HHS in 2010: 40-67% of those with individual insurance won't be able to keep it

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/29/21222195-obama-administration-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance?lite

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[barfbag]

Yes Obama lied about this in the 2008 campaign and again in the first debate last year. "If you like your insurance plan, you can keep it and if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor too." What a liar.

[bedstuy]

Oh no!  People are going to have to get (gasp) a different health insurance plan!  And, it's going to be cheaper and provide more comprehensive coverage and if I can't afford it, the government will help me pay?  What ever shall we do?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Oh no!  People are going to have to get (gasp) a different health insurance plan!  And, it's going to be cheaper and provide more comprehensive coverage and if I can't afford it, the government will help me pay?  What ever shall we do?

Where on earth do you get the idea what they'll find to replace their lost coverage with is cheaper?  You might want to read the article.

[memphis]

It will be cheaper for most consumers after subsidies. Nobody cares what their "rate" is.

[bedstuy]

Oh no!  People are going to have to get (gasp) a different health insurance plan!  And, it's going to be cheaper and provide more comprehensive coverage and if I can't afford it, the government will help me pay?  What ever shall we do?

Where on earth do you get the idea what they'll find to replace their lost coverage with is cheaper?  You might want to read the article.

For comparable insurance, prices will be lower because of competition and other measures in Obamacare.  Costs will certainly be lower for a large group of people who receive subsidies.

[jaichind]

I think people that buy their own health insurance before Obamacare comes into effect do not quality for Obamacare subsidies given their likely income.  I think the main issue here is not as much about cost which is obviously an issue as a lot of my self-employed friends got the "letter" and are all very angry about the whole situation.  That the NY state Obamacare website is pretty crummy does not help.  Their anger after losing their existing policies is that the plans on the Obamacare website does not give transparency on if their existing doctors will be available on those plans.  The cost was higher for some of them and actually a bit lower for others.  But without the doctor they are used to now they are stuck and spending time calling those plans to see if their doctors are in those plans.  Sometimes they could not get a straight answer as the plans themselves are still figuring out which doctors will take the Obamacare plan payments and which ones do not.  

[7,052,770]

People might be mad at first, but once they realize their new policy is a lot better for them, they'll get over it.

[jaichind]

For comparable insurance, prices will be lower because of competition and other measures in Obamacare.  Costs will certainly be lower for a large group of people who receive subsidies.

Actually both your statements cannot be true at the same time.  If for a plan most people on it are getting subsidies, then there is no reason for the plans to compete on price.  Note that the way the subsidies work is that you pay a price which is linked to your MAGI as a percentage of FPL and the subsidies will pay the rest.  In such a case there is an incentive for the health plans to raise their prices to give the impression that their plans are better since the buyer does not pay extra one way or another.  If said plan has mostly people that do not quality for subsidies I agree the competition for prices is there but lets drop talk about all those people getting subsidies.

[bedstuy]

For comparable insurance, prices will be lower because of competition and other measures in Obamacare.  Costs will certainly be lower for a large group of people who receive subsidies.

Actually both your statements cannot be true at the same time.  If for a plan most people on it are getting subsidies, then there is no reason for the plans to compete on price.  Note that the way the subsidies work is that you pay a price which is linked to your MAGI as a percentage of FPL and the subsidies will pay the rest.  In such a case there is an incentive for the health plans to raise their prices to give the impression that their plans are better since the buyer does not pay extra one way or another.  If said plan has mostly people that do not quality for subsidies I agree the competition for prices is there but lets drop talk about all those people getting subsidies.

No.  It's true that subsidies will increase the price of a basic insurance plan, sure.  But, competition is going to come from having a more consumers and a functioning market for private health insurance. 

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

A large percentage of these people who have the low premium plans are going to be too poor to qualify for subsidies. Many will go on Medicaid (if their state is expanding it): likely to be worse than what they have now, and won't help at all with making prices more competitive. 

[7,052,770]

For comparable insurance, prices will be lower because of competition and other measures in Obamacare.  Costs will certainly be lower for a large group of people who receive subsidies.

Actually both your statements cannot be true at the same time.  If for a plan most people on it are getting subsidies, then there is no reason for the plans to compete on price.  Note that the way the subsidies work is that you pay a price which is linked to your MAGI as a percentage of FPL and the subsidies will pay the rest.  In such a case there is an incentive for the health plans to raise their prices to give the impression that their plans are better since the buyer does not pay extra one way or another.  If said plan has mostly people that do not quality for subsidies I agree the competition for prices is there but lets drop talk about all those people getting subsidies.

