Posted on 09/28/2013 6:42:29 PM PDT by markomalley
President Barack Obama famously promised, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” He later got even more specific.
“If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have,” Obama said.
But as Obamacare’s rollout approaches, we have learned this is not true. Here are the ten states where consumers may like their health care plans, but they won’t be able to keep them.
1) California: 58,000 will lose their plans under Obamacare. The first bomb dropped in California with a mass exodus from the most populated state’s Obamacare exchange. Aetna, the country’s largest insurer, left first in July and was closely followed by UnitedHealth. Anthem Blue Cross pulled out of California’s Obamacare exchange for small businesses as well.
Fifty-four percent of Californians expect to lose their coverage, according to an August poll.
2) Missouri: Patients of the state’s largest hospital system — which spans 13 hospitals including the St. Louis Children’s Hospital — will not be covered by the largest insurer on Obamacare exchanges, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield. Anthem covers 79,000 patients in Missouri who may seek subsidies on Obamacare exchanges, but won’t be able to see any doctors in the BJC HealthCare system.
3) Connecticut: Aetna, the third largest insurer in the nation, won’t offer insurance on the Obamacare exchange in its own home state, where it was founded in 1850. The reason? “We believe the modification to the rates filed by Aetna will not allow us to collect enough premiums to cover the cost of the plans and meet the service expectations of our customers,” said Aetna spokesman Susan Millerick.
4) Maryland: 13,000 individuals covered by Aetna and its recently-purchased Coventry Health Care won’t be able to keep their insurance plans if they want Obamacare subsidies on the exchanges. Aetna and Coventry canceled plans to offer insurance in the exchange when state officials wouldn’t allow them to charge premiums high enough to cover costs.
5) South Carolina: 28,000 people were insured by Medical Mutual of Ohio, SC’s second-largest insurance company, until it decided to leave the state entirely in July due to Obamacare’s “vast and quite complex” new regulations. Company spokesman Ed Byers said Medical Mutual’s patients would be switched over to United Healthcare plans instead.
6) New York: Aetna pulled out of New York’s exchange in late August in an effort to keep their plans “financially viable,” said Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener.
7) New Jersey: 1.1 million Aetna customers are at risk in New Jersey, where the leading insurer also won’t be a part of the exchange. Just 2,600 patients purchase individual plans with the company, but any looking to take advantage of subsidies on the exchange for unaffordable employer-based insurance won’t be able to do with Aetna.
8) Iowa: Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Iowa’s largest health insurer, decided not to offer plans in the Obamacare exchange. It sells 86 percent of Iowa’s individual health insurance plans.
9) Wisconsin: Two of the three largest insurers in the state won’t offer plans on the exchange. United Healthcare and Humana patients will have to get a new health insurer to buy insurance on Obamacare exchanges.
10) Georgia: Just five insurers are participating in Georgia’s Obamacare exchange. Medical Mutual of Ohio left Georgia and Indiana as well as South Carolina, due to Obamacare regulations. Aetna, along with Coventry, also decided against participating in the George health exchange.
First waves...
let the pain and suffering begin.
bttt
I would very much like to return to the plan I had in 2010, but because of Obamacare, such a plan is now illegal in my state, even though no interstate commerce exists.
Fast forward to 2013. Here in Georgia, the governor has made it pretty much impossible for these exchanges to operate, yet I expect them to operate anyway in violation of state law, at least for next year. The following year, I do not expect a single insurer to continue its participation.
Oh, and did I mention my taxes will go up $625 next year? It’s part of the Special Needs Kids tax that is included with Obamacare. That’s $625 that I would be spending on my son, but have to turn over to government instead, all so I can have worse coverage than I had back in 2010.
Healthcare intafada !!!
Those greedy insurance companies are backing out because they won’t make as much money. Same goes for the doctors leaving medical practice.
What we need is for the government to run the health care system and get rid of the money-grubbing insurance companies and doctors that don’t want to serve the less fortunate.
“That’s the plan baby!”
Never fear, when it all falls apart, the left will implement free healthcare for all, you know, like Britain has. You and I and many other people won’t have to worry about paying taxes, premiums, or anything else, because by the time the new efficient free healthcare system gets through with us, we’ll all be dead anyway.
This whole thing confuses me more and more. My BCBS went up to about 330.00 now and my brother-in-law says to go on the Blue Cross exchange and save 1/2 the cost and that virtually nothing will change.
I received the following email from a friend this week.
Many companies have their enrollment period for health care in October, so it ought to be interesting as this crap hits the fan across the country. If this is supposed to be better, why is my lesser coverage costing more? Never mind, I know why. Obamacare – a solution looking for, and creating, a problem.
Shut It Down!!! OK by us...
Aren’t they the same company?
Wisconsin residents face loss of insurance coverage as Obamacare begins. United Healthcare and Humana will not be available on the exchanges.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
I live in Wisconsin and I have a United Healthcare medicap plan through AARP. We’ve received notice that it will be available next year, but deductibles and co-pays will be higher and there will be no out of network coverage. In fact, there will no longer be coverage at all in certain counties. It sounds like there are places in Wisconsin where I don’t dare get in an auto accident because I won’t have insurance there.
What’s this special needs kid thing ?
Ditto...?
Yes, both are Blue Cross, but my existing PPO has increased and the exchange is cheaper.
No Humana? Gotta tell the in-laws and my Dad. Both have supplemental prescription insurance under those plans.
This is getting interesting... *SPIT*
Exactly, unless the new Republican plan to delay this debacle another year.. By the time this will be hitting the most folks they will have had one more year to devise a plan to extort and/or intimidate, those insurances companies into participation..
I hope I'm missing something, but I don't think so.. UGH!
My sister works for an insurance company here in Wisconsin. It is a nightmare for them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.