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September 25, 2013 04:07 PM UTC

Breaking up is for the best

  • 101 Comments
  • by: CCHI

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Breaking up with your old health insurance plan.
Colorado Consumer Health Initiative

Your health insurance plan is being canceled, and that’s a good thing. A lot of Coloradans are getting notices from their insurer saying their insurance plan is being canceled. Before you freak out, it's important to realize, your specific plan may be getting canceled because it does not provide all the services or protections that are going to be required under health reform, but that really just means you will have access to new plans with better coverage and protections. Starting January 1, 2014, Obamacare requires all insurance companies to cover 10 categories of essential health benefits. 

  • Hospital outpatient care
  • Emergency room visits
  • Hospital inpatient care
  • Mental health services
  • Prescription drugs
  • Rehab services to help you recover if you are injured
  • Lab tests
  • Maternity care
  • Preventative services
  • Pediatric services

Better coverage is a good deal. Better coverage at a better price is a great deal. Thanks to Obamacare, Coloradans are going to be able to purchase better plans at better rates. For example, a 40 year-old in Denver can find a plan for as low as $185.20. A 27 year-old Coloradan could get a plan for as low as $125.57 per month. And that's before financial assistance could reduce their monthly premiums. Before Obamacare, cheap health insurance plans provided skimpy coverage and you could still be left saddled with thousands of dollars in medical costs and be at risk of bankruptcy. Now, even the cheapest plans have to meet Colorado’s 10 essential health benefits.

Approximately 243,000 Coloradans are going to qualify for monthly upfront financial assistance to save them money on their health insurance premiums. For example a 40-year old in Denver could see rates reduced by as much as $212 a month depending on his/her income.

Find out what your monthly subsidy will look like here:

Connect for Health Colorado Financial Assistance Calculator

Take advantage of this great opportunity to save money and take control of your health care. There are a couple of steps you can take to make sure you have everything you need in your new health insurance plan.

  1. If you like your current providers make sure that they are covered by your new insurance plan. Connect for Health Colorado will soon allow you to search insurance plans to see if they include your provider.
  2. There are free resources from Connect for Health Colorado available to make sure have the help and information you need!
  3. Health Coverage Guides are in your community and ready to help you in-person. Find the one nearest to you here: CCHI's Blue Guide 
  4. Brokers: Brokers can help you compare rates, evaluate benefits and sign up for a plan.
  5. Connect for Health Colorado Call Center: 1-855-PLANS-4-YOU (1-855-752-6749)

Here are some important dates to remember:

  • You can sign up for a plan through Connect for Health Colorado from October 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014.
  • If you previously had a health insurance plan you have a 60-day special enrollment period to get a new plan if your plan is canceled outside of the October 1, 2013 – March 31, 2014 open enrollment period
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101 thoughts on “Breaking up is for the best”

  1. New idea – let's mandate everybody drive a Mercedes.  After all it has more features than most GM cars, so people should only be allowed to drive it.  So what if it is more expensive?

    /sarcasm

    1. Seriously, Elliot? Can't you put down the can of stupid and think for a change? The free market only applies if you're comparing apples to apples. If you want to buy a Caddilac on the exchange, you can. If you want to buy a Chevy, you can do that to. The regs just mean that they all come with 4 wheels, engine, etc. Enough to safely navigate the road, as it were. 

      The exchanges are as close as you're going to get to a free-market solution in health care. 

        1. For the very same reason a Mercedes without safety belts, air bags, windshields, turn signals, headlights, and air bags would not be permitted to be marketed . . . 

          You know how to think, but sometimes it seems that you just don't like to . . . 

          1. So you are suggesting that health insurance, for a single male, which doesn't include maternity care is too dangerous to be left on the market?

            Oh please, do go on and elighten us further with your pearls of wisdom 😉

            1. Thank you, counselor, for proving to yourself the false equivalencies between health care and your Mercedes snark that opened this discussion . . . 

              You want enlightenment?? — turn on your headlights after dusk!

        2. Elliot, I'm going to share with you a dirty little secret the most people don't know and the rest won't admit in public:

          Insurance is a socialist/communist institution!

          To be more specific, term insurance – car, health, life, house, etc. – is socialism at work.  From each according to his ability; to each according to his need.

