<p>Covered California released the demographics today.</p>
<p>23% of those who have enrolled are 18-34.</p>
<p>56% are 45-64.</p>
<p>Are these the demographics that make the system work?</p>
<p>Supposedly they need 38% cash cows. </p>
<p>And I’d imagine that they need to skew male and single. By the time you are 34 and married you may well no longer be a net contributor with births and kid check ups.</p>
<p>I think those are great demographics at this point of the process – we’d expect that the 45-64 age demographic would be an a bigger hurry to sign up, whereas the 18-34 would tend to procrastinate. </p>
<p>Note that the age ranges are disparate too – 45-64 covers a 20 year span, 18-34 is only a 16 year span, with a huge chunk (18-26) being eligible for coverage on their parents’ policies. (Not sure whether those are being accounted for in the Covered Cal release or not). </p>
<p>But the point is that I think that is BETTER than expected for bringing young people on board early on. It suggests a very positive trend…</p>
<p>No- the expectation was that people who were sick and in need of health care would sign up. </p>
<p>We dont know anything else about the 23%- its entirely possible that they are the sick and ones who need healthcare. In which case they dont help the viability of the program at all.</p>
<p>These people in both age groups could be those with health problems. I doubt the state will release that sort of information. But if this is a de facto high risk pool, the way to know is to see what premiums do next year.</p>
<p>What is the disaster if Obamacare fails to have enough people sign up?</p>
<p>This thread dies</p>
<p>Lol… </p>
<p>Argbargy, Love that response.</p>
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<p>Dstark, GP is playing games.</p>
<p>“Multistate” has a legal meaning: it means that the insurer is committed to offering exchange (subsidy eligible) plans in all 50 states within the next 4 years. There is a phase-in period so it is roughly ~30 states in year one. </p>
<p>There is a clickable map here where you can see which Multistate companies are offering plans in which states:
[Multi-State</a> Plan Program and the Health Insurance Marketplace](<a href=“http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/multi-state-plan-program/]Multi-State”>Multi-State Plan Program and the Health Insurance Marketplace)</p>
<p>Anthem Blue Shield is a Multi State provider, and provides plans in California.</p>
<p>This issue has come up because of many parents worried about health insurance for their kids attending colleges in other states. In the past, here is how this was handled- the insured student provided the home state insurance company with a “Verification of Enrollment” form from their school. These forms are very commonly issued by colleges and are easy to obtain (at my daughter’s school, it was something that she could print out on her own, whenever she wanted, from her student account). </p>
<p>I have no reason nor any indication to believe that it will be handled any differently in the future. However, since the law now requires coverage through age 26, there is no longer a need to prove that the student is attending college, so the insurance companies might develop a different set of forms and procedures for young adults who maintain separate residences from their parents. </p>
<p>However, in some cases families who are not subsidy eligible may find that it makes more sense to buy a separate exchange policy in the state where their young adult child resides, depending on premium costs and the range of options available in the respective states. That’s simply a matter of shopping both states during open enrollment periods, to see which offers the most cost-effective options.</p>
<p>Ok… But why are some plans called multistate and some arent?</p>
<p>I think using the word multistate is misleading. Anthem can be committed to offering plans in 50 states. Anthem should not call specific plans multistate. </p>
<p>I know GP is playing games. You throw around enough paint in a house, you may hit a wall.<br>
:)</p>
<p>The Anthem guys I chatted with did not use multistate in legal terms. They thought of multistate the way I did. </p>
<p>I dont think the public should have to deal with words that have double meaning.</p>
<p>The truth is I could sign up for insurance in 5 minutes if the insurance companies provided more clarity. </p>
<p>Some people complain about the exchanges…but these insurance companies are hurting the process.</p>
<p>Lol. Of course the insurance companies are causing problems ! Their business model is how we ended up in this mess to begin with. They are the problem. I see no reason to expect them to be the solution. </p>
<p>That would be like asking Jamie dimon to address and fix the issue of homelessness</p>
<p>Question:</p>
<p>I made the mistake of creating an account on the Obamacare website so I could view the exchange plans. To view the plans, I had to give enough information for the subsidy calculator to provide a verdict. I am not buying an exchange plan at this time and now I feel very uncomfortable that my account and info is not secure.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if there is way to delete an account? If so, can you point me to specific steps?</p>
<p>Thanks…</p>
<p>[New</a> health plans sold through exchanges not accepted at some prestigious NYC hospitals - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/new-health-plans-sold-through-exchanges-not-accepted-at-some-prestigious-nyc-hospitals/2013/11/20/7538dbb4-5235-11e3-9ee6-2580086d8254_story.html]New”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/new-health-plans-sold-through-exchanges-not-accepted-at-some-prestigious-nyc-hospitals/2013/11/20/7538dbb4-5235-11e3-9ee6-2580086d8254_story.html)</p>
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<p>Sounds like Sloan is holding out from NY plans.</p>
<p>Interesteddad, I dont know the answer to your question.</p>
<p>I hope you read the article in NH about hospitals making deals with the insurance company. Trading lower costs for a more monopolistic ownership of the market. </p>
<p>Then… When other hospitals say they would agree to thise terms, the answer is no. Hospital… You are out of our network. </p>
<p>Sounds like restraint of trade to me, but I am not a lawyer.</p>
<p>It should be interesting to see how that plays out as the employer plans end up the same as the ones on the exchange.</p>
<p>Texaspg, what is interesting to me is how different the employer plans are compared to employee plans. I would like to see Sloan say we arent going to play in the employer market. </p>
<p>The employer healthcare market is so much bigger than the individual insurance market. That would be a shock.</p>
<p>When busdriver11 brought up Sloan, and then Seattle Cancer Care came up in the discussion I visited the Seattle Cancer Care website. </p>
<p>There was a long list of insurance companies that include Seattle Cancer Care in their employer health insurance plans.</p>
<p>There wasnt a list for insurance companies that cover individuals. Seattle…said go contact your insurance company to find out if you are covered. :)</p>
<p>dstark - Are there any famous CA hospitals that are not part of any Covered CA plans?</p>
<p>I asked the question about Sloan few pages ago and no one responded. I thought I would close the loop when I saw this story. </p>
<p>I am sure they will get a little more money being out of network for now.</p>
<p>Just so everyone knows, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is no longer independent and now charges a “facilities fee,” not covered by insurance and not discounted by the fact you have insurance coverage.</p>
<p>$480 for every visit. It’s best to ask in advance for these things.</p>
<p>“I think those are great demographics at this point of the process – we’d expect that the 45-64 age demographic would be an a bigger hurry to sign up, whereas the 18-34 would tend to procrastinate.”</p>
<p>I think they are very good, also. It’s not like this is a concert that is going to sell out so quickly you better queue overnight to have a chance at a ticket. The young will be the last to sign up - just like they were in Mass. </p>
<p>The states who have set up theit own exchanges are all doing pretty well getting enrollment. The states who chose not to set up their own marketplaces are not. Now, some of that is because of healthcare.gov but I don’t think that is the only reason. </p>
<p>I think we are going to end up with O’care in the states which have embraced it and the other states will go back to the way insurance was pre-ACA.</p>
<p>Whoa- interesting prediction. </p>
<p>BTW- Kentucky was at 19% cash cows.</p>