Special Investigation: How Insurers Are Hiding Obamacare Benefits From Customers

[Cigar]

http://a5.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/c_fill,fl_keep_iptc,g_faces,h_365,w_652/l2f3rps0dwdy3xxqcgrw.jpg

But that's not what she found. Instead, she'd be paying an additional $300 a month for coverage. The letter made no mention of the health insurance marketplace that would soon open in Washington, where she could shop for competitive plans, and only an oblique reference to financial help that she might qualify for, if she made the effort to call and find out.

Otherwise, she'd be automatically rolled over to a new plan -- and, as the letter said, "If you're happy with this plan, do nothing."

If Donna had done nothing, she would have ended up spending about $1,000 more a month for insurance than she will now that she went to the marketplace, picked the best plan for her family and accessed tax credits at the heart of the health care reform law.

"The info that we were sent by LifeWise was totally bogus. Why the heck did they try to screw us?" Donna said. "People who are afraid of the ACA should be much more afraid of the insurance companies who will exploit their fear and end up overcharging them."

Donna is not alone.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/insurance-companies-misleading-letters-obamacare

This shows, some insurance companies are using the changes to rip off their customers.

Before taking the word of an insurance company, check out ALL of your options. :rollseyes:

[roadmaster]

Democrats will say anything to get out of this one. It's not working.

[Cigar]

Democrats will say anything to get out of this one. It's not working.

Will you stick with that in January?

[keymanjim]

Will you stick with that in January?
It's their tar baby. They'll be stuck with it.

[Codename Section]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/8ad32d157eb53c54b2f2da1713da1056/tumblr_mvr9hyP0GG1smcjxbo1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/28af91a377f76ef85550d2ec1ddeeafc/tumblr_mvr9h8YR991smcjxbo1_500.jpg

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http://mycancellation.com/

[Codename Section]

http://cdn.meme.li/i/pfkgk.jpg

[Cigar]

It's their tar baby. They'll be stuck with it.


That's Tuff Crackers, Honkey :)

[Codename Section]

That's Tuff Crackers, Honkey :)

That's "Honque" to you.

[Cigar]

The Real Story Behind the Phony Canceled Health Insurance Scandal

Insurance companies ripped off Americans for years with lousy health plans. Obamacare was designed to fix that.

A good example might be Dianne Barrette, 56, who appeared on CBS News with Jan Crawford last week for a segment about the wave of cancellations. Barrette, a realtor in Florida, was upset because her $54 a month insurance plan was being canceled. She believed a new one would cost her more than $500 a month due to Obamacare. "What I have right now is what I'm happy with," she said. "I just want to know why I can't keep what I have. Why do I have to be forced into something else?"

But here’s the rub: Barrette's $54 plan wasn't even insurance. When I talked to her, she was unsure of what her plan covered. But she said it was what Blue Cross calls a "supplemental" or discount plan, which only pays $50 toward doctor's office visits and a few other out-patient services, including mammograms. What her plan doesn’t cover: hospitalization. Not at all. So if she gets hit by a car, the people ultimately picking up the tab will be the hospital and everyone else (by way of higher medical costs). If she gets cancer, she’s basically out of luck. "It's all I could afford," she told me.

Blue Cross was selling these plans in malls and other retail insurance "shops" in an effort to target young people who don't have or don't think they need health insurance, luring them in with cheap premiums of between $24 to $54 a month. The plans came with a not-well-disclosed caveat that they were not designed to replace hospital-surgical plans, which Blue Cross encouraged people to buy—provided the purchasers could get past all the exclusions for preexisting conditions.

Blue Cross is now canceling 300,000 plans in Florida, and, no doubt, a lot of them are such "Go Blue" plans. (A spokesman from Blue Cross of Florida wouldn't answer any specific questions about which plans are getting canceled.) The ACA was designed to replace plans like the one Barrette bought. And every plan sold on the Obamacare exchanges must provide a minimum and meaningful level of coverage, including free preventive care, mental health and maternity coverage, hospitalization, and rehabilitation services that are indispensable for anyone who has a disability, who becomes injured in a bad accident, or who has a degenerative disease such as multiple sclerosis. These plans don't have annual or lifetime coverage limits of any sort. And the insurance companies selling plans on the exchange must disclose coverage terms in such a way that people know what they're getting and can compare similar plans.