          1.  Each month/year your insuance comeany charges you the highest premium the market will bear.

          2.  Each month/year your premium goes to pay the costs of the people in the insured group who need it. (After the corporation takes its big fat cut to pay its executives.)

          If you don't have any costs/claims, you don't get your premium back it is gone to pay the expenses of those who do.

          Like I said socialism.  (It has always burned my ass that a socialist institution would be turned over to private capital.)

  2. Our family recieved this notice 2 weeks ago and I did freak out.
    "You can keep you existing insurance." Oh. BHO, what did you mean?
    We don't give a crap about: Maternity care, Pediatric services, Mental health services.
    Getting the letter in mid-September with none of the "sign up here" options working for 2+ weeks is a total cockup.
    Some people http://coloradopeakpolitics.com/2013/09/20/dude-wheres-your-plan-coloradans-losing-health-insurance-over-obamacare-colorado-media-silent/ are running wild with this fuckup.
    This is a complete government clusterfuck.

     

      1. I did not say I would be paying more.
        The problem is that I have no idea what plans will be avilable to us and how much they will cost.

        And, I won't need the mental health coverage. As a squishy libertarian-liberal, I am just fine. "I am OK and you're not".

            1. So it's a clusterfuck that is the fault of Obamacare because the plan that has long been scheduled to be in place on October 1 will not be in place until….well, October 1? And your current company, which always could have decided at any time to drop the plan or get out of business in Colorado has decided to….well, drop your plan or get out of business in Colorado?

                1. No, but they have decided to change the constellation of the plans that they offer. Some of that – the POS plans – are the result of the ACA.  Some of the changes are not and cannot be blamed on Obamacare. Without knowing the particulars of your plan, I cannot say in which category you fit.

                  I run a small business and I can tell you that Kaiser is discontinuing my company's plan. This is not mandated by the ACA since my plan exceeds the minimum requirements.  They are just being dick heads. 

                  1. JADodd, 

                    I wouldn't be quite so sure about that. At the end of the day, K-P is a non-profit (thought that's not to say no one is getting rich there). If I had to guess, I'd say that they're consolidating the number of plans they administer, so that it's easier to meet the 20% overhead threshold at the cheapest price possible. 

                    One of the problems with the ACA is that it relies on market-based solutions. This is the kind of thing I'd expect from that. 

                    1. ajb – "At the end of the day, K-P is a non-profit (thought that's not to say no one is getting rich there)."

                      I have to take issue with this statement, because it is mostly untrue:

                      1. There is no organization called Kaiser Permanente. There is a Kaiser Health Plans and a Colorado Permanente.

                      2.  While Kaiser Health Plans is a non-profit corporation, Colorado Permanente is a for profit business (right this minute I don't recall if it is a partnership, LLC or corporation).

                      3.  Kaiser Health Plans can only use Colorado Permanente as it provider.  Therefore, the non-profit "health plan" is captured by the for-profit health care provider.  The health plan is merely a conduit to get money to the for-profit company.

                      4.  Kaiser  Health Plan is a non-profit corporation with no members. Its board is controlled by the for-profit health care provider.

                      As far as I am concerned, Kaiser is a wolf (for-profit) in sheep's (non-profit) clothing.

                       

        3. "And, I won't need the mental health coverage." – davebarnes

          Are you sure about that? Your response ("and I did freak out") to being notified that your plan would be discontinued as of December 31, 2013 indicates a possible panic disorder which you should definitely get checked out.  You will have three months to review the plans in the exchange or contact an agent and purchase a plan outside the exchange.

          ​There is alot wrong with Obamacare and the exchanges (including Colorado's), but lets not get distracted by hyperbole.  False panic will not help fix things.

           

    3. from the link…. "because Humana will no longer offer your current health plan in the State of Colorado"

      Oh. I can see now why you are co convinced you got clusterf*cked.

      It should have said- you can keep your current plan, if your provider chooses to continue offering it, and you choose to keep it.

      Fur even further clarity, it could have continued – However, if your curent plan is a crappy, overpriced POS, you would do well to shop the exchange which opens in Colorado Oct 1.  Take a deep breath, study the market, and until you understand what is happening, STFU, please and thank you.

