Obamacare = early retirement anyone?

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

. . . Know what that claim is based on? *Some* prostate cancer progresses slowly. However, they ALL progress. To not treat is to gamble that you will simply die of something else first. However, while you are waiting to have that heart attack, stroke, or whatever, if that prostate cancer spreads to your liver, or bones, as it did in my dad, you'll be very sorry you didn't have it treated, and a heart attack may actually be wecome. . . .

Boy, you hit a sore nerve on that one - - My cruising life was brutally ended when I collapsed in St Thomas and had to be Med-evac'd back to the USA and immediately put into a top-notch cancer center.

For the lack of taking a US$10 annual screening test I am now a "walking dead-man" being kept alive by an experimental new drug treatment. Jimmy Buffet has a song that is one of my favorite cruising songs titled "One Particular Harbor." And after a decade of Caribbean cruising there are indeed some harbors that fit that song title.

However, now I have had to change the title a bit to fit my circumstances and it is "One Particular Truck" - The 24/7/xx continuous moderate to severe pain even with copious amounts of Opium derivatives gets to you so much I pray for that "One Particular Truck" that I can step in front of and end the pain and agony.

All for the lack of getting that US$10 test every year which would have indicated that I was developing a problem which then could have been treated and my cruising life could have continued.

Every human male on this planet will die from Prostrate cancer unless something else kills them first. It is the curse of being male just like breast cancer and other reproductive cancers in women will "get them."

As I said first, I was put into the best cancer hospital here in central Florida and assigned one of the best oncologists - and - I am financially totally dependent upon Medicare and AARP Supplemental to pay the bills. So don't worry about being able to "pay for" treatment so long as nobody screws with the Medicare system. With virtually** 100% of folks over 65 years old having no choice but to enroll in Medicare, doctors also have no choice (if they want patients) to accept Medicare. (** acknowledging that politicians, military, and the 1% super-rich have their own better medical coverage).

However, as mentioned by others, medical care while you are cruising outside the USA is not covered by US medical insurance and Medicare except for some small short term "travel medical insurance" situations. To avoid having to pay the miniscule "co-pays" charged by the doctors, hospitals, clinics (and even private hospitals) outside the USA, you can buy International Medical Insurance policies. I.M.I.S. offers them at IMIS Online Services

Thanks to A.C.A. (Obamacare) you can now resume your medical coverage for inside the USA without having to pay yearly for medical insurance you cannot use while you are outside the USA. There is some "fine print" attached to that, but in real life, my wife only had to go 6 months "un-covered" after we returned back to inside the USA and she could get covered by PCIP.gov.

* * * * * * Unfortunately "mbianca" post #212 is one of the myths perpetuated by the "opposition" to ACA. It is not true. You can research it and such search results can be found at: http://www.ciab.com/workarea/downloadasset.aspx?id=2102

And from http://yucalandia.wordpress.com/livi...living-abroad/
"After 2013, there are the penalties ( “taxes” assessed by the IRS) for not enrolling in an US approved plan. Americans who are NOT residents of the USA, do NOT have to participate. More will be described below on how to qualify as a Non-Resident US citizen."

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Heres the deal Obamacare won't cover U.S. cruisers after they leave the U.S. waters but, they will still be required to pay for an Obamacare policy even if they will never be able to use it or they will pay a fine. The Internal Revenue Service will be hiring auditors to make sure one of those two things happen. So U.S. cruisers will be required to pay for an Obamacare insurance policy even though they can't use it and they will also pay for local health care coverage in their cruising grounds if they become ill out of pocket. If you remain a U.S. citizen you can't "opt out" of Obamacare you will pay whether you like it or not one way or the other.

So finally we get back to a cruising issue instead of a political one. This scenario is an issue to me if this would be true. I just asked my Human Resource Manager wife and she isn't sure whether not this is true. It may just be a penalty payment required and may also be income based; each is still an issue for our cruiser plans.

I think a lot of this Obamacare stuff isn't completely understood yet! But it doesn't really matter whether one thinks it or not as the time for action has passed by now that the election is over.

