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Coming in 2014: Cheaper healthcare, if you buy it yourself

Finally, you might be able to afford to see a doctor that isn't Dr. Teeth
Finally, you might be able to afford to see a doctor that isn’t Dr. Teeth

Everyone is on the edge of their seat when it comes to seeing how Obamacare affects their lives as it starts to get implemented, right? So far we’ve got free birth control, which is great. And starting next year, insurance plans in New York will be at least half as expensive as they are currently, thanks to state insurance regulators approving lower prices for insurance plans. Thanks, Obama!

The Times reports that because of the online health insurance exchanges that are part of the new healthcare law, insurers have to actually compete with each other and offer lower prices. If you shop for insurance on your own and make little enough money to afford federal subsidies, you could find yourself paying between $55 and $145 per month for a healthcare plan.

The story also points out that some of the cheaper plans most likely won’t have wide access to hospitals or doctors. But it still beats the previous way of dealing with the uninsured: dumping you in an alley at the first sign of illness. Plus if you buy some insurance, you can finally stop ducking those calls from your eye doctor telling you it’s time to come in for another appointment. My eyes are still in my head, they must be fine.

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