So who is looking to sign up for "Obamacare" in about 2 weeks?

[88m3]

White House OKs limited waiver on health penalty

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR 1 hour ago

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This screenshot made Monday, Oct. 28, 2013 shows the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' main landing web page for HealthCare.gov. With website woes ongoing, the Obama administration Monday granted a six-week extension until March 31, 2014 for Americans to sign up for coverage next year and avoid new tax penalties under the president's health care overhaul law. (AP Photo/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
WASHINGTON (AP) — With website woes ongoing, the Obama administration Monday granted a six-week extension until March 31 for Americans to sign up for coverage next year and avoid new tax penalties under the president's health care overhaul law.

The move had been expected since White House spokesman Jay Carney promised quick action last week to resolve a "disconnect" in the implementation of the law.

It comes as technical problems continue to trouble the website designed as the main enrollment portal for people who don't get health care at work.

As a consequence, Republican lawmakers, and some Democrats as well, are calling for a one-year delay in the penalties most Americans will face starting next year if they remain uninsured. Monday's action by the administration stops well short of that, and amounts only to a limited adjustment.

Under the latest policy change, people who sign up by the end of open enrollment season on March 31 will not face a penalty. That means procrastinators get a grace period.

Previously you had to sign up by the middle of February, guaranteeing that your coverage would take effect March 1, in order to avoid fines for being uninsured.

The extension — granted for 2014 only — addresses confusion that was created when the administration set the first open enrollment period under the law from Oct. 1-March 31.

The problem was that health insurance coverage typically starts on the first day of a given month, and it takes up to 15 days to process applications. So somebody signing up March 16 — well within the open enrollment period — wouldn't get coverage until April 1, thereby risking a penalty for being uninsured part of the year.

The administration "has determined that it would be unfair to require individuals in this situation to make a (penalty) payment," the Health and Human Services department said in guidance issued Monday evening. As a result, the department is creating a special one-time hardship exemption for people who get covered by March 31. And they won't have to file additional paperwork to apply for the exemption.

The mandate to carry health insurance is the most unpopular requirement of the health care law. It's meant to nudge as many people as possible into the insurance pool. That would help keep premiums in check, since the law also forbids insurers from turning away people with health problems.

Mindful of the need to sign up lots of healthy uninsured people, the administration released an analysis Monday that concludes nearly half of uninsured single young adults could buy a "bronze" level plan for $50 or less a month, after tax credits to offset the cost of premiums.

The inconsistency between the law's coverage requirements and the administration's schedule for the initial open enrollment season was first pointed out by the Jackson Hewitt tax preparation company.

http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-oks-limited-waiver-health-penalty-231006785--politics.html

 

[88m3]

NY website was still down for me today

 

[Morph]

So can someone gimme cliff notes on how this goes down? You call, sign up then...?

Are you from L.A.? California's exchange is up and running at https://www.coveredca.com/shopandcompare/

 

[CACtain Planet]

Report: W.H. knew plans would be canceled under ACA

Millions of Americans are getting their health insurance cancelled under the Affordable Care Act and the Obama administration has known for about three years that this would happen, NBC News is reporting.

Between half and three quarters of 14 million consumers who buy health insurance individually will receive a cancellation letter or its equivalent in the next year because their current policies don't meet the standards laid out by the new law, the news organization reports.

Of those who will be forced to buy new insurance, many will face huge price increases, NBC reports.

Initially, the administration stipulated that policies in effect as of March 23, 2010, could be kept even if they don't meet the requirements of the new law, but later changed the law to dictate that if any part of those policies substantially changed since then, they would then be cancelled.

NBC alleges the administration knew that up to 67% of customers on the individual market could have their policies cancelled, but instead, President Obama said as recently as in 2012, "If (you) already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance."

The White House told NBC that people whose policies will be cancelled will, in most cases, be automatically shifted to plans with better protections.

"Nothing in the Affordable Care Act forces people out of their health plans," White House spokeswoman Jessica Santillo told the news organization.

White House spokesman Jay Carney acknowledged that some plans would not meet the new minimum standards and would "not qualify for the Affordable Care Act."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/10/28/affordable-care-act-cancellations/3293001/

 

[FAH1223]

For those of you that get health care from your employer, have your rates went up? My Health insurance has not went up in 3 years. starting next year it will cost me an extra 200 a month

Mine is still the same, it actually went down a couple dollars

I also got an e-mail from my University (I'm a part time grad student) about ACA:

What are the deadlines for becoming insured under the ACA’s individual mandate?

