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Listeners and readers sound off on the Affordable Health Care Act! Money Matters Special March 29, 2014
We see that although you are on our mailing list, you did not receive this issue...so we are resending your copy.
Marc’s Notes:
Money Matters show #184 was on my experiences with Obamacare (ACHA) . It was meant to be short 10 minute conversation but the show ended up being entirely on this subject because of the level of interest. I also penned several articles on the AHCA and received many emails and letters in the following days. Instead of summing them up, I have included them below (names edited out) in their entirety, complete with typos and misspelling. I take no responsibility for their content or references but just let you read them word for word and without comment. So here they are; the good, the bad and the ugly. The original article is attached at the end. Feel free to email me your additional comments.
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Paradoxical Quote of the Day from Ben Stein: (an email sent to Money Matters)
"Fathom the hypocrisy of a government
that requires every citizen to prove they
are insured. . . but not everyone must
prove they are a citizen."
Now add this, "Many of those who refuse,
or are unable, to prove they are citizens
will receive free insurance paid for by
those who are forced to buy insurance
because they are citizens."
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I loved your article Monday on Obamacare. My (intentionally left blank) are having the same issues. He has some sort of a problem with his wrist and hand (swollen and painful, since December 11th). Here's how it worked in our case:
His employer quit providing benefits to the employees at the end of 2012, directly because of Obamacare. It took several months for us to find private insurance, finally through AARP, a $758/month policy with a $10,000 deductible. Then several months later his employer cut all the employees down to 30 hours a week so they would all be considered part-time, again because of Obamacare. In October of 2013 we received a notice from Aetna that they were no longer selling insurance in California and our policy would cease on December 31st. So far they have refused to pay BLANK December medical expenses because of the deductible. In December every time I tried to sign up on the ACA website it froze, died, etc.
(intentionally left blank) to get signed up beginning February. The cheapest policy (Bronze) was $1,179 per month. $400-some dollars MORE than Aetna, with pretty much the same deductible. (I think this one is $9,000.) BLANK needs an MRI to find out what is wrong with his wrist: our co-payment for that is $2,068. We still don't know what is wrong with it; we are applying to the hospital for financial aid so he can get help. His doctor has informed us that there are no doctors in Northern California who will take him as a patient, because he is insured through Obamacare. I really don't understand how ANYONE with even a quarter functional brain cells could seriously believe this would work, but I really don't think that's the point, is it?
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Hi Marc. I am responding to your article in The Union on Monday. You are free to comment on what I tell you but not use my name.
First, I love it. I am (intentionally left blank) and have been paying over $1200/mo with a $4000 deductible for the last 5 years with Health Net. I was rated because I had a bunion (no pain, no surgery needed) and no one else would make me an offer. The only way to lower my premiums was if I had unnecessary foot surgery on my nickle, showed absolutely no signs of any possible arthritis in my foot (not likely if in my 60s) and then, just maybe, they would reconsider. No other insurance company would make me an offer. Very few docs up here took the coverage so it was basically a catastrophic plan in my case. So, I spent $14,400 in premiums and about $3000 of my deductible for out of network docs each year...that is $17000 per year for health care. I had to do this for over 5 years.
With Covered CA, there still aren’t a lot of docs on the plan but my Health Net was up to $1300/mo. so I am saving $600 in mo. premiums with Covered California (no gov’t assistance) and my deductible is only $500. There is no deductible on preventative services which are covered at 100% (annual physical*, shingles shot, blood work etc.--- before I paid this out of pocket and the shingles would have been $200 and the blood work cost me another $200). One perscription went from $27/mo. to a $5 co pay, the second went from $75 to $5 co pay, and the third went from $235 to $75 as long as I use the generics on their list. All in all, even if I have to pay out of pocket to see a good doc, it is still a great savings and definitely the direction the country needs to be going in. It will get better with time. Even if I have to pay for my own mammogram and bone density (radiologists in this area are not on the CC plan but they also weren’t on the Health Net plan so I went to the Bay Area and had it done for much less), I can at least negotiate a self pay amount of $175 and $200 respectively and still be way ahead of the game. If there is anything catastrophic, the new out of network deductible for CC ($5000) is not that much different than the prior In – network deductible I had with Health Net ($4000).