      1. . . . oh dear, oh dear — I hope the sky stays up in the sky until October 1st; 6 days is an eternity.

         (. . . Ok, well, not quite an eternity — but, it is almost like the larger part of one whole week . . . )

  3. Okay, let me make sure I understand this since it affects me personally, and since I haven't studied the ACA in depth.

    I'm 24 and while the ACA allows me to stay on my parents' health insurance policy, they're not interested in paying for that. So I'm going to need to shop for a new policy when the exchange opens on 10/1. Now, I know that the ACA funds navigators to help people who are uninsured to find coverage, but the Connect for Health Colorado site doesn't include any information about how to contact a navigator.

    What I want to know is whether I'll be able to get help with this (it's my first time buying health insurance), or am I going to have to figure it out online by myself. If it's the later, that really sucks.

    1. Well…it's a little like buying something on ebay the first time.  You just hitting buttons until there is something in your cart, then you check out.  Later you'll get a bill. After that some creepy dude in a bizarre costume gets to check out your privates. Then the death panel kills you. Or…the panel decides you must die and someone else actually kills you. Meanwhile, sluts get booze and birth control for free.

      Or- if your parents are willing, they could keep you on their plan (if it's decent) and you pay for it.

      Orr, you could call the exchange after Monday.

      1. My parents' plan for $35/week? No thanks. I mean, I know that health insurance is expensive, but I don't get paid nearly enough to justify that kind of expense on anything. Calling the exchange after Monday it is!

        1. I think your parent's may be conning you. Make them show you exactly what the coverage costs.  Sounds like one of your parent's employer provides individual coverage and charges for dependants.  I have not come across a plan where going from "employee and spouse" to "employee, spouse and 1 child" would cost $35 per week.  Just doesn't happen.  Either that or your just lying.

          1. What I was told is that "dependents" in this context does not vary by quantity. So the additional $35 could support just me, or me and my sister, or me and my sister and ten other hypothetical siblings. Right now, it's just me, and I'm not paying $35/week when I've been to the doctor exactly once in the last three years.

            1. First, let me apologize for the tone of my earlier reply. I am getting frustrated by the amount of misinformation and spin being put out there. However, I had no business taking my frustration out on you.

              I would like to make a couple of points in response to your comment:

              1.  If you are correct (I'm not doubting your credibility just whether you are getting accurate information.), then, your parent's employer must be offering a really good plan. It is unlikely that you will find a comparable plan in the exchange for that kind of money even with the tax credit subsidies.  

              2.  Insurance is a means of covering a shared risk.  You say you have seen a doctor only once in the past three years. However, insurance covers more expenses than doctor visits. It covers catastrophic losses like broken legs, heart attacks etc. I haven't had an auto accident in nearly 30 years, but I still carry insurance to cover the possibility that this may be the year that it happens. Part of the amount of the premium I pay is because young drivers have more accidents that we old folk. See, I pay to cover your risk. I know that most young people your age think that you are invincable, but, trust me, you're not. As a country and society, we can no longer afford to have you insured by the bankruptcy court.

              3.  You really should have an annual checkup to make sure that there is nothing hiding or festering under the surface now that could come to bite you in the ass in the future.  It's that invincability thing again.

            2. Little,

              $35/week is about $150/mo, or $1800/yr.

              1. Count yourself lucky. I have a 27 year old son who has slightly high blood pressure, easily controlled with generic meds. His insurance costs $600/mo. ($10k deductible). He's super fit, non-smoker…

              2. If your income is low, you will probably qualify for a tax credit. 

              3. The first accident you have will make $35/week seem cheap. I broke my leg last Feb. The non-insurance price for treatment: $40k. 

               

              1. My wife and I have carried catastrophic care for many years. We have paid premiums in excess of $70,000 over those years and our provider has never paid a cent for our health care. We are very healthy, but both have pre-existing conditions.

                It's shitty, but it is what you can get that is affordable that matters.

                 

    5. It is my understanding that there will be Navigators hired working with the counties.  I would contact your county human services department and ask them for contact information.  We're going to have two Navigators for little ole Gilpin County so they are definitely going to be available through county human services.

