Going Without Health Insurance

Did you find yourself looking at the health care exchanges and decide to remain uninsured and pay the penalty of $95 or more because the costs of the plans didn’t fit into your budget, or you were turned off by the high deductible plans you could afford? The Times looks at those who have made a decision to skip health insurance and go without:

Heidi Reinberg, 53, a freelance documentary producer who lives in Brooklyn, said she had gone uninsured for most of her adult life and had managed just fine.

She did check out her options through New York’s marketplace but said she was not impressed. She did not qualify for a subsidy based on her 2013 income, she said, and was particularly put off by the high deductibles on many of the plans available to her.

With an income that fluctuates unpredictably, she said that she could not justify a new expense for something that was “not a priority.”

“It doesn’t scare me not to have it,” said Ms. Reinberg, adding that she exercised, ate healthily and rarely got sick. “I’d rather pay down my credit cards than take on another bill for something I don’t know that I’m going to need.”

Like Reinberg, I exercise, eat healthy, and rarely get sick these days. Unlike Reinberg, I have had to be hospitalized before many years ago, so it does scare me not to have it. I initially got a plan through the New York health care exchange, but am switching to a new plan through another job I have.

What about you? Did you get a plan through the health care exchanges?

Photo: Philip Choi

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