How Is Obamacare Working Out for You?

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

Obamacare has been great for me. Under Obamacare my premium has practically doubled (it's gone from $210 a month up to $367 a month) and none of my doctors will take the insurance. I am still with Anthem Blue Cross but my plan was changed from a PPO to an EPO. None of my doctors take EPOs. I wish Obama would have told us that our premiums will practically double and we won't get to keep our doctors. The Affordable Care Act is one of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated on the American people.

How is this the fault of the ACA? Does Anthem no longer offer PPOs?

Huh, $367 a month. Back in 1998, as a healthy non-smoker in my 20s, making barely $30,000 a year I was paying $309 a month for an HMO. You'll forgive me for thinking you're getting a deal.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

How is this the fault of the ACA? Does Anthem no longer offer PPOs?

Huh, $367 a month. Back in 1998, as a healthy non-smoker in my 20s, making barely $30,000 a year I was paying $309 a month for an HMO. You'll forgive me for thinking you're getting a deal.

That is correct. Anthem no longer offers the plan I had before. It didn't meet the ACA standards. I think I'm getting a terrible deal. I have a high deductible and Anthem never pays for anything. I don't think they've paid a single penny for any doctor's visits I've made for the last couple of years. I'm spending $4,500 a year for nothing. A couple of times I had some minor running injuries and I needed an MRI. I paid cash. It was much cheaper that way. The only way the insurance will help me is if I get some type of catastrophic illness. I guess the insurance also saves me some money on medication but I'm not on any medication. If I go for a yearly physical it will only save me money if I go with one of their doctors. They don't cover my doctor any more.

[Sightseek]

I have an Anthem PPO in CA. Deductables have been high with Anthem long before the ACA.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

That is correct. Anthem no longer offers the plan I had before. It didn't meet the ACA standards. I think I'm getting a terrible deal. I have a high deductible and Anthem never pays for anything. I don't think they've paid a single penny for any doctor's visits I've made for the last couple of years. I'm spending $4,500 a year for nothing. A couple of times I had some minor running injuries and I needed an MRI. I paid cash. It was much cheaper that way. The only way the insurance will help me is if I get some type of catastrophic illness. I guess the insurance also saves me some money on medication but I'm not on any medication. If I go for a yearly physical it will only save me money if I go with one of their doctors. They don't cover my doctor any more.

Back in the 1990s and early aughts, I had to switch doctors many times because of having to change insurance plans due to doctors not taking my insurance, and, factoring in inflation, I was paying more for my premiums then than you are. That is not a flaw of the ACA; it's a flaw of the health care being too expensive. I also had to frequently pay cash, like to my lady parts doctor, who I started seeing when I was completely uninsured and had to pay for everything out of pocket. I assure you, the problems you are facing predate the ACA.

So Anthem doesn't offer PPOs anymore? None at all? Or is it that they've raised the cost on the PPO you used to have and you just don't want to pay for it?

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

That is correct. Anthem no longer offers the plan I had before. It didn't meet the ACA standards. I think I'm getting a terrible deal. I have a high deductible and Anthem never pays for anything. I don't think they've paid a single penny for any doctor's visits I've made for the last couple of years. I'm spending $4,500 a year for nothing. A couple of times I had some minor running injuries and I needed an MRI. I paid cash. It was much cheaper that way. The only way the insurance will help me is if I get some type of catastrophic illness. I guess the insurance also saves me some money on medication but I'm not on any medication. If I go for a yearly physical it will only save me money if I go with one of their doctors. They don't cover my doctor any more.

I did some more googling, to try to see how this is the fault of the ACA, and I'm just not seeing it. If this plan predated 2010, which is when the ACA passed, and then continued until the start of this year, that means it was one that was grandfathered in, in which case it was Anthem's choice to stop offering it because it wasn't profitable enough for them. As someone on the political right, I am sure you understand and support their need to make a profit off of you. Anthem could have chosen to offer the plan for as long as they were not raising your premiums a lot, or making severe changes to the plan. If they cancelled the plan now, in 2015, it has nothing to do with the ACA and everything to do with it not being profitable, which they could have chosen to do before ACA, too. Currently, grandfathered plans are being honored through 2017, unless your state has elected to enforce the original 2015 deadline, which is your state's choice, not the ACA's.

If you got this plan after 2010, then it has nothing to do with the ACA because the regulations were already in place, and so it's always complied with the ACA.

As to the premiums, that's because in California, unlike many other states, health insurance companies do not have to get rate increases approved by a government regulator. So, insurance companies in California can raise their fees to whatever they want them to be, and trust in the free market to sort out if they're charging too much. Again, as a right-side guy, I'm sure you support and endorse this business model.

In fact, Proposition 45, which was on California's ballot last year, asked voters to approve appointed a regulator who would have to approve increases in health insurance premiums, and it was voted down, 60 percent to 40. Which way did you vote on it, Rupert? (the health insurance industry spend many millions of dollars to get it voted down).

