My premium is about $100/mo higher with a plan I got from the ACA

[penultimate]

I used to have a somewhat similar individual plan with the same deductible I have with my new plan. It might cost a little bit more, but I do not mind because I feel confident that I won't have to worry about coverage due to some of my issues being preexisting. There were times in the past in which my insurance was only useful to let me get the group discounts(or whatever they are called) Which was nice, but hardly worth the money I was paying out. Not to mention the fact there is the safety net of knowing that if at some point I am unable to pay my premium due to health issues, job loss, or zombie apocalypse, I will be able to continue to receive effective care thanks to the subsidy programs making it possible.

So yeah, I don't mind paying a little bit extra. That being said, I wish there wasn't the whole middleman insurance companies in the mix, because they can still be assholes. This may not be a popular 'thought', but I see how the insurance mandate can be viewed as a form of tax. Everyone has to pay into the system and in exchange we should all get some form of healthcare (although that's not really how it's working out for some) But instead of our money going directly to fund out health system, it's instead going an indirect route through insurance companies who take their cut and meddle with out treatment. That seems a bit inefficient to me. Despite that, I'd still take this over what I had to deal with before.

[Glitterati]

1. I hope you have your flame retardant suit on

Because you DARED to question ACA and point out even minor negatives.

K&R

[penultimate]

2. Really? I didn't think I was being negative at all

I'm a proponent of it for the most part. It's not ideal, but for many it's better than what we had before.

[Glitterati]

4. Why, of course you're not being negative

But that simply doesn't matter to some of the folks around here. The criteria is that you have to be "glowing" in your discussion of ACA or you've supposedly arrived with predetermined purpose.

[Walk away]

32. I don't think anyone here objects to a TRUTHFUL OP like this one.

We are just sick of the people who post obvious lies and the same old DU ACA haters who defend them by whining about the Obamabots who dare to question them.

At least this original post doesn't fall into that category. I think it's great that the poster switched to a much better policy for only $100 more a month. I had a similar experience.

[lumpy]

31. I don't see that you are being negative at all. Quess someone either didn't read your post or

has a problem with reading comprehension.

[treestar]

3. It will be great when we can get rid of insurance companies

at least for basic care (I understand well off people can get private insurance in places where they have single payer and get better treatment than us proles - well, they have to show off somehow).

When we marginalize Republicans, that will be possible.

[joeglow3]

6. Did you see where larger hospital chains are cutting out the middleman (insurance companies)?

[Hoyt]

26. Yep, the ACA provides incentives for hospitals and physicians groups to set up their own insurance

company. It's not quite that simple, but essentially that is what it is. A number are doing just that.

Of course, the critics haven't read that far. They just know it's bad.

I like the attitude of the OP -- no references to a "POS President," etc., just reasoned comments including some criticism.

[cbdo2007]

13. Even if we had single payer, the insurance companies will still manage

that for the govt. That's how it works now in a lot of places, because insurance companies have all of the connections and know-how to do the business side of it in a specific area, they just do it according to the rules set forth by the govt as contractors.

Not trying to be an apologist for the health insurance companies, but even with single payer there will still be people "managing" the care you receive and making sure the govt gets the best bang for their buck. It doesn't mean there won't be any rules and that everything will magically be covered without hassle.

[BKH70041]

15. I agree.

Insurance companies would remain as third-party facilitators. I suspect even under Medicare for all, the gov't would negotiate the pricing for procedures and medication, but insurance companies will still do all the servicing, which is fine.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

23. Except the law is designed to prop-up the insurance corporations

Society of Actuaries who consults with health insurers. The reversal, a response to public anger over a wave of cancellations this fall, added another layer of uncertainty for insurers already unclear about whether they will collect enough in premiums next year to cover medical claims.

The White House told insurers not to sweat it. “Though this transitional policy was not anticipated by health insurance issuers when setting rates for 2014, the risk corridor program should help ameliorate unanticipated changes in premium revenue,” wrote Gary Cohen, the Health and Human Services official overseeing much of the health law’s implementation, in a letter (PDF) to insurance regulators. He suggested the program could be modified to soften the blow.

The risk corridors are part of an obscure set of Obamacare rules intended to protect insurance companies from deep losses if they sign up too many sick people—an insurance policy for insurance companies. It’s one of the so-called Three Rs—reinsurance, risk adjustment, and risk corridors—meant to backstop health plans through byzantine adjustments in the transition to a new marketplace where carriers can’t turn sick people away.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-19/a-guide-to-obamacares-backstop-for-anxious-insurance-companies

[treestar]

29. If they go belly up, that would not work, would it?

Not with the ACA as it now is. They no longer can use pure capitalism (refuse to insure people who have pre-existing conditions) but we need them to stay in business until such time as we can transfer to another system.