• October-December 2013: If you do not already have coverage for 2014, you can enroll in a plan on a health insurance exchange, including Maryland Health Connection, between October and approximately December 15, 2013. Enrollment during this period will enable your coverage to start on January 1, 2014.
• January 1, 2014: The date on which coverage provided by the exchanges will actually begin.
• March 31, 2014: The date on which open enrollment on the exchanges will close. If you do not have coverage by this date, you will be subject to a penalty.

What is the penalty if I do not enroll in a health insurance plan?

• In 2014, the penalty is $95 per individual adult or 1 percent of your income, whichever is higher.
• Penalties increase annually after 2014. In 2015, the penalty will rise to $325 or 2 percent of your income; in 2016, these numbers increase to $695 or 2.5 percent of your income.

What kinds of services are covered by plans offered on the health insurance exchanges?

• Under the ACA, every plan offered by a student health insurance plan or a state health insurance exchange must provide all of the following benefits:

oOutpatient doctor visits and other services
oEmergency care
oHospitalizations
oMaternity and newborn care
oCounseling and other mental health and substance abuse services
oPrescription drugs
oRehabilitative services and devices
oPreventive and wellness services
oPediatric services

• Under the ACA, pre-existing conditions do not limit eligibility, services, or costs to the enrollee.
• The University of Maryland, College Park, Student Health Insurance Plan provides 12 months of coverage for $ 1,363. Students purchasing the plan for the first time in January, 2014, would pay $ 682 for coverage that would last until August 14, 2014. Most services provided at the University Health Center are covered 100%, (deductible waived). Coverage outside of the University Health Center is covered at 80% after a $200 deductible for in-network providers. For providers out of network the coverage is 60% after a $500 deductible.

What will a plan on Maryland Health Connection or another state’s exchange cost?

• The cost of a plan for an individual student through Maryland Health Connection depends on a number of factors, including your age and income. For example:

oIf you are financially independent and your income is less than $16,000 per year, you may qualify for Medicaid, not have to pay premiums, and have minimal out-of-pocket costs.
oIf your income is between $16,000 and approximately $46,000 per year, you will qualify for subsidies and credits for the cost of your insurance at Maryland Health Connection. For example, a graduate student in his/her late twenties who makes $20,000 per year would receive a credit of nearly $1,600 toward a health insurance premium, and could enroll in a high-deductible (Bronze) plan for a premium of approximately $50 per month, or a lower-deductible (Silver) plan for $70-$80 per month.*
oIf you are under age 30, you can enroll in a “Young Invincibles Plan.” This plan has a very low premium but high deductibles and other cost-sharing if and when you do use health services.

• If you have a spouse, children, or other dependents, the ability to reduce your costs through Medicaid, subsidies, and credits increases dramatically. For example, a family of four:
  • May be able to enroll in Maryland Medicaid if the household income is less than $32,500.
  • Will be eligible for premium and out-of-pocket cost subsidies if the household income is less than $94,200.

oFor example, a graduate student in his/her late twenties with a spouse and child and a household income around $20,000 a year should be able to get either high-deductible insurance with no monthly premiums or a plan with lower deductibles and $40-$70 in monthly premiums. If that young family has an income of $40,000, it can expect to pay roughly $110 per month in premiums for a high-deductible plan, and $210-$250 per month for a lower-deductible plan.*

• If you are an out-of-state resident, you will need to look at your home state’s health insurance exchange website for cost information. Plans and premiums on the exchanges vary by state.

How do I choose the plan that is best for me?

• To choose a plan, you will need to consider your age, general health, the health of your dependents, health services that may be available on campus and paid for through student fees, and whether you have a regular need for health services.

oIf you are in good health and have no dependents, you may wish to consider a “Young Invincibles Plan,” which is available to people under the age of 30. These plans offer low premiums, but they have high deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.
oIf you have a chronic health condition that requires regular health care or prescription medications, or you have dependents, you may wish to consider enrolling in a plan that has higher premiums but low deductibles and low out-of-pocket costs. On the Maryland Health Connection, these are called “Silver” or “Gold” plans.

