“our insurance company sent us regular letters requiring us to confirm that no one on our family plan was eligible for any other insurance through an employer”
Employers still do this but its because they want to verify if they are the primary or secondary insurer for family members of the employee. It’s a way for them to see if they can reduce their payouts by being the secondary insurer not the primary.
" Under ACA, you can buy a plan from any company," that is not correct. insurance companies do not need to be part of obamacare. I just helped a person whose insurance company pulled out of the exchange and this was after open enrollment for our company. it was not easy. the policies on obamcare are not accepted by every doctor and the deductibles can be off the chart. sure if you only care about cost and avoiding the penalty go for obamacare. if you want a widely accepted plan with reasonable deductibles you will need a plan b! every 20-25 thinks they will never get sick and just look at the monthly costs. I deal with that all the time.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/04/doctors-hospitals-wont-accept-obamacare-marketplace-plans
You can buy any plan offered by companies to individuals in YOUR state…whether on or off exchange.
And yes…companies are pulling out of the exchange market, especially individual policies.
My son has had four different policies in four years…first because he moved so needed policy two in his new state. That was with United Health Care…and was not ACA compliant. UHC pulled out of the individual insurance market in DSs state altogether…so he got policy number 3…a PPO from Healthnet through the exchange. Healthnet discontinued that policy and went to HMO (as did ALL other carriers for individual policies in this state). So DS has policy 4 a HMO also through Healthnet.
I’m just glad he has insurance.
@zobroward You are confused.
The exchange is not the definition of Obamacare (aka ACA).
ACA is a law that applies to ALL health insurance (with very, very few specific exceptions for now). So your assertion that “insurance companies do not need to be part of Obamacare” is incorrect. I think what you mean is that insurance companies do not need to be part of THE EXCHANGE. However, the exchange is not the totality of ACA/Obamacare.
Almost all the new hires out of college at my work stay on their parents plans til they turn 26. It saves them money. And usually costs the parents nothing extra.
brantly…I thought it was clear we were not talking about the 1000xx of pages of bureaucratic jargon
and strictly about purchasing health insurance.
sure certain rules apply to all health insurance that is correct but I am talking about the obamacare exchanges and the insurance people purchase on the exchange. if you call a doctors office first they ask what insurance you have, second question is it an individual plan? if yes…3rd question is it an obamcare policy …if you say yes…you may very likely be told we do not take those policies.
common hopeful patient response but it shows your office on the list. response we never signed up to be a part of it, we do not take those policies. thank you and have a nice day.
@zobroward this all depends on the state.
Some states offer those “skinny plans” like CA.
Others have the same plans on as well,as off exchange. ymmv depending on where you reside.
I have had several different exchange plans, all through bcbs. I have gone to several different doctors and specialists in the last few years dealing with chronic health problems. Not one single time have I had an issue with any doctor not taking an “exhange” plan. Not once has any doctor asked if it was an “obamacare plan” because, again, there is NO SUCH THING.
In fact, the only real insurance issues I’ve had is in the last few months and those have been through an employer plan, not exchange.
So please, you don’t know what you’re talking about and it doesn’t seem relevant to this thread so let it go.
@zobroward, all plans (whether sold through the exchanges or not) must comply with the basic coverages and rules of the ACA. The exchange plans we have purchased are very similar in price and coverage to thise offered through the same companies directly (we evaluated both for each of the past three years) --and my kid has BETTER co-pays and defuctibles, and the same doctor network that she would have through our employer plan or COBRA. Your ideas about this are not anchored in reality.
I think the OP’s question has been answered. There is a thread in the cafe for those who want to discuss the ACA.