[peace13]

5. I have the same issue and understand what you are saying.

My premiums alone are $900 a month, up 10% since ACA came into play. I pay it all and get no help from the government. That being said if one of us gets sick we do not have to worry about losing our insurance. Right now the premiums for my husband and I are out of sight. Until Congress gets the insurance companies out of the middle things will not change. In this country the poorest and the older folks are taken care of. The richest have no issue affording health care. Those who work for the government have no trouble affording health care. There is just one small band of folks....the last of the middle class, self employed, or still employed that have this issue.

My guess is that Congress will continue to intentionally bleed the middle dry before cutting the insurance companies out. It is a grim reality for sure.

[penultimate]

10. I couldn't imagine paying $900/mo for insurance

I don't have problem paying the extra $100/mo myself, but I know there are people in different situations where $100/mo makes a huge difference. Is that $900/mo just for the two of you? So that puts you somewhere at $450/mo each? I'm wagering to guess that it's pretty good insurance at that price, aye?

[peace13]

20. No that is just for one person.

We have a small business and the business pays for the insurance. As such we are still out on the 'free market'. We just changed in February and it was last minute as I refused to pay the extra $300 a month for the ability to keep my old contract after ACA went into effect.

I thought that small business would get a tax credit this year but my accountant did not have any information on that. I think that we will each be finding our own insurance soon, in hopes of finding a better deal our there.

[a kennedy]

7. Or if you hit a max amout of services......one thing my stupid plan had.

Oh yah, get to 2,000,000.00 and they cap ya.....and I know 2,000,000.00 is a lot of money but still, it's a cap, and now I don't have one.

[penultimate]

11. I had insurance plans offered to me that had max payouts of $100,000

That seems like it would be rather useless if you get something like cancer. What's even more sad is that the plan (from Atena) would have cost me around $45/wk.

[Freddie]

8. Same thing happened to a friend

He was one of those healthy (until recently) people in their 50s who had a cheap underwritten plan. Complained that his plan was cancelled and he had to get something more $$ on the exchange. Then he complained that he liked his old plan--after all, they paid for his *bypass surgery* last spring no problem!
I mentioned that now he has one major pre-existing condition and did he really think the old plan would have kept him in the "old days"??

[Keefer]

12. I had bypass surgery (6)

in March of 2006. The insurance company paid all but $100, my deductible. I was in the hospital for 5 days altogether. In May of 2013, I was hospitalized for a rapid heartbeat. I was in CCU for 6 days, then transferred to a "regular" room for two more days. The insurance company, different from the first one, paid all but my $100 deductible. I guess I have always been lucky, because I was never threatened with cancellation due to my pre-existing condition(s). I get my healthcare through the VA now. No premiums, no deductible, no co-pays. Even my 14 prescriptions have no co-pay. They even pick me up and transport me to the nearest VA hospital, which is 35 miles away, at no cost.

[Glitterati]

14. Were you continuously insured?

That's where the pre-existing condition comes into play - if you have not been continuously insured with a pre-existing condition, you'll be refused insurance for that illness.

[peace13]

21. As a small business they simply doubled the rates until you could not afford the insurance.

They didn't call it preexisting they simply combined or dropped groups to get rid of the sick ones!

[Freddie]

17. Individual plans (not employer) had the pre-existing condition thing

Or found reasons to drop you or not renew your policy if you get sick.
Good luck in your heart recovery! My Dad had a quadruple bypass back in 1991 and he's still going strong. He's 92 with dementia, but his heart is fine.

[Glitterati]

19. Ummm. I'm sorry but you're wrong

My brother was born with asthma; due to prematurity.

When he went to work for Walmart 20+ years later, they refused to cover his asthma as a pre-existing condition. He was not continuously insured in the intervening years and it was, therefore, legal.

[Freddie]

24. You're right

I've worked in benefits for a school district for years and we've never turned anyone away but technically they can. But not anymore, thank God.

[Glitterati]

25. AMEN

Not anymore. Now, what we have to work on is the garbage employer sponsored insurance and improve what folks like Walmart workers get for such a high price.

[Notafraidtoo]

36. During congressional hearings

They called in all the CEO's of the major health insurance company's, you can watch this on youtube by the way very eye opening. All of them said kicking people off insurance who were expensive or had pre existing conditions was part of their business model, in fact they had a number that averaged around 4% a year. In the old model you were playing Russian roulette, you cant possibly support that.

[Bandit]

9. "but I see how the insurance mandate can be viewed as a form of tax."

