( I think ) I bought Obamacare
#106
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,851
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
But I live in the general community- most people I know now aren't expats. And the expats I do know tend to have great insurance- so I think some people here just don't know what I'm talking about. And I know it's hard to get your head 'round! The law should be the law
I know I'm probably being too political for this forum- but that's what ACA was supposed to do. We were all going to have access to a website one stop shop and be able to buy health insurance. Compare policies. Consumer experience like we get if we want car insurance.
But people will complain if they're sold something commercially which isn't fit for purpose, I think that's my big issue with our president- he doesn't acknowledge that the government is selling something that's messed up- for whatever reasons. Or excuses. They're a business when they start selling a product. Especially when people are going to be fined/taxed for not buying it!
But people will complain if they're sold something commercially which isn't fit for purpose, I think that's my big issue with our president- he doesn't acknowledge that the government is selling something that's messed up- for whatever reasons. Or excuses. They're a business when they start selling a product. Especially when people are going to be fined/taxed for not buying it!
#107
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
Regarding the discussion on the general state of healthcare, my current PCP has a 5 month waiting list for annual physicals, and hasn't been accepting new patients for ages ... so it's not like ACA suddenly caused doctors to drop patients, or increase delays - this has been an ongoing situation for years.
When I needed immediate attention in Scottsdale in 2012, I tried to locate a PCP through the insurance company website (I had the best possible plan money could buy, provided by my employer). I simply gave up trying to find a doctor willing to see me; they either weren't taking patients, or, had month-long delays for first appointments. I ended up going to the ER, which was ridiculous given the nature of the problem.
Also, my Cobra coverage simply 'dropped' several months ago; I noticed it only because I tried to log into the web portal and my account was gone. Turns out a data load from one entity to another was missing my name for some reason and thus I got dropped. It was cleaned up fairly quickly, but it's not just the Govt. that has crappy / faulty IT systems in place. I'm sure if I'd had an 'incident' during that time, I would have had a fun situation to deal with at the ER.
Also, my Cobra coverage ended prematurely again Dec 31 2014; It turns out the previous private company - Discovery Benefits - somehow decided to rebrand itself as 'Mercer Marketplace', and a whole pile of new paperwork was sent out - which I missed since I was traveling - and my failure to 'resubmit' (even though I was already enrolled) caused them to drop me. It was only after making several 'begging' calls that they allowed me to re-enroll after the deadline. The mailing address for new paperwork was the same as the old address - just a different company name. So stupid bureaucracy in the healthcare field has been with us for some time ...
#108
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 238
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
'You live in a state that has actively tried to undermine the ACA so it doesn't surprise me that you have had difficulties. But I agree that the ACA needs improvements. Unfortunately we have one party that would rather vote 50+ times for its repeal than work constructively on improving it.' @Giantaxe.
Have you ever read Texas Republican Party Platform @giantaxe- I don't think a lot of people even realise what they are voting for.
Was stunned to receive in the mail today a letter from HHServices requesting proof of my 2015 income- which I sent in detail in December. If I don't reply to the letter may lose coverage. No wonder doctors are worried they'll lose income.
But I've got to stop obsessing about it- it's taking over my life. I'll submit all the documents yet again, the website seems to be working anyway or it was earlier. Major attitude reset today- it is what it is.
I'm not doing myself any favours getting so worked up!
@Steerpike, thanks, that's also what my son said about the email. Good luck with your search.
Have you ever read Texas Republican Party Platform @giantaxe- I don't think a lot of people even realise what they are voting for.
Was stunned to receive in the mail today a letter from HHServices requesting proof of my 2015 income- which I sent in detail in December. If I don't reply to the letter may lose coverage. No wonder doctors are worried they'll lose income.
But I've got to stop obsessing about it- it's taking over my life. I'll submit all the documents yet again, the website seems to be working anyway or it was earlier. Major attitude reset today- it is what it is.
I'm not doing myself any favours getting so worked up!
@Steerpike, thanks, that's also what my son said about the email. Good luck with your search.
#109
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Joined: Nov 2014
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Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
Ok, fast-forward to Feb 18 2015- on the one hand I seem to have bought the government healthcare. On another- I am still getting requests for documentation. I call every few days and have submitted all documentation as requested...
All documentation sent via healthcare.gov needs to be in pdf format.
All documentation sent via healthcare.gov needs to be in pdf format.
#110
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Joined: Jun 2010
Location: 1.2 East
Posts: 762
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
Ok, fast-forward to Feb 18 2015- on the one hand I seem to have bought the government healthcare. On another- I am still getting requests for documentation. I call every few days and have submitted all documentation as requested...
All documentation sent via healthcare.gov needs to be in pdf format.
All documentation sent via healthcare.gov needs to be in pdf format.
