Waiting To See What Shakes Out On Obamacare
I can no longer afford my healthcare with the price rise under Obamacare but I'm too afraid to make any changes right now.
Chad Terhune writes in the LA Times about the "Affordable" Care Act:
Monday is the deadline to enroll for coverage starting Jan. 1. People who miss that cutoff date can still sign up as part of the Affordable Care Act through March 31.
I'm going to wait and see what happens until then. I'll then just have paid beyond what I can afford for January, February, and March.
Right now, I keep reading that people who think they signed up might not actually be signed up. Also, it's possible there may be some challenge to the law (other than by the court). Probably unlikely but it is possible. It would be idiotic to "save" money by possibly throwing myself into some bureaucratic nightmare.
I'm just glad I have the option of paying too much for healthcare rather than having to sign up for new healthcare in this mess of a system. Rotten that it's come to that.
Thank you, those of you who voted for Obama, thinking only of what a rock star he seemed to be and how "not Bush" he seemed to be.
New State Data On Obamacare Enrollment Trends Show How Scheme Is Failing:
So why did we need the [un]Affordable Care Act?
The next question is how the white house and the congress critters are going to handle the utter failure?
Jim P. at December 22, 2013 7:35 AM
The next question is how the white house and the congress critters are going to handle the utter failure?
Blame republicans?
lujlp at December 22, 2013 9:11 AM
Amy, if you're still with Kaiser, and they switched you to one of their Obamacare-compliant plans, you should be able to sign up for the exact same plan through the exchange (Covered California) and get a large portion of your premium subsidized. But the deadline is tomorrow if you want the subsidy to start Jan. 1.
I mentioned this in a comment on one of your earlier Obamacare posts, but it was getting old, and you might have quit reading those comments by the time I posted mine. If not, I apologize for the duplication.
Rex Little at December 22, 2013 9:30 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/12/22/waiting_to_see.html#comment-4141304">comment from Rex LittleI am afraid to do that, Rex. Also, I have a grandfathered plan that's just become too expensive. But thanks.
I know the deadline is tomorrow. The exchanges are too huge a mess, I have privacy concerns and more, so I'm going to wait and see how things shake out in a few months and just bite the bullet and pay more than I can afford on any consistent basis. Hate wasting the money but the website is too unfunctional and there are too many scary variables.
Amy Alkon at December 22, 2013 10:23 AM
"I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution." ~ Ulysses Simpson Grant
You want Obamacare repealed? Enforce it. All of it. No more waivers, delays, or exceptions. No more games.
Conan the Grammarian at December 22, 2013 12:06 PM
I have a grandfathered plan that's just become too expensive.
Are you sure your plan is grandfathered? The letter I got from Kaiser said that the state (specifically, the Board of Covered California) wasn't allowing non-ACA compliant plans to be continued after Dec. 31, and that they were switching me to "the 2014 Kaiser Permanente ACA plan that best matches your current KPIC health plan." That turned out to be the Bronze plan, which costs $300 per month (for me and my wife combined) more than I was paying, and has substantially higher co-pays.
By enrolling in that same Bronze plan (I called Kaiser to make sure it was indeed the same) through Covered California, I qualified for a federal subsidy which will pay about 3/4 of my premiums.
The application process wasn't bad; just one question arose, which was answered on the phone after a longish but not ridiculous amount of time on hold. I can see two possible future snags:
1. The application gets lost in the CoveredCA system and doesn't get through to Kaiser. In that case, since they already had me in the Bronze plan, I'm no worse off than if I'd done nothing.
2. The website was wrong about the amount of subsidy I get. (It does seem too good to be true; my income is solidly middle-class, nowhere near poverty level.) Worst case, I'm still no worse off than if I'd done nothing.
There remains the privacy concern you mentioned; of course, if that's important enough to you to forgo the subsidy, it's your decision. But please, make sure they're really letting you keep your old plan (at the higher cost) if that's what your decision is based on.
Rex Little at December 22, 2013 3:20 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/12/22/waiting_to_see.html#comment-4141949">comment from Rex LittleThe truth is, I can probably (sadly) get a subsidy, but I'm not sure that I can do that. I don't want to be paid for by other people. I just want to pay my own way, as I was. And yes, they're letting me keep my old plan, which I downgraded to make more affordable, and which now is the same plan, just not affordable anymore because I'm paying for myself and everybody else.
Amy Alkon at December 22, 2013 5:05 PM
Go for the subsidy Amy, the only ay to kill the beast it to cause it to collapse under its own corpulent mass
lujlp at December 23, 2013 4:50 AM
The children were given the opportunity to vote for their parents. Not surprisingly, they voted for Santa Claus. However, they seem to have gotten the Grinch instead. Unexpectedly!
Cousin Dave at December 23, 2013 7:06 AM
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