That is all.
The federal Healthcare.gov exchange closes enrollment for coverage that starts on January 1, 2015 at 11:59pm Pacific time tonight. If you are insured on the Exchange, and have not renewed, please go in and make sure you are reasonably happy with your coverage today. If you have been putting off getting insurance, this is the end of procrastinating time.
Several of the state exchanges have open enrollment periods that go for another couple of days. But I am betting the federal deadline will be a firm deadline (I’m so confident, I have a cup coffee riding on it against my cube row where everyone else is convinced their will be a general 24 to 48 hour extension.)
So if you are intending to buy insurance this year, do so today.
wvng
Did ours last week. Dropped from silver to bronze because our health is good, it only take a two year window of good health to make it pay off, and after deductibles are paid off the bronze is very good coverage.
But thanks for the reminder.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
It’s disconcerting that people are still misinterpreting various “promises” about the PPACA, getting angry at Obama, but also genuinely getting hammered by increased premiums. E.g. this lament at Booman.
It would be nice if here was a way to minimize things like that happening. I can imagine support for the program falling over time if ways aren’t found to combat those perceptions, and, of course, to minimize hardships.
I would think that personal assistance would help, but it’s probably not realistic to expect millions to be helped in a couple of weeks before a deadline.
Keep fighting the good fight on this, Richard.
Cheers,
Scott.
Freemark
I was disappointed because it looks like I will have to drop my excellent insurance and get Medicaid instead because of the changes being made in PA. I would rather have the subsdidy.
lonesomerobot
I called yesterday… (I know, last minute much?).
Immediately got a message about the high volume of traffic. Was prompted to enter my phone number to be placed in a queue for a callback in “5 to 8 days”. According to the recording, getting in the queue is at least enough to make sure you can still get covered for Jan. 1, even though it will be past the deadline. Just called back (because why not). Got through this time and am on hold now. Would rather get it done today if possible.
MomSense
So my office mate went to renew her plan but because we live in a state run by an ingnoranus, she has hit a glitch. She received a message saying she may qualify for medicaid (she won’t) and now the website won’t let her choose an option. By the time Mainecare gets back to her to tell her she won’t qualify, the snow will have melted and we will be enjoying mud season. I suggested she call a navigator.
PST
This weekend I finally talked my brother into signing up. He is 60 and single, rabidly anti-Obamacare, and yet exactly the kind of person the ACA is designed to help. He would benefit from Medicaid expansion, but lives in a non-expansion state where he does not qualify. He lives with and takes care of our ancient parents, which is invaluable to me, and earns about $10,000 doing casual construction and remodeling work.
One of his worries is that if he doesn’t hit the FPL, which is about $11,500 for him, he will have to pay back the entire subsidy. He thinks his navigater told him that, but he had a lot of information to absorb, so I would like to think this bit of misinformation came from Fox and got mixed up with the accurate things this nice young volunteer had to say. I provided him with a copy of Treasury Regulation 1.36B-2(b)(6), which says pretty clearly that you can undershoot your estimate without losing your subsidy. Am I right, Richard? I don’t want to give the boy a bum steer.
Kay
Thanks for mentioning this, Richard.
I remembered to remind my daughter that her boyfriend has to re-up :)
2liberal
my current employment ends Dec 31. My new job starts Jan 1 however no medical coverage for 60 days. Cobra is $377 per month. Any advice if I should try to get federal coverage? I live in Arizona.
Elizabelle
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
Was it “our” aimai who signed in as BoomanAimai to put up this intelligent comment? If so, 3 cheers.
mai naem mobile
Redid mine yesterday. Our rates.went down slightly. I couldn’t log.in so I had to call. Almost 2 hr wait on the phone but quick once i got on. I added a dental plan in once i was prompted by the CSR so I did that.in a hurry and really went by the name of the plan because i didn’t get a chance to look at the details. I wish this had been around 20 yrs ago because I think my dad would still.be around.
Newdealfarmgrrrlll
I am one of those affected by PreferredOne’s decision to drop out of MNsure, my cost would have quadrupled if I stayed with them in general market.
I used a broker to help me choose a new plan, as MNsure’s final fixes to their glitchy website ensured that I cannot access anything using my Mac with an old OS. All in all, I’m pleased with MNsure and like my new plan.
Richard Mayhew
@PST: Correct, if he makes a good faith estimate that his income is at 100.1% FPL and through that estimates, qualifies for both cost sharing assistance Silver and the advanced premium tax credit (the subsidy), AND he then later files his 2015 taxes which show an income of under 100% FPL, then the Feds will not attempt to recover the subsidy. If anything, they may send him a check to make up for the subsidy that he should have gotten at his lower income.
If he can make the estimate in good faith, he is in good shape.