#111
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 238
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
@ audio I've mailed the info/docs twice and emailed them to the website, even confirmed they have all they need- yet every few days a request comes to send them again. PBS did a report saying the dept of Health and human services had lost thousands of people's supplemental documents, well technically they didn't- they had us all send them to an address which doesn't exist in their department, they went to the right building. I wrote and pointed out the mistake, and called, and frankly no one was interested. "Not my problem". So how anything will get fixed I don't know.
I can't imagine going through all this every single December/January/February. Plus the IRS is now short-staffed too so self-employed people will have to work through their 2015 tax return to reconcile their proposed income with their actual income in order to get the healthcare subsidy.
In TX I don't know if John Cornyn or Ted Cruz could even understand all this, let alone help. They just want to undo the healthcare law reforms from what I read in their media.
I can't imagine going through all this every single December/January/February. Plus the IRS is now short-staffed too so self-employed people will have to work through their 2015 tax return to reconcile their proposed income with their actual income in order to get the healthcare subsidy.
In TX I don't know if John Cornyn or Ted Cruz could even understand all this, let alone help. They just want to undo the healthcare law reforms from what I read in their media.
#112
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
You are lucky that you are only getting one request at a time -- when my OH signed up a year ago, he was getting three or four every few days, each with a different reference number on the letter. Each time he would call up --and the folks on the phone would confirm that he had already submitted the paperwork they were looking for, but they were still unable to stop the avalanche of paper. This year, it took him three months to sort out a double-dip on the automatic payment he had set up. They were also fixated on the fact that, unlike him, I was not born in the US, despite the fact that I was not applying for insurance. But he stuck with it, and has saved a lot of money while getting excellent coverage.
#113
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Joined: Jun 2010
Location: 1.2 East
Posts: 762
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
At the moment, the whole program is a complete nightmare in my experience.
I'm sure in time it will work but as for trying to save paper, the mind boggles.
I'm sure in time it will work but as for trying to save paper, the mind boggles.
#115
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
I also received the duplicate letters telling me that my application was incomplete. A nice person on my state's ACA Helpline told me last month that my documents were received (I faxed them) & are taking a long time to process. He said to ignore those letters, so I am...
Have you been able to see a doctor, OnwardandUpward?
Have you been able to see a doctor, OnwardandUpward?
#116
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Joined: Nov 2014
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Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
@ WEBlue, yes. The 6th PCP dr was taking patients, by which time I had bronchitis/ pneumonia, the last few weeks have been a bit of a disaster! I was also diagnosed with stomach ulcer and diabetes. So on medication and going back in a few weeks to see if that's corrected. The PCP dr I finally got is someone I have used before and really like, so that worked out well in the end.
#117
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
@ WEBlue, yes. The 6th PCP dr was taking patients, by which time I had bronchitis/ pneumonia, the last few weeks have been a bit of a disaster! I was also diagnosed with stomach ulcer and diabetes. So on medication and going back in a few weeks to see if that's corrected. The PCP dr I finally got is someone I have used before and really like, so that worked out well in the end.
I'm glad you finally found a PCP who would take Obamacare, and who's a good doctor too. Hope your health improves under his/her care as time goes on.
#118
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Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
@ WEBlue, yes. The 6th PCP dr was taking patients, by which time I had bronchitis/ pneumonia, the last few weeks have been a bit of a disaster! I was also diagnosed with stomach ulcer and diabetes. So on medication and going back in a few weeks to see if that's corrected. The PCP dr I finally got is someone I have used before and really like, so that worked out well in the end.
#119
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Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
That really made my day thank you both. Wow, people being kind for no reason!
My PCP dr is a Chinese immigrant and she's here on her own so she understands what it's like.
My PCP dr is a Chinese immigrant and she's here on her own so she understands what it's like.
#120
Re: ( I think ) I bought Obamacare
I've been worried about you ever since you first posted several ACA/Obamacare threads ago.... You said you were ill (perhaps needing surgery?) and were struggling to find a TX PCP who would accept ACA.
I thought my difficulty getting signed on to the ACA was a nightmare, but it didn't sound nearly as bad as your experience b/c my own health is not a huge immediate worry to me (just normal age-related discomforts) and my state is on board with the ACA...
I have a friend who lives locally, another expat (from Asia though), who had extremey bad health and who was so frustrated by the state's ACA website that he nearly gave up. His worried wife persuaded him to keep trying.
Finally he "thought" he had possibly succeeded in acquiring 'provisional' ACA coverage, but wasn't totally certain.... Just days later he had a heart attack. His poor wife called the paramedics and grabbed all their ACA paperwork to show at the hospital. He was covered!
Is it only in America among the so-called 'civilized' nations that such a dramatic story as this could happen??
Last edited by WEBlue; Feb 19th 2015 at 3:18 pm.