WEBlue

The husband and I ran into several snags getting signed up through our state's ACA website, but have both finally (we think; we hope) enrolled in a decent health plan. We had to visit in person a 'Navigator' in a distant town, and spent over several weeks a total of perhaps 3 hours on hold waiting for, and then being aided by, official Helpline staff.

It seemed a dreadful ordeal, but it was probably worth all the trouble.

Mrs Danvers

I'm sure someone who hasn't had to do it will be along in a minute to tell you it was easy and not an ordeal at all.

Seriously, I'm glad I got health insurance, I'm glad you did, but you know, it's something we're paying for Why was it so damn hard?

WEBlue

Oh yes.... I've already been told by several friends and relatives that it's easy. A couple of those folks found it just as difficult as I did (or worse) when they signed up last year, but that difficulty has receded into the mists of the past... and this year they had very little trouble, so they tell me it's all worth it. A couple of others are signing onto the ACA for the first time this year, just like the husband & I am, and have had less trouble than I have... maybe only one hour waiting for the helpline to assist them (as opposed to our 3+ hours).

One relative is astonished at how much trouble some of us have had. He never needed to call the helpline--everything was straightforward for him. But then, he was never an expat. My expat friends & family have all had some degree of trouble.


Yes, but I'm paying less than I would have had to even two years ago. AND I'm paying less for a more transparent service than I would have received from any US insurance company in the past.

Before the ACA, understanding the bewildering range of services offered by the largely unregulated, largely unaccountable health insurance companies here was a minefield for anyone without good employer-provided, employer-vetted health insurance.

The first time we lived in the USA, the husband & I had fine health insurance through his American employer. This time, we both are self-employed and it's a whole different story. I'm grateful for the ACA. I don't know what we would have done about health insurance in these few years until we qualify for US medicare, but I know for certain we'd be paying a lot more, PLUS we would have had much more stress in a health emergency, as we waited & wondered how and when our insurer would jerk us around and refuse payment for one of a thousand arbitrary reasons....

No, it's not perfect--far from it!!--but it's better than it was. American health insurance was a horror show. Now...it's still scary and frustrating, but the improvement is heartening, IMO.

WEBlue

Just a FYI if you live in New York state or Idaho, the deadline for enrolling for coverage to begin Jan.1, 2015 has been extended a bit from the 15th to the 20th December.

http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/heal...2745209-1.html

And the Massachusetts enrollment deadline ONLY for first time signers-on is the actually the 23rd December (coming right up!).... For those who enrolled last year and are reenrolling now, the January-start deadline was the 15th.

But if you're struggling still to sign on, keep at it, as the open enrollment period doesn't close till 15th February 2015.

kins

Well I HAVE just enrolled, and it was pretty easy. Sorry :-)

Mrs Danvers

Congratulations.

OnwardandUpward

'I'm sure someone who hasn't had to do it will be along in a minute to tell you it was easy and not an ordeal at all.
Seriously, I'm glad I got health insurance, I'm glad you did, but you know, it's something we're paying for Why was it so damn hard?'

other people I know had nightmares getting visas and green card, ours were a piece of cake, all funded and organized by others and all we had to do was show up for a few appointments and a medical and sign forms. Did our own citizenship applications easily. Tend to do my own taxes even when they're a bit complicated. Filed my own divorce and subsequent legal docs. Never had any issues dealing with US govt depts. before. Though I know some people do. Hope I haven't been blasé towards people who were having problems organizing these things!

Health insurance has been the one thing I have struggled to organize for 3 years. Once COBRA ran out ( and that was easy to organize just expensive- about the same cost as ACA actually ) it's been one obstacle after another. I'm not used to a) not being able to find a person who has the authority and ability to help and b) not being able to fix things or come up with creative solutions to a problem.

I also don't think a lot of people really understand the ACA policies- yes I could get a 'bronze' coverage for @ $70 a month but the out of pocket is $6500 yearly. It's cheaper for me to buy the platinum policy at $243 a month with $1500 max out of pocket if I plan to actually use the insurance other than in emergency. But even if I didn't my attitude to finances is if your health insurance costs $7340 a year to use in an emergency then that's the amount I should budget for- I don't want to find myself with debts or bills I can't pay or anxiety about having to use health insurance I am buying.