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Problem: Few local Drs. accepting new patients. This is not a problem exclusive to Obamacare. True with any/all insurance locally. Searching for Primary Care Physician almost impossible.
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MEDICARE AT AGE 76, IMPORTANT PLEASE READ - ANYONE WHO DOUBTS THIS IS TRUE CAN DOWNLOAD THE NEW OBAMA CARE AND LOOK UP THE PAGES MENTIONED. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING......................PLEASE PASS THIS OUTRAGE TO EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST!!!
Your hospital Medicare admittance has just changed under Obama Care. You must be admitted by your primary Physician in order for Medicare to pay for it!If you are admitted by an emergency room doctor it is treated as outpatient care where hospital costs are not covered. This is only the tip of the iceberg for Obama Care. Just wait to see what happens in this year and 2014!
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE THIS... At age 76 when you most need it most, you are not eligible for cancer treatment * see page 272. What Nancy Pelosi didn't want us to know until after thehealthcare bill was passed. Remember she said, "We have to pass the Bill so that we can see what'sin it." Well, here it is.
Obama Care Highlighted by Page Number THE CARE BILL HB 3200 JUDGE KITHIL IS THE 2ND OFFICIAL WHO HAS OUTLINED THESE PARTS OF THE CARE BILL. Judge Kithil of Marble Falls , TX - highlighted the most egregious pages of HB3200 Please read this....... especially the reference to pages 58 & 59 JUDGE KITHIL wrote:
** Page 50/section 152: The bill will provide insurance to all non-U.S. residents, even if they are here illegally.
** Page 58 and 59: The government will have real-time access to an individual's bank account and will have the authority to make electronic fund transfers from those accounts.
** Page 65/section 164: The plan will be subsidized (by the government) for all union members, union retirees and for community organizations (such as the Association of CommunityOrganizations for Reform Now - ACORN)
** Page 203/line 14-15: The tax imposed under this section will not be treated as a tax. (How could anybody in their right mind come up with that?)
** Page 241 and 253: Doctors will all be paid the same regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors' fees.
This is what they do in Sweden too. I know because Alf's daughter Ann is an OBGYN, and her husband, Thorsten, is a surgeon.........
** Page 272. section 1145: Cancer hospital will ration care according to the patient's age.
** Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a prohibition on hospital expansion; however, communities may petition for an exception.
** Page 425, line 4-12: The government mandates advance-care planning consultations. Those on Social Security will be required to attend an "end-of-life planning" seminar every five years. (Deathcounseling..)
** Page 429, line 13-25: The government will specify which doctors can write an end-of-life order.
HAD ENOUGH???? Judge Kithil then goes on to identify: "Finally, it is specifically stated that this bill will not apply to members of Congress.
No wonder they did not see the need to read it....doesn't apply to them!!! THE AMERICAN PEOPLE NEED TO STAND UP TO WASHINGTON .... I don't know if we can do anything, but awareness helps.
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Thanks for your invitation to submit comments on Obamacare. I will try to be brief (however, I enjoy your column a lot).
(intentionally left blank), I’m not too keen on finding competitive healthcare programs, although it is definitely of concern.
When I shop, I find quotes of $850+ per month (single), which includes a $5000 deductible and a co-pay of 20% - which implies that I must spend $15,000 a year of personal money before I realized full benefits from the insurance policy. Is this what they call affordable healthcare?
I have found a ‘limited’ program that pays only minor hospital expenses, plus essential doctor’s visits (2x year) and a prescription plan for $220 a month, which I accepted on the gamble that I can make it to 65 for Medicare.
I don’t feel the government is doing its job, unlike other countries, in giving me reasonable and affordable healthcare coverage. The only beneficiaries, in my view, are the providers who profit enough to give their CEO’s million dollar salaries. I see no payback from my premiums in any way unless I have a catastrophic injury, in which case I now lose.
I know this frustrate you and me, but what is the solution? I could go ‘bare’ at a small penalty, but feel I would be ahead. The system seems set against small and independent guys, who struggle to make ends meet yet are faced with such onerous alternatives.