TaMara (BHF)
First, I don’t blame Obama. That this passed at all is still pretty incredible. This change is going to take time for it to work in a way that actually helps the average person. But my premiums went up 6x (you read that correctly) and that’s BEFORE I calculate my income increase. My deductible went from $6K to $6500. And to top it off, couldn’t find a doctor in my plan last year who was taking new patients.
There was just no time to research other plans before the deadline (one month is not a lot when you have your own business and holiday season). So I’ll probably be paying the fine this year and going without health insurance again. I want to see if the new co-op insurance company pans out, that may be the direction I go.
I’m grumpy about it, but not much I can do about it.
ETA: And I’m having a hard time convincing my younger clients to even look at the plans. I haven’t quite figured out why. I always tell them they should at least look at it.
MomSense
@TaMara (BHF):
People are experiencing what it is like to have health insurance and actually it used to be worse – a lot worse.
I do wonder what role state regulators have in some of these rate increases. I also wonder to what extent we are seeing a reaction to so many people with deferred health care needs using all the services in the first year.
TaMara (BHF)
@MomSense: I’m actually pretty confident it will all work to make everything better. But it takes time. The forced deadlines and the estimating income for 2015 are huge hurdles for me. I really under-estimated my income last year, for various reason and projects I won’t have in 2015, so I’m going to owe back for some of the subsidy.
So what I’m saying is, I have no idea what to budget for yet and saying I have to know by Dec 15th is unrealistic.
And not being able to find a doctor (with Kaiser no less) really discouraged me.
MomSense
@TaMara (BHF):
I used to spend $1,600 a month and had a 10,000 deductible so things are already much better for me. My insurance premium went up about 100 over last year and the subsidy amount stayed pretty constant. I think that a lot of people in my state had looooong deferred health and dental needs.
2liberal
@2liberal:
I went to the healthcare.gov site and I think i am best to go with Cobra. The other premiums are about the same, but then I get a subsidy which is good, but they don’t include my current provider, Mayo, which is bad. Since it is only a couple months I will stick with Cobra.
TaMara (BHF)
@MomSense: Yikes. Totally understand. I was priced out of insurance all together because of pre-existing conditions from a car accident years ago. That is the best part of Obamacare – you can’t be denied coverage. And it doesn’t play into the cost of your plan. Well, not in theory. :-)
MomSense
@TaMara (BHF):
I will pay $559 for new plan so it is much, much better. I was at $440 per month the first year.
Steeplejack
I didn’t have to do much of anything. I got a very informative packet from Kaiser Permanente recapping my policy (silver), noting that it is still being offered and advising that I will be automatically renewed on January 1. My premium is going up 3.5 percent. Thanks, Obama!
I have been getting deadline warnings via e-mail from Healthcare.gov, so I logged on there to see if there was anything else I needed to see or do. Nothing but a couple of generic PDF notices. So I guess I am set.
I do have one question about the way my autopay is set up with Kaiser, but I’ll call them next week after all the hoopla dies down.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ve been paying for insurance out of pocket for about 12 years now. My premiums have spiked twice– I want to say doubled, but I’m not 100% sure– once when I turned 40 (2007) and once in January 2009, which I assumed at the time was a preemptive strike against eventual passage of HCR. More typically, the increases have been about 10-12% each year, including ’14 and ’15.
Elie
Not to veer too much off of the topic, Richard, but what do you think of the New England Journal’s article on the potential success of overturning O care? Could you write a piece on that for us?
Xantar
One of the most common cases I’m running into is people who desperately need care because they’re only making $13,000 or so. They come to the Maryland Health Connection because they’ve been told they’ll get coverage, and indeed they do: Medicaid. But they balk at getting Medicaid. Out loud, they tell me they want to be able to see whatever doctor they want, but I can tell that a big part of it is pride. Many of them would rather take a full price insurance plan (fortunately, Maryland’s rates are very low to begin with).
I really sympathize. Many of these people have worked hard all their lives and don’t want to think of themselves as takers. I don’t know what to do other than just explain to them the facts of their options and let them make their own decisions.
VFX Lurker
When I filled out my CoveredCA application two Fridays ago, I hit the button that asked if I qualified for financial assistance. I told the truth — I was unemployed as of 12-12-2014, planning to retrain and get hired sometime in 2015, but I honestly was not sure what my income would be in 2015. I also mentioned that my employer-based coverage ends on the end of this month.
CoveredCA was not sure if I qualified for subsidies. It needed my insurer’s notice that my employer-based coverage had been terminated, which I will not get until January. Because of this, CoveredCA could not allow me to sign up for a plan on the exchange. The website also submitted an application on my behalf to Medi-Cal. I called the DPSS last week to check on the status of my application. Normally, it takes three days to turn around a Medi-Cal application, but because of the high volume of applications, Medi-Cal could take up to 10 days to process my application.
Luckily, it only took DPSS about four days from the date of my application to mail me some information. I have a case #, but I do not yet have my PIN, which is mailed separately. So, I am not sure of the status of my Medi-Cal application.
