Got a cancellation notice for health insurance

TarponMonoxide

I was one of the lucky ducks that got a cancellation notice for my health insurance.

As of December 31, what I am paying for now is being cancelled.

This happened in mid-September....

I have not even had the courage to call Oxford to ask what the least expensive coverage is per month and what I get for the money.

I haven't had the courage to ask them for the "equivalent" coverage for what I am getting now.

You can bet that I won't get anything for $365 a month -- what I am paying now --- and you can bet that the coverage of what I am getting now will be a LOT more expensive come January than $365 a month.

What a mess. And a big one.

It's a stretch for me to pay for what I am paying for now. What they needed to do: go after the health insurance carriers and make them knock the prices DOWN. NOT institute a "national" health care system.

This thing is going to go over like a fart in a crowded elevator. It's already a colossal failure and for us folks who are paying out of pocket, we are screwed. Totally and completely screwed.

The message Obama gave was "We are not going to make good on this and no, you cannot keep what you have right now. Sorry but you will be paying more for what your monthly premium is now."

vlagrl29

I'm sorry you lost your plan  We buy our own insurance as well and were luckily safe for this next year on keeping ours.  Do you have an insurance agent you work with that helped you get the plan you are on now?  I ask because we have one and he is great at finding the best deal for what we can afford.  We pay $200/month now for our family with a $5,000 deductible.  You need to find a good insurance agent and don't even bother looking on the ACA website for a good plan because they are double and even triple what we pay now.

Just wait until the employer mandate takes affect next year.  I'm sure a lot more people will be loosing their plans.  I heard the numbers report came out today:  100,000 people bought plans on the ACA BUT 500,000 people got kicked off like you did.

TarponMonoxide

It is frustrating --- and what about something like HIPPA? Does that still apply? is it kaput? What's going on?

Is it true that illegals do not have to subscribe? If that's so, what happens to them?

And does the ACA abolish charity care? If not, the illegals are still in the system for charity care --- what was the purpose of the ACA then? Doesn't the rule "they don't have to subscribe to the ACA" more or less defeat the entire purpose of having affordable insurance for all???

vlagrl29

Honestly I don't know the answers to all those questions.  I think HIPPA is still good.  I think the purpose of the ACA was to kick off lots of people on individual insurance and so then it would force them on the ACA, but not so.  The ACA prices are thru the roof, the subsidy is a joke, and if you don't make enough (poverty level) you still need to get on medicaid.  A law needs to be made "if you like your plan you can keep it".  I'm hoping the repubs will take back the senate in 2014.  Lots of people are pissed off just like you.

TarponMonoxide

vlagrl29 said:

Honestly I don't know the answers to all those questions.  I think HIPPA is still good.  I think the purpose of the ACA was to kick off lots of people on individual insurance and so then it would force them on the ACA, but not so.  The ACA prices are thru the roof, the subsidy is a joke, and if you don't make enough (poverty level) you still need to get on medicaid.  A law needs to be made "if you like your plan you can keep it".  I'm hoping the repubs will take back the senate in 2014.  Lots of people are pissed off just like you.

"If you like your plan you can keep it"?

This reminds me of one of those loud fast talkin' used car dealers that go "....and this little beauty was only driven to bingo and back by a nice little ole lady! Lots of mileage left on 'er! Runs great!"

Ugh.

$365 is a stretch for me to pay. I am self employed and things are very dry right now.

vlagrl29

I couldn't think of a better title  we are self employed too

clarke10

TarponMonoxide said:

It is frustrating --- and what about something like HIPPA? Does that still apply? is it kaput? What's going on?

Is it true that illegals do not have to subscribe? If that's so, what happens to them?

And does the ACA abolish charity care? If not, the illegals are still in the system for charity care --- what was the purpose of the ACA then? Doesn't the rule "they don't have to subscribe to the ACA" more or less defeat the entire purpose of having affordable insurance for all???

HIPPA does still apply. The problem is that the government healthcare website has already proved to be extremely easy for hackers to get into. Meaning anyone who has health insurance through ACA will have all of their information subject to hackers. 

vlagrl29

1million in CA will loose their insurance plans

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2013/11/12/calif-insurance-commissioner-more-than-1m-californians-having-insurance-cancelled-due-to-obamacare/

snp605

to answer the question: Illegal immigrants are not subject to the ACA. the excuse was that by subjecting them to it, it qualified them for medicaid so they were left out altogether. I'm sure a lot of those uninsured dollars can't possibly be coming from an illegal population who can't get employer benefits....
8-|

If you don't have a chronic medical condition I'd consider foregoing your insurance for now. The penalty the first year is only $95. This saves you a minimum of $4285 the first year (based on your old premium). That means if you spend less than $4285 next year you have made a much better financial decision. Frequently doctors will have a "cash upfront" rate that is lower than their standard rack rate if you just ask. We had a gap in coverage for one of my kids this year and when we went to pay cash for an appt we were offered a 35% discount for paying the bill in full that day. Should you be diagnosed with a condition, you can apply for insurance because they are not allowed to deny you or charge you more.

TarponMonoxide

From what I understand, the basic and essential plan I have no is no longer available.

It would take a lot of red tape with the individual states' departments of Banking and Insurance to reinstate it.

Cnon

Like I said on another board,

I found this part interesting............................

The vote came as Republicans continue to condemn the underlying Obamacare law and Democrats seek to insulate themselves from its slumping popularity. The GOP proposal prompted stern opposition from Democratic leaders and a veto threat from the White House, and the Democratic-led Senate is expected to ignore it.

WTF do the Dems want............First they say,  "Get rid of the crappy plans"....................................................................Then they say "It's not fair that the prices are going up" And now they want to veto this bill..........................................................................................

vlagrl29

Cnon said:

Like I said on another board,

I found this part interesting............................

The vote came as Republicans continue to condemn the underlying Obamacare law and Democrats seek to insulate themselves from its slumping popularity. The GOP proposal prompted stern opposition from Democratic leaders and a veto threat from the White House, and the Democratic-led Senate is expected to ignore it.

WTF do the Dems want............First they say,  "Get rid of the crappy plans"....................................................................Then they say "It's not fair that the prices are going up" And now they want to veto this bill..........................................................................................

From what I read the bill was going to allow all grandfathered plans to be available and he only wanted those 5million to be insured for another year.  IDK, it gets stupider by the day.

snp605

so after the insurance companies have spent a gazillion dollars getting ready for the change- everything from hiring and training staff on the new plans, the glossy brochures & other mailings sent to all of their insureds about the changes encouraging them to get started on finding their new compliant plan and the headaches they have had dealing with the fallout from customers who didn't understand why they were having to change, they are now supposed to switch gears on a dime and go back to the old ways in hope of luring some of the customers who have left back into their marketplace but only for a year when they will have to go through the same thing again? Yes, this sounds like the decision most smart business CEOs would make! DER. Again you can tell that the people making the ACA decision are not people with experience in the private business world.

Cnon

snp605 said:

so after the insurance companies have spent a gazillion dollars getting ready for the change- everything from hiring and training staff on the new plans, the glossy brochures & other mailings sent to all of their insureds about the changes encouraging them to get started on finding their new compliant plan and the headaches they have had dealing with the fallout from customers who didn't understand why they were having to change, they are now supposed to switch gears on a dime and go back to the old ways in hope of luring some of the customers who have left back into their marketplace but only for a year when they will have to go through the same thing again? Yes, this sounds like the decision most smart business CEOs would make! DER. Again you can tell that the people making the ACA decision are not people with experience in the private business world.

Yep..................................................



Cnon