Hopefully, you can address these issues in more detail in your columns. Since I write as an economist with market technologies, I can offer to help if possible.
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I read of your experience looking into Obamacare and thought this would be of interest to you. Last summer I had a (intentionally left blank) at UCD Med Center. As I am now on Medicare, the entire procedure was "covered." I will skip the long story of what led up to us eventually asking UCD to send us the itemized bill and payment info, but here is the bottom line: With doctor and hospital charges totally approx $143,000, Medicare paid a total of $31. That is not a typo; they paid just $31. UCD simply had to "write off" the balance.
If more people were aware of this sort of thing, perhaps there would be greater discontent and it would show up in how they vote. However, most patients wouldn't know about this, and I suppose most wouldn't care since the patient share of the cost was $0.
Apart from the fact that the Constitution does not give the federal govt any power to be involved in the health care industry, there is no way doctors and medical facilities can survive this.
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Howdy Mr. Mark-
I, too have had the same frustrations. We have had our insurance go up 50% and receive less coverage (except for Dental Insurance where the closest dentist is in Roseville). So that will never be used. Great, we get to pay for dental insurance for others. Just like our 50% increase going to pay for the poor who had no insurance before.
Our deductible is higher, our out of pocket is higher and our co-pay is higher. Plus our prescriptions are a non factor due to new deductibles. It is so frustrating, that I want to start a class action suit against the President and EVERY representative that voted for this mess.
Are you in?
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Marc: The doctors are boycotting Obamacare because Anthem is the only provider for NC zip codes. Anthem set the office reimbursement rate at something like 27 bucks a visit or the same as MediCal. In more urban areas, there are multiple plans to choose from, so the provider can increase the rate to be more competitive. I have heard in the bay area, the reimbursement rates are the same or exceed Medicare rates. As such, Anthem has monopoly, and has set rates the law allows them to do. How policy makers on both sides of the aisle thought this would work may seem illogical, BUT, in reality, those people like you and I that are self employed, and self insured represent such a small fraction of the pie, they either did not contemplate, or did not care. The testimony of those saying the president was aware that people would lose their doctors, would lead me to conclude the latter.
Think about the last time you were in the waiting room. Out of 10 people, probably 3 worked for (intentionally left blank) patients. (intentionally left blank) employees had no impact on their doctor because those employer plans pay what the doctor’s bills.
You need to petition Anthem and tell them that there are no doctors accepting Obamacare in the 30 mile radius and they need to provide you a doctor. What is ironic is my wife did that with an endocrinologist, and they approved him. How about that. The doctor fired us after being informed of the new reimbursement. We petition, and Anthem approves him and the higher rate. Why not cut to the chase. Lots of people give up. So who wins? Doctors don’t need us 1 percenters (patient make up, not wealthy), so they don’t care. Anthem keeps collecting premium, while we stay on hold for 3 hours and get disconnected. Got to stick with it.
I believe this will sort out. It has to. I am sure there were bugs with Medicare back in the day. It might take a law suit (Thank God my wife has hypothyroidism instead of stage 3 cancer), or a change in the law (clean up). As dems distance themselves from the mess, they might be the first to campaign on change. Stranger things have happened.
Money matters – follow the money
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Read your article with interest about Obamacare. The $1500 doctors fee means the Dr probably practices what's call concierge medicine. Our original doc here did that. (Left blank) dropped from 4000 patients to 1500 being seen (left blank) and one nurse, promising superior care, extra tests, no wait time and wellness counseling in exchange for the fee. We found another doctor.
Another aspect to CoveredCA. My daughter lives in (intentionally left blank). They can get basic care there but boogie down to Reno for most specialists. And guess what... CoveredCA doesn't cover doctors in Nevada.
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Saw your column inviting comments re experiences with Obamacare.
(intentionally left blank) are in our early(age) with a recent college graduate son with us while he interviews for jobs. Our current family insurance is through a major firm with a 'high' ($8,000) deductible. Premiums have increased significantly over the years from literally hundreds of dollars a month to nearly thousands now, with a higher deductible.
