Rich Sitko can’t wait to buy a new health insurance plan. Sitko, 64, from Essex Fells, now has an indemnity plan from Aetna for which he pays $1,178 per month with a $2,500 deductible.
He believes he will find a less costly option on the new health insurance exchange — the online marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act.
His new plan, he said, will still most likely cost close to $10,000 a year and won’t have any of his doctors in network. To get a plan similar to the one he has now, he’d actually have to pay more money.
Across New Jersey and throughout the country many people, especially those in their 50s and 60s, are experiencing a bit of "sticker shock" as they shop for insurance. Plans cost thousands of dollars per year and many come with deductibles that are a couple thousand more.
"The Affordable in the ACA is really a misnomer," Sitko said. "The name should be the ‘Slightly More Affordable Care Act.’ "
The word affordable means different things to different people and is often based on what else a person feels they must pay for, such as property taxes, mortgage and tuition.
The federal government, however, provides a specific definition. Under the new law, individuals must pay a penalty if they do not have health insurance unless the cheapest available plan would cost more than 8 percent of their modified adjusted gross income. The federal government deems any plan that costs more than that "unaffordable."
