First of all, @ebruenig said she's uninsured because she switched jobs from @washingtonpost to @nytimes -- but she didn't say exactly why. It's possible that both @washingtonpost and @nytimes don't offer health coverage to their employees, but I doubt it... 2/
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If she had Exchange coverage while at
@washingtonpost, she could potentially qualify for a special enrollment period, if her income dropped to such an extent that she now qualifies for#Obamacare subsidies... 3/Prikaži ovu nit -
But the likelier scenario is that
@ebruenig faces a waiting period between the time her@washingtonpost employer coverage ends and her@nytimes coverage begins... 4/Prikaži ovu nit -
Under
#Obamacare, however, employers can impose waiting periods of no more than 90 days. (Statutory language below.) So@ebruenig would face (at most) a three month wait until her@nytimes coverage kicks in... 5/pic.twitter.com/ouhLp4jNdu
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In the meantime,
@ebruenig can elect COBRA from@washingtonpost, for the three-month or so gap until her@nytimes coverage takes effect... 6/Prikaži ovu nit -
COBRA IS expensive, but for three months, it would cost a few grand at most. Do I have sympathy for a
@nytimes columnist who says she can't afford a bill amounting to a few thousand bucks? Absolutely not. 7/Prikaži ovu nit -
But even beyond that,
@ebruenig could minimize her COBRA/insurance expenses in other ways. You can ELECT COBRA when leaving a job, but NOT PAY FOR IT if you don't incur medical expenses... 9/Prikaži ovu nit -
Because billing for COBRA policies is by definition retrospective, you can see whether paying for the policy is "worth it," particularly when talking about a short-term gap in coverage... 10/
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For instance, if you incur $100 in medical expenses in a given month, but your COBRA premium is $1,000, you should go bare, decline to pay the COBRA premium (after you elected it), and become uninsured retroactively... 11/
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This only works in short-term situations, of course -- i.e., before the COBRA billing catches up with a recently departed employee. But it DOES work -- and it likely would have worked in
@ebruenig's case, because she's likely talking about a coverage gap of only 90 days. 12/Prikaži ovu nit -
Moreover,
@ebruenig could have explored short-term coverage (that is, if her state of residence hasn't abolished/prohibited it). It might not have been an option here, given a newborn child, but another option to explore... 13/Prikaži ovu nit -
Then there are also options like
@MinuteClinic for well-baby visits, or a local health department for vaccines. Such options could have been cheaper for her than paying COBRA premiums for a short period of time... 14/Prikaži ovu nit -
In sum:
@ebruenig likely faces "uninsurance" for no more than 90 days (she conveniently didn't mention the duration, just that she was uninsured). Her worst-case scenario amounted to a couple grand in expenses -- and there are MANY ways to avoid even that... 15/Prikaži ovu nit -
I don't believe a
@nytimes writer's few grand in medical expenses gives@ebruenig any legitimate argument to justify government's theft (via taxation) of $30 trillion or so for#SinglePayer... 16/Prikaži ovu nit -
@ebruenig's tweet was#FakeNews, pure and simple. And her new@nytimes colleagues like@ReedAbelson@sangerkatz should give her the actual facts about health care... 17/Prikaži ovu nit -
Given that
@nytimes wanted to lionize@feliciasonmez after one of her tweets got her raked over the coals by woke mobs, we'll see whether they'll run an op-ed exposing the way@ebruenig used distortions and lack of facts in HER tweet. I won't hold my breath. 19/Prikaži ovu nit -
In conclusion:
@ebruenig's tweet lacked both facts and a compelling case. If that's the best case she and@BernieSanders can make to justify#SinglePayer, I can't see the American people signing off on this $30 trillion health experiment. ENDPrikaži ovu nit
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