Insurers under fire as Obamacare kicks in

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: LA TIMES

Obamacare's biggest problem isn't the troubled HealthCare.gov website anymore.

Consumers are easing up on criticism of government exchanges and turning their frustration and fury toward some of the nation's biggest health insurers. All too often, new policyholders say, the companies can't confirm coverage, won't answer basic questions, and haven't issued identification numbers needed to fill prescriptions or get medical care.

Day after day, people say, they contact insurance company call centers waiting hours at a time with no response. Meantime, insurers have already taken many customers' payments for coverage intended to take effect Jan. 1.

But without proof of insurance, patients are having to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket for medications and doctor visits, if they can afford it. Insurance agents say dismal service has become commonplace across many companies.



Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insurers-overwhelmed-20140110,0,2341080.story

[WinkyDink]

1. Private enterprise is erring? Say it isn't so!

[bearssoapbox]

21. Private enterprise can do everything better than the government!

At least according to Squirmin' Herman, Shammity, OxyRush and the Teabaggers.



Those three instances worked out pretty well for the country. (sarcasm thingy here)

[groundloop]

2. I'm absolutely positive Darryl Issa will hold hearings on this...

[Jesus Malverde]

3. It will be interesting to see the outrage from the republicans as the corporations steal and fail..

"This whole law is a gift to insurance companies," said Helena Ruffin, a health insurance agent in Venice.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insurers-overwhelmed-20140110,0,2341080.story?page=2#ixzz2q0kLIZ8q

[PatrynXX]

4. Real insurance companies steal and suck oh duh

Wellmark you'd think they were connected to Blue cross Blue Shield. Oh they probably got away with $10,000 plus etc in meds $400 a month for basic bs because I switched from BC/BS national to Wellmark BC/BS and they turned me down. for pre existing condition. and people are whining about ACA why? ACA ain't the problem it's the insurance companies and that part was never fixed.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. It's time for the insurance companies to stand and deliver

If they can't, then we'll have no choice but to go in a different direction. We're trying it the private way now because going single payer was too much for too many members of Congress but now the private companies need to justify their continued existence IMHO.

[LittleGirl]

6. Single payer

should have been a choice for us. Our deductibles doubled!

And those in-network doctors SUCK. I am going to out-of-network doctors now and I finally feel like I'm managing my disease. I have to pay up front and then beg and plead with United Health care to pay me back or add those charges to my deductibles!

[Bowfin]

10. Single payer

Yes. I think this mandate just emboldened the insurers. My individual policy is gone, and I have worse coverage at almost double the cost.

[mountain grammy]

7. Then screw 'em. Medicare for all!!

[OKNancy]

8. I read in another article posted on DU that it was about 13,000

who are stuck like this.
For my family... we applied in mid to late Dec. Got our Blue Cross cards before we even paid.
I did look at the BCBS Facebook for Oklahoma. Lots of pissed off people. The Blue Cross person posted several times that they are working on it but they have had a huge surge of new enrollments. They also extended the pay deadline to Jan. 30th.
This is in OKLAHOMA!

[Jesus Malverde]

12. Good yours has worked out.

I think there are some, whose applications have been misdirected, it also seems that if insurance companies can take a premium and not provide service, it's a huge windfall for them.

[B2G]

9. This is not just the fault of the insurers

As the article points out.

I can't believe no one saw this coming.

[1StrongBlackMan]

13. I call B.S., on the industry's claims ...

their excuses are all over the map; but the most prominent claim is the changes in implementation deadlines ... THIS WOULD GIVE THEM MORE TIME TO DELIVER.

Face it ... they were handed the baton and they dropped it.

[B2G]

14. Oh please

Given the problems with the website (which caused the majority of the applications to be delayed until December) , the enormous influx of new policies and the last minute rules/payment deadline changes, this was bound to happen.

And there are still data transmission issues between the insurers and healthcare.gov.

I'm not saying the insurance companies shouldn't have been better prepared for this influx, but to blame it all on them and ignore the other major challenges is insane.

[1StrongBlackMan]

15. So ...

You call ahead to your local restaurant and make reservations for a 6:00 seat for party of 30. You call at 4:30 and push the time back to 7:00. You, then, call at 6:59 and push the time back to 7:30.

When you finally arrive ... the serve is horrible, as some of your party doesn't get water, another tables don't get bread, and orders get confused.

In what world would the restaurant, or even other patrons, blame the party because they arrived late?

[B2G]

16. You've never worked in a restaurant, have you?

Do you have any idea what kind of problems that scenario would cause the restaurant?

Evidently not.

[1StrongBlackMan]

17. Yes ...

I have worked in several restaurants, as a server and bar-tending.

But explain how that would be problematic where the menu is limited (as the ACA policy choices are).

[B2G]

18. The menu is hardly limited and that's not the only issue involved

I must have been presented with 50 different plans.

And in your previous scenario, the restaurant would most likely have declined to move the reservation. The insurance companies didn't have that choice.

[1StrongBlackMan]

19. Okay n/t

[Arugula Latte]

11. No one could have predicted for-profit healthcare was a terrible idea ...

[bvar22]

20. Getting a Working Website is EASY.

Delivering actual Health CARE is going to be harder.

Without Strict Oversight,
a FAST Umbrella Agency to resolve consumer complaints and grievances,
and Strict, Severe, Immediate Penalties for the Big Insurance Corporations who try to weasel out of their obligations,
it will be a nightmare.