    6. There is a list of health insurance guides on the Connect for Health Colorado website. You can also use one of the 1400 insurance brokers that have been traineid to use the new marketplace. You can ALSO find a health insurance guide through CCHI's cool new mobile/downloadable app: CO Blue Guide on PlayStore (coming to an iPhone near you once their backlog is cleared). Also on our website at http://blueguide.cohealthinitiative.org/.

      You can also call the customer assistance center at Connect for Health Colorado and they can help to.

      Short version: there are a lot of ways to get help and figure out which plan to choose.

  4. Wow.  Just wow.  The combination of the stupid and the faux angst is just stiflng.

    So the system is new.  You will get used to it.It will almost certainly will not be any worse than the old system, and quite possibly better.  We live in a capitalist society, and should be used to dealing with the capriciousness of institutions.  There is an enrollment period annually for health insurance right now, where everything, especially price, is subject to adjustment, typically unfavorable adjustment to the party that is mandated (either through the tax code or via simple avoidance of catastrophic risk) to acquire said insurance.  Now, there is a party in the mix that is not driven solely by the profit motive, but by at least a passing acknowledgment of a social good in the entire transaction.  And that entity needs a week or two to get up to speed?  Given that there are several months ahead before there are any consequences to be borne for non-compliance?

    Get a grip. (And no, clutching your pearls doesn't really count…)

  6. Hey- CCHI 

    Thank you for posting here.

    Solid, clear informaiton is almost always helpful, and it is in all too short supply on this issue.

    Meanwhile, I couldn't help but notice you chose not to say anything about how this makes us all communists.

  7. Some examples of plans that didn't meet the standard that I've seen recently:

    Plan with a payout cap of $20,000 (which wouldn't cover a heart attack and follow-up, nevermind long term illness).

    Plan that doesn't cover basic Tier 1 drugs (that's the cheaper generics and exceptionally effective brand-name drugs that can still cost a pretty penny depending on the drug).

    Plan that offers catastrophic coverage only – deductable of $10,000. (Plans in this vein will I believe be available to young adults…)

    Plans that exclude people with pre-existing conditions, or charge exhorbitant rates to people who have a history of things as common as acne.

    2. Here's one I found in another state.

      Billed as "comprehenisve" the policy has a $17,800 deductible per person.  Covers everything after that.  And I mean everything – house calls, chiropractic, massage, accupuncture, otc nutritional supplements, drug rehab, mental health in pt or out, travel expense for elective procedures in or out of the USA and several other AMAZING! features.

      But wait! Even more- there is a $41,500k annual cap, and a lifetime cap of $250,000. 

      If only it was cheap.

      Cheaper than your garden variety HMO. But pointless.

      Not after 1.1.

       

  8. Oh… If your employer was providing a co-pay for your old insurance, are they offering you that money now in some other way? Trader Joe's is offering their part-time employees money to use on a new public exchange plan. And of course if you were paying 100% out of your own pocket into the company health plan, all of that cash will be available to you for the exchange now). I was paying $450 per month back in the mid 2000s for something no better than a silver plan on the exchange – available for much cheaper.

  9. Q:  How many attorneys does it take to shingle a roof?

    A:  It all depends on how thinly you slice ‘em.

     

    Like most things in this life the answers to the question above, the seeming ACA “incongruities,” and most everything else, depend to some extent upon  mathematics.

    My friend, Elliott, opened this diary with an, on the surface,  seemingly valid point:  Why should someone be “forced” under the ACA to purchase a plan with coverage that they will never, ever, use – e.g., maternity coverage for a young, single male?

    I spend so much of my time in fruitless efforts to attempt to teach attorneys how to think, that I figure – what the hey, what’s one more try?

    See Health coverage, and more generally insurance coverage, is not like an automobile. ( Most folks will probably already realize this, but then of course this revelation will truly come as a shock to some others here.)  When a tangible product (e.g., air bags) gets added to a vehicle, whether it ever gets used or not, it will have a nearly fixed cost to manufacture, produce and install.  Insurance coverage — maternity coverage — is not like this.

