A new federal health care plan with no exclusion for "pre-existing conditions" offers insurance premiums significantly less expensive than current plans.
Under the Wyoming Health Insurance Pool, a 65-year-old resident living alone making less than $27,225 would have to pay $918 a month for a plan with a $5,000 deductible. But the new federal plan offers premiums that are far cheaper: A standard-option plan with a $2,000 in-network deductible would cost a 65-year-old Wyoming resident $403 a month.Back-of-the-envelope calculations: 12 x $403 = $4,836 + $2,000 = $6,836/$27,225 = 25.11% of one's pay (the article did not say whether the $27,225 was net or gross).
“That is a stunningly low premium, stunningly low,” said Jay Angoff, senior adviser to U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Somehow I don't see 25% of one's salary as "stunningly low" when one is living on the margin.
The state premium, $918 with a $5,000 deductible (~ 60% of that salary), is incomprehensible.
