Yesterday, Eileen began working on taxes and discovered that we made too much money last year to receive the subsidy we were getting on our health care. Bad. It looks like we owe an extra 7K to the government (over our usual tax bill).
Needless to say, she freaked. Worse, we are not sure if we should continue attempting to purchase our insurance through the Affordable Care Act. We have been having trouble with them since the beginning of this year when we signed up for a second year and ended up with two policies, twice the billing, through no fault of our own.
I’m mostly concerned that Eileen is feeling very bad about this. Inevitable, I guess, but I hope she recovers soon.
(Editorial note: I just had Eileen read this section in an effort to be appropriate and not say anything she didn’t want public.)
I composed some drafts on the B sections of my two ballet pieces (Which Witch and Sweet but Dark) yesterday. My cellist and my violinist have been having physical stuff and canceling our weekly trio rehearsal. I hadn’t heard from either one, so I arrived a bit after our scheduled time to find my cellist putting her cello away.
She stayed and we played Bach for a while. Amazing music in my opinion.
I was practicing organ when Eileen texted me upset. I jumped in the car and spent the rest of the evening with her.
I don’t actually believe in money or health insurance on any of that kind of stuff. I’m more concerned that the people I care about are okay. That we all have what we need (food, shelter) and are able to having fulfilling lives.
I still think my life is good. I hope Eileen’s comes back to being good soon.
Hi Steve–I’m days behind in reading so I just read this on Monday 3-2. I am concerned that your health insurance is complicated by seemingly too much money. I strongly encourage you to enlist a Democratic US Senator’s assistance in navigating the AFC act. They are likely to refer you to local folks who are trained in assisting people sign up. I know it’s a lot of work to re-do all of this, but take your time & make sure you understand it. And don’t hesitate to call the Dem Senator back for assistance. I just looked up Michigan Senators–both are Dems. [I would choose Sen. Stabienow, but that is because I recognize her name & she has a somewhat national presence.] The Dems have a continued interest in the AFC working. I suspect & ardently hope that this may work out better than it currently seems. Kind regards, Michelle in NH
Hey Michelle,
Thanks for your concern. Your idea about contacting Stabenow (for whom I voted) is a good one. I’m not sure how much her office could do about our income being more than we estimated, but I’m sure they could help us with our second problem of being accidentally signed up for a second policy.
I’m going to contact an accountant today and clarify the possibility of adjusting last year’s income with an IRA. This looks like it might work. My wife, Eileen, is a wreck over this, blaming herself. We will work on it together until she gets happy again.
Hope you and yours are doing well in NH.
Best wishes from Michigan.
Steve