Our carrier did notify us last year that our policy was 'grand fathered' and would be renewed after the 1st of the year. Still, based on our premiums, we were curious about the insurance plans available through Obamacare. What we found was that for similar coverage premiums were substantially higher. By putting in lower hypothetical annual incomes it was clear that the only way Obamacare plans could save us money was with government (i.e. tax payer) subsidies. Naturally, we elected to keep our current coverage.
I know the politicians try to downplay or even defend the higher premiums but at the heart of it the premiums are higher because you can't select your coverages. We'd be paying for pregnancy benefits regardless of our age!
We didn't check participating doctors online, but have discussed this with our agent. He reports that the Obamacare plans have significantly fewer local doctors enrolled, another reason to keep our original plan.
I do feel for other families in our position that made any changes to their policies after 2010. They're now faced with buying overpriced coverage with fewer participating doctors.
I will say that this is all just a symptom of the real issue in health care - costs. My (left blank) had shoulder surgery last Fall. Bills came to $46,000 for out patient surgery. The insurance plan paid the contracted amount, about 1/4th of the total. Two points here; 1. how is $46,000 a reasonable cost for 4 hours of medical care, and 2. if insurance company contract rates were available to all the health care 'crisis' wouldn't be an issue.
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I just read your article in today's Union newspaper. I'm a (intentionally left blank) on Medicare & do not need any other medical coverage
but I am curious about what the heck ACHA is & how it works.
Evidently not very well according to your article. This seems to
be a mess. I hope if you haven't already that you will send your
article to President Obama. I'm a fan of the man but worried that
my friend's working daughter & my own unemployed daughter
will be forced to get some kind of insurance. Is that so?
Thanks for listening to me.
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Finally someone who actually has experienced the same thing I have regarding Obamacare!!!!! My Obama loving friends, who are on Medicare think I am lying or have completely lost my mind. Hopefully some of them will read your article.
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I have stopped reading articles about Obamacare, because the topic causes my blood pressure to increase, and I can't afford to take risks with my health, these days. But I today read you article because I read your other articles. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to rant. Please forgive the length of this, I tried to be brief.
I was one of those who attempted to sign up early, not because I am a responsible citizen (I am) but because my other insurance plan, which I have had for over 15 years, ended at the end of 2013. My original insurer was happy to set me up with a new plan at a 100% higher premium and all expenses only 60% covered. With my original plan I could afford the premiums but I had to be careful about actually using medical care because the deductable was very high. So high, in fact, that I was considered uninsured and eligible for some free or low-cost preventive care and cancer screenings.
I started trying to sign up for new insurance, through Covered CA, in early November. I decided to go that route because I am in the grey area for a subsidy due to my retirement accounts having actually made a little money in 2012 (intentionally left blank) I don’t know how they will do in 2014, but I thought I should at least have the option, if my income qualifies, for a little help. My new premium would be about 40% higher than my previous one, and the out-of-pocket would be about 30% higher than before, with less useful stuff covered but excellent coverage for things that I can't use. I went through an insurance agent trained in Obamacare because I heard that the process was not going to be easy. He said that Covered CA was only accepting paper applications and he printed one out for me (all 35 pages) to complete and return to him. A few days later he said that he received an email telling everyone not to send paper applications, they would not be accepted, and to apply on-line only. After several failed attempts to access the website, and then getting the application partly filled out and having the site crash, I finally submitted my finished application on December 4. There was no information provided as to what happens next, nor how or who to pay my first premium to. My agent couldn't enlighten me because he was not given any information about that, either.
After a few weeks of no response about my application or payment, which was due Jan. 10, I began attempting to contact Covered CA and Anthem, my proposed new insurer. I was never able to reach anyone by phone or email, and neither was my insurance agent. I even called the CA State Insurance Commissioner and he said that Covered CA was not handling Anthem (!) and that I should contact Anthem directly. Um, OK... Finally, on Jan. 2, I received a letter from Anthem demanding payment by Jan. 10 or I would have to submit a new application at Covered CA. I was given two options for payment: via their website or mail a check. I tried the website option numerous times but the payment section kept crashing. So I mailed a check on Jan. 3.