I know this is long-winded, and not as agreeable as durr Obamacare sux durr, but that's the way it goes when you take time to look into an issue.

[jms62]

Yes let's blame it on ACA meanwhile......

http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.co...e/art2914.html

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by jms62

Yes let's blame it on ACA meanwhile......

http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.co...e/art2914.html

darn that obama!

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by jms62

Yes let's blame it on ACA meanwhile......

http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.co...e/art2914.html

From the article:

"While Cigna paid Hanway over $14 million to oversee the health coverage of 11.9 million people, Medicare's head, the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) makes around $140,000 a year overseeing the health insurance coverage of 40 million people. Medicare doesn't have a CEO. It doesn't have stock options or golden parachutes either."

Wow. I'd like to see the stats explaining how really, truly, Cigna provides 140 times better care than Medicare.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

From the article:

"While Cigna paid Hanway over $14 million to oversee the health coverage of 11.9 million people, Medicare's head, the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) makes around $140,000 a year overseeing the health insurance coverage of 40 million people. Medicare doesn't have a CEO. It doesn't have stock options or golden parachutes either."

Wow. I'd like to see the stats explaining how really, truly, Cigna provides 140 times better care than Medicare.

What really is beautiful are the Health Insurance companies blaming ACA as the culprit for gouging the public while rewarding CEO's with obscene compensation packages. Equally as beautiful is that many of us can't see through that? Additionally Obama not calling them on it but I guess their money is as good as anyone else's. What a corrupt ****ing country this has become.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/201...-2008-campaign

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by jms62

What really is beautiful are the Health Insurance companies blaming ACA as the culprit for gouging the public while rewarding CEO's with obscene compensation packages. Equally as beautiful is that many of us can't see through that? Additionally Obama not calling them on it but I guess their money is as good as anyone else's. What a corrupt ****ing country this has become.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/201...-2008-campaign

it's a huge problem that nothing has been done about pricing, with us continuing to have by far the most expensive health care....while being behind countries like cuba in delivery of health care-still 37th i think. been a while since i looked. it's too disheartening.
but their compensation is as obscene as with other corporations.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

I did some more googling, to try to see how this is the fault of the ACA, and I'm just not seeing it. If this plan predated 2010, which is when the ACA passed, and then continued until the start of this year, that means it was one that was grandfathered in, in which case it was Anthem's choice to stop offering it because it wasn't profitable enough for them. As someone on the political right, I am sure you understand and support their need to make a profit off of you. Anthem could have chosen to offer the plan for as long as they were not raising your premiums a lot, or making severe changes to the plan. If they cancelled the plan now, in 2015, it has nothing to do with the ACA and everything to do with it not being profitable, which they could have chosen to do before ACA, too. Currently, grandfathered plans are being honored through 2017, unless your state has elected to enforce the original 2015 deadline, which is your state's choice, not the ACA's.

If you got this plan after 2010, then it has nothing to do with the ACA because the regulations were already in place, and so it's always complied with the ACA.

As to the premiums, that's because in California, unlike many other states, health insurance companies do not have to get rate increases approved by a government regulator. So, insurance companies in California can raise their fees to whatever they want them to be, and trust in the free market to sort out if they're charging too much. Again, as a right-side guy, I'm sure you support and endorse this business model.

In fact, Proposition 45, which was on California's ballot last year, asked voters to approve appointed a regulator who would have to approve increases in health insurance premiums, and it was voted down, 60 percent to 40. Which way did you vote on it, Rupert? (the health insurance industry spend many millions of dollars to get it voted down).

I know this is long-winded, and not as agreeable as durr Obamacare sux durr, but that's the way it goes when you take time to look into an issue.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

I did some more googling, to try to see how this is the fault of the ACA, and I'm just not seeing it. If this plan predated 2010, which is when the ACA passed, and then continued until the start of this year, that means it was one that was grandfathered in, in which case it was Anthem's choice to stop offering it because it wasn't profitable enough for them. As someone on the political right, I am sure you understand and support their need to make a profit off of you. Anthem could have chosen to offer the plan for as long as they were not raising your premiums a lot, or making severe changes to the plan. If they cancelled the plan now, in 2015, it has nothing to do with the ACA and everything to do with it not being profitable, which they could have chosen to do before ACA, too. Currently, grandfathered plans are being honored through 2017, unless your state has elected to enforce the original 2015 deadline, which is your state's choice, not the ACA's.

If you got this plan after 2010, then it has nothing to do with the ACA because the regulations were already in place, and so it's always complied with the ACA.

As to the premiums, that's because in California, unlike many other states, health insurance companies do not have to get rate increases approved by a government regulator. So, insurance companies in California can raise their fees to whatever they want them to be, and trust in the free market to sort out if they're charging too much. Again, as a right-side guy, I'm sure you support and endorse this business model.

In fact, Proposition 45, which was on California's ballot last year, asked voters to approve appointed a regulator who would have to approve increases in health insurance premiums, and it was voted down, 60 percent to 40. Which way did you vote on it, Rupert? (the health insurance industry spend many millions of dollars to get it voted down).