A new wrinkle developed last Wednesday when a friend’s employer called to see if I might be available for a VFX position that would start on January 5th next year. I’ll be interviewing for that position later today (woo-hoo!). If I get the gig, I may hit the “reset button” (aka: “Withdraw my Application”) on CoveredCA and attempt to purchase an unsubsidized Bronze plan from Kaiser Permanente, without asking for any financial assistance this time. I’ll be out-of-town between next Sunday and January 2nd visiting family, so there’s a risk that I might not be able to pay for my Bronze plan by the December 26th deadline.
I’m not complaining. I have three possible options for January next year: COBRA, unsubsidized Bronze, and Medi-Cal. I also have access to Open Enrollment until February 15th, so I should have this situation sorted out by then. This is already a million times better than 2006, when I got my first rejection letter for private individual coverage because of my preexisting condition. I just had a weird job situation that did not fit neatly into CoveredCA’s website application when financial assistance was requested.
Mnemosyne
@TaMara (BHF):
What the heck is up with Colorado? It really seems like you guys are getting screwed. Is it high-cost areas + not enough competition between insurance companies?
Mnemosyne
@VFX Lurker:
IIRC, if you lose your job, you’re allowed to apply for/change coverage outside of the open enrollment period. That’s probably why CoveredCA doesn’t seem to be in any particular hurry to process your application, but you can call them back and ask. If you’re worried something might happen in the month between your old coverage and your new coverage, can you get COBRA just for that month to be absolutely sure you won’t have any trouble during that gap? You have to apply for COBRA when you leave but you can drop it at any time.
VFX Lurker
@Mnemosyne: I’m not worried about actually needing coverage in January…but I do want to have coverage for January. COBRA can indeed be my backup if CoveredCA/Medi-Cal doesn’t work out for January.
burnspbesq
We got hit with a 15 percent premium increase, but after the hour of scenario analysis to decide whether to eat that or step down from platinum to gold, renewing took about two minutes. Didn’t even have to go to Covered California to do it; was handled on Blue Shield’s site.
Curt
My current plan’s premium increased, but what really killed me was a sharp decrease in my tax credit subsidy (NOT because of increased income, just to be clear–my income remains the same). I’m going from a fully-subsidized Silver plan to a Bronze plan that I now have to pay for. I’m not at all an opponent of the law or unrealistic about what might have passed in its place, but coming to terms with this adjustment has more than once reminded me of Atrios’s phrase, “forcing people to buy shitty insurance that they can’t afford.” I firmly blame Republicans and the idiots who vote for them/don’t turn out to vote against them, but something better sure would have been nicer.
Pen
@Curt: I live in Wisconsin. That “forcing people to buy shitty insurance they can’t afford” is exactly what my wonderful state government implemented when they made it almost impossible to qualify for subsidies.
Elizabelle
I am now enrolled in Obamacare, and got a much sweeter subsidy than I was expecting. What was unaffordable last enrollment period is more gently priced this time around. (Mainly because I can work more in 2015. Family issues this year.)
Couldn’t remember my password or one of the security questions, so it was about 40 minutes on hold to get an Obamacare rep (having already decided on a good Silver plan with a Kaiser rep earlier today) and he handled completing the application over the phone. Must get my premium in to Kaiser before January 1st; will be looking for my paperwork as avidly as for any Christmas card.
Thank you for the reminder.
I am both happy for me and deeply regretful for the Linda Tirados of the world, who need good affordable health coverage much more than I do and may not qualify for that generous subsidy, though they work harder and longer. (Thanks Republicans in US Congress and the Virginia legislature.)
This is Why Poor People’s Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense. Linda’s blogpost, which ended up going viral (HuffPost link) and now she’s got a book out.
Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America. (Amazon link)
Richard mayhew
@2liberal: get on the exchange for 2 months
VFX Lurker
@VFX Lurker:
I wish to report that I got the VFX gig (woo-hoo!), so I hit the “reset button” on CoveredCA and reapplied *without* asking for financial assistance this time.
CoveredCA offered some helpful tools to help me pick a plan. It showed that barring a catastrophe, a Bronze Kaiser plan should be cheaper overall than a Silver Kaiser plan most of the time, even with the extra out-of-pocket expenses.
As Richard advised me many posts ago, I can also still receive premium assistance for 2015 via my 2015 tax return, if my 2015 income ends up falling within the premium assistance range. CoveredCA noted that I should be able to receive this assistance as long as I turn my 2015 tax return in by Tax Day on April 2016.
Turns out CoveredCA had this situation…um…covered. After I enrolled, a “Pay Now” button appeared to allow me to make my first premium’s payment online. I could choose to pay via bank account or credit card. I opted to pay via credit card.
This was my first time using CoveredCA. It was a bit of a learning curve, but I’m happy with it overall.
thalarctos (not the other one)
Deadline in Massachusetts isn’t until the 23rd.