Obama Care vs Republicans

[classicman]

There is nothing to discuss with Obama and what he said dozens of times.
My insurance with BC is being terminated. My son's plan (no, not Dan) with Coventry (now part of Aetna) is also being discontinued. The alternative plans on the exchange are 2-3X the cost of what we had, we could afford and what fit OUR needs. We are basically being forced to go without insurance AND as an added kick in the nuts, I get to pay a penalty because of it. FUCK YOU OBAMA, I regret voting for him almost as much as Shrub.

[BigV]

That sucks, man. What was it about your old plan that made it invalid? I forget, does PA have their own exchange? And did they decide to expand Medicare?

[classicman]

Gov Asshole - Corbett(R) chose not to expand Medicare.
I am not sure what SPECIFICALLY is the reason. The letter states very clearly that the policy is no longer in compliance with the UN-ACA regs, but not why.
Here is the letter my son received. We have not received any more feedback from them since. I called twice, but the wait times were ridiculous and I hung up.

[BigV]

shit.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by BigV

shit.

Why "Shit" ?

The letter is clear that his policy continues thru the end of 2014
... and at that time an ACA-compatible policy will be available.

Mr Whiner has returned...

Five or six years from now, Mr Whiner's son will turn 26, and no longer be on his parent's policy.
But even with "pre-existing condiotions" he can still have insurance due to ACA.
His son's income will be taken into account, and will probably
have very little, maybe zero, out-of-pocket premiuml payments.

For some people, this is the Obamacare they see...

From 1988:


For others, the world is more like this...

As of July 2013, a total of 5,677 Airbus A320 family aircraft
have been delivered, of which 5,481 are in service.
In addition, another 4,135 airliners are on firm order.
It ranked as the world's fastest-selling jet airliner family according to records from 2005 to 2007,
and as the best-selling single-generation aircraft programme.[9][10]

The A320 family has proved popular with airlines, specifically low-cost carriers (LCC).
British LCC EasyJet purchased A319s, and A320s, to replace its Boeing 737 fleet.
The family competes directly with the Boeing 737, 717, 757 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by classicman

Gov Asshole - Corbett(R) chose not to expand Medicare.
I am not sure what SPECIFICALLY is the reason. The letter states very clearly that the policy is no longer in compliance with the UN-ACA regs, but not why.
Here is the letter my son received. We have not received any more feedback from them since. I called twice, but the wait times were ridiculous and I hung up.

Apparently, a number of companies are taking advantage of the situation to upgrade the plans more than required by the ACA, and people have been able to get plans that aren't initially pushed by the letters that announce the dropped plan. This may not be the case in your situation, but a number of the people who showed up in the news with stories that largely matched yours were later able to get much better deals if they didn't accept the insurance company's hard sell.

[Happy Monkey]

You mentioned Medicare - if you would have been covered in extended Medicare, and your state refused it, you may be out of luck. The ACA was designed for Medicare to fill a particular hole that the exchanges and subsidies didn't cover.

You may have to wait until there are enough Democrats in Congress to fix any ACA problems. Republicans would rather have ACA problems to crow about than fix them.

[glatt]

How difficult would it be to move across the river to NJ? Do they have Medicare coverage? Or is it too far away?

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Why "Shit" ?

--snip

Why? giving classicman the benefit of the doubt that he's compared apples to apples as far as is possible, an increase in his insurance costs by a factor of two or three makes me say "shit". I don't know how you could have missed it, but since you did, I'll quote him here.

Originally Posted by classicman

There is nothing to discuss with Obama and what he said dozens of times.
My insurance with BC is being terminated. My son's plan (no, not Dan) with Coventry (now part of Aetna) is also being discontinued. The alternative plans on the exchange are 2-3X the cost of what we had, we could afford and what fit OUR needs. We are basically being forced to go without insurance AND as an added kick in the nuts, I get to pay a penalty because of it. FUCK YOU OBAMA, I regret voting for him almost as much as Shrub.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I wonder how many insurance companies are pulling a Humana.

The Kentucky Department of Insurance has fined Humana $65,430 because it offered policyholders an unapproved opportunity to amend their insurance as part of a letter that regulators have called “misleading.”

The department investigated letters sent in August to 6,543 individual plan policyholders in Kentucky. The letters said they needed to renew their plans for 2014 within 30 days or choose a more expensive option that complies with the Affordable Care Act.

But regulators last month called the letters misleading, arguing they did not make sufficiently clear that policyholders could compare and choose competing plans on the state’s health insurance exchanges, which open on Oct. 1, and for which they could be eligible for federal subsidies.

Another.

Damn, they're a serial offender.

[glatt]

Well if they were only fined $65k it makes business sense to do continue sending those false letters. Assume that 10% of the 6,400recipients took the letters at face value. That's 640 people, who let's assume paid $5k each, or $3.2 M total. That's an easy choice. $3.2M vs $65K. And those are conservative estimates. If 50% of the recipients followed the letter's instructions and renewed, it would be $16M the company would make.

[BigV]

it's helpful to keep in mind that our nation's for profit health insurance system has as its prime directive profit for the shareholders. that profit motive is *by law* the most important thing for these publicly held companies to take care of. the recent changes in the law like the ACA and earlier changes in the law like (forgetting the name at the moment) the instruction to treat insurance coverage for mental health like coverage for physical health are all done with a mind to regulate the industry, the health insurance industry. But they're all still in business to make money (not quite the same for the non profit/collectives out there).

regulating industries happens in numerous sectors of our economy from energy to automobile manufacturing to food production, etc, etc, etc, etc. these laws and regulations are done with a mind to the public good, usually. and usually, the industry finds a way to accommodate the rules. but they're still trying to make money. like the outfit above. they don't have a built in motivation to make the costs less, until they were compelled/cajoled into competing directly. competition has a long and well established track record of simultaneously allowing profits for effective companies and lowering prices for consumers where they have a choice.

And the converse proves the opposite--look at the cable television choices you have, as an example. Here we have ONE choice, and that monopoly (fuck you Comcast) provides ZERO incentive to lower prices. why the hell should they? and indeed they don't.

So, I'm not surprised that they're trying to lock in some profits like this. disgusted, yeah, suprised. Noper.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Why "Shit" ?

The letter is clear that his policy continues thru the end of 2014
... and at that time an ACA-compatible policy will be available.

Incorrect - You cannot even read for comprehension. The plan will continue "UNTIL THE POLICY PERIOD ENDS" That would be in May.

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Mr Whiner has returned...

Five or six years from now, Mr Whiner's son will turn 26, and no longer be on his parent's policy.
But even with "pre-existing condiotions" he can still have insurance due to ACA.
His son's income will be taken into account, and will probably
have very little, maybe zero, out-of-pocket premium payments.

Wrong son Mr. Asshole.
My son is 23. There is no The cost to "ADD" him to a parental policy is far more than for him to buy his own. Son does not qualify for any subsidies and there is no expanded Medicaid in PA.

So far you are nothing but wrong on all accounts.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

For some people, this is the Obamacare they see...

And for folks like you, this is all they see.

[Lamplighter]