Every year I get something in the mail regarding changes to my health insurance policy...usually the rate goes up as it has creeped up almost every year in small increments since I first purchased insurance. If you are still paying the same on your policy as you did ten years ago you may want to contact CNN as you are a rare consumer of healthcare.
This increase in cost and dropping of coverage happens with all insurance policies. They get re-done, re-named, certain services dropped and changed and/or the original policy no longer applies---like cancelled. I have a personal choice of numerous policies (under my single payer plan) and thus can shop around each fall, and TRY to save money. The only difference is that this year others are blaming these changes on the implementation of Obamacare. I have tried to track most of the stories of people in the single insurance market who have lost insurance or had their insurance premium tripled and go on TV (thus far 3 separate TV reports covering 5 people)...and those that were viewed in detail by other journalists did not pan out. Either the people never even looked into Obamacare or they had a policy like that in Florida where they paid $50.00 a month and the insurance agency agreed to pay $50.00 on each bill. In other words, if the doctor's visit was $50.00 the insurance paid it, if it was $100 they paid $50 and if it was a $5,000 visit, the insurance paid $50!! Break an arm or leg, get a preexisting condition...you were pretty much on your own and it is sad that these Floridians were so ignorant of the insurance market. Of course, their policy is written in such a convoluted way, that one shouldn't blame them if they could not understand this. These rip-off policies are now having to shut down because they do not comply with the ACA basic rules.
If we want to finger point we can blame this President for avoiding explaining the reality in this and preparing the 3% of Americans that are being affected and explaining in some instances they WILL have to pay more (not lots more) because you get what you pay for. Why so much anger over the ACA...you can see how the insurance companies are getting their profits cut being required to actually provide insurance and thus they pay politicians to push the lies. Pharma is next because a recent study pointed out that a prescription for an identical drug can vary from $10 to $400 in what is listed on the bill. Stay tuned for those fights.
I am all for government regulatory oversight on health...but if we do not get big money out of buying politicians neither party is exempt from corruption in the years ahead. (I have no comment on the website debacle...until it is made into a TV movie next year with a Justin Bieber look-alike as the programmer and Sebelius' role played by Ashley Judd or Robin Wright;-))
Here is a good article about the 3% of people who are actually going to be impacted from stricter compliance.
Anecdotal: Our Kaiser premiums went down $40.00 a month each. A person on Cobra who was paying high premiums found a plan that was much cheaper and would not run out the way Cobra does. I'm keeping my eyes and ears open to get as much info as I can on what is actually going on with ACA and real people. (As opposed to those phonies on Fox News.)
ReplyDeletePeople complaining that their junk insurance is being cancelled are anti Obamacare even if it's better than what they have and cheaper. Lets face it, the republicans have no plan for insuring everyone because they don't want to.
ReplyDeleteOur policy stayed the same and last year went down as the first of the ACA benefits came into play. We have Medicare plus a supplemental and the supplemental was the same this year with a slight increase in Medicare. There are more benefits ie. the colonoscopy. I read the article on the Florida woman who had to settle for now real insurance. Hopefully she and all those like her will so some research. They'd have been the ones looking for help if they had an actual health problem.
ReplyDeleteWe have an HSA, and it is going up. Not sure how much quite yet, but it goes up a bit every year anyway.
ReplyDeleteRight now, it won't cover some things i need, but i'm told that may change in January.
I have had good insurance, which is now my secondary insurance. I am enrolled for Medicare but have not had to use it myself. My initial "free" physical is scheduled for the end of this month. I have no dental insurance since it would cost me four times as much as my two visits per year. I have to take extra good care though so I won't need root canals, etc. in the future.
ReplyDeleteI have been following this a bit too, and I see that, yes, only a few people will be affected,and those, like you, have individual plans that change every year anyway. You are right on in everything you said. So why is the media so overplaying this non-problem? Well, Of course, I know why. Controversy sells, even if you have to invent it.
ReplyDeleteJust such a mess. I so hope that folks like my G don't become insuranceless. My Medicare plus supplement is about the same. I feel so bad for those who are forced into some sort of coverage like maternity care when the don't need it.
ReplyDeleteDrawing: I'm pretty good with doodling as I call it. If you really want to draw better, take a beginning class in drawing. All my doodles are just line drawing then filled in like an old style coloring book.
ReplyDeleteI've applied, it was reviewed and deemed that I qualify for lower prices/tax credit. Next step according to the letter I printed out: Choose a health plan and make first month's payment. THAT is nowhere to be found on the webpage or over the phone.
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