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Obamacare consumers: Time to pay up
politico ^ | 1/11/2014 | By BRETT NORMAN

Posted on 01/11/2014 5:30:51 AM PST by tobyhill

Many insurers should know by Friday how many of the 2 million-plus Obamacare sign-ups have actually converted into premium-paying customers. Yet an array of payment deadline extensions by other plans means that what critics have been demanding — a full count of Americans insured under Obamacare — won’t be available until next month.

Companies are scrambling to ensure that individuals who committed to plans online in fact put their money where their mice are. They’re staffing call centers and even making robocalls to get procrastinators to finalize their first premium payment.

But the effort has been complicated by several dysfunctional state exchanges and, of course, by the massive early troubles of HealthCare.gov. Well into November, the federal portal was failing to send many people’s enrollment files to insurers or, in even more cases, sending files with errors, making it difficult or impossible for insurers to follow up.

Health plans and experts said Thursday that a significant number of those who signed up — perhaps as many as half — still had not paid. But they emphasized that customers’ lag was not surprising given the surge of people who enrolled just before the Dec. 24 deadline and the time it takes to receive their files from the exchanges, send out bills and get payments in return. Last month’s big push was for coverage beginning Jan. 1.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abortion; deathpanels; obamacare; obamacareenrollment; obamacarepremiums; zerocare
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To: Chode

I like that one...


21 posted on 01/11/2014 7:11:18 AM PST by kjam22 (my newest music video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7gNI9bWO3s)
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To: kjam22
me too... pretty much sums it up
22 posted on 01/11/2014 7:13:50 AM PST by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -vvv- NO Pity for the LAZY - 86-44)
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To: Diogenesis

Obamacare is about switching to a public health model instead of covering individual situations.


23 posted on 01/11/2014 7:16:22 AM PST by grania
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To: HotHunt

This insurance is setup to protect people with money from catastrophic loss. Most of these policies have 10 to 12K out of pocket cap. If you’re my age... you pay the insurance premiums, when you have some major surgery that’s going to cost you $200k before its all said and done... that’s where the economics work. If you have the money to pay the 200k out of pocket, then you for sure need the insurance.


24 posted on 01/11/2014 7:17:23 AM PST by kjam22 (my newest music video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7gNI9bWO3s)
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel
During my time making a living as a doctor (1982-present), the percentage of uninsured who refuse to pay has risen dramatically. And this is when a valuable, and sometimes lifesaving service, has already been given.

There is ZERO chance that any substantial percentage of the current uninsured population are going to pay a dime - NOT A DIME - for their "Obamacare", which they clearly believe is "free".

25 posted on 01/11/2014 7:28:51 AM PST by Jim Noble (When strong, avoid them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.)
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To: Caipirabob

And why people can’t figure that out, so late in history as we are, is beyond me. It’s as if they’ve been glued to a t.v. or another shiny toy, and never read a page of History ...


26 posted on 01/11/2014 7:53:01 AM PST by SouthernClaire
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To: bert

Put that way, it sounds exactly like what happened to the dynamics of the mortgage market under Cuomo, A at HUD and Clinton, W. J. at USA.


27 posted on 01/11/2014 7:55:40 AM PST by Postman (Flies - specifically those attracted by Z - - 0 - get too litle credit. They know!!)
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To: Caipirabob

I paid online three weeks ago and they still haven’t sent my payment to the bank to be cashed. I have no ID cards or enrollment packet. I might have to make a duplicate payment this week, as the deadline in California for coverage in January was extended to the 15th.

The thing is an absolute mess. The media is also silent about it. All they can talk about is the “bully” Chris Christie.


28 posted on 01/11/2014 8:25:25 AM PST by Deo volente (God willing, America shall survive this Obamanation.)
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To: Jim Noble

I went to doctor this week. There were signs up saying that co-pays and deductibles must be paid before you see the doctor.
My DIL works for a doctor and they have had several people show up for their “free” doctor visits.


29 posted on 01/11/2014 9:16:10 AM PST by Himyar
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To: All

I have to wonder what those 92 MILLION people out of the job workforce are going to do when they file???

They haven’t made any income, so therefore no taxes for Uncle Sucky to redistribute...


30 posted on 01/11/2014 9:24:29 AM PST by stevie_d_64 (It's not the color of one's skin that offends people...it's how thin it is.)
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel

Next: Obama:All you nurses are belong to me now, selfish hos


31 posted on 01/11/2014 10:29:57 AM PST by lavaroise (A well regulated gun being necessary to the state, the rights of the militia shall not be infringed)
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To: Caipirabob

Death care... the sorcerers.


