Autumn is my favorite season. I welcome the cooler temperatures, colorful trees, migrating birds, and (oh yes!) college football. This year, LSU (my alma mater) seems to have a good team, making things all the more interesting.

I have also just turned 65 — today, in fact! On September 1, I started on Medicare, which feels like some kind of milestone. Turning 65 doesn’t seem much more significant than turning 64, but getting on Medicare does. Isn’t that for “old people?” Ha ha. So be it. Medicare is saving me about $300 a month in health insurance, and that’s with Parts B, D, and a good supplemental policy. Obamacare might provide a good break for many, but it disqualified then doubled my previous health insurance policy, even with a $6,200 deductible. No tax credits for us, as any household with over $62,000 income has to pay full rate. My wife and I both work, and we collectively earn more than this, so we did not qualify. I’m glad the ACA is helping the poor become insured, but there is that other side of the coin that doesn’t get much attention, it seems. It has drastically increased insurance costs for many middle class people.

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So turning 65 is not all bad. And thanks to the birthday wishes I've received from many today.

Yes. As a poor person I'm now insured but I didn't want to be. And don't. I never get sick. I deplore hospitals and doctor's offices along with nursing homes. We took care of my aging mother until she died at just over 100. If Obamacare folds under I will go back to being uninsured, and be very happy about it. If I get back to work and earn a descent wage once more I will not be happy about paying a higher insurance rate. It might be better to pay the penalty and be uninsured.

Shalom. Health is about peace of mind and body. If you have that then the fear of sickness goes somewhere else.

Hi Nicholas. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I agree with you that peace of mind and body curbs anxiety about health, but that's no guarantee that an actual illness or accident won't come along anyway. We don't have complete control over such situations. I don't like paying for health insurance, either, but without it, I'd be one serious disease or accident away from financial disaster. So I consider health insurance to be an exercise of prudence, which is an important spiritual virtue.

I wish that instead of Obamacare, we'd gone the route of expanding Medicare for all citizens. This would have provided major medical coverage for everyone; the insurance companies could have provided supplemental care, as they do now for Medicare recipients. We could have raised the Medicare tax to pay for the increased health care costs, reducing the rate for people who make less money. I think that's what President Obama was hoping to do, and I wish he had. Senior citizens (even Republican ones who watch Fox news) like Medicare. Why not open the program to the whole country?

I know this is very late, but nonetheless, happy 65th, Phil! May the Lord grant you many, many more years still.

Thanks, St. Rubia.