Heeeeeeere's Obamacare!

[Emily's Cat]

Very strange, but I wonder if it's a regional thing? Basically, in places like California and Oregon, where our governors made an actual effort to set up a proper exchange, our rates are going down and things are working. I just received my application from a "navigator" on state's website, as unfortunately the online enrollment isn't up yet. But I can browse plans, and we've chosen a "gold" plan from MODA that will cost us a little less than what we have now, but it will be seriously awesome insurance. Maryland is boasting the cheapest "bronze" plan in the country, which will cost only $89 before subsidies. Which for poorer people will be basically free.

Would you care to share the details of your current plan and which state you live in? Also, are you getting these numbers from your insurer or from the exchange from your state?

There are a LOT of variable that go into rates, and a LOT of things changed due to ACA. I think I said this earlier, but it bears repeating. In states that previously allowed risk rating, the dislocation is liable to be much larger - really big winners and really big losers with respect to cost versus benefit richness. In states that had some form of adjusted community rating, the dislocation is liable to be smaller; there will still be winners and losers due to changes in the underlying plan designs, but the magnitude is likely to be smaller. There are also contributing factors do to age rating - states that had very broad or uncapped age factors (5:1 or higher), there will likely be a larger magnitude for winners and losers than in states that had smaller age factors bounds.


ETA: This is not a complete list of the things that might result in a rate being higher or lower than previous. There are several other factors that could come into play. These are, in my opinion, the largest factors in most cases.

 

[ravdin]

That's because we already know it is.

Ever go to one of those gas stations where if you want to fill your tank you have to hand your credit card to the cashier because such a quantity is worth more than $50? I don't hand my credit card to a gas station cashier either, I'll find a different gas station.

Find a different gas station, like you should have any choice in the matter?! Have the Koch brothers gotten to you too?

 

[Emily's Cat]

I think you're just mistaken. Your overall coverage is sparse or else you would not be paying such a low premium. It's just math.

That said, I was referring to the fact that as you get older, your health care is going to rise by a lot when you add in age, a family, and a condition or two. There are ZERO 50 year olds with 60 buck a month coverage.

Not necessarily. There are a lot of complexities to price, especially in the pre-ACA world. Consider risk-rating, and generous coverage that might exclude specific items, and a carrier with an extremely healthy underlying population... and it's possible.

It's lower than I would expect though, by a fair bit. I think I previously asked, but...

Newtons Bits, would you be amenable to disclosing the name of your insurance company and the state you live in?

 

[Unabogie]

If you're purchasing through Cover Oregon, you will need to enroll. Many of the carriers in Oregon are offering the same plan outside of the exchange as they are in the exchange, so if you don't want to deal with the state site, you can go check out your preferred carrier's direct site and purchase there. In addition, at least some carriers are offering different plans outside of the exchange than they offer in it, so if you know that you don't qualify for a subsidy, you have a broader selection available to you (although it will take more research, as there's no "clearinghouse" for the off-exchange plans, and you'll need to look at each carrier. Some might be listed through eHealth, so you might start there).

You will need to fill out an application no matter what route you take. At the end of the day, the carrier needs to know who you are, where you live, your age, etc. I do not know for certain, but the application through the carriers directly might ask for less information overall, since they won't be looking at subsidy information.

Oregon is one of the state's I'm responsible for supporting.

Hey, thanks! Our situation is that we currently have coverage, but my wife has a completely minor condition that nonetheless deemed her uninsurable under the old system. Under the ACA, we can get much better insurance for the same price. So I guess since she already got denied by going directly to this same insurance company, we would have to fill out the exchange application and simply list the policy we want.

 

[Newtons Bit]

Newtons Bits, would you be amenable to disclosing the name of your insurance company and the state you live in?

I've actually already linked to their website

However, to avoid you having to delve through the thread, here it is: https://www.phs.org/pages/default.aspx

I would like to keep them as my carrier unless I can find something vastly cheaper on Healthcare.gov (if I can ever log in), as I like their facilities. And I should know, I did the structural engineering on a bunch of them.

 

[Cleon]

That's because we already know it is.

An insecure connection to handle personal information is a much more serious issue than some random bozo taking your information over a telephone. If they have a certain number of unscrupulous call center workers, you might get paired with one; but if some jackass goes in and steals a bunch of data, there's an excellent chance your information will go along with it.

In every company I've worked, mandating HTTPS for user-submitted data has been enforced rather seriously, as not doing so opens the company up to lawsuits if someone's information gets hijacked.

Ever go to one of those gas stations where if you want to fill your tank you have to hand your credit card to the cashier because such a quantity is worth more than $50? I don't hand my credit card to a gas station cashier either, I'll find a different gas station.

Really? So when you're eating at a restaurant and the waiter brings you the check, do you follow them back to the register to watch them swipe it in?

Most federal departments have some sort of call center, and many of us wind up dealing with them at some point. SSA, IRS, etc. I think your paranoia here might be a tad hyperbolic.

 

[Cleon]

I've posted the details, it's not a catastrophic plan. It's just facts.

Seriously, would people please stop pestering NB about the specifics of his health care plan? It doesn't help, and he's not the problem.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Hey, thanks! Our situation is that we currently have coverage, but my wife has a completely minor condition that nonetheless deemed her uninsurable under the old system. Under the ACA, we can get much better insurance for the same price. So I guess since she already got denied by going directly to this same insurance company, we would have to fill out the exchange application and simply list the policy we want.

