Pretty sure the wife went through an agent when we signed up.... but can't say for sure how it went down 'cus I don't deal with that kinda shit. LOL (unless she wants to mow the yard/pick up dog crap)
Your take on this? My wife's cousin is ranting it was a plot...all done/cooked up on the spot while folks were distracted watching the Convention. He's one of those Jesus juice/righties who blames his sorry life/income....and everything else....on Obama. You know the kind....I'm sure.
And the truth is?
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/07/...humana-dropped-out-of-most-obamacare-markets/
I find that I replace A LOT of literal shitty plans.
I got a call from a referral today who signed up for 'obamacare' through an agent and a life insurance company, and now she's finding out that she did not purchase insurance, but rather something commonly called a medical plan, a FFS or fee for service plan. You are told of all the benefits, how much an office visit would 'cost', prescriptions, a copay for ER, etc. The question that people need to start asking is this.
The company in question goes by something like or similar to US Health Group. This referral is paying $350 for coverage that does not meet the ACA. She is subject to the 2.5% annual income penalty for tax year 2015, payable earlier this spring, and she will be on the hook for the penalty again next year. Without knowing details I would say the person who sold her this policy is not a fiduciary and was more concerned about the sale. The buyer was likely told that the rate is competitive, which it is if you are comparing it to insurance, but she got taken all the way. She has a plan she can't use, doctors who don't take that insurance company's plans or reimbursements, and no out-of-network benefits, meaning she should be using her policy for joint papers. It is criminal and infuriating, and it's why I work so fucking much during fourth and first quarters.
Ask questions. Ask if the plan is actual insurance and not a discount buying service. Ask what is excluded or ask to see a sample policy, and look for the exclusions and limitations portions. Nobody reads their insurance policy but please read the exclusions. Ask if the plan/policy you are looking at is 'compliant with the ACA'. Ask if you will be subject to the penalty, ask if this qualifies as 'minimum essential coverage' through the ACA. Ask if this policy has all of the required EHB or Essential Health Benefits as required by the ACA. This is all regarding individual policies from individual carriers. Group insurance, medicare, medicaid, military benefits, all have different rules and regs.
The short answer to any question anyone has is: It depends.
Don't buy health insurance from a non-health insurance entity. I would not recommend any carrier who isn't a big player. Ask your agent if they carry E & O or errors and omissions insurance. If they don't, stranger danger.
This came via different method so I am unsure where, but this came from the Colorado DORA.
Proposed plan counts for 2017
-131 plans on exchange
-144 plans off exchange
275 total, down from 413 last year
23 Carriers with proposed plans for 2017. The shitty company I mentioned earlier is tellingly nowhere to be found.
Of those, there are seven carriers offering 131 plans ON exchange, and there are ten OFF exchange. Off exchange plans are for those who are NOT getting tax credits or subsidies. ON exchange is for those who earn up to 400% of the federal poverty level. KP.org has the best subsidy calculator that I have seen. Google 'KFF Calculator' and go from there, make sure you are at the kaiser family foundation website.
Carriers that have submitted plans to the division of insurance-
-new carrier centura based Bright Health Plans
-Cigna
-Colorado Choice Health Plans
-Denver Health Medical Plan
-Anthem
-Kaiser
-Golden Rule aka United HealthOne
-Freedom Life Insurance Co
-National Foundation Life Ins. Co.
-Rocky Mountain Health Plans
The biggest problem is adverse risk, which comes along with the removal of medical underwriting. For those with a functional brain, the high cost of insurance does not always off set the high cost of health care. Most consumers would understand and agree that the first people to sign up were those who were going to have to use the plan. Healthy people would rather pay the penalty and chance it without insurance than pay the higher rates than what they've had before. The average 30 year old will pay over two thousand dollars in premium. If the penalty is $695, then it makes sense to NOT carry insurance, which is fucking ridiculously stupid, but financially smart. If the penalty was higher, that would change things.
Personally, I think the entire thing is designed to fail. We will continue to see carriers exiting the market for all sorts of reasons, mostly financial, and we will see fewer and fewer choices. Then, our legislators will look at the situation, blame it on those big bad insurance companies, and offer to have the government come in and fix it. So everyone would have medicaid. Not ideal.
And by the way, vote no on amendment 69, single payer in Colorado. Won't work. They want to double the state budget from 27BILLION dollars to 52 BILLION dollars to fund care for all. Also supplemented by a ten percent payroll tax! Yeay!
DO NOT SIGN UP AND CREATE AN ACCOUNT ON THE COLORADO EXCHANGE. You will open yourself up to 'marketing' calls from agents all over the country. Don't do that.
