Usually a post like this would end up on my breast cancer blog. But health insurance in the USA is a somewhat universal affliction.
I am one of those people who am not thrilled with Obamacare. I have always had health insurance and I still do not see the long term efficacy of the Affordable Care Act….unless of course everyone in Washington DC stops playing politics and things like reforming the actual insurance companies occurs. (A gal can dream, right?)
Thus far it has been more aggravation, increased costs, and abject confusion. And I am one of those people who has always had health insurance. So why do I feel punished by the Affordable Care Act more than helped?
Insurance companies must now publicly justify any unreasonable rate hikes, says the government. But that isn’t saying they can’t charge the unreasonable rate hikes does it? And it “keeps young adults covered”, and well while swell back in the insurance dark ages as a young working adult….I had and kept health insurance.
It ends denial and such on pre-existing conditions. Well o.k. if Obama says so…I still think the insurance companies have trap doors and escape hatches yet to be discovered.
The Affordable Care Act is a long and convoluted document which makes the Dodd-Frank Act (Wall Street reform in layman’s terms) seem like a light beach read(well maybe it is because how is that “reform” working out, anyway? )
This time last year (2013) my insurer (Aetna) said come this time this year (2014) all of their prior plans were going bye-bye, and we would have to choose one which was ACA (Affordable Care Act) compliant. Well my holiday is over and my day of Obamariffic reckoning is here.
First I got the letter that I knew was coming but still left a pit in the bottom of my stomach: my current health insurance plan was being canceled. I am a 3 year breast cancer survivor, so anything which messes with coverage at all makes me very nervous.
So after a few conversations with Aetna, I chose my plan today. I had to make sure all of my doctors and hospital system were in the plans I was looking at. Once again I had to apply. (You would think if you were an existing subscriber some basic data would automatically populate but no it doesn’t). So I got my little letter of acceptance. I stuck it with my certificate of prior coverage also issued by Aetna.
Now comes the kicker.
What kicker? Pay now, pay more now.
So my new insurance is considerably higher. It has no more dental, and won’t cover the basic annual eye exam and an annual pair of glasses. There is also a deductible hump to be covered. My shiny “gold” plan isn’t all bad, but I am not all comfortable, either.
What else? Oh super fun: I get to pay my current premium December 1st and my new plan premium December 15th. I guess it will be a Merry Christmas indeed….for the insurance company.
Grrr.
I get that I have to pay for the new plan premium, but couldn’t they do that on say December 31st? As it stands right now it’s like “honey guess what you are getting for Christmas? Double December insurance payments!!”
So exciting said NO one. EVER.
I keep waiting for health insurance to get less complicated and even out in price. All it does is get more confusing, more layered, more expensive.
Health insurance is another thing ruined by politics.
Sorry for the rant. I just think we deserve a level playing field and the Affordable Care Act without truly reforming insurance companies misses the mark somewhat, doesn’t it?
And for more interesting reading check out the article in The Atlantic dated today November 20th. (CNBC too) Also an interesting read? The Forbes eBook on Obamacare, and a CNN online article from yesterday. The video is fascinating.
At the end of the day, do we next as Americans have to worry what impact the recent national elections will have on all of this hot mess called Obamacare??? And then where will we be? The ordinary human equivalent of a push me-pull you? What happens if the darn thing gets repealed? Somehow, I think that would create an even larger mess.
Who’s on first? Who the heck knows……