It's 3 am Sunday ( 12/28 ) btw, I stayed up to log into healthcare.gov off-peak to see if I could access the messaging center and read the message they sent ( again- why they don't just send it instead of a message saying log in to read it... )
Anyway, instead of just a spinning circle the website is now working enough to say 'We're making HealthCare.gov even better!' which seems to be obamacare-speak for 'it's broken'...
That's what annoys me when people talk about transparency and decency- just say it doesn't work, and it'll get fixed and apologise for messing people about.

I'd have way more respect for President Obama if he hadn't done that strutting around at SOTU this year. Humility would go a long way to impress me that there's actual transparency and decency. And sincerity. Is that lost from politics in the modern world?

sir_eccles

You say that yet I would question whether you actually looked that carefully at the policies. Many (in AZ at least) include regular visits without hitting the deductible. So yes you can have a large deductible but it does not mean you have to use it all up for one visit to urgent care before you have coverage.

OnwardandUpward

Having been without insurance for three years I know there are several procedures I need including a surgery.

Everyone's case is different.
And the costs and available policies are different in different states/ counties.
I got the choice of dozens of policies, and I live in a huge city with a large doctor/hospital pool.

Though I would say it would be a lot easier to pick what's best if the healthcare.gov website worked properly/ carried better information ( the phrase 'no data available' appears all over the place ) and if the health insurance company websites were able to handle the high volume of traffic- presumably those things will be fixed as time goes on.

Pulaski

I agree with your first statement but from there on your analysis appears flawed, as is many other people's.

If you save approx $160/mth by taking a bronze plan your OoP would have to reach at least $3,500 before you'd be worse off with the bronze plan. Given that you can use a Health Savings Account to pay the $3,500, saving the income tax, it could easily mean than the bronze plan is cheaper all the way up to around $4,500-$4,800, or more, depending on your tax situation. So the "gap" between paying OoP on a bronze plan and the insurance kicking in at $6,500 is probably around $1,500-$2,000, or less, again subject to your tax situation.
Same reason banks tell you to log on to get messages or download statements. Email can be hacked but messages downloaded from a secure website are encrypted.

sir_eccles

It's interesting comparing the offerings in the marketplace this year to last year. I think people are working out how things work and realizing they don't need platinum plans and that the offerings of bronze level plans have improved. A couple more cycles and I think the platinum plans might disappear.

OnwardandUpward

Depends on your income level and the 'cost-sharing subsidy' and what's on offer for your area- and the degree of complexity of your medical needs.

The Platinum plans are the best options so far as I can see eg. for people who need expensive drugs such as Humira or Copaxone for example.

Until the websites work properly though it is impossible to truly research whether your drugs/procedures are fully or partially covered. I recommend saving pdfs of the formulary lists/ policy details where possible- the next time you try to log in the website may be down and in my recent experience the info then unavailable for days. The helpline can't provide info on individual policies and they tell you to call the insurance companies direct- very time consuming if you're trying to compare and choose!

Pulaski

That's interesting, and I am sure correct, that most people will work out that the bronze plan is, in fact, the winning plan for them. The insurers will also likely discover (they probably know already) that the buyers of the platinum plans are the highest users of health care products and services, so the cost of such plans will increase, putting further pressure on people to move to bronze plans.

If there was a "hidden agenda" to the healthcare reform initiative, it was to get most people to take responsibility for their own day-to-day healthcare expenses and leave insurance to pay for the "catastrophic" health events. Once people to have to "put their hand in their pocket" they are naturally going to self-ration and use less healthcare. .... They may develop a cost-benefit mentality too, but I think the self rationing is key.

Michael

Only in a few cases is the platinum plan going to be better financially than the bronze plan. Often people think short term instead of long term saying they can afford an extra $xxx per month premium but they can't afford a $x,xxx bill if they got sick. It's the same reason that many people keep paying for auto collusion insurance for an old car.

OnwardandUpward

But people can't self-ration cancer treatment or other serious illness needs can they?

And aren't many of the new procedures such as joint replacement heavily marketed in a for-profit environment, ie telling people just put up with your aches and pains isn't likely to generate much income?!