    See, many insurance companies employ this group of well qualified individuals – actuaries, — to help them price their coverage to risk; they’re very, very good at complex mathematics.   (And, I’m guessing that not many actuaries are attorneys, since it is my experience that attorneys are generally very good at some things – I’m being generous – but, it is also my experience that as a group, even non-complex mathematics is definitely not one of those things.)  I’m pretty sure that most actuaries are not going to be surprised that the likelihood for a young male becoming pregnant is not very high, Elliot’s helpful revelation notwithstanding.

    Here’s the thing:  Maternity coverage is not an airbag.  Ta Da!  There’s absolutely no cost to manufacture, produce, or include it in anyone’s health policy.  When you purchase insurance of any kind, the cost is not only determined by the coverage you purchase, but also by the RISK involved in that coverage.

    Because the risk of a young male becoming pregnant is nearly as low as the risk of being hit on the head by Voyager 1, or nearly as low as Fishingblues ever making a useful comment of this site, it is in all likelihood not going to be priced very high – if at all – in the coverage for that single male for whom  it is being underwritten.

    Of course this is America, and perhaps we can expect some unscrupulous insurer to try to blanket-price maternity coverage – or because they are upset about having to cover maternity costs under the ACA, will jack that premium up for everyone just to show that foreigner in the White House what for.  But this being America, there will also be other “greedy” insurers that want to actually sell their coverage to the public — and they will realize because there is very little risk of a young male becoming pregnant, that they don’t need to charge this person or group of persons much at all for this “coverage.”  And those companies, because of the mathematical aptitude of their actuaries, will offer their health coverage for less and thereby attract more purchasers.

    Generally, people are not going to be "forced" to pay extra for included coverage that involves no risk — because the market will offer them that coverage elsewhere at little, or no, cost.  The people who will VOLUNTARILY pay more, are those that are those folks who never got basic math.

    Isn’t the semi-free American market awesome??!!??

    PS Elliot:  After dusk . . . headlights!  Got it?

    1. Once again, we are presented with a myopic argument.

      Certainly, a young, single male has no risk of getting pregnant. But, a young, single female has no risk of getting testicular cancer either. I have no risk of breaking my leg while skiing. However, no one is suggesting that policies should be available that exclude coverage at a whim.

      Second, that young, single male will most likely get married someday and have a child. Your position would allow him to exclude himself from sharing the risk until he decides to have a child. Then, will he get insurance? Yes! However, by delaying his participation in the shared risk, he premiums will never cover the cost of the maternity care that his family receives. He would become a freeloader.

      It's called shared risk.  I get the feeling that sharing anything is a concept foriegn to you.

        1. Because it's in your best interest, since:

          1. You and I are going to pay for it one way or another eventually anyway — probably at a much a higher cost.

          2. You likely DO have and present some risks in your life, (your willful, possibly feigned, ignorance coming first to mind) that I and others don't.  It's better that we cover your sorry ass anyway — because, see 1 above, we will pay for those anyway!      ;~)

      2. Really??? —  you've badly misunderstood what I was trying to point out in answer to Elliot's objection.

        I do understand shared risk, risk, sharing and a bit of mathematics — that was not my point or the point I was addressing to Elliot's objection.

        I like and believe in the concept of insuring against risk — and sharing those costs — beacuse as we all know we pay them one way or another eventually, usually at a higher overall cost to individuals and society as a whole.

    2. Let's assume insurers don't hike the costs of a single male's plan to include maternity coverage – take a single female age 25 that has no desire to get pregnant and is on rock solid birth control.  Why should she be forced to pay a premium for maternity care? 

      2. It is called shared risk. There are a whole host of things that my insurance covers which I will never use. And, there are risks unique to me that others will never face. Insurance cannot work if it only covers known or expected risks. It becomes to expensive.

        As I noted above, insurance is a socialist/communist institution. From each according to his ability; to each according to his need. It appears that your complaint is about "insurance" itself, not about the ACA.

      1. JADodd – I was perfectly satisified with my current Health Plan.  Now I'm sitting on pins and needles to see if it will end up being canceled because of this law your party pushed for.  Which is happening to the plans of quite a few people I know.  

          1. Even if your policy price does go up, and that's not a certainty since you're only guessing (hoping) that it will, your old policy was not reflective of those other health care costs you were, or will eventually, pay for under the current non-system because of the very high, and real price, of non-coverage for our health care that we eventually all do pay for.