Obamacare strictly limits the profits health insurers can generate -- at least 80% of the money taken in must be paid out in claims (for small group and individual products), leaving only 20% for administrative costs and profits.  And for the first 2 years, to smooth out the uncertainties in pricing, once a particular product makes 3% in profit, it must give a percentage (I believe half) to government, and 80% above 8% profit.

In addition, even the super Republican states have government bodies that review all insurance prices and will reject rates that are intentionally set too high just for extra profits.

Therefore, there is not much incentive to overprice since companies will have to give premium back to the members in the form of rebates if it doesn't hit the 80% threshhold, and even if it does, it won't be able to keep the big profits.  

[7,052,770]

A large percentage of these people who have the low premium plans are going to be too poor to qualify for subsidies. Many will go on Medicare, unlikely to be better than what they have now, and won't help at all with making prices more competitive.

?

Medicaid (not Medicare) is going to be a lot better than some awful $10,000 deductible plan with high copays, not to mention it should have a bigger network.

Even better, those are the exact people who need to be OFF of $10,000 deductible plans.  I personally wouldn't have a problem with a rich person having a $10,000 deductible, but no one should be allowed to have a deductible they can't potentially afford.

[Likely Voter]

There are crappy balloon mortgages and horrible hidden fee credit cards that are no longer offered because of financial regulation. And the premium rate is only one factor in health care costs (the others being subsidies and out of pocket). About 1/2 of the bankruptcies in America are due to people with overwhelming health costs who also have health insurance. Those holes in coverage and caps and kicking people off are now not allowed

Obama should have been clearer on this. But I bought individual insurance pre ACA and I knew it didn't comply with the ACA but I am fine with switching to the ACA compliant insurance. In the end I will probably end up paying less annually but I suspect there are going to be some who end up paying more. Obama should have been clearer on this. But I bought individual insurance pre ACA and I knew it didn't comply with the ACA but I am fine with switching to the ACA compliant insurance.

The government has decided that you no longer have the right to buy crappy insurance because (like with the uninsured) the holes in cost and coverage will end up being covered by taxpayers anyway.

[Lief 🗽]

wait wait wait

Republicans are mad that people are making misleading and inaccurate statements about Obamacare?

hahahahahahaha

hahahahahaha

omg no but

hahahahahah

wow

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

A large percentage of these people who have the low premium plans are going to be too poor to qualify for subsidies. Many will go on Medicare, unlikely to be better than what they have now, and won't help at all with making prices more competitive.

?

Medicaid (not Medicare) is going to be a lot better than some awful $10,000 deductible plan with high copays, not to mention it should have a bigger network.

Even better, those are the exact people who need to be OFF of $10,000 deductible plans.  I personally wouldn't have a problem with a rich person having a $10,000 deductible, but no one should be allowed to have a deductible they can't potentially afford.

Right, Medicaid.  For some it will be better for their circumstances, for others it will be worse.  They point is they won't be able to keep what they have if they like it. Plans will still be able to be high-deductible, and some are expecting there to be more of these rather than less. The regulations are mainly that they have to cover more things like preventive care and birth control and other prescriptions, and cover those with pre-existing conditions.  Still, there are those who are saying that the new plans they have looked into don't have their doctor in their network, so there are more changes going on than is clear yet.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

A large percentage of these people who have the low premium plans are going to be too poor to qualify for subsidies. Many will go on Medicare, unlikely to be better than what they have now, and won't help at all with making prices more competitive.

?

Medicaid (not Medicare) is going to be a lot better than some awful $10,000 deductible plan with high copays, not to mention it should have a bigger network.

Even better, those are the exact people who need to be OFF of $10,000 deductible plans.  I personally wouldn't have a problem with a rich person having a $10,000 deductible, but no one should be allowed to have a deductible they can't potentially afford.

Right, Medicaid.  For some it will be better for their circumstances, for others it will be worse.  They point is they won't be able to keep what they have if they like it. Plans will still be able to be high-deductible, and some are expecting there to be more of these rather than less. The regulations are mainly that they have to cover more things like preventive care and birth control and other prescriptions, and cover those with pre-existing conditions.  Still, there are those who are saying that the new plans they have looked into don't have their doctor in their network, so there are more changes going on than is clear yet.

