Thursday, February 28, 2013

Another Warning About Switching Your Healthcare Plan

I have posted on this before, but this is a very important topic, so here is a slightly more comprehensive explanation of a key section in Obamacare. 

If  you have been on a continuous healthcare plan since March 23, 2010, it may get very expensive to switch, thanks to certain regulations in Obamacare.

A friend emails:
Read the below carefully, because effective 1/1/14, unless the law is successfully challenged, if you are not “grandfathered” on your plan your plan fees will be based on your earned income—age will not be the major factor in coverage cost any more.  However, for some reason the media has been completely mum about this, and I’m not sure why.  Those that have money will be paying not only for their own coverage, but will be paying for those with lower-than-average incomes who will get tax advantages so that they can purchase affordable income, as well as for the new new automatically included coverages (e.g. maternity) that must be covered in the new mandated plans, all relating to younger folks (which is why income, rather than age, will now be the deciding factor in the cost of health plans) .  Worse, those without health plans will be charged a percentage of income (going up each year) for NOT having a qualified plan!  This may conceivably also affect employers who have switched (or plan to switch) group health plans, so speak with professionals before considering making any changes in your current coverage if you have been on a continuous plan since 3/2010.

From healthcare.gov:
Grandfathered Health Plans
A grandfathered health plan isn’t required to comply with some of the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act that apply to other health plans that are not grandfathered. 

3 comments:

  1. "... If you have health coverage from a plan that existed on March 23, 2010 — and that has covered at least one person continuously from that day forward — your plan may*[ahem]* be considered a “grandfathered” plan.
    This is true whether you are covered by an individual health insurance policy that you had on that date, or you are covered by a job-based health plan that your employer established before March 23, 2010. This is true even if you enrolled in that job-based plan sometime later.
    A grandfathered health plan isn’t required to comply with some of the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act that apply to other health plans that are not grandfathered."

    Doesn't this mean we should expect the surfacing of another provision from the Act (or a forthcoming law) requiring employers to update all plans they offer to come into compliance - effectively sunsetting the grandfathering?

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  2. Great point JTG it's a matter of time before this bankrupts more people & govt's so Washington will simply say they need more revenue, it's never a spending issue according to the dictator in chief.

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  3. It's disturbing how they brazenly use the terms "consumer protections" as if it is their gospel.

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