It’s a widely known fact. For example, if your old policy had a lifetime limit, no matter how high, it is not grandfathered in. No changes in the old policy, and it is invalid.
Lifetime dollar limits on essential health benefits are prohibited for plan years beginning September 23, 2010. This applies to all plans new and renewing on or after September 23, 2010, including grandfathered plans.
Protections against lifetime limits on coverage apply to all health plans, including grandfathered plans, whether you get coverage through your employer or buy it yourself.
I’m screwed. I was recently unemployed, and now I am under-employed and while my sons qualify for Medicaid, I do not because I now make over $500 a month.
This whole thing is hard to understand and it’s bullshit. The law is crazy. I never imagined that my vote for Obama based solely on some type of UHC that would mimic what other Westernized nations have would be such a snafu.
43 million women who should use birth control - tallying the methods that look like they are doctor-prescribed - pill, IUD, ring, etc. - about 24% - so about 11 million out of a USA population of 330M - 3% of the population.
I have no idea how much birth control costs (it’s usually covered by employer benefits in Canada, if you are lucky). Let’s say things are equally distributed - let’s say the proportion is higher because usually hose plans are for people more likely to be in child-bearing age, so I’ll make the number 10%. Let’s pretend birth control pills cost $100 a month or $1200/year, for 10% of the participants. That’s a $120 increase in premiums for single, or $10 a month. That’s what my back of the envelope tells me.
Same back-of-the envelope calculation for any other issue. Lifetime maximum removed? How many people where you work are afflicted with cancer, need/have an organ transplant, or similar high-cost treatment each year? How many of those reach the maximum? Probably less than 1 in 100 employees each year. I hope your lifetime max was enough to finish the required chemo for cancer, it didn’t quit halfway through - or else why is the plan called insurance rather than “false hope”?
This is the whole point of medical “insurance” - spread the load around, so the unlucky one does not lose their house, their life savings. etc.
The failure of the states to expand Medicare is more a deliberate attempt by the state government to foil ACA, not a failure of the law itself. The cause is ideological and due to the state governments. Should you be surprised that problems occur if (a) some state governments actively are trying to frustrate the plan and (b) one party in congress frustrates any attempt to correct the issues arising from the law. One commentator said in programs like this there are plenty of issues, and typically in the past congress has passed amendments to clarify and correct these issues. It ain’t happening for this… is that Obama’s fault?
FYI - Canada has an extremely simple system - each province’s plan, all covered procedures and doctor visits are paid for by one plan. However, it does not cover prescriptions (there’s a plan for that if you’re poor). There is no mandate for birth control. Prescription coverage is a sometime employer benefit for lucky employees, and whether birth control (or Viagra) is covered is up to the plan provider. Some don’t.
I’m looking for facts …not trying to provide them. Your response seemed to be an effort to place blame.
For anyone:
Is the part of the law that requires coverage for more older children now fully implemented? Are those costs now built into the pricing of all “Family” coverages? My limited experience from quite a few years back is that the pricing of the plans that our company was looking at wasn’t based on how big the family was. There was only single and family… maybe one other in between for one parent families.
Sorry, I’m not seeing the impact of these rules as a driver of substantial cost increases.
I presume the insurance companies are altruistic and have no interest in milking the change for its financial or political implications, and it’s just a coincidence that the replacement plans are more expensive… so I’m at a loss to explain the rash of plan cancellations.