Weekly Standard - 16 Million Americans are Losing Their Health Plans Because of Obamacare

16 Million Americans are set to lose their health care plans because of Obamacare. They will have a chance to 're-enroll' (if Obamacare ever gets fixed) but at a much higher rate. (of course). So ..

1 - they can't keep the healthcare plans that they liked. (they were told they could)
2 - they are going to have to pay more for a new plan. (they were told they wouldn't have to)

Weekly Standard - Millions of Americans are Losing their Health Plans Because of Obamacare

Health Policy and Market

The U.S. individual health insurance market currently totals about 19 million people. Because the Obama administration's regulations on grandfathering existing plans were so stringent about 85% of those, 16 million, are not grandfathered and must comply with Obamacare at their next renewal. The rules are very complex. For example, if you had an individual plan in March of 2010 when the law was passed and you only increased the deductible from $1,000 to $1,500 in the years since, your plan has lost its grandfather status and it will no longer be available to you when it would have renewed in 2014.

These 16 million people are now receiving letters from their carriers saying they are losing their current coverage and must re-enroll in order to avoid a break in coverage and comply with the new health law's benefit mandates––the vast majority by January 1. Most of these will be seeing some pretty big rate increases.

reply to post by FlyersFan


I think I remember quite a few pundits who will be saying " I told you so".

I can't really blame the people who really hoped that this would be the knight in shining armor to save them from their lack of insurance nightmares, but anyone who has ever balanced a budget could have seen it was going to be a financial nightmare.

A point I think some have trouble grasping is, Insurance companies are out to make a profit.

They are not benevolent organizations there to assist you, they are there to garner the top dollar they can with the least risk to themselves. So, if you are a high risk client, they charge you more. With that playing card removed from the deck, the playing field being leveled and such, the "great rates" of the past are gone. They will look at their financial risk, work their profit margins in, divide it by the client pool and, Voila, there are your rates. 50 to 400% or more higher that what you paid before.

Now, some will see lower prices, because they actually get subsidies, and some will qualify for assistance they never did before. But EVERYONE ELSE will share in the cost.

THE INSURANCE COMPANIES WILL NOT LOSE THEIR PROFIT. And there in lies the rub.

The edict which declares all must have insurance, or be penalized, truly opened the hen house to the foxes (my apologies for the analogy to the Insurance companies of the country, couldn't think of a better one). They will see record profits, because the 30 million uninsured, even if all covered, will be more than amply accounted for with the increased rates of those effected in the other 340 odd million rest of the population. It is all in the percentages.

BT

Yep, and I'm one of them. I've had coverage with Cigna since 2005 through my employer in the Virgin Islands. When Obamacare hit, Cigna refused to write in the islands anymore. Well, I take that back ... they are covering some individuals if there are 3 or more people in an office that needs coverage, but the premiums have more than doubled. Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my office that needs coverage, so I don't apply. Couldn't afford it anyway if my premiums go from $536 a month to over $1000. I received notification that my coverage would be up 12/31/13. I've tried to look at the Illinois Insurance Exchange, but, of course, it's tied to the Gov't website to see if any subsidies are available, and you know that ain't happening. I was really hopeful about this in the beginning, but now I'm just totally pissed off. What were the promises again? Oh yeah .... you can keep your present coverage, you can keep your doctors..... Yeah, right. I've struggled trying to pay this premium on my own for the last 4 years with no employer contribution, and now for the first time in 8 years, I'll be without insurance. Actually, I'm beyond pissed....

Don't you just love government?

The tyranny they so graciously bestow upon us, for our own good of course, is just so delightful.

I have an idea,
Let's put government in charge of bread and milk.
That way we can all starve to death.

Come on, who's with me?

reply to post by hebegbes


I don't blame you one bit.

My husband lost his insurance a year ago July. His employer saw the writing on the wall and dropped all health and life coverage for all employees from Management down.

I feel your pain.

BT

It's like Lexus comes to your house to take your brand new $70,000 LS away from you and replace it with a Yugo at the same time raising your monthly payment.

And if you raise a stink about it the IRS garnishes your wages.

That's some solid change right there. A little hope too.

reply to post by bjax9er


hmmm Bread and milk, oh wait they have those covered already.

BGH milk and oh shoot what is the preservative they put in the bread so it doesn't mold for 4 weeks... oh well I can't remember.

Yes, the assistance they render is priceless, don't you think. Oh, , shame on me, there is that little thing about a $17 billion deficit.

I will be quiet now.

Seriously, back to the health care coverage issue, this is a behemoth of a problem that isn't going to go away until it is repealed. It is law. They can say they won't enforce it all day long, but until an amendment is passed that states that, it is just empty promises, just like: "You can keep your current insurance coverage" "You can keep your doctor" " It will save us all money in the long run" "We will have health insurance coverage for everyone". You know the ones I mean.

BT

reply to post by BearTruth


Yeah who am I kidding, they regulate everything under the sun.

They even regulate the kind of toilet your allowed to take a crap in.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Does anyone really believe the people that created this nightmare are really this incompetent ?? Think about the ramification's of what's about to happen, its brilliant.

What are 16+ million people going to do between when they loose there healthcare and the ACA miraculously gets fixed ?

I would guess that a lot of them are in need of healthcare right now so its the emergency room or there own money.

All of a sudden ACA gets fixed and there are 16+ million just waiting to get something no matter how expensive or bad it may be.

reply to post by FlyersFan


What they're losing is their old plan that was more focused on profit margins than healthcare. These old policies wouldn't cover pre-existing conditions, they wouldn't allow participants to keep their college age children on their plan, they contained lifetime maximum benefits and charged for most preventative care. Most of these old plans had more loopholes intended to allow the insurance company to deny claims than language protecting the rights of it's participants.

