I’m sure we’d like to think the Affordable Care Act is able to change everybody’s story. It’d be great if the lady in the “Sick in America” could stay in the “Land Of The Free” because her medical expenses were taken care of, and the man who lost his management position wouldn’t have to live in a bubble waiting to turn 65 in order to get any healthcare, and the Baltimore man wasn’t digging himself more and more into debt to remain alive.  But, I think there is a shallowness to our definition of change.

While the ACA will allow for everyone to be able to acquire healthcare, it doesn’t necessarily mean everyone will be able to afford healthcare, especially those with current health concerns. See, the issue is those crazy, outlandish deductibles. I went onto the ACA website and took the opportunity to indulge my current baby fever (don’t judge me). For a family of 3: 24 y.o. male, 23 y.o. female, and 1 y.o. child residing in Fulton County, making about $40,000 a year, the estimated monthly premium started at about $141 for our entire family, which is pretty good. We qualified for the CHIP, Children’s Health Insurance Program for our one child, which provides free or low-cost health coverage and had completely open enrollment. We, also, qualified for a solid tax credit, which brought our monthly premium from $317 to $141, which after more carousing of the ACA website, I found was nearly $60 more than what an identical family in Douglas County would pay. But the ultimate blow that breaks the bank came with a glance at the deductible cost. The lowest deductible is $12,600, which is ridiculous for a family making this amount. So, while the premiums are appealing, families with this plan better pray they never have to look a doctor in the face. All this said, it seems that the goals of the ACA are extremely superficial. It seems to be all about being able to SAY “all Americans have healthcare”, despite the fact that none of them can keep their heads above water.