Much of the recent media coverage treats the old junk plans as a national treasure, their loss a true scandal.Far from being a victim of Obamacare, Barrette should have been a story about someone who will benefit immensely from the Affordable Care Act. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation premium calculator, Barrette, who makes about $30,000 a year, is eligible for an annual tax credit of up to $3,967 a year, which could get her a silver plan on the exchange for $234 a month (in cost to her), or a bronze plan, with slightly higher out of pocket costs, for $97 a month. True, with the bronze plans, she’d be paying $43 a month more, but in return, she would have true protection and access to health care, not sham coverage. A bronze plan would replace her $50 doctor's office discount with free preventive care services, including mammograms, cover hospitalization and other services, and cap her out of pocket costs at slightly more than $6,000 a year. Barrette should be cheering the death of her old plan.

The same is true of the other conservatives who've groused about losing a plan, including Malkin. As Metcalf points out, "If they're having to cancel out a plan with a $10,000 deductible and end up with a plan with a $2,500 deductible, that's a better plan, period." Pollack says, "As people now get real protection, the premiums may be somewhat higher, but it's a different product and you're saving money on the back end. The Affordable Care Act eliminates lousy coverage, which ultimately saves cost for people when they receive care."


http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/11/obamacare-canceled-health-insurance

[keymanjim]

The Real Story Behind the Phony Canceled Health Insurance Scandal

Insurance companies ripped off Americans for years with lousy health plans. Obamacare was designed to fix that.

A good example might be Dianne Barrette, 56, who appeared on CBS News with Jan Crawford last week for a segment about the wave of cancellations. Barrette, a realtor in Florida, was upset because her $54 a month insurance plan was being canceled. She believed a new one would cost her more than $500 a month due to Obamacare. "What I have right now is what I'm happy with," she said. "I just want to know why I can't keep what I have. Why do I have to be forced into something else?"

But here’s the rub: Barrette's $54 plan wasn't even insurance. When I talked to her, she was unsure of what her plan covered. But she said it was what Blue Cross calls a "supplemental" or discount plan, which only pays $50 toward doctor's office visits and a few other out-patient services, including mammograms. What her plan doesn’t cover: hospitalization. Not at all. So if she gets hit by a car, the people ultimately picking up the tab will be the hospital and everyone else (by way of higher medical costs). If she gets cancer, she’s basically out of luck. "It's all I could afford," she told me.

Blue Cross was selling these plans in malls and other retail insurance "shops" in an effort to target young people who don't have or don't think they need health insurance, luring them in with cheap premiums of between $24 to $54 a month. The plans came with a not-well-disclosed caveat that they were not designed to replace hospital-surgical plans, which Blue Cross encouraged people to buy—provided the purchasers could get past all the exclusions for preexisting conditions.

Blue Cross is now canceling 300,000 plans in Florida, and, no doubt, a lot of them are such "Go Blue" plans. (A spokesman from Blue Cross of Florida wouldn't answer any specific questions about which plans are getting canceled.) The ACA was designed to replace plans like the one Barrette bought. And every plan sold on the Obamacare exchanges must provide a minimum and meaningful level of coverage, including free preventive care, mental health and maternity coverage, hospitalization, and rehabilitation services that are indispensable for anyone who has a disability, who becomes injured in a bad accident, or who has a degenerative disease such as multiple sclerosis. These plans don't have annual or lifetime coverage limits of any sort. And the insurance companies selling plans on the exchange must disclose coverage terms in such a way that people know what they're getting and can compare similar plans.

Much of the recent media coverage treats the old junk plans as a national treasure, their loss a true scandal.Far from being a victim of Obamacare, Barrette should have been a story about someone who will benefit immensely from the Affordable Care Act. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation premium calculator, Barrette, who makes about $30,000 a year, is eligible for an annual tax credit of up to $3,967 a year, which could get her a silver plan on the exchange for $234 a month (in cost to her), or a bronze plan, with slightly higher out of pocket costs, for $97 a month. True, with the bronze plans, she’d be paying $43 a month more, but in return, she would have true protection and access to health care, not sham coverage. A bronze plan would replace her $50 doctor's office discount with free preventive care services, including mammograms, cover hospitalization and other services, and cap her out of pocket costs at slightly more than $6,000 a year. Barrette should be cheering the death of her old plan.

The same is true of the other conservatives who've groused about losing a plan, including Malkin. As Metcalf points out, "If they're having to cancel out a plan with a $10,000 deductible and end up with a plan with a $2,500 deductible, that's a better plan, period." Pollack says, "As people now get real protection, the premiums may be somewhat higher, but it's a different product and you're saving money on the back end. The Affordable Care Act eliminates lousy coverage, which ultimately saves cost for people when they receive care."


http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/11/obamacare-canceled-health-insurance
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a128/keymanjim/tumblr_m5kr8icjvA1rnde1eo1_500_zps5f2a6fdb.gif (http://s10.photobucket.com/user/keymanjim/media/tumblr_m5kr8icjvA1rnde1eo1_500_zps5f2a6fdb.gif.htm l)

[Codename Section]

Dude,

it was YOUR FUCKING PARTY'S GREAT IDEA TO WORK WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES NO ONE ELSE'S.