In other words, they can no longer have their piece of crap plan that wouldn't insure anything other than the enormous salary of the CEO and profit margin of the insurance company. Boo-hoo!

Not to worry, once we get this thing morphed into a single-payer, not-for-profit universal coverage for all, (which is what we wanted to begin with) the american people will finally get to see what "real" affordable healthcare looks and feels like.

I mean, really... the gov't didn't see this coming?? ... or don't they care that the insurance companies are running roughshod over everyone. Safeguards should have been put in place...restrictions on the insurance companies... that they can't just up and cancel policies or double or triple premiums on people. That should have happened before ACA was put in place to really ensure that everyone (1) would have coverage and (2) can afford it. I just don't understand how this can be happening....

Many employers are looking at raising health care costs and getting rid of coverage, it is unaffordable. Even without Obamacare it was going to happen. My wife's work insurance is over thirteen grand a year and the deductibles and copays have increased a lot over the last ten years. Employers can't afford to pay these premiums as a benefit, people are not getting raises like they should either if their healthcare costs so much.

It seems that everyone wants to go to the doctor if you catch a little bug, the doctors do nothing other than to give you a slip that you can bring to work to collect your sick pay benefit. this is wrong. Society has gone astray in this area. You do not need to go to the doctor just because you have a cold or have some aches and pains occasionally if you know what caused the aches and pains. Businesses shouldn't require a person to get a doctor slip if they were out of work for two days for a sprained wrist and can't do their job.

BearTruth
reply to post by hebegbes

 

I don't blame you one bit.

My husband lost his insurance a year ago July. His employer saw the writing on the wall and dropped all health and life coverage for all employees from Management down.

I feel your pain.

BT

Sounds like your husband works for a real ahole. Cutting peoples insurance long before Obasmacare even took effect? What a prick. I'm sure all the money he pocketed made him happy though.

reply to post by Flatfish


Single payer..

Now we're talking.

They can't even run a stupid website. What makes you think they can run 1/6 of the entire economy?

Question: who is the single payer, in a single payer system?
Answer: government!

Let's hear what ol Vladimir lennin had to say about healthcare.

Text“Socialized medicine is the keystone to the arch of the socialist state.”

reply to post by buster2010


Well, there is that also. But an excuse is an excuse. They even issued letters last month letting their employees know they were all eligible to sign up at Healthcare.gov under the ACA. They were VERY helpful about it.

Meanwhile they have cut hours also, across the board. LOL go figure. I guess with the economy where it is and jobs not exactly ready to be plucked like apples they don't feel they have to dangle carrots to keep good workers.

BT

Flatfish
they can no longer have their piece of crap plan that wouldn't insure anything other than the enormous salary of the CEO and profit margin of the insurance company.

These people were happy with their health care plans.
They are having them taken away even though they want to keep them.
They are being forced to buy a MORE EXPENSIVE PLAN.
Insurance companies are in the business of profit and profit, this isn't a communist country.

reply to post by Flatfish


So in this socialist utopia you seem to want, will you be high up in the party and be given a confiscated mansion or will you just be the propaganda officer on a navy ship making sure the captain follows the orders to fire on the dissidents?

Socialism fails when people get tired of waiting in line for toilet paper and realize that there is something better than the same old stuff that the toilet paper is used for.

reply to post by BearTruth

I think I remember quite a few pundits who will be saying " I told you so".

I can't really blame the people who really hoped that this would be the knight in shining armor to save them from their lack of insurance nightmares, but....

ANYONE who bothered to actually study Obama's "Help" for the families caught in the foreclosure fiasco would have KNOWN this was all about helping industry and not the individual.

There was no LAW, NOTHING to force the banks to comply with Obama mortgage-aid efforts. The MSM (owned by the Banksters) had headlines like Nearly half of the 1.3 million homeowners who enrolled in the Obama administration's flagship mortgage-relief program have fallen out Only 1/3 got permanent aid. At the time 2.3 million homes had fallen into foreclosure so over a third of the homeowners foreclosed on went to the government for help AND DID NOT GET IT!

What is left out is home owners didn't just 'Fall out" the banks KICKED THEM OUT after a suitable length of time to guarantee trapping them into foreclosure.

Here is why:

Senior investors, who are typically financial institutions, own the AAA tranches that are insured against default by AIG, and they WANT to foreclose on the Middle Class so that insurance payments kick in.

“Simply put,” says Parker, “the government bailout of AIG has actually encouraged foreclosures because the taxpayers continue to fill AIG’s coffers with enough cash to pay out insurance on defaulted home loans.” link

So tax dollars went to the banks while Obama helped make sure as many homes were foreclosed on as possible.

My personal experience was the government lowered our payments. The bank danced around requiring more and more paper work. Finally a year later the bank told us we did not qualify and we had to pay back money owed, penalties and their LAWYERS FEES in 30 days or they would foreclose. SO we sold stuff, borrowed and scrambled and asked for the EXACT amount. They could not tell us. We had to hire a lawyer and wrestle with the &%$#@ bank for another six months before FINALLY after threatening to take them to court we got a solid answer. The fiasco cost us an additional $5364.52 over and above what we would have paid if we had never touched 'OBAMA's AID'! How many struggling to make mortgage payments have an additional $5,000 laying around?

And yes I am still STEAMED!

If that didn't convince you then just look at GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, The Head Of Obama’s Jobs Council, [Who] Is Moving Jobs And Economic Infrastructure To China At A Blistering Pace

reply to post by crimvelvet


Very valid point. The problem is the majority of the people simply are too distracted to pay attention to these things, until they are dangling at the end of a rope about to fall.

BT

reply to post by hebegbes



How do they think people can afford that.

I am lost and confused now.