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Heres the deal Obamacare won't cover U.S. cruisers after they leave the U.S. waters but, they will still be required to pay for an Obamacare policy even if they will never be able to use it or they will pay a fine. The Internal Revenue Service will be hiring auditors to make sure one of those two things happen. So U.S. cruisers will be required to pay for an Obamacare insurance policy even though they can't use it and they will also pay for local health care coverage in their cruising grounds if they become ill out of pocket. If you remain a U.S. citizen you can't "opt out" of Obamacare you will pay whether you like it or not one way or the other.

That is WRONG. This was discussed earlier in the thread and there is a good deal of info online. Here is one article Expat, Meet Obamacare (there are other more technical discussions but this is sufficiently dismissive of the ACA that perhaps you'll still enjoy it ). If you are in country less than 35 days a year -- you will not have to carry coverage or pay the penalty. YW

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Heres the deal Obamacare won't cover U.S. cruisers after they leave the U.S. waters but, they will still be required to pay for an Obamacare policy even if they will never be able to use it or they will pay a fine. The Internal Revenue Service will be hiring auditors to make sure one of those two things happen. So U.S. cruisers will be required to pay for an Obamacare insurance policy even though they can't use it and they will also pay for local health care coverage in their cruising grounds if they become ill out of pocket. If you remain a U.S. citizen you can't "opt out" of Obamacare you will pay whether you like it or not one way or the other.

I don't think this applies to me since I have a policy that covers me worldwide.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Mambo

That is WRONG. This was discussed earlier in the thread and there is a good deal of info online. Here is one article Expat, Meet Obamacare (there are other more technical discussions but this is sufficiently dismissive of the ACA that perhaps you'll still enjoy it ). If you are in country less than 35 days a year -- you will not have to carry coverage or pay the penalty. YW

I didn't get the 35 day thing as a given for not having to paid the penalty from the article. The way I read it the 35 days only applies if you have decarded yourself a resident of some other country and pay tax to them. Seems for a US cruiser the only way to avoid is to become a critzen of another country.

So the effect on a critizen of the US as a cruiser sounds like this from the article:

"The individual mandate of ObamaCare does not take effect until January 1, 2014, which is also when the tax for failing to have mandated insurance goes into effect. That tax includes an annual penalty of $95, or up to 1% of income, whichever is greater, on individuals who are not covered by an acceptable insurance policy; this will rise to a minimum of $695 ($2,085 for families), or 2.5% of income, by 2016."

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Mambo

That is WRONG. This was discussed earlier in the thread and there is a good deal of info online. Here is one article Expat, Meet Obamacare (there are other more technical discussions but this is sufficiently dismissive of the ACA that perhaps you'll still enjoy it ). If you are in country less than 35 days a year -- you will not have to carry coverage or pay the penalty. YW

Well, if this is true than cruisers have an advantage over the poor folks stuck on land. So as long as a cruiser stays out of the U.S. for at for at least 330 days a year then you don't have to pay for an Obamacare policy or a fine. But, if you get seriously sick you can still come back to the U.S. and sign up for Obamacare. Since you can not be denied for a pre exsisting condition under the plan you will then be covered. Sounds like a sweet deal for those who cruise after all. Don sounds like you can untie those lines and head off after all. Though those anchorages might be a little more crowded once this loophole becomes more widely known

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

So the effect on a critizen of the US as a cruiser sounds like this from the article:

"The individual mandate of ObamaCare does not take effect until January 1, 2014, which is also when the tax for failing to have mandated insurance goes into effect. That tax includes an annual penalty of $95, or up to 1% of income, whichever is greater, on individuals who are not covered by an acceptable insurance policy; this will rise to a minimum of $695 ($2,085 for families), or 2.5% of income, by 2016."

Exactly! If you have insurance, you are set. No penalty. If you can afford to stop working and go crusing, you can drop your insurance if you choose, and pay the penalty. If you are looking for a handout so you can go cruising, shame on you.

Regardless of what Limbaugh says, Obama is not Santa Claus. He is trying to help those that cannot afford their own health care or afford health care for their children

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I didn't get the 35 day thing as a given for not having to paid the penalty from the article. The way I read it the 35 days only applies if you have decarded yourself a resident of some other country and pay tax to them. Seems for a US cruiser the only way to avoid is to become a critzen of another country.