After a week I began to worry about the progress of my application and began attempting to call Anthem again. On Jan. 17 I was actually successful; someone answered after over an hour on hold. They said they had my application but my check "was probably somewhere in their system". They recommended I pay a second time by credit card for more immediate results (Immediate meaning two weeks to get my insurance packet). I gave them my credit card number and asked when my coverage would begin. The answer was that the premium was retroactive to Jan. 1. I asked if I actually had medical coverage from Jan. 1. The answer was well, no, but if I had a medical expense, just pay the bill, save the receipt, and submit it for reimbursement after I got my ID. We all know how that scenario would play out. In other words, no coverage, even though my premium was applied to Jan. 1.
On February 4 I received a bill for two month's premiums for January and February. I attempted to reach Anthem by phone. I gave up. I wrote them an admittedly nasty letter. A few days later I received an insurance card in the mail, but still no packet describing exactly what is covered (the Covered CA information is vague). On Feb 18 I received a letter acknowledging receipt of payment by both credit card and check for my first two months' premiums. A few day later I received my favorite letter, from Covered CA, dated Feb. 12. It begins "Good news!" and includes the line "Look for an enrollment package from your health insurance plan to arrive soon. Then you can choose a doctor and start using your health benefits." That seems to imply that at least Covered CA accepts the fact that even though premiums began Jan. 1, coverage doesn't start until sometime after. (I have to wonder what the insurance companies' 2014 Q1 profits will look like after collecting a month or two of premiums that they didn’t have to make payments on.)
Another week later I finally receive my packet, along with a bill for my March premium. That was closely followed by a letter from my doctor, which begins "It is with regret to inform you that (WM) will be closing its doors as of April 4, 2014. Unfortunately, the recent changes with several insurance plans are not compatible with the financial survival of this health care facility." There is no indication that my doctor will be available at any other facility in the area, so I assume she is either retiring or moving far away.
Like, you, Marc, I cannot find another doctor in Nevada county or nearby environs who will accept me without a payoff (they call it a membership). I am presently in the process of selling my home and moving out of state. It might not be better but it certainly cannot be worse.
I, like most people I talk to, really feel thrown under the bus by our elected officials who purport to "care" about us. Thankfully that is just a figurative maiming, because if I do get hit by a bus in reality I will be in deep financial doo-doo.
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I read your weekly Union article. Keep it up.
In Oct. (intentionally left blank) got notice of her insurance cancelation from Anthem Blue Cross since it did not meet ACA standards ($335/ month). The plan matched our needs perfectly. In early Nov. I started my quest for a replacement policy for her. She will be on Medicare this August so I only need gap coverage until then. I spent an hour or two every day on the Covered CA website / phone calls / live chat / e-mailing local, state and national govt. people to get help.
Bottom line --- it took until February to get an Insurance policy and an ID card ---2 1/2 months. Anthem Blue Cross Bronze Plan.
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This email likely has better and more concise info than the last one, so read this first.
The following looks like the CA state code that enables estate recovery in CA. Other states vary:
Search for "14009.5" in the following document:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=wic&group=13001-14...
The AHA act did not start this, estate recovery has existed for Medi-Cal/MediCaid for some time.
BUT AHA DOES NOW FORCE CERTAIN PEOPLE INTO Medi-Cal/MediCaid.
Here is a Paul Craig Roberts article that is perhaps the best summary of the situation:
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/02/08/obamacare-final-payment-raidi...
I became aware of this program when my (left blank) got sick a few years ago and a hospital tried to
coax me to sign my incapacitated brother into Medi-Cal. As I read the disclosures I came across the
"estate recovery" and they had to admit to what I had read. So I declined to "help" my brother.
Again sorry for "too much information" as I know you only have so much bandwidth, but felt
that this is important enough to warrant the length of the email.
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Thanks for the show on this subject. Was suprised to hear anybody with a good opinion of this.
I'll have to assume they not yet completely informed.