            Fungibility . . . and headlights . . .

            1. Dioenesdemar, 
              You are confusing paying for costs of other people with saving up for future costs that I MIGHT have to bear.  That is a choice that I should be the one to make, not have to accept as having been made for me.

              1. Point is, Elliot, that you won't need to save up (or spend) as much under the ACA, than you would have eventually under the current "non-system" . . .

                You're welcome!  But, don't thank me … thank Presient Obama, (and the Heritafe Foundation, and Mitt Romney, too– if you must)!!!

              2. Elliot – Don't piss on me and try to convince me it's raining. Unless you are part of the 1%, you don't have the money saved and you don't have the income saved to cover the risk of your health care. Unless you are prepared to say that we should just let you die if you can't pay for the ambulance when it arrives or pay for the hospital bill when you check in, you need insurance. We cannot afford to have you insured by the bankruptcy court anymore.

                1. Ah, and there's the rub, eh? In Elliot's libertarian fantasy, he know that if he has a heart attack, we still won't leave him to die. He KNOWS that society will take care of the ill. But somehow, he doesn't think he has to help pay for it. 

          2. Relax. So far all estimates point to lower, not higher costs, in some states, much lower.. But you'll find out won't you? You'll also find out that the reason for the desperate push to stop it or to at least delay it going into effect for a year is because the GOP knows that it's going to wind up being well liked by the majority in time for the 2014 elections. 

            The predicted dire consequences will not have materialized for the overwhelming majority.  Lots of self employed, which includes lots of small independent business owners and subcontractors who have either no or just a handful of employees and so will not be required to provide employee insurance, will be able to buy themselves insurance at much lower cost, some for the first time if they have one of the minor glitches in their health history that qualify as a preexisting condition in the low cost private insurance market. You wouldn't believe how picky the low cost private plans are. Lots of low earners will have decent coverage for the first time and no longer need to go to the ER for all of their needs.

            It's almost certain, the odds being what they are, that you too will be among those finding out your coverage is still fine or better coverage is easily available and your costs are no higher or lower. 

             

            We're all already living with the risks of losing plans we like if the cost rises too much for ourselves as private customers or for the companies we work for, not to mention getting dropped, losing a job, changing jobs, going into business for ourselves, etc. so the degree of over all risk will  more likely be reduced than increased 

            There will probably be a few glitches before it settles but we'll see what you think a year from now.  Will you be happy that the scary rhetoric all turned out to be lies and you're doing fine with your coverage or will you be sad to see the right losing hysteria over Obamacare as a valuable tool? 

            You'll probably say you and everyone else will be ready to run all the Dems out of office because it's going to be such a disaster. Or you'll ask me at what point I'll be ready to admit it was a terrible idea if the dire predictions come true. 

            As I said, we'll see after it's been in place for most of a year prior to the 2014 elections. 

             

            1. BC, 
              Predictions were that this would be popular began in 2010, almost three years ago.  Now they are starting to seem more and more like waiting for godot. 

              1. Like I said, we'll see how people like it after it's actually kicked in and been around for a while. That's what will count the most just as it did with Social Security and Medicare. Now you've got Tea Partiers with signs warning the gubmint to keep their hands off those programs. Guess they don't know those programs are the gubmint.

                 It's like the whole green eggs and ham thing which apparently Cruz didn't realize was about hating something before you've tried it, trying it and finding it pretty good. Maybe his choice was an omen?

                People with young adult kids already like one of the few aspects already in place, being allowed to keep kids on your coverage through age 26. Tried it. Liked it.

                So like I said, we'll see how people feel about it a year from now. And don't get your hopes up that it will be blocked, not even for another year. Dems know how crucial it is to have it in place and the hysteria defused before the 2014 election just as Republicans know this is their last chance to stop it because once it goes into effect, by 2016 it's going to be just as broadly accepted and old news as Social Security and Medicare quickly became.  Dems will fight this time.

                Anyhow, this argument will be settled by this time next year.  So tell me, Elliot….are you feeling lucky?

