I live in Massachusetts and was able to get on our state health insurance plan recently, since I am not working right now. I have a chronic illness that I take meds for and will require regular doctor visits the rest of my life. I am able to work, but am starting to feel very defeated when it comes to looking for work.
when you report no income, all of those health expenses(and they can add up) come down to next to nothing when you're on mass health. And you also pay nothing when you're on a plan and have no income. But if I go out and get a fill time job, I'm back dealing with private insurance which I have done before. Most companies you're paying around 200 a month for insurance plus the cost of prescriptions/labwork. I have done mostly general labor/warehouse jobs which are never very high paying. If you have a certain amount of income at the end of the year, you are hit with 1600 dollar tax penalty.
Our Healthcare system really leaves me feeling stuck at times and you can understand why a lot of people just don't work. There is not much incentive to get out and make 15 bucks an hour and have so much taken away just to have medical expenses covered, when if you report no income you are free and clear