Health Care Coverage at the Thanksgiving Day Table

While many Americans enjoyed Thanksgiving around a dining room table, they also talked about their health care coverage. Here are a few comments heard at two different tables:

• Business owner in his company’s pan: “I can’t believe I’m turning 65 and learning about Medicare. It’s so complicated.”
• 30-something (single) woman with employer coverage: “I’ve had my eggs frozen. My employer’s health plan covers the process.”
• Adult with chronic condition in marketplace plan: “My plan has limited physical therapy coverage. I go once every six months to get evaluated on my progress.”
• New husband covered by wife’s plan: “My employer coverage was awful, but now I’m covered by wife’s plan. It’s great because she works for the (county) government.”  
• Grandparent with traditional Medicare: “I also have a supplemental plan, thank goodness. And a drug plan, which I hope never to use.”
• Gig worker in marketplace plan: “I pay nearly $1,000 every month for a plan with a $7,000 deductible. I make too much for a subsidy, but I’m covered.”
• Busy mom covered by husband’s plan: “The kids’ medical records are in MyChart. It’s makes it easy for me to monitor their progress year over year.”

Like many tables, its diners were covered by different health insurance systems: Employer coverage, federal marketplace (Obamacare), and traditional Medicare. No one at these tables was enrolled in Medicaid.

Each system has its own rules—and enrollment—that make health insurance more complex and expensive than need be for many Americans. Fortunately, these diners were Mastering Health Insurance.

Photo: Birds and berries. As birds munch on berries, would they be talking about coverage? Of course.