It’s now December, I’m firmly residing in North Carolina and the clock is ticking. The Obamacare rules keep changing.
As of today :), Coventry and Blue Cross still seem to be saying they’ll offer ACA compliant (Obamacare) accounts for 2014
I got a packet in the mail today from the Illinois Comprehensive Insurance Program providing my exising HIPAA compliant “high risk” plan (Despite my medical expenses for 2013 being $0.00 to date). Now being 58, if I was still living in Cook County, IL (Chicago), the coverage I have now which is a $6,250 deductible HSA plan for 2014 would be $767 a month, but alas I’m no longer a resident of Illinois.
The quote from Conventry for a $5,500 deductible, $6,500 maximum out of pocket POS (Point of Service or Piece of ____) policy that includes both major hospitals in Charlotte is giving me a quote of $488 a month (that’s the actual price, with no government subsidy)
Whether I can actually get the policy is still up in the air – when they sent me the link to the quotes in the email, when I clicked on “View Brochure”, it told me the brochure was unavailable, and when I clicked on Enroll Now, it told me I can’t do that online and have to do it over the telephone, and they’ll call me back.
The deductible is the scam. For an affordable plan the deductibles are so high that most of us will never spend up to that amount for normal health care therefor the insurance companies never has to pay claims and continues to collect. It set’s up people to abusing the system just to get their monies worth and a reason for insurance companies to set up death panels.
That’s right, you get free pills for casual sex if you are of the Democrat’s gender, but if you need something done with your prostate – actual health issue – you have to pay the outrageous deductible because your gender doesn’t vote with the Obamacare government employees.
How’s that for a stirrup of the discussion? 😉
” How’s that for a stirrup of the discussion? 😉 ”
LMAO !! you kill me CC ! LOL
Nothing wrong with horsing around once in a while, Parrott. lol
The Obamacare ACA individual policies are essentially catastrophic coverage. It’s going to be about the second week in January when the people on “free” subsidized bronze plans realize they have to pony up $5000 in cash before any health provider will want them as a patient. If Obama’s folks came out with a “ruling” that the annual deductible must be limited to $1000, that would require pushing the premiums up around $300 a month for a single person policy pushing the premium for even the most healthy young person to maybe $600 a month. The $95/yr penaltax will be an easy decision. No young people in the pool and next year my premium will be $2000 a month and health insurance is dead. The people will then accept government run “coverage” – Medicaid for all!
Let’s be real. If you are 20 ish and just starting out, you probably have no real assets and no real net worth. Paying those fees would be a stupid decision since you are extremely unlikely to need more than a bottle of antibiotics after a $100 cash doctor visit if you get sick in the winter.
Your car insurance pays for any injuries there, and if you get cancer and empty your bank account of the $6000 that you’d have to pay even with Obamacare, you declare bankrupcy and sign up for Medicaid.
Obamacare is a fraud, so is the Democrat party.
The market distortion is the rule that the most expensive age bracket can only charge 3x the youngest rate (and no difference between men and women). The bronze plan with bc/bs that would cost me about $600 a month is $220 a month with the $5500 deductible for a 22 year old male – it has to that high because of the 3x rule. The actuarial risk of that policy is probably $50 a month. Preventive coverage means they can get a physical and maybe a flu shot without the deductible – the rest is the risk of something like HIV or drug overdose. Injuries at work are worker’s comp as primary coverage. With auto insurance your own medical insurance pays first and the auto insurance is secondary. (whose insurance depends on whether you’re in a no fault state).
That 22 year old male will paying out a fortune though for car insurance, even if they can get a policy.
For the self insured employer who filters out the people with obvious health problems, the cost for insuring that 22 year old male will be close to $0 – whuch is why Obamacare has to kill off employer paid self insurance plans.
On the other hand, say you are older and wealthier like Donald Trump…. why would you buy Obamacare and have to change your doctor and submit all your private health records to the government? It is easier to see the doctor you want to see and just pay cash.
If you or I did this, we’d be in prison for violating HIPAA.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101225308
I decided today to sign up for BCBS of North Carolina. The bare bones policy is $511 a month with a $5,500 deductible and limited provider network. The plan is HSA eligible which only becomes significant if I work in 2014.
Coventry was just too sketchy for my comfort level. They hadn’t filed their plans with the Federal Exchange on time, when I called back the original “agent”, I was dumped to another person with obviously no training. The link she emailed me pointed to a web page where the plan document wasn’t online, and when I continued the enrollment process it wanted me to talk with a human on the phone.
My doctor relatives say they rarely see a Coventry patient – Coventry is aligned with Carolina Medical Center (CMC).
The main thing I’m buying is the extortion payment so I’m not stuck paying the total phantom “how much can we steal from you” self-pay in the hospitals. The irony is that the more the hospitals play thus game, the more they are driving business away to outpatient surgery centers, urgent health care clinics (“doc in a box”) and home health care. With fixed costs to keep the doors open (like their massive debt owed to Goldman Sachs), their rooms are more and more vacant, leaving the cost of operating spread over fewer and fewer patients.
An example of the perverse incentives – insurance for inpatient care generally covers care in a semi private room – where 4 patients share a room and a bathroom – UNLESS the only available rooms are private rooms with their own bathroom (billed at a higher rate) – so new hospitals are built with only private rooms and the wings with the wards are shut down and turned into offices for billing clerks.
While you might say “but I want a private room”, it is harder for nurses to keep on top of things when every patient is in their own room- meaning either more cost for nurses or even less attention. The days when a nurse gave you a sponge bath are over. Here is your moist towelette – enjoy!
I got off track – so the BCBSNC process was entirely online. They took my debit card and sent me an email confirming I’m enrolled. The payment was immediately charged to my debit card. My new membership kit will arrive in two weeks.
You didn’t trust healthcare.gov with your debit card information? Shocked, shocked I say! lol
Obamacare is designed to DRIVE UP THE COST of hospital visits – hospitals will no longer be able to invoice patients $500 for visiting the emergency room with a cold and being seen during idle time when there are no emergencies. Instead, the $500 will be shifted to people needing serious procedures.