• Help is available at the Maryland Health Connection to assist you in evaluating the many available plans. This help includes:

oA telephone help line
oExtensive web information, including online plan comparisons and cost calculators
oTrained navigators at various locations across the state who can answer questions, explain individual plans, and walk you through the enrollment process
oAdditional resources will be available on campus. This includes trained navigators, who may visit campuses in November.
What are Young Invincible Plans?

• Young Invincible Plans are catastrophic plans available to people under age 30. They are designed for healthy young people who do not anticipate needing many health services, but who want protection against having to bear the full cost of a major medical emergency. (In Maryland, the average cost of a three-day hospital stay is $30,000.)
• These plans typically have very low premiums, often in the $40-$60 per month range, but their annual deductibles can be several thousands of dollars.

 

[Liquid]

For those of you that get health care from your employer, have your rates went up? My Health insurance has not went up in 3 years. starting next year it will cost me an extra 200 a month

I think about 12 out of the 15 that I have asked have either stayed the same or gone down a little.

3 went up I believe and one did go up significantly.

 

[Chris.B]

Looks like we have another liberal mess on our hands

 

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Report: W.H. knew plans would be canceled under ACA

Millions of Americans are getting their health insurance cancelled under the Affordable Care Act and the Obama administration has known for about three years that this would happen, NBC News is reporting.

Between half and three quarters of 14 million consumers who buy health insurance individually will receive a cancellation letter or its equivalent in the next year because their current policies don't meet the standards laid out by the new law, the news organization reports.

Of those who will be forced to buy new insurance, many will face huge price increases, NBC reports.

Initially, the administration stipulated that policies in effect as of March 23, 2010, could be kept even if they don't meet the requirements of the new law, but later changed the law to dictate that if any part of those policies substantially changed since then, they would then be cancelled.

NBC alleges the administration knew that up to 67% of customers on the individual market could have their policies cancelled, but instead, President Obama said as recently as in 2012, "If (you) already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance."

The White House told NBC that people whose policies will be cancelled will, in most cases, be automatically shifted to plans with better protections.

"Nothing in the Affordable Care Act forces people out of their health plans," White House spokeswoman Jessica Santillo told the news organization.

White House spokesman Jay Carney acknowledged that some plans would not meet the new minimum standards and would "not qualify for the Affordable Care Act."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/10/28/affordable-care-act-cancellations/3293001/

Here Is What’s Wrong With That Story About Obama Knowing That Your Health Care Policy Would Get Cancelled

The NBC News investigations unit is reporting that “50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a ‘cancellation’ letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law” — a fact administration officials knew but kept from the public.

The cancellations are a result of so-called grandfather rules promulgated by President Obama’s Health and Human Services. The rule exempts health insurance plans in existence before March 23, 2010 — the day the Affordable Care Act became law — from many of the new regulations, benefits standards and consumer protections that new plans now have to abide by, but says that policies could lose their designation if they make major changes. From NBC:

Buried in Obamacare regulations from July 2010 is an estimate that because of normal turnover in the individual insurance market, “40 to 67 percent” of customers will not be able to keep their policy. And because many policies will have been changed since the key date, “the percentage of individual market policies losing grandfather status in a given year exceeds the 40 to 67 percent range.”

That means the administration knew that more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them.​

This all sounds very ominous until you consider that the naturally high turnover rate associated with the individual market means that it’s highly unlikely that individuals would still be enrolled in plans from 2010 in 2014. In fact, the Obama administration publicly admitted this when it issued the regulations in 2010, leading Republicans like Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) to seize on the story in order to push for repeal of the grandfather regulations. Here is a story in The Hill from Sep. 22, 2010 pointing to this very same 40 to 67 percent range:

The debate was widely covered in the press, so it’s unclear what exactly the NBC investigation unit has uncovered.

The goal of grandfather regulations is to allow a consumer to keep their existing policies, while also ensuring that there are some basic patient protections built into these plans. If insurers make changes that significantly burden enrollees with lower benefits and increased costs they have to come into compliance with all consumer protections. Therefore, policies lose their grandfathered status if insurers cancel coverage when a person becomes ill, impose lifetime limits on benefits, eliminate all benefits for a particular condition and reduce the cap for covered services each year, among other changes. (In fact, in November of 2010, the federal government loosened some of these standards.)