I will reread that later but here is another article addressing the exemption:

Should Expats Care About Obamacare? | Expat Everyday Support Center

"The PPACA exempts American expats living abroad from the penalty tax."

There is an abundance of info about the exemption (there may be 2 different ones - one for people outside the US for 1yr+ and another based on a different calculation. I'd suggest anyone who really cares start by doing a google search and reading one of the nonpartisan summaries (most have search functions which will lead you to the expat question).

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Well, if this is true than cruisers have an advantage over the poor folks stuck on land.

Did we ever really doubt that???

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Mambo

There is an abundance of info about the exemption (there may be 2 different ones - one for people outside the US for 1yr+ and another based on a different calculation. I'd suggest anyone who really cares start by doing a google search and reading one of the nonpartisan summaries (most have search functions which will lead you to the expat question).

I couldn't really find any info for a US cruiser on the internet. There are a lot of discussions for expats. But expats and cruisers aren't the same. An expat has a foreign address while most US cruisers have a US address, if only for mail forwarding. The current discussion of what would qualify one for exemption being based on IRS rules doesn't appear to me that a cruiser living off savings etc would qualify.

I would bet that since the number of people living a cruiser life of moving from place to place is so small that no thought has even been given to them as far as Obamacare goes.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I didn't get the 35 day thing as a given for not having to paid the penalty from the article. The way I read it the 35 days only applies if you have decarded yourself a resident of some other country and pay tax to them. Seems for a US cruiser the only way to avoid is to become a critzen of another country.

So the effect on a critizen of the US as a cruiser sounds like this from the article:

"The individual mandate of ObamaCare does not take effect until January 1, 2014, which is also when the tax for failing to have mandated insurance goes into effect. That tax includes an annual penalty of $95, or up to 1% of income, whichever is greater, on individuals who are not covered by an acceptable insurance policy; this will rise to a minimum of $695 ($2,085 for families), or 2.5% of income, by 2016."

Yeah Don I think you are right. Don't untie those lines just yet. I reread it and yep looks like I was right too. Cruisers out of the country will pay either for an Obamacare policy even if the policy won't cover them out of the country or pay a fine. Unless you decide to become a resident of another country and pay taxes there. But, that kind of limits your cruising range and stopovers or complicates your taxes quit a bit if you move the boat a lot.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Mambo

Did we ever really doubt that???

In most cases I would say yeah! But, then I think about how I pay the town $125 fee/tax per season to allow a mooring to sit on the bottom of the harbor and think how much I'm paying per square foot for it to do that! I'm probably paying a lot more than some of the wealthier folks living in the hills surrounding the harbor.

[sailorchic34]

Oddly enough the $500 a month cruiser will not have to pay for obamacare. We fall under the minimum income requirements. Boy do I feel lucky Actually I'm pretty sure the $1000 a month cruiser is good too...

[Capetinho]

My accountant, who specializes in overseas tax issues for both individuals and corporations, says that exclusions from both the penalty tax as well as the requirement to purchase health insurance in the U.S. will be linked to the current federal tax exemption for overseas income, for which there are two tests. One is the physical presence test and applies to those who maintain a tax home in the U.S. and who are only in the country for more than 35 days out of any 365 period. The second is the bona fide residence test, for those who are living, working, and paying taxes (if applicable) in a foreign country on at least a semi-permanent basis. Both classes of expats, from what I've been led to believe, will be excluded from the requirement to purchase health insurance in the U.S. and will not be subject to the penalty tax.

[jongleur]

Rakuflames posted:

No matter how hard psychologists, nutritionists and MD's have tried, they haven't yet found an effective way for people to lose AND keep off weight. 95% of those who lose weight gain some or all of it back.


I responded:

Not quite true. Check out: Dietdoctor.com

Rakuflames yelled back:

ABSOLUTELY true. Watch those people over ten years and see what happens.

Try this website: marksdailyapple.com

Or this: Wheat Belly Blog | Lose the Wheat Lose the Weight

Don't know if Rakuflames even checked out the link or just dismissed it out of hand. There's no spam or anything like that in them, just a way to get healthy for life.

All caps on the interwebs is yelling.