Most Individual Health Policies Don't Meet ACA (ObamaCare) Rules

Med Page Today ^ | 5/29/2012 | Emily P. Walker

[tobyhill]

More than half of the people who had individual health insurance in 2010 were enrolled in plans that wouldn't pass muster under new standards set up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), researchers found.

So in 2014, most people with individual health coverage will see a marked boost in the quality of their insurance as well a reduction in cost, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs.

That's the year in which states must establish (or defer to the federal government to set up) health insurance exchanges, as required by the ACA.

Insurance plans in the exchanges must meet certain quality and coverage benchmarks, but insurers (and employers) can choose to offer any of four types of plans: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, which provide increasing levels of coverage. A platinum plan would be one that covers 90% or more of an individual's healthcare expenses, while a bronze plan would have to cover at least 60%.

[tobyhill]

If ObamaCare is left to stand then I guarantee the cost of mandated insurance will at least double in a very short period of time.

[Diogenesis]

More for less? With fewer doctors?

WAKE UP!!!! RomneCARE/ObamaCARE has
already REMOVED diagnostic and therapy for cancer
treatment ... and much more is coming for those
who are not Moslem or not a member of Congress.

[toothfairy86]

I purchase my own individual health care coverage through Highmark Blue Shield. I’m a non-smoker in my mid 40’s and pay over $300/month, with a $500 deductible. Then it pays 80%, until it gets to $1,000 out of pocket expenses, when it pays 100% of the UCR. I got a notice in my last statement that Highmark is petitioning the state of PA again to raise my rates. They do this every year, and my rates go up almost every year. Sometimes my rates go up twice a year, like when I turned 40 and 45. My insurance mandates maternity coverage, which I no longer need. I don’t see my rates going down anytime soon.

[SumProVita]

“...in 2014, most people with individual health coverage will see a marked boost in the quality of their insurance as well a reduction in cost, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs.”

_______________________________________________

Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief of Health Affairs

Before joining Health Affairs in May 2008, Dentzer was on-air Health Correspondent at the PBS NewsHour. From 1998 to 2008, she led the show’s unit providing in-depth coverage of health care and health policy. Prior to joining the PBS NewsHour, she was chief economics correspondent and economics columnist for U.S. News & World Report, and previously was a senior writer at Newsweek.

Dentzer is a member of the Board of Directors of Research!America, the nation’s largest not-for-profit public education and advocacy alliance committed to making research to improve health a higher national priority. She is also a member of the Board of Overseers of the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organization providing relief to refugees and displaced persons around the world. She chairs the IRC board’s Program Committee, which oversees the organization’s activities in resettling refugees in the United States and in dealing with refugees and displaced persons in roughly 25 countries. Formerly, Dentzer served on the Board of Directors of the Global Health Council and was its chair from 2008-2010.

Basically, she is considered a journalist....and I am sure she just loves Obama.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The very word “affordable” in the title of any piece of feral government legislation ought to frighten you so badly that your hair spontaneously bursts into flame.

[ThunderSleeps]

More than half of the people who had individual health insurance in 2010 were enrolled in plans that wouldn't pass muster under new standards set up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), researchers found.

But but... hussein said if we liked our Doctors, liked our health insurance, we'd be able to keep it!? Surely hussein wasn't LYING, was he? ;-/

So in 2014, most people with individual health coverage will see a marked boost in the quality of their insurance as well a reduction in cost, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs.

Individual health coverage? How about the rest of us, the majority, that are in a group plan? We're going to see a reduction in quality of the plans (already started this past year) and we're going to see increases in cost (already started this year). Oh, and we're all going to see a reduction in quantity/availability of healthcare services - again, already seeing this reflected in longer wait times to get an appointment.

Lies upon lies upon lies. That is all you get out of the hussein administration and its minions.

[rawhide]

So in 2014, most people with individual health coverage will see a marked boost in the quality of their insurance as well a reduction in cost, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs.

Huh???? Does not make sense! Impossible!

[DrC]

“Huh???? Does not make sense! Impossible!”

What she meant is that the out-of-pocket cost to subscribers may be lower because of lavish subsidies in the Exchanges through which these policies will be available. Clearly one cannot magically increase the amount of coverage a policy provides and expect the premium to go down. Instead, premiums will go up, but the added cost will be shifted onto taxpayers. Progressives are counting on voters not noticing this shell game.

[rawhide]

the added cost will be shifted onto taxpayers

So the 50% paying taxes will pay for the increased cost of helathcare? So the moochers get another free ride?