First are you aware that low income people (something like less that $15K to $20K annual) get
forced into MediCal or Medicaid? And they are not informed about "estate recovery". From the
Medical website:
"Upon death, the decedent’s estate or any recipient of the decedent’s estate may have to pay the costs of care back under federal and state law. Repayment will come from the assets of the deceased Medi-Cal beneficiary and will not exceed the asset value"
Now that is COST OF CARE, not cost of insurance premiums. So those that can least afford it get
screwed the most. At least everyone else just has to pay a possibly subsidized insurance premium.
Note that Medical/Medicaid is not insurance, but a deferred claw-back program.
In my case, I have a grandfathered Anthem plan till they cancel it, and it is going up 30% for no reason.
And now there are less insurance carriers in Northern CA.
And last but not least, at least a few health care insurance brokers have websites that I have visited
that do not secure the users data at all, and the Coveredca.com website does not render properly
on Firefox and on and on. Could they not have just payed ehealthinsurance.com to use their
website as it does the same thing and it works altready?
Sorry for the long email as I know you have too many already, (marc's comments- "yes i do" )
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I have nothing to add about ObamaCare, but do want to correct an unfair reference in your article. You mentioned that one doc charges a $1500 membership fee, and that this has something to do with how t(intentionally left blank) is the only doc in the county I know who does this, and (intentionally left blank) been doing it for over five years in order to have a medical practice where they can give adequate time and resources to patients. Unless there is another doc you were referring to,please retract this incorrect info and set the record straight because many folks in the community know and love (Left blank) , and you have spread misinformation in this case. If it is another doc you're referring to, I withdraw this complant and, in either case, wish you well in your continuing valuable work.
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I signed up, was able to keep my primary care doctor, and am saving a lot of money. I only go to the doctor for a yearly well visit, so we'll see how it goes. So far I have no complaints.
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I'm listening to your show right now. For people like myself who could not get a policy because of preexisting conditions under 1K a month this has been a godsend. (intentionally left blank) who is a general contractor was paying over $300 a month for a policy with a 25K deductible. He is at the age where he should have a colonoscopy and protract check and other checkups but could not afford it last year because lack of work in his field. He actually qualified for medi-Cal and will be able to get all these tests done this year. As work has picked up he will have to pay for a policy next year but we think it will only be about $150 based on his income.
My brother in (intentionally left blank) - his policy has been cut in half.
My friend at the gym who is an (intentionally left blank) was paying $1,800 for her policy and meds. It has been cut by 3/4's She says she can retire now as she was just working to pay for medical.
This all doesn't mean I am thrilled with the program but maybe it is a start and the problems can be corrected. This is still all about the insurance companies making money. Most of the world has socialized medicine. This is not socialized medicine.
I think that 1/2 the people out there have been helped by this program but the other 1/2 has been hurt. I am just counting the days till I'm 65!
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I know you are talking “Money Matters” and don’t want to turn the show into a political thing, but the fact that the ACA makes the Internal Revenue Service the regulatory/enforcement agency is a very serious matter with which I take serious issue.
The current Administration has done a great job of using events in the media such as the Russian invasion in the Ukraine, the disappearance of the Malaysian airplane, the NCAA March Madness tournament and anything else the media can get their hands on to get the American people to look the other way and forget about the IRS scandal (Lois Lerner & Friends) that was in the news a few months back.
As you know this is where the IRS was accused of targeting people and political groups, people and groups with differing political leanings on the size and role of the government in their lives. People really need to consider the seriousness of this. I mean, Richard Nixon faced impeachment and resigned over, in my opinion, a much lesser issue than this. His actions involved a few people, what we are talking about here with the IRS/Tea Party scandal has the potential of striking fear in and affecting millions of people. To me it is reminiscent of the campaigns of Joseph Stalin removing his enemies. I know it sounds paranoid, but in my mind, left unchecked, the IRS has the capability to manifest into a much uglier tyrannical beast that Americans come to fear.
This of course brings us back full circle to Thomas Jefferson’s (man, could we use someone of his stature at this point in time) quote of: "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."
I think this needs to be addressed under the subject of “OBAMACARE” as well.
My rant is over, I hope it may serve as food for thought.