I know this is long-winded, and not as agreeable as durr Obamacare sux durr, but that's the way it goes when you take time to look into an issue.

Do you know what Politifact.com called the biggest lie of the entire year? They called Obama's claim of "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it" as the biggest lie of the year. There is nothing for you to defend. It was a huge lie. You can try to spin and twist it any way you like, but it's not going to work. It was a total lie.

The plan I had did not meet the requirements of the ACA, so Anthem had to cancel the plan.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...-plan-keep-it/

[Pants II]

I can't talk about what I know regarding a particular state. Lets just say if they can keep it swept under the rug until 2017 it will be a miracle.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

Do you know what Politifact.com called the biggest lie of the entire year? They called Obama's claim of "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it" as the biggest lie of the year. There is nothing for you to defend. It was a huge lie. You can try to spin and twist it any way you like, but it's not going to work. It was a total lie.

The plan I had did not meet the requirements of the ACA, so Anthem had to cancel the plan.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...-plan-keep-it/

no, they could have fixed the plan, made it match the minimum requirements.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Danzig

no, they could have fixed the plan, made it match the minimum requirements.

If they fix a plan, it is still a new plan. When a plan is changed, it gets a new title and a new ID number. That is basically what they did. They changed all their plans to fit the minimum requirements.

I have been with Anthem for well over 15 years. Everything was alright until the last 5-6 years. Back in 2005 I was paying around $250 a month. I had about a $2,500 deductible. Starting in about 2008, they started raising the premium pretty much every year. It went up to $300, then $350, then $410, then $470, and finally $520 in about 2011 or 2012. I finally called them and said, "This is ridiculous. You keep raising my premiums by crazy amounts. I can't afford $520 a month. Don't you have a cheap plan with a really high deductible?"

It turns out they did. They gave me a plan with a $8,800 deductible that was only $210 a month. I was thrilled. But after the ACA passed, they switched me to another plan that was $320 a month this past year. Now this year they raised it to $367 a month. I think this might be the first year that it is an EPO. I didn't even realize it was an EPO until I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and they told me that I have an EPO, not a PPO, and they don't take EPOs. Then I called my internist's office to ask them if they take EPOs. They said, "No." So now I don't have any doctors that take my insurance.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

If they fix a plan, it is still a new plan. When a plan is changed, it gets a new title and a new ID number. That is basically what they did. They changed all their plans to fit the minimum requirements.

I have been with Anthem for well over 15 years. Everything was alright until the last 5-6 years. Back in 2005 I was paying around $250 a month. I had about a $2,500 deductible. Starting in about 2008, they started raising the premium pretty much every year. It went up to $300, then $350, then $410, then $470, and finally $520 in about 2011 or 2012. I finally called them and said, "This is ridiculous. You keep raising my premiums by crazy amounts. I can't afford $520 a month. Don't you have a cheap plan with a really high deductible?"

It turns out they did. They gave me a plan with a $8,800 deductible that was only $210 a month. I was thrilled. But after the ACA passed, they switched me to another plan that was $320 a month this past year. Now this year they raised it to $367 a month. I think this might be the first year that it is an EPO. I didn't even realize it was an EPO until I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and they told me that I have an EPO, not a PPO, and they don't take EPOs. Then I called my internist's office to ask them if they take EPOs. They said, "No." So now I don't have any doctors that take my insurance.

Well lucky for you, enrollment is still open and there ARE PPOs available.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

It turns out they did. They gave me a plan with a $8,800 deductible that was only $210 a month. I was thrilled. But after the ACA passed, they switched me to another plan that was $320 a month this past year. Now this year they raised it to $367 a month. I think this might be the first year that it is an EPO. I didn't even realize it was an EPO until I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and they told me that I have an EPO, not a PPO, and they don't take EPOs. Then I called my internist's office to ask them if they take EPOs. They said, "No." So now I don't have any doctors that take my insurance.

Sweet Jesus. Do you have any idea what a crappy plan you were buying from them? An almost $9,000 deductible per year? Was there a lifetime cap on it after that? The reason many of these low-premium, high deductible plans were ended is because they were TERRIBLE. They were the Yugos of the health care industry (to show my age).

Rupert, none of us are getting any younger. At this point you should be on your knees, thanking the ACA for requiring young, healthy people to get insurance, because that's what brings the rates down on older folks. The ACA is what will keep health insurance even possible for you.

You honestly think Anthem wants you as a customer? Please. They want young non-smoking men in their 20s. That's it. No olds, no people with chronic conditions and no women who have an annoying habit of getting pregnant and having expensive babies. THEY DO NOT WANT PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY NEED HEALTH CARE.

You didn't answer my early question- how did you vote on Prop 45, which would have made it illegal to arbitrarily raise health care premiums by 15 or 20 percent? How did you vote on it?

[GenuineRisk]

Edited to remove. Post didn't actually have anything to do with the thread.