<p>Ha. Like some of your predictions? Or when you told me I was wrong about my rates? You just want to argue. And be snarky. </p>
<p>Here’s an article from 2012 about typical health insurance exclusions for “high risk” activities, with particular focus on exclusions related to motorcycle riders:
<a href=“http://www.examiner.com/article/insurance-companies-can-deny-coverage-for-motorcycle-accidents”>http://www.examiner.com/article/insurance-companies-can-deny-coverage-for-motorcycle-accidents</a></p>
<p>“typical health insurance exclusions”</p>
<p>Where did it say it was typical? After some furious googling, you found an article that excluded at fault motorcycle accidents or high risk recreational activities like paragliding, bungee jumping or ultimate fighting. I am sure this was a huge problem for many people. How many policies have these exclusions? See if you can google this and get me the answer. This has got to be a joke.</p>
<p>BTW, after researching this motorcycle issue, I found that some insurance companies have a subrogation rider that requires the policyholder to reimburse the health insurance company if the subscriber receives money from a lawsuit or from a motorcycle policy as a result of the accident. Some employer self-funded insurance have these provisions. Policies bought from an insurance company typically pay for motorcycle accidents. </p>
<p>Also, that article didn’t even refer to “fault”, the claim made by LF. </p>
<p>Face it GP, we think you just want to assert your right to say whatever you want, inflame, and prolong arguments. It comes across as stretching, not careful vetting. I mind your references to “minions,” furious googling, and the rest of the sneering that comes through about advocates. You had a policy you describe as good, you lost it, you need to move forward. And mind TOS. </p>
<p>“you need to move forward.”</p>
<p>Not a chance.</p>
<p>Changing the subject, I talked to a friend in MA and he told me that everybody who applied for Obamacare insurance on the MA exchange (57,000 people) and were eligible for subsidies will get Medicaid for free until they fix the website. Most of these people are hoping they never fix the site.</p>
<p>"Not a chance. "</p>
<p>So what do you plan to do about it - instead of just whining on this thread? </p>
<p>Here are a couple of articles about the Massachusetts debacle:
<a href=“http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/health-care/2014/03/the-atrick-administration-cuts-ties-to-it-vendor.html”>http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/health-care/2014/03/the-atrick-administration-cuts-ties-to-it-vendor.html</a>
<a href=“Massachusetts Health Connector revises expectations for functioning website - masslive.com”>Massachusetts Health Connector revises expectations for functioning website - masslive.com;
<p>GP’s friend underreported the number of people places on MassHealth (Medicaid) because the bunglers at CGI were unable to build their website. The articles say it is around 160,000. </p>
<p>Interesting that after we’ve heard all the terrible things about Medicaid and why no one would want to be on it, the Massachusetts people are satisfied and don’t want to move to subsidized private insurance according to the FOAF.</p>
<p>Duh! Free. </p>
<p>Medicaid was already free when people were saying no one would want to be on it. Presumably everyone here who said “Medicaid is terrible, no one would want to be on it,” knew then that it was free.</p>
<p>CF - Those things are not mutually exclusive. If it’s free people will take it. Nothing surprising there.</p>
<p>“When given a choice between Medicaid and subsidized insurance, most people will pick Medicaid” and the initial claim of “When given a choice between Medicaid and subsidized insurance, most people will not pick Medicaid because it’s awful” seem mutually exclusive to me. </p>
<p>calmom, thank you for that detailed history of health insurance in America. One lesson to be drawn is that every 25 years or so, we make a major change, and that every time we do that, some group is upset. So that puts this current change into some perspective: It is not the end of the world.</p>
<p>Another thing to keep in mind is that change doesn’t happen instantly all over the country. Since insurance is state-based, typically a change will start in one place and, if it’s found to be beneficial to an insurer’s bottom line, then it spreads. </p>
<p>True to form, GP believes that his experience is the universal norm, speaking of Phase 1 which calmom described:</p>
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<p>Unlike GP, I’m not going to assume that what happened to me happened to every single person in the country. (Plus he’s mixed up – the section he quoted doesn’t refer to the PPO era) My recollection of MY experience is something like this:</p>
<p>Phase 1 (no networks): I’m certain this was the case when I was a kid and when I first graduated from college (mid-50s through late 70s). By 1992 – the year GP entered the individual insurance market – this model was on its way to becoming extinct. So it is no surprise that he didn’t experience it.</p>
<p>Phase 2 (advent of HMOs): I lived in Seattle during college and early adulthood. While my insurance continued to be Phase 1, quite a few people I knew were in Group Health (I want to say it was referred to as a co-op, but could be wrong about that), which at the time was spoken of as a revolutionary new way of delivering health care. It had all the advantages and disadvantages which calmom describes. I first heard of it in 1980, GP. That doesn’t mean it started in 1980, since I am capable of understanding that events can happen without affecting me, even without my knowing about them. But I believe it was fairly new as of the early 80s, and I don’t think there were a lot of HMOs across the country at that time. Again, I could be wrong about that…</p>
<p>Phase 3 (rise of the PPO): My personal experience with PPOs started when D was a toddler, so early 90s. It sounds like you’re confusing the indemnity model with the PPO timeframe, GP, But again, I don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because it happened to me, it must have happened to everyone everywhere. </p>
<p>I am curious though, GP, about your statement that in 1992, you were able to purchase individual insurance without answering any health questions. Does that sound right to you, calmom/LF/Fang? Outside of group policies, I never had insurance where I DIDN’T have to answer health questions. That’s how they determined how risky I was, and thus how much to charge me, or whether to take me at all. It was the essence of individual insurance before ACA – you were a risk pool of one. </p>
<p>Mass people are more experienced with ACA type tax penalties for not buying insurance. I can understand at least some people being happy about medicaid if their intent was not to buy insurance but felt obligated due to the penalties.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s a wonderful thing to be so poor that you qualify for Medicaid.</p>
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<p>No, it doesn’t sound right. I can’t imagine why an insurance company would enroll a person currently undergoing cancer treatment if they didn’t have to. </p>
<p>But possibly GP got a policy that didn’t pay for any condition deemed to be pre-existing at the time of application. In that case, he could get insurance coverage for the conditions he didn’t have, but not for the conditions he did have. In that situation, the cancer patient could buy health insurance, but it would cover his nonexistent diabetes and heart disease and not the cancer that he actually had. The diabetic could buy insurance to cover her non-existent cancer, but not her diabetes, and so forth. It’s the same thing; it’s just underwriting after the fact instead of at the time of application.</p>
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<p>It’s a blast! </p>
<p>Though, I admit, I do miss having to choose between my meds and food. It always made for such interesting internal dialogue 
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<p>Romani, aren’t you busy planning a honeymoon cruise? </p>
<p>“I am curious though, GP, about your statement that in 1992, you were able to purchase individual insurance without answering any health questions”</p>
<p>Reading comprehension is not your strong suit. Did I say that? I’ll save you the time from checking. Calmom said it was typical that people needed medical examinations and I said I was never required to get one for individual insurance. I also said that no health insurance company has ever asked for my medical records.</p>
<p>I will give you little background on my Ma friend. He is probably worth $3 or $4 million (cash) and right now he is getting free insurance (medicaid) in Ma. He is one those people who qualify for subsidies (he doesn’t work) and because of the screw up with their website , he has been receiving free medical care since Jan 1. He was paying close to $2,000 a month before this year. He claims that he can still see the same doctors, has no deductibles or co pays and even has dental which he didn’t have before.</p>
<p>He also said Obamacare brought rates down in MA because Romneycare had driven rates up to stratospheric levels.</p>