So yes, individuals can keep the plans they have if those plans remain largely the same. But individuals receiving cancellation notices will have a choice of enrolling in subsidized insurance in the exchanges and will probably end up paying less for more coverage. Those who don’t qualify for the tax credits will be paying more for comprehensive insurance that will be there for them when they become sick (and could actually end up spending less for health care since more services will now be covered). They will also no longer be part of a system in which the young and healthy are offered cheap insurance premiums because their sick neighbors are priced out or denied coverage. That, after all, is the whole point of reform.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/201...y-obama-knowing-health-care-policy-cancelled/

 

[CACtain Planet]

So yes, individuals can keep the plans they have if those plans remain largely the same. But individuals receiving cancellation notices will have a choice of enrolling in subsidized insurance in the exchanges and will probably end up paying less for more coverage. Those who don’t qualify for the tax credits will be paying more for comprehensive insurance that will be there for them when they become sick (and could actually end up spending less for health care since more services will now be covered). They will also no longer be part of a system in which the young and healthy are offered cheap insurance premiums because their sick neighbors are priced out or denied coverage. That, after all, is the whole point of reform.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/201...y-obama-knowing-health-care-policy-cancelled/

first off @think progress on anything concerning this topic.. and second off all that bullshyt I bolded is nothing but speculation and conjecture... I know people right now who have been dropped from their insurance, forced to go to the glitchy website and find out they have to pay an extra 300-600 in premiums because they live in a two income household and bring in over the $44,000 income mark but also have hella kids but they dont qualify for subsidies so now they have to account for an extra $500 coming out of their paycheck monthly for unnecesssary healthcare services they are not going to use

 

[Chris.B]

first off @think progress on anything concerning this topic.. and second off all that bullshyt I bolded is nothing but speculation and conjecture... I know people right now who have been dropped from their insurance, forced to go to the glitchy website and find out they have to pay an extra 300-600 in premiums because they live in a two income household and bring in over the $44,000 income mark but also have hella kids but they dont qualify for subsidies so now they have now they have account for an extra 500 coming out of their paycheck for unnecesssary healthcare services they are not going to use

I think the American people will punish these demons...I mean democrats come next election.

 

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

first off @think progress on anything concerning this topic.. and second off all that bullshyt I bolded is nothing but speculation and conjecture... I know people right now who have been dropped from their insurance, forced to go to the glitchy website and find out they have to pay an extra 300-600 in premiums because they live in a two income household and bring in over the $44,000 income mark but also have hella kids but they dont qualify for subsidies so now they have to account for an extra $500 coming out of their paycheck monthly for unnecesssary healthcare services they are not going to use

Firstly, everything in the article by Think Progress seems fairly legit so refute their claims with your facts that discredit the article.

Secondly, I'm confused by your assessment. You say that the bolded part in the article is "speculation and conjecture. Yet....

..you just proved the point of the statement by giving an example of the so-called people you know that have to choose a pricier insurance coverage due to their background information.

You bolded the part that says "Those who don’t qualify for the tax credits will be paying more for comprehensive insurance that will be there for them when they become sick (and could actually end up spending less for health care since more services will now be covered).

So refute that claim

 

[CACtain Planet]

You bolded the part that says "Those who don’t qualify for the tax credits will be paying more for comprehensive insurance that will be there for them when they become sick (and could actually end up spending less for health care since more services will now be covered).

So refute that claim

Wow just wow.... the whole point of people complaining is that under the old system they were paying for affordable health coverage that was in their budget and now due to obamacare their premiums went up and they dont qualify for subsidies like most who bring in over $44,000 to their household... so now they have to cut corners elsewhere to pay for extras in insurance that they dont need...and the quote in parentheses is conjecture and assumptions, nothing based on clear cut facts

 

[Atlrocafella]

shyt not looking good for Obamacare

 

[Chris.B]

shyt not looking good for Obamacare

fun part will be when people start getting hit with fines...The democrats will be wiped out.

 

[DEAD7]

fun part will be when people start getting hit with fines...The democrats will be wiped out.

They aren't even thinking about that either...


shyts gonna get real for Dems real quick when them fines roll out