Ater two rounds of interviews, it is looking fairly likely that I will be offered a job next week. It's nothing fancy. An entry level job at a radio station with a salary under 40k. In the bay area, this is not a very livable wage. It certainly isn't in San Francisco, where the job is. The person I would be replacing lives in Pleasanton, an hour commute away, with roommates because that's where she can afford to live well. The job is also going to be tedious, and repetitive, and stressful, though the people who work there seem to be both nice and interesting. In the relatively healthy Bay Area economy, emphasis on 'relatively,' this job is a great opportunity. It requires little experience in the specific field and upward mobility and I was lucky that had a friend who worked there got my resume noticed by the hiring team. It's a golden opportunity in a land where the gold tends to stay in very few pockets.
The problem is that it's also looking fairly likely that I will have to turn down this job. The only job opportunity I see on the immediate horizon and I will have to turn it down because of healthcare costs and concerns. This job offers a Health Savings Account, or HSA, which means that for every dollar I put into this account the company will match $.30 up until the account has $3300 in total. All medical costs will be paid out of this account, but doctors visits and medications are not inexpensive--think along the lines of $50 a visit. For someone with a chronic disease who takes daily meds that $3300 will not last long. After that deductible, I would be responsible for 20-40% of potential medical costs up until I spend 14k. Which means if an unexpected complication happens I could find myself in debt very quickly.
In the end, I will have to turn down this job. While Obamacare has made it so those with chronic conditions can't be turned away from HMOs and insurance companies, Obamacare has not made it so those with long-term health costs can afford to pay for the coverage that is offered. Instead they may have to take shoddy coverage and risk nearly 14k in debt or continue searching for jobs with better coverage in a terrible job market. Obamacare has, indeed, been a great step forward in America's move toward affordable and universal healthcare. However, if those in need of a job, money for rent and food, as well as money to cover monthly meds, tests, and their higher-than-average likelihood of a medical complications, are still slipping through the cracks, then there is still a long way to go till we've fixed our healthcare inequalities. The US term 'pre-existing condition' is hopefully becoming outdated, but Americans with chronic conditions are still being systematically discriminated against and Obamacare is not yet the solution they were hoping for.
The problem is that it's also looking fairly likely that I will have to turn down this job. The only job opportunity I see on the immediate horizon and I will have to turn it down because of healthcare costs and concerns. This job offers a Health Savings Account, or HSA, which means that for every dollar I put into this account the company will match $.30 up until the account has $3300 in total. All medical costs will be paid out of this account, but doctors visits and medications are not inexpensive--think along the lines of $50 a visit. For someone with a chronic disease who takes daily meds that $3300 will not last long. After that deductible, I would be responsible for 20-40% of potential medical costs up until I spend 14k. Which means if an unexpected complication happens I could find myself in debt very quickly.
In the end, I will have to turn down this job. While Obamacare has made it so those with chronic conditions can't be turned away from HMOs and insurance companies, Obamacare has not made it so those with long-term health costs can afford to pay for the coverage that is offered. Instead they may have to take shoddy coverage and risk nearly 14k in debt or continue searching for jobs with better coverage in a terrible job market. Obamacare has, indeed, been a great step forward in America's move toward affordable and universal healthcare. However, if those in need of a job, money for rent and food, as well as money to cover monthly meds, tests, and their higher-than-average likelihood of a medical complications, are still slipping through the cracks, then there is still a long way to go till we've fixed our healthcare inequalities. The US term 'pre-existing condition' is hopefully becoming outdated, but Americans with chronic conditions are still being systematically discriminated against and Obamacare is not yet the solution they were hoping for.
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