32 posted on 01/11/2014 10:31:51 AM PST by lavaroise (A well regulated gun being necessary to the state, the rights of the militia shall not be infringed)
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To: usconservative

You posed the question I want answered and the MSM will never report.

Outside of Medicaid enrollees, that is the NET LOSS in number insured for 2014?


33 posted on 01/11/2014 10:36:34 AM PST by nascarnation (I'm hiring Jack Palladino to investigate Baraq's golf scores.)
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To: Jim Noble

Yes, sir.

Once the Obama-phone folks start complaining, the Obama-gummint will start placating and paying for them.

It’s for the impoverished chillren, dontchyaknow!

Is is sooooo....obvious.


34 posted on 01/11/2014 10:38:10 AM PST by Cletus.D.Yokel (Catastrophic Anthropogenic Climate Alterations: The acronym defines the science.)
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To: kjam22

Insurance should be for catastrophic events. Like your car getting totaled in an accident and needs to be replaced. Or your house burning to the ground and you lose everything. Or you need free female contraceptives as a 85 year old grandmother. Or maternity care as a 65 year old man. Or pediatric care for single man.

Oops. Wait a minute, those last three things are not for catastrophic incidents. They’re for routine medical care. No wonder ObamaCare is so expensive, if the policies are mandated to cover everything under the sun. You don’t expect your car insurance to cover wiper blade replacements or an oil change or a new tire. Or that your homeowners insurance will cover painting the trim next spring or replacing the water heater or getting the toilet fixed. These are routine maintenance things you should be paying for out of your pocket and everybody does. But why do people expect their medical policies to cover everything when it comes to their health? Your medical insurance policy should cover major and expensive events like surgery, long-term illness and life-saving procedures. Not covering that hangnail or a cold or a broken arm.

The government has made ObamaCare more expensive by dictating to the insurance companies that everything, including the kitchen sink, must be covered. Everything that the government does has to somehow be called “comprehensive” for it to work. NOT!


35 posted on 01/11/2014 12:18:04 PM PST by HotHunt
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To: HotHunt

I agree that the government has required stupid things be covered.... but let’s think about it just a little. So Obammy tells BCBS that they have to cover me and my wife for pregnancy. We’re both in our 50’s... and one of us has had all the parts removed and is taking primeran. So if you’re an inurance company... while you may write pregancy coverage in my policy... there is no risk. Risk is what drives coverage cost. I have higher risk because of my age, so my insurance costs me more than a young person. Why should pregnancy coverage cost me anything? Just because its in there?


36 posted on 01/11/2014 2:27:25 PM PST by kjam22 (my newest music video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7gNI9bWO3s)
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To: kjam22

Yes, just because they have to cover everybody for the same things. Its like mortgage loan underwriting. You may not have any outstanding balances on your credit cards that they have to factor into your overall debt ratios but if you have a dozen credit cards with zero balances, you are still a higher risk of defaulting on the loan because you have to ability to run up your debt on the credit cards and risk defaulting on the mortgage loan. Same thing. The medical insurers are exposing themselves to the risk of what they are required to cover, not what the individual that gets the policy can or cannot use.


37 posted on 01/11/2014 3:31:21 PM PST by HotHunt
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To: HotHunt

I understand. I probably respectfully disagree. There is no pregnancy risk with my wife and I. There is no exposure to that type of risk. They can adjust my premiums up because of my age. They can also adjust them down when there is not pregnancy risk.... If they chose to. Why would they choose to? They can insure me, charge me for that service... and blame it on obammy.


38 posted on 01/11/2014 3:41:02 PM PST by kjam22 (my newest music video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7gNI9bWO3s)
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To: kjam22

Well, when Obama is mandating that the insurance carriers cover everybody for everything, the insurers are going to adjust their actuary estimates accordingly. They don’t look at each individual to assess which risk pool to put them in like they have done in the past. They now have to assess everybody as having coverage for things they may have to cover. Whether they ever have to payout for the covered risk is immaterial. The mere fact that they are being told to cover it (pregnancy for instance) for everybody, means they are going to charge you for it whether your risk individually of getting pregnant is there or not.


39 posted on 01/11/2014 4:29:51 PM PST by HotHunt
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To: Himyar

I thought O care paid for preventive health care. Probably why they think their office visits are free. I think surprises are coming.


40 posted on 01/11/2014 6:37:26 PM PST by Nuc 1.1 (Nuc 1 Liberals aren't Patriots. Remember 1789!)
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