              2. JADodd provides concrete back up You don't. Also many people find out that those amazingly cheap plans are also amazingly inadequate as soon as something bad happens. And bad things do happen to even the most careful, responsible people. They find they can't pay so it's on us. That's why our per capita costs are so much higher than in the civilized countries with 21st century health care coverage.

          4. Then you have nothing to worry about.

            Sure a littlle short term pain- but in 2014 your party takes back the Senate and then it's game over for Obamacare.

            If, however, it's not as you claim, your guys are toast.

            Not like anyone will really put them under or between eletric heating elements and cook them- but toast all the same.

             

        2. Ah crying me a river Elliot.  Boo hoo. You're probably at risk for hoof and mouth and other untouchable diseases so why should I pay to cover your pathological illnesses.  The answer is we all share in the costs and we all get coverage for our specific illness'.  If you're smart you'll quit crying about something you can't change and work on finding a replacement policy that meet or exceed your needs.  It's like the folks who lost their homes in the floods.  They can't go back to September 12th so all they can do is go forward and replace what they've lost.  The days of denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions is in the past and never to return.  Your party run almost exclusively in 2012 on repealing the Affordable Care Act and lost decisively.  Get over it you big cry baby and move on.

        3. Get a grip, Elliot. You have 3 months to investigate and decide what plan you want. 

          I am sure that your law firm picks up your insurance anyway. If not, you are a bigger idiot than I would have thought.

            2. So you don't think your firm's plan is going to be a good deal for you and you're sure any plan available when AHA kicks in isn't going to be any good for you. We know you don't want universal single payer. Guess you're best bet is just hope you don't get anything serious like cancer. Don't know what else to tell you, Elliot. Seems like you're objections pretty much cover anything anyone might suggest so what would be the point?

              2. . . . “I will not eat them in a house, i will not eat them with a mouse,i will not eat them in a box i will not eat them with a fox, i will not eat them here of there i will not eat them anywhere, I do not like green eggs and ham i do not like them sam i am” 
                ― Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham

        4. EF – if your policy covers the basics under the ACA, it shouldn't get cancelled (though some companies are consolidating to save on costs). If it doesn't but the insurance company doesn't cancel the plan, you're getting a plan upgrade because your plan would probably fall over on you when you really needed it. That's a major part of the new law: many fewer people will go in to bankruptcy with these new plans, relieving a significant strain on the economy.

          As to your extremely low-risk life – I'd be surprised if you weren't exposed to cancer-causing agents on a daily basis.

  10. I'm a little bummed out, because as a small business woman priced out of health insurance for my employees like back in 2005, when the cost went from $5000 a month to $14,000 a month, I've been looking forward to the SHOP opening.  Now I hear that it's been delayed a month for small business.

     

    Kaiser left Massachusetts as I recall when Romneycare went in.  My son's company is based in Mass and he pays about $3.00 a month as his share of his insurance.  Last time he saw a doctor was when he missed the top step in his raggedy old apartment building and cracked a rib and deflated a lung.  This was planned by him, of course.

    EF–you don't know what the future holds.  You can't plan everything.  Believe me, cancer survivor here.  My insurance didn't cover a single dime of my therapy.  But luckily I could.  And I had cheap cancer.  You don't know what might happen to you in the future.

    3 not really related ideas, I know.

    2. Exlurker19,

      i believe what you are referring to is a delay for the SHOP market for the federally facilitated marketplace. Because Colorado chose to run our marketplace, this shouldn't affect your ability to start shopping next week.

  11. Waaah !  I want to be covered by insurance for anything that might happen to me but I don't want to cover what anybody else might need !  Its all about me, me, me !

    Eliot Fladen is no different than reps from our state voting down Sandy Relief but when something happens her ethey want their flood relief STAT !  Fucking free riders – thats all it is.

  12. Living a careful life means nothing. My wife was in her late 40s when she was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. It was nothing she did or didn't do, just a bad gene set she didn't know she had. She had excellent employer-sponsored health care and we still had to take out a second mortgage to pay her hospital bills. We were fortunate to have a house to dip into. I was thrilled that Democrats in Congress fought to have mental health care included in the ACA. It's not a frill as so many insurers have considered it. It can literally be a matter of life and death. Now, I can only hope her meds get cheaper. Some of them have $40 co-pays for generics.

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