It was exactly that line of thought that the Extreme Court used to find Obamacare legal. They found the government has the right to Tax people, and the mandate was a form of tax.

[ErikJ]

16. PROOF: Medicare overhead is 3%, but private ins co's 20% overhead (w/o ACA it was much more)

Before ACA private for-profit health insur co's were up to 35% overhead.

[totodeinhere]

18. Yes premiums have gone up for a few people. But on average more premiums have gone down.

No system is perfect. It's too bad we couldn't have had single payer. That's the ultimate solution, but in the meantime millions of Americans who were uninsured have coverage now. At least it's a start.

Now we need to work to bring medigap insurance premiums down for seniors. There are a lot of seniors who do not qualify for Medicaid who nonetheless are struggling to pay their medigap premium.

[peace13]

22. WE need to focus on those out there who are still paying the full load.

As you say premiums have gone up for a few but those folks have already been paying huge premiums. The ACA has been great for those who had no insurance but it continues to rob many.

I am happy about the pluses with ACA but don't be so quick to think that it isn't hurting some. SOME is important when you are one of them! The fact is that small businesses are still paying full price and that will have an impact on many.

[totodeinhere]

30. Oh yes. This is only a start. There remains a lot of work to do and hopefully

we can eventually get to single payer. And I didn't say it isn't hurting some.

But actually premiums have also gone down for many who already had insurance or coverage has improved.

[peace13]

33. Here is an example.

We have a small business in Ohio. 35 years in business. For all but four years of that we had 6-8 employees. Now we are down to the three originals and yes we all have shares in a business that would be lucky to break even at year end. Our health care cost is $34.000.00 a year for three people.

I just got off of the phone with the ACA folks. In 2014 small businesses will be eligible for tax credits. But guess what? Loop hole! We will not be eligible because we only have one other employee and she has insurance from her husband. She would have to take our insurance for the company to be eligible. At every turn the small business, the people who have paid full price, are screwed by the ACE. We pay double Social Security, Double Medicare and still nothing. Go figure.

Pretty depressing I have to say. It's the pits sometimes!

Edit to add that I would love to see anyone who had their premiums go down without a subsidy or dropping to lower coverage. That would be a miracle in my book. It could be true of course.

[totodeinhere]

34. It probably would have been impossible to write the ACA so that at least some people

did not fall through the cracks. As I said, we still have a lot of work to do on the way to single payer. I'm sorry that your small business is having the problems that you mentioned. Lets hope that this can get fixed as soon as possible. That's one reason why the November elections are so important. The Dems need to take back the House before any more progress can be made.

[Auntie Bush]

27. Thanks for being so honest.

One thing I hear little about is workers can change jobs anytime they want without losing their insurance. Tons of people who were stuck in crummy hateful jobs are free to do something different and I hope better. This is a BIG reason to approve of ACA an needs to be shouted from the rooftops.

[booley]

28. In a weird way I think your post exemplifies the problem

(And no this isn't' saying yorupost was bad. I recc'ed it before replying.)

Your headline says you are now paying MORE. And lets face it, for many that's all they will read.

But you go on to say how your previous insurance wasn't' as good. I might even go as far as to say your old policy was junk. Which means even if you only paid a dollar it would still have been over priced.

And there's the problem. Too many saw their cheap policies and didn't' realize how they were getting screwed. They were paying for crap and only the fact that they hadn't gotten seriously ill yet allowed their ignorance to survive.

I imagine it's been the same whenever we get laws to fix a problem involving the markets. Certainly cars would be cheaper if they didn't' have to have all those safety requirements. I am sure many families would financially benefit if they could put their 10 year old to work in a factory. Think of how much lower the price of things would be if companies could just have slaves instead of paying workers a minimum wage?

Yes I'm being a bit hyperbolic but I think I made my point.

As a society we suck at cost analysis, that sometimes the more expensive thing is actually the better deal.

ANd I lay the blame on this administration. Yes the GOP and tea baggers lied but what else did we expect them to do?

The Obama administration didn't' seem to understand that insurance is complicated ( I had to have a friend who's a broker explain a lot to me when I was choosing a policy). That means they really didn't' spend as much time educating people as they should have. They didn't work to get people to understand who to compare their old policy with the new to see if maybe they were actually getting a better deal.

[pnwmom]

35. You're paying more and you're getting more, as you are aware.

You don't have to worry about being dropped if your preexisting condition suddenly starts getting more expensive; you don't have to feel chained to this policy because other insurers will have to take you, regardless of your health, during future open enrollment periods; and you don't have to worry about hitting lifetime or annual limits. And you'll be getting some free preventative care that your old policy probably charged you for before.