Healthcare is no longer tied to your job in the United States. Anyone can get healthcare in our country and you don’t have to go through an employer to do so. This hasn’t always been the case and I, for one, rejoice in the system that makes this possible.
This is a system that goes by many names: the Affordable Care Act, the ACA, Obamacare, the Health Insurance Marketplace, a dream come true, etc. I’m going to use the acronym ACA throughout this article, but know that all those other names mean the same thing. Prior to the passage of the ACA, folks in the US were pretty much out of luck if their employer didn’t offer health insurance.
Now, folks are very much in luck if their employer doesn’t offer health insurance: they can sign-up for affordable heath care through the ACA. Hooray!!!! The ACA is/was a boon to the FIRE (financial independence/early retirement) movement as it enables many of us frugal weirdos to leave our jobs and venture out on our own: to full early retirement or part-time work or meaningful, independent ventures.