美国国家公共电台 NPR Consumers Hunting For Health Insurance Find High Prices — And Some Great Deals

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Tomorrow is the deadline in most states for people to buy health insurance on the Affordable¹ Care Act exchanges - a law still in place despite Republican efforts to dismantle² it. So as open enrollment³ ends, we have reporters in two states, Maryland and Tennessee, reporting on how the sign up is going. And we start with Selena Simmons-Duffin in Maryland.

SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE⁴: Gene⁵ Kern is 63 and lives in Frederick, Md.

GENE KERN: And I spend most of my day chasing my dog around the house.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: He retired⁶ early from Fujifilm. He sold professional videotape.

KERN: When the product became obsolete⁷, so did I, and that's why I retired.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: He's been an enthusiastic enrollee⁸ in Maryland's health exchange since it started in 2014. But this fall, he received a letter from his insurer. It said that for 2018, the cost of his premium⁹ was rocketing up from $800 a month to $1,300 a month. Although premiums¹⁰ went up in many places for 2018, most people won't actually have to swallow those higher costs because subsidies¹¹ went up, too. Gene Kern is one of the unlucky ones.

KERN: Because of my income, I am slightly above the 400 percent overall poverty level, and as a result, I get no subsidy¹² from the government.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: So for next year, he's downgrading.

KERN: It's only an HMO plan, and even then, it's going up to $892 a month.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: That's still more than 20 percent of his income, which is fixed¹³.

KERN: It's the best I can get.

LOUISE NORRIS: Rates are high. There's no way to sugarcoat that.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Louise Norris is a health insurance broker¹⁴ and analyst¹⁵ in Colorado. But for people like Kern, she warns against the temptation to get a plan that doesn't comply with the minimum standards set out by the ACA.

NORRIS: It seems like a good deal because it's cheap, but then, you know, you find yourself ending up being that person who has a heart attack and needs triple bypass, and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, you wish you had the ACA-compliant plan.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Gene Kern feels lucky in one way. Medicare is just two years out. Until then, he's just glad to have insurance and the peace of mind that gives him. I'm Selena Simmons-Duffin in Frederick, Md.

BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: I'm Blake Farmer in Nashville, Tenn., where people who buy insurance on the federal marketplace were pretty nervous. This year, state regulators approved average rate increases ranging from 20 to 40 percent. Brenda Linn is already paying $750 a month just to cover herself. So the retired kindergarten teacher and her husband logged on to healthcare.gov to see how bad the damage was going to be.

BRENDA LINN: And I'm like, Dave, this has to be a mistake.

FARMER: For her silver-level plan, the quote was less than $5 a month. A slight loss of income made her eligible¹⁶ for a subsidy.

LINN: Because we didn't qualify last year, I wasn't really that hopeful.

FARMER: A large majority of marketplace shoppers do get a break, and the subsidies are considerably¹⁷ larger this year. That's because the subsidies rose along with any premium increases. Volunteer application assistant Tony Garr says more than ever this year, people should shop around on the exchange to see what kind of subsidies they may be eligible for.

TONY GARR: Generally speaking, they will find out that help is there.

FARMER: Those who've gotten a break in the past are finding that it goes further. Daniel Prestwood is self-employed. He cleans fish tanks around Nashville.

DANIEL PRESTWOOD: This time of year, winter, when you're running your heat a lot, it makes the water evaporate more.

FARMER: Prestwood says he found a better plan and still had his monthly premiums drop from $300 to $200. He tries not to get too frustrated¹⁸ by the political wrangling¹⁹ around health care.

PRESTWOOD: All I know is that for 2018, I'll have a good health care plan in place, and that's the best I can hope for at this point.

FARMER: While enrollment for most states ends Friday night, eight states and the District of Columbia have slightly longer for folks to sign up. For NPR News, I'm Blake Farmer in Nashville.

(SOUNDBITE OF SUN GLITTERS' "DEEPER INSIDE")

INSKEEP: That story is part of a reporting partnership²⁰ with NPR, local member stations and Kaiser Health News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SUN GLITTERS' "DEEPER INSIDE")

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

3 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

8 enrollee   

n.入会者；入学者；入伍者；名字被登入名单者

参考例句：

• Conclusion Generally speaking, the mental health state of enrollee is normal. 结论应征青年的心理健康状况总体正常。 来自互联网

9 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

10 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

13 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

14 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

17 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

18 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

20 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。