Is there anywhere I can get my tests done other than my doctor's office for a reasonable price? Will the county health dept. do them? I'm in North Carolina.

Under the ACA your annual physical is free. Why not get it done then?

Actually, only people with incomes ABOVE the poverty level receive subsidies through the ACA, so that's not helpful for everybody.

I'm scritchin' my head over that one. If one is at or under the poverty rate then there's health coverage through medicare. If you're over the poverty rate, but still lowish income, there are subsidies. In some states, the medicare coverage goes to 133% of the poverty rate.

It's a political disaster. The ACA assumes that states will provide medicare for people below the poverty level, but the supreme court said the federal government couldn't force states to expand medicare. (Not taking sides, just stating facts.) 23 states decided not to expand medicare. So people below the poverty level have to pay full price for healthcare, whereas if they made a little more, healthcare would be almost completely covered.

I wish more people knew about this issue. If you don't believe me (and it is unbelievable): http://www.khou.com/news/health/227803231.html

Not free, but DirectLabs offers tests for lower prices and has monthly specials. Service is excellent, uses LabCorp for blood draws and testing, same as doctors. In the past, have entered a study at UNC on diet which included some tests free.

Yes, in my state, Idaho, if I make $11,500 a year I can get insurance for $27 a month. If I make $11,499 I have to pay $406 a month. It was assumed that states wouldn't opt out, since the lion's share of the funding comes from the feds (for the first three years %100 of the funding comes from the feds, and %90 thereafter). States that do this are essentially subsidizing other states' medical costs, so it amounts to cutting off the nose to spite the face. Ideology trumps economics.

Are you sure about that, Matlock? There are Federal gov. subsidies that go up to 400% (I think) of the poverty level. Something like 50,000-60,000 you still get a small subsidy. Depends on how many in your family, of course.

I live in CA and the ACA has definitely lowered prices here. I get it through my employer, but if I didn't I would be paying easily $100 less, for a premium plan, than what I had available via COBRA many years ago. I was pretty impressed. And that was without being eligible for any subsidy.


http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

Best thing to do is go to healthcare.gov and see what you qualify for, if your state doesn't have it's own exchange.

Absolutely. This is not a feature of the law, btw, it's a hole the supreme court punched in the law. States rights and all. 25 states have opted out of the expansion, which means that in those state the lowest income people, incomes below $11,500, get no assistance whatsoever.

You might want to ask your healthcare provider. I mentioned to my doctor that the blood tests were way too expensive for me as my insurance only covers a small portion (yes, even for a physical and even under the "Affordable" Care Act). Anyway, he told me about a local pharmacy that runs some tests for very affordable prices, like $43 for a whole basic panel. They came on certain days of the week or month to the pharmacy, and then deliver the results to either you or both you and your doctor. I am in Illinois and it was based here, but maybe there are similar labs that do this in other states.

My local grocery store (Hy-Vee) also offers the basic lipid panel for not too much. Of course, you have to listen to the in-house dietician spout the party line over your results.

Time to vote out the morons in those states