You'd have to be fucking stupid--which they are--to think insurance companies wouldn't want to turn a profit. Democrats are just dumb as fuck.

[The Xl]

I can't take liberals complaining about insurance companies seriously. Have yall looked at Obamacare for Gods sake? It's a corporatist bill. It's forcing people to buy into a private product while also jacking up rates.

[Cigar]

Dude,

it was YOUR FUCKING PARTY'S GREAT IDEA TO WORK WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES NO ONE ELSE'S.

You'd have to be fucking stupid--which they are--to think insurance companies wouldn't want to turn a profit. Democrats are just dumb as fuck.

Yea you're right, but I get to laugh my ass off at the right for the last 5 years. Guess what's the best part?

I get to laugh at them for another 3 years. :)

So if wining is stupid, then you are a fucking genius :)

Well its Football time, time to watch the Packers kick the shit out of Da Bears.

[keymanjim]

I get to laugh at them for another 3 years.

What you get is three more years of making up excuses for your boy in the white house being a total fuckwit.

[Cigar]

What you get is three more years of making up excuses for your boy in the white house being a total fuckwit.

In the White House is way better than out of the White House.

BTW; Rand removed all his previous speeches from his website.

Hummmmm why do that if your Boy got nothing to hide?

[keymanjim]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a128/keymanjim/scumbagobama_zpsdf126be6.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/user/keymanjim/media/scumbagobama_zpsdf126be6.jpg.html)

[keymanjim]

In the White House is way better than out of the White House.

BTW; Rand removed all his previous speeches from his website.

Hummmmm why do that if your Boy got nothing to hide?
Sometimes I wish you knew what you were talking about.

[Codename Section]

Yea you're right, but I get to laugh my ass off at the right for the last 5 years. Guess what's the best part?

I get to laugh at them for another 3 years. :)

So if wining is stupid, then you are a fucking genius :)

Well its Football time, time to watch the Packers kick the shit out of Da Bears.

Say hi to Cutler for me.

[Cigar]

Say hi to Cutler for me.

He isn't playing.

Typical Cutler

[Cigar]

Sometimes I wish you knew what you were talking about.

Losers talk shit, winners get the chick :)

[Codename Section]

He isn't playing.

Typical Cutler


Wassup with that kid? They're struggling to be on par with the Lions for godsake.

[keymanjim]

Losers talk shit, winners get the chick :)
And you're sitting at home watching a bunch of millionaires beat up on a bunch of other millionaires.

[Codename Section]

And you're sitting at home watching a bunch of millionaires beat up on a bunch of other millionaires.

Man, it's football.

[patrickt]

[QUOTE=Cigar;413242]In the White House is way better than out of the White House.
Response: Not for Americans.

BTW; Rand removed all his previous speeches from his website.

Hummmmm why do that if your Boy got nothing to hide?
Response: And President Obama's college records? I wonder why your boy won't open them if your boy "got nothing to hide"?

[Cigar]

[QUOTE=Cigar;413242]In the White House is way better than out of the White House.
Response: Not for Americans.

BTW; Rand removed all his previous speeches from his website.

Hummmmm why do that if your Boy got nothing to hide?
Response: And President Obama's college records? I wonder why your boy won't open them if your boy "got nothing to hide"?

News flash; Obama has been President 5 years ... are you still waiting for "papers-please" ?

[lynn]

Just wait until January 1, when people will be penalized for not having insurance because they couldn't get on the federal exchange to get their subsidies. People will have to buy coverage even if they could have been approved for subsidies because now they will be forced to buy it directly from the insurance company to avoid the fine.

[nic34]

Just wait until January 1, when people will be penalized for not having insurance because they couldn't get on the federal exchange to get their subsidies. People will have to buy coverage even if they could have been approved for subsidies because now they will be forced to buy it directly from the insurance company to avoid the fine.

They should take it up with their state rebublicans that caused the problem.

BTW, AZ has an exchange thx to believe it or not, jan brewer.

[keymanjim]

They should take it up with their state rebublicans that caused the problem.

Not a single republican voted for obamacare.

[nic34]

Not a single republican voted for obamacare.

Some repub state govs. and legislatures disagree:

http://obamacarefacts.com/state-health-insurance-exchange.php

[Codename Section]

Great everyone is happy with Obamacare. Awesome. I'm sure it will be a super huge success. Can we move on to getting the government to stop spying on us now?

[nic34]

Great everyone is happy with Obamacare.

Not true.