Fremont County is large, diverse, and filled with opinions, or “talk in the 10.” “Talk in the 10” is an opportunity for you, our readers, to articulate and share your thoughts about what is happening in the community with the community. Letters may have been edited for clarity and length, but generally have been published exactly as received. The views expressed in the following are solely those of the author. Send your letters to our editors by emailing opinion@county10.com
This year, Congress decided to let the tax credits expire that helped make insurance affordable from the federal Healthcare Marketplace. Now, insurance rates in Wyoming and everywhere are skyrocketing.
I’m disappointed that all three of Wyoming’s members of Congress—Rep. Harriet Hageman, Sen. John Barrasso, and Sen. Cynthia Lummis—all supported this decision.
We, like millions across the country, are in sticker shock looking at how much our healthcare costs will increase. Now, our premium will be about $3,000 a month, with an even higher deductible.
That is roughly one-third of our monthly income!
My husband and I dedicated our lives to public service. For nearly 25 years, he worked with the Casper Fire Department, and I as an educator for 35. Now, we’re semi-retired and living in Lander. We’re lucky to have both a pension and income from our small short-term rental business.
Like most people, we wanted to retire to spend more time with our kids and grandkids. One main challenge of retirement was finding health care insurance as we aged. Last year, we found a reasonable insurance plan on the Marketplace. It had a high deductible of $6,000 per person and a low monthly premium. It worked for us, and we were grateful to have the peace of mind knowing we were covered.
This is ridiculous. What do we do now? Do I go back to teaching for insurance? Do we sacrifice everything we’ve worked for? Do we flee to Panama? Or do we risk going without healthcare?
Signed,
Stacey and Marty Mittelstadt