15 "2016-03-08T00:48:12Z")
> [@Boogly](#): > > Damn it I’m too late to edit my previous post. > > I should not have said that your insurance choice was the problem but you should look into your insurance to see if they can help you out. Thank you for that clarification. ---
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/16 "2016-03-08T00:52:40Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Your post does not make sense to me. > > If you had the cheapest high deductible ACA or other health insurance and had a health crisis I get the 10,000 deductible. You get what you pay for. But what I don't get is the 50,000 income = 7,000 ACA penalty. The ACA penalty fee only comes into effect if you DO NOT have ACA or other health insurance. Beyond this it's a max penalty of 8.05 % of income after deductibles for 2015 so your max penalty would be around 4000 not $ 7,000. I also don’t get why you are paying any penalty at all if you have (as you state) insurance in place. > > Either your accountant is on heavy duty drugs or you are leaving some critical bit out of this vignette. Astro, I am repaying the subsidy, nothing was said about penilties. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/17 "2016-03-08T00:59:11Z")
The ACA only delays the inevitable collapse of the health care system. People can’t afford the premiums and out of pocket costs even if they have insurance. The real issue is we spend 2x as much on health care as every other nation. That and our system has so many loopholes you are pretty likely to fall through at least one. I don’t see either issue being fixed anytime soon by politicians on the federal level. ---
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/18 "2016-03-08T01:00:18Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > I would be very surprised if had received $7,000 = ~$580 a month in subsidies and yet had to repay it all despite making less than $50,000. That sounds like way too much of a subsidy unless you have tons of dependents, in which case you’d be eligible for at least some subsidy with that income level, I think. You would have had to report that your expected income was effectively the minimum as well when applying for the subsidy. It just doesn’t make much sense. Something is wrong. Were you doing all the calculations yourself? Was someone else doing them for you and not using software to assist them? Glowacks, You might look at some of my other replies, I think they will answer most of your questions. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/19 "2016-03-08T01:28:13Z")
> [@zuer-coli](#): > > Astro, > > I am repaying the subsidy, nothing was said about penilties. I’m confused as to how you got a subsidy in the first place. Do you have a lot of dependents? I recently got an ACA plan after leaving my job and losing my employer plan. My estimated household income for this year is about the same as yours (household of 2, me and my husband) and the website indicated that I was not eligible for a subsidy at all. Of course I’m in California, where we have our own state website (Covered California), and I had lots of choices for each provider (bronze, silver, gold or platinum level, I chose gold, and my husband is on that socialist Medicare due to his disability). If you’re in a state with a Republican governor, your mileage may vary by a lot. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134/20 "2016-03-08T01:35:34Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > I’m confused as to how you got a subsidy in the first place. Do you have a lot of dependents? I recently got an ACA plan after leaving my job and losing my employer plan. My estimated household income for this year is about the same as yours (household of 2, me and my husband) and the website indicated that I was not eligible for a subsidy at all. He said he estimated based on his 2014 income of $27K. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-find-it-to-be-a-very-affordable-care-act/748134.md?page=2)