Financial topics

[John]

Ms. Sebelius: “Policies will cover maternity coverage. For the young and healthy, under 30-year-olds will have a choice also of a catastrophic plan that has no maternity coverage.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... nity-care/

[Reality Check]

Ms. Sebelius: “Policies will cover maternity coverage. For the young and healthy, under 30-year-olds will have a choice also of a catastrophic plan that has no maternity coverage.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... nity-care/

I wondered if you were talking about catastrophic plans.

These are entirely different beasts under Obamacare than they were before.

Frankly I have no idea how they fit into the world according to Obamacare.

The only examples I have seen are they ( catastrophic plans ) cost more than a non-catastrophic Bronse Obamacare plan for under 30s, that, apparently, according to the Sebelious quote above, do ( the non-catastrophic Bonse Obamacare plans ) cover maternity. But since this price data came from a the Washington State Obamacare Exchange website ( I was helping some college students explore pricing ), some, or all of these prices may have been "adjusted" to reflect estimated tax payer subsidies of premiums.

From my perspective, I suspect this was a very carefully worded statement by Sebilious to get people to jump to the conclusion that under 30s are exempt from paying for maternity benefits, when in fact all the Sebelious quote really says is under thirties ( and likely everyone ) can pick a catastrophic policy that will not deliver those benefits. The truth, of course, is in the details of how the new regulations on private insurance companies work, which may indeed result in part of the monthly premium costs of catastrophic policies covering mandatory benefits, even if those policies are actually exempt from delivering those mandatory benefits.

Based on the limited monthly premium price data available, it does now appear the premium price of a catastrophic plan has risen to more than the premium cost of a non-catastrophic plan, due to Obamacare regulations.

[Reality Check]

Obamacare - what if it works exactly as designed - with a perfectly functioning website

For over three years people have been arguing over the ideological superiority, or the ideological curse of the Obamacare law.

They have also been arguing over, if, the federal government is even competent enough to run the Administrative portion of Obama care.

What nobody has been talking about is, if the law actually worked, if it did exactly what it says it would do, would that improve the average health insurance policy from the patients point of view ?

This following video demonstrates what happens with Obamacare if it works exactly as designed.


Obama care defines, in federal law, exactly what deductibles and co-pays an insurance policy is allowed to have.
In California the state run Obamacare Exchange website does allow those who have had their health insurance canceled to shop around for replacement policies.

All of the insurance plans under Obamacare ( Bronze, Silver, Gold and Plantinum level plans ) are now defined in federal law as providing "affordable, quality health care". This is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact and spelled out in federal law, they are "affordable, quality health care" insurance policies.

Obamacare was designed to deliver both affordable premiums and reduced costs, and as implemented it will do both if properly implemented as intended. Obamacare does provide cost savings to employers and insurance companies by permitting massive annual deductibles for Bronze level plans - this shifts the costs of getting sick from the insurance company, and from the employer, to the patient. The premiums to the patients for bronze level plans are also very affordable.

Platinum and Gold level plans provide marginally lower, but still very large, deductibles and co-pays, but the premiums sky rocket.

The following video demonstrates the rule under Obamacare regulations, not the exception, when intelligent people shop around after their insurance policy is canceled.

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/special-r ... 3889960001

[CrosstimbersOkie]

Obamacare was designed to deliver both affordable premiums and reduced costs, and as implemented it will do both if properly implemented as intended. Obamacare does provide cost savings to employers and insurance companies by permitting massive annual deductibles for Bronze level plans - this shifts the costs of getting sick from the insurance company, and from the employer, to the patient. The premiums to the patients for bronze level plans are also very affordable.

Platinum and Gold level plans provide marginally lower, but still very large, deductibles and co-pays, but the premiums sky rocket.

Nice bit of sarcasm! I love it. It almost sounds like the insurance companies are the actual force behind Obama Care... Surely not.

[aedens]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/magaz ... .html?_r=3&

[John]

Obamacare was designed to deliver both affordable premiums and reduced costs, and as implemented it will do both if properly implemented as intended. Obamacare does provide cost savings to employers and insurance companies by permitting massive annual deductibles for Bronze level plans - this shifts the costs of getting sick from the insurance company, and from the employer, to the patient. The premiums to the patients for bronze level plans are also very affordable.

Platinum and Gold level plans provide marginally lower, but still very large, deductibles and co-pays, but the premiums sky rocket.

Nice bit of sarcasm! I love it. It almost sounds like the insurance companies are the actual force behind Obama Care... Surely not.

The insurance companies are facing financial disaster because the only
new people signing up are sick and have pre-existing conditions. The
state budgets are facing financial disaster because there are hundreds
of thousands of people signing up for free Medicaid. The web site has
no chance of working well by Dec 1. Nixon's wage-price controls were
a disaster for the economy, but this is much worse. The stupidity of
anyone who thought this would ever work is cavernous, and the people
who continue to push this program are nothing but criminals, and
deserve to be jailed or shot.

[tim]

The stupidity of
anyone who thought this would ever work is cavernous, and the people
who continue to push this program are nothing but criminals, and
deserve to be jailed or shot.

Careful John! They might send the IRS after you.

[John]

The stupidity of
anyone who thought this would ever work is cavernous, and the people
who continue to push this program are nothing but criminals, and
deserve to be jailed or shot.

Careful John! They might send the IRS after you.

You're probably right, so I'll amend my statement as follows: Deserve
to be jailed or shot, after being lawfully convicted of treason in a
federal court.

[at99sy]

The stupidity of
anyone who thought this would ever work is cavernous, and the people
who continue to push this program are nothing but criminals, and
deserve to be jailed or shot.

Careful John! They might send the IRS after you.

You're probably right, so I'll amend my statement as follows: Deserve
to be jailed or shot, after being lawfully convicted of treason in a
federal court.

Bwhahahaha! "lawfully convicted of treason in a federal court"

The sarcasm meter is pegged to the red this morning. Thanks for the chuckles

Cheers

sy

[Reality Check]

The associated press wrote this story about a couple losing both their insurance and their doctors and their hospital.

The most "reasonable price replacement plan" increases the family deductibles from 25 hundred to $12,000 and premiums from $770 to $1,270.

The AP does point out, mimicking the White House talking points, that this policy would be much more "reasonably priced" if the couple was low income and and received some premium subsidies lowering the premium back down to what they use to pay.

Really?

Is insurance that you will never use really a good deal with a 30% discount ?

$12,000 per year deductible ?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... 2-09-44-38