Well, unless your doctor decides to not take any kind of insurance in 2014, logically there must be a plan available to you that includes your doctor. It may not be the cheapest plan, and it may not be available at the Bronze level.

If the website is erroneously returning that your doctor is not available in any plan — and it's possible, database flubs happen, names are spelled wrong, etc. — you simply have to call your doctor and ask him or her what plans they plan to take in 2014. It's a little bit of extra work, but that's a temporary glitch that will get fixed.

[ElectionsGuy]

As expected, this thing is a mess.

[barfbag]

A large percentage of these people who have the low premium plans are going to be too poor to qualify for subsidies. Many will go on Medicare, unlikely to be better than what they have now, and won't help at all with making prices more competitive.

?

Medicaid (not Medicare) is going to be a lot better than some awful $10,000 deductible plan with high copays, not to mention it should have a bigger network.

Even better, those are the exact people who need to be OFF of $10,000 deductible plans.  I personally wouldn't have a problem with a rich person having a $10,000 deductible, but no one should be allowed to have a deductible they can't potentially afford.

Right, Medicaid.  For some it will be better for their circumstances, for others it will be worse.  They point is they won't be able to keep what they have if they like it. Plans will still be able to be high-deductible, and some are expecting there to be more of these rather than less. The regulations are mainly that they have to cover more things like preventive care and birth control and other prescriptions, and cover those with pre-existing conditions.  Still, there are those who are saying that the new plans they have looked into don't have their doctor in their network, so there are more changes going on than is clear yet.

Well, unless your doctor decides to not take any kind of insurance in 2014, logically there must be a plan available to you that includes your doctor. It may not be the cheapest plan, and it may not be available at the Bronze level.

If the website is erroneously returning that your doctor is not available in any plan — and it's possible, database flubs happen, names are spelled wrong, etc. — you simply have to call your doctor and ask him or her what plans they plan to take in 2014. It's a little bit of extra work, but that's a temporary glitch that will get fixed.

And we wouldn't have to go through any of that had we done nothing at all instead of passing Obamacare.

[Torie]

The catch is that if there are too many plans, with too wide a range of coverage options, the sick will get the most coverage, and the healthy the least. That's a problem when you have cross subsidies built into the system, with the young subsidizing the old for example. If you want to afford more choices, then you need the subsidies to all come out of general tax revenues - which they should of course, but don't.

[Person Man]

So people are pissed off about having more money and better care?

[Brittain33]

What also happened here is that Obama tried to keep this promise by grandfathering in plans people belonged to before 2011, but the insurance companies gamed it by switching millions of people into "new, better" plans after that date and then using that as an excuse to drop them.

[krazen1211]

Oh no!  People are going to have to get (gasp) a different health insurance plan!  And, it's going to be cheaper and provide more comprehensive coverage and if I can't afford it, the government will help me pay?  What ever shall we do?

Where on earth do you get the idea what they'll find to replace their lost coverage with is cheaper?  You might want to read the article.

George Schwab, 62, of North Carolina, said he was "perfectly happy" with his plan from Blue Cross Blue Shield, which also insured his wife for a $228 monthly premium. But this past September, he was surprised to receive a letter saying his policy was no longer available. The "comparable" plan the insurance company offered him carried a $1,208 monthly premium and a $5,500 deductible.






Damn, he got screwed.

[Brittain33]

Oh no!  People are going to have to get (gasp) a different health insurance plan!  And, it's going to be cheaper and provide more comprehensive coverage and if I can't afford it, the government will help me pay?  What ever shall we do?

Where on earth do you get the idea what they'll find to replace their lost coverage with is cheaper?  You might want to read the article.

George Schwab, 62, of North Carolina, said he was "perfectly happy" with his plan from Blue Cross Blue Shield, which also insured his wife for a $228 monthly premium. But this past September, he was surprised to receive a letter saying his policy was no longer available. The "comparable" plan the insurance company offered him carried a $1,208 monthly premium and a $5,500 deductible.

What did George Schwab find on the exchanges?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Well it was terrible legislation. The Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for touting the ACA as something good instead of the Heritage Foundation trash it is. Hopefully the 2016 nominee advocates total nationalization of the industry, NHS-style.