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As a registered nurse, I want you to know this is the best article you have ever written. Please submit it to the Union so the local public is informed. My husband and I pay $800/month for a private Blue Shield plan with a $7,500 deductible. While we would save money by changing to Obama Care, it is not worth the downside. Right now if something really terrible happens, we have access to the best specialists in the country.
The next problem we will face is being thrown onto Medicare once we hit that age. Many doctors are also refusing to accept those patients as well.
The best thing we can do is to stay healthy and to keep out of the sickness care system!
And the article:
My first visit to the Covered California official Obama care website a few weeks back looked promising so I decided to meet with an insurance specialist to see if the AHCA (Affordable Health Care Act) would help my family reduce medical expenses.
The specialist, my wife and I compared our current Blue Cross Anthem plan to the Obama plan called SILVER and upon first glance, I was encouraged.
My monthly premium would fall by about $200.00 and my out of pocket would also be reduced so we started searching for our current doctors to see if they accepted the plan.
That’s where the problems started. Not one of our doctors, neither my wife’s nor mine would accept ACHA. In fact, in Nevada county there were only about two dozen or so who were listed as “within the network” on the site.
We called a few to see if they would take new patients. Unfortunately none we called would. The only one we found that said might consider us was charging a $1500.00 membership fee. Although I did not know the reason this particular doctor was charging such a fee, I anticipate that we will see more doctors charging membership fees such as this to thin out the ranks of attending patients or help recover some of the cost incurred by Obama care.
Even if I wanted to change doctors (which I don’t) there wasn’t a doctor in my county who would take new patients under Obama care that neither I nor my insurance agent could find, nor were any of the specialists that I had gone to in the past few years listed on the website as accepting the AHCA.
This meant if I had signed up for the plan, my only option would have been to go to hospital for every doctor office visit I required as would my wife as well. Obviously not time effective for me and certainly not cost effective for national healthcare or its balance sheet.
I don’t know how far I would have to travel to find a doctor that accepts Obama care (and would also take new patients) but within a 30 mile range we found none.
My insurance specialist told me as he understood it, if I had to go to a specialist they might be “out of the network” meaning I would pay full price for their services and my out of pocket deductible would skyrocket to over 10 grand.
On my current plan I get a negotiated rate. On the new plan, the way it was explained to me was that I would pay full price which would probably be exorbitant.
At least on my current plan, I have never seen a doctor that wouldn’t accept my Anthem Blue Cross and all the specialists I have seen over the years have also accepted it.
Using the AHCA on the other hand, we couldn’t find a doctor here who would accept new patients and the plan together so it leads me to ask, what good is it?
My insurance specialist told me the list of doctors accepting Obama care was getting smaller by the day and today’s visit resulted in us leaving our specialist as we found him: shaking his head as to how this whole thing is supposed to function.
He had warned us the plan was onerous to doctors and that he had to continually turn away potential customers due the simple fact you cannot find a new doctor who will accept Obama care if your current doctor wont.
During my recent radio show, I took listener calls regarding their experiences with the ACHA, and the majority of the callers happiest with the plans signed up early and were getting all or part of their premiums paid by the government. The rest of the callers seemed dissatisfied with the way ACHA is shaking out.
After my experience, Obama care is, at least from my stand point, a mess at this point in time. I can’t find a doctor, none of the specialists I might use accept it, few people are signing up to average out its eventual cost and many of my friends are losing coverage or finding their new coverage much higher in price.
Despite what Washington tells me, it’s not working for my family, not even a little bit. I only hope it gets better sometime in the future.
If you had any experience with signing up for Obama care, I would like to hear about it. Send me an email at Moneymatters@kvmr.org.
This article expresses the opinions of Marc Cuniberti. Mr. Cuniberti hosts “Money Matters” on KVMR FM 89.5 and 105.1 FM on Thursdays at noon and syndicated on over 30 radio stations throughout the US. He has been featured on NBC and ABC television and on a host of made for TV documentaries for his economic insights. His website is www.moneymanagementradio.com
That does it for now! Hope you enjoyed hearing from your fellow Americans,
all the best,
Marc