Nope, you don't have to go through the exchange - prior denials have absolutely no bearing in the 2014 market. The laws on pre-existing conditions are in place for ALL policies in the individual market, not just those through the exchange. Actually, from a consumer standpoint, the ONLY difference between going through the exchange and going outside of the exchange is whether or not you can get a subsidy, and the choice of plans offered. If you don't qualify for a subsidy, you get as many choices of coverage as you have the patience to tread through

 

[WildCat]

Really? So when you're eating at a restaurant and the waiter brings you the check, do you follow them back to the register to watch them swipe it in?

I'm not happy with that either, but they don't usually leave my sight to get to their station, which is usually in full view of other customers and their coworkers. Gas station attendants are locked in their booth all by themselves where they're completely out of sight.

FWIW, I don't do valet parking either. I've paid to park to avoid complimentary valet parking. I don't like strangers driving my car (which always has lots of expensive tools in it) plus I am very uncomfortable having other people do things for me I am quite capable of doing myself. It just feels weird to me.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I've actually already linked to their website

However, to avoid you having to delve through the thread, here it is: https://www.phs.org/pages/default.aspx

I would like to keep them as my carrier unless I can find something vastly cheaper on Healthcare.gov (if I can ever log in), as I like their facilities. And I should know, I did the structural engineering on a bunch of them.

Sorry I missed the earlier link. This helps.

Based on their website, it looks like they've got a staff-model HMO blended structure- the insurance they offer is preferred at the hospitals they own and the doctors associated with those hospitals; you can go to other doctors at higher cost-shares. It also looks like they are partially charity-supported, they accept donations for their costs. Their locations are very limited, so they end up limiting their membership substantially to those who live in their immediate vicinity. If NM allows risk-rating, then your premium could have been very low indeed.

It's an awesome model for them, and under old-world rules, could very easily have put the company into an advantageous cost position. New rules end up killing that position though.

 

[Unabogie]

Nope, you don't have to go through the exchange - prior denials have absolutely no bearing in the 2014 market. The laws on pre-existing conditions are in place for ALL policies in the individual market, not just those through the exchange. Actually, from a consumer standpoint, the ONLY difference between going through the exchange and going outside of the exchange is whether or not you can get a subsidy, and the choice of plans offered. If you don't qualify for a subsidy, you get as many choices of coverage as you have the patience to tread through

Aha, great!

 

[Brainster]

What's wrong with this headline?

Thousands Of Consumers Get Insurance Cancellation Notices Due To Health Law Changes

It's off by at least 2 orders of magnitude as the opening paragraph states:

Health plans are sending hundreds of thousands of cancellation letters to people who buy their own coverage, frustrating some consumers who want to keep what they have and forcing others to buy more costly policies.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Aha, great!

Happy to help

 

[Emily's Cat]

What's wrong with this headline?

Thousands Of Consumers Get Insurance Cancellation Notices Due To Health Law Changes

It's off by at least 2 orders of magnitude as the opening paragraph states:

Adding to the complaints...

Most are ending policies sold after the law passed in March 2010.

It makes it sound like it's a choice. *Most* of those policies MUST end by law. There might be a few here and there that just by coincidence happen to include all the 10 Essential Benefits, and also manage to have exactly the right actuarial value... but they'll be few and far between. It is illegal to continue selling the overwhelming majority of plans that are in-force right now and were originally sold after March 23, 2010.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Hey Unaboogie... I just learned that the OR exchange isn't open for sales yet. You can browse but you can't apply.

 

[Unabogie]

Hey Unaboogie... I just learned that the OR exchange isn't open for sales yet. You can browse but you can't apply.

That's not true, I think. I went to a "navigator" and he sent me a PDF with the application. He said:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX asked me to forward you this application for the time being since the cover Oregon web site is not quite ready to accept enrollment yet.

But I also went directly to the MODA website and found the same plan here:

https://www.modahealth.com/shop/explore-plans/plans/or/be-focused-rose-city

Note: this is cheaper than the plan I pay for now, mainly because I'm paying for the Oregon pre-existing condition plan.

 

[Emily's Cat]

That's not true, I think. I went to a "navigator" and he sent me a PDF with the application. He said:



But I also went directly to the MODA website and found the same plan here:

https://www.modahealth.com/shop/explore-plans/plans/or/be-focused-rose-city

Note: this is cheaper than the plan I pay for now, mainly because I'm paying for the Oregon pre-existing condition plan.

You shouldn't have any problems if you buy through the carrier directly, it's just cover Oregon thats not open yet.

 

[Unabogie]

Apparently MSNBC's Chuck Todd told Jay Carney to "just add a server" to fix the website problems and he's getting grief on the Twitter.

https://twitter.com/search?q=#ChuckToddWebsiteAdvice&src=typd

My favorite:

Hey .@chucktodd - "adding another server" is a really SCSI thing to say.

 

[Cleon]

 

[Unabogie]

All kidding aside, the press has been their usual incompetent selves about this. I already wrote about how one expert opined that when you hit apply, 96 files were downloaded, and that this was an absurdly high amount. But if you check for yourself using Firebug, you can see that it's actually only around a dozen. And furthermore, if you you go to Amazon.com, there's about 150 files downloaded.

But today, apparently someone told a reporter that healthcare.gov has 500,000,000 lines of code in it. And they wrote that down and repeated it.

Really? No bs meters went off with that number? I read somewhere that 500,000,000 lines of code is what's in Windows 7. But healcare.gov is written in JavaScript, so we can all see for ourselves that this isn't true, at least for the front end. For the back end, how on earth would this "expert" know how many lines of code were there?