@HImom – Funny you mention Kaiser. DH and I gave up on Obamacare – it was just too expensive, and a huge headache during tax time – and switched to Kaiser in January after 28 years with the same doctors and hospital. I haven’t used it yet, DH just had his first experience with it (very positive, btw) for a persistent muscle spasm in his leg he (a hypochondriac) worried was thrombosis. (Insert wife’s eyeroll here. It was not thrombosis.) I was sad to say goodbye to the place where I had gotten care, and given birth, for so long. But – that’s the way the cookie crumbles in 21st century America…
One of the issues about our local (& I suspect national) Kaiser is that they hire a significant number of emergency hire/temp docs when they need them because a doc has maternity leave, for example. Some of the patients in the support group I lead have had a different lung specialist EVERY visit for the past 5 or so visits and aren’t feeling connected to any of them and are having trouble developing any rapport or good care. They also incentivized the experienced nurses to all leave en masse by tweaking their retirement benefits so they could only keep their benefits if they left Kaiser after more than two decades of service there, so they lost their most experienced nurses all at once. All of my friends who had worked there had planned to finish out their careers there but felt they were forced out prematurely and took on new jobs in their late 50s, to preserve their benefits.
Wouldn’t the new Kaiser plan also be an ACA (Obamacare) compliant plan?
Kaiser has a slew of different plans, but of course most (if not all) are compliant with ACA. Some are purchased on the ACA market while others are offered by employers, at different premiums with different terms, etc.
I really like my ACA plan. I was able to keep my doctor (of the 4 plans available to me she was only in the network of one so I took that one), I’ve never had trouble seeing a specialist and it’s affordable. I really don’t want to lose it.
I think everything is required to be ACA compliant, right? (Different than being an exchange plan)
Funny, I was being sarcastic when I said, “Yeah, but if the CBO numbers don’t support the narrative, they’re fake news, so what’s the point?”
And now I read this:
“If you’re looking to the CBO for accuracy, you’re looking in the wrong place,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters."
Bang head against the wall… 
I’ve read what is currently being prooosed. The biggest issue I see…nothing to prevent insurance providers from simply stopping provision on insurance on the individual market.
Look at Phoenix. There is ONE…read that ONE provider doing individual policies. That’s not much for,choice.
The whole across state lines thing supposedly is in Phase 3 or 4 of,the health care plan changes. And there would be nothing to force doctors to actually participate in lit of state plans…or even instate ones.
One of my kids had trouble even finding a PCP given the individual plan he has. Let’s not even discuss specialists or RX.
@ucbalumnus – the Kaiser plan I’m sure is ACA compliant, but it remains cheaper and there are no subsidies involved, making it much more user-friendly at tax times. (We’re owing a small fortune in taxes due to a salary change which affected our ACA subsidy. The paperwork has been intimidating and frustrating.)
@HImom – interesting info about Kaiser. I’ll talk to people around here who have had it. Lucky for me and my family, we’re a mostly healthy bunch with fairly standard required care. So I hope we won’t be in need of a lot of specialists.
Kaiser plans do seem to be more likely to be on the lower end of the cost scale.
“…those ELECTED officials who are supposed to serve their constituents! - should be subject to utilizing whatever healthcare option they come up with for the rest of us.”
“Didn’t republicans lawmakers do that after ACA was passed?”
Yes, it was the Grassley (R-Iowa) Amendment.
They get it on the DC SHOP exchange.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-laz-congress-members-health-insurance-20150218-story.html
I remember during Cruz primary campaign his wife left Goldman (which is where the Cruz’s were covered under the a family plan) and he had to get new insurance through the SHOP exchange.
AHA is eliminating all SHOP exchanges and I’d bet the Grassley Amendment is repealed in this new bill.
Wellllll… he’s got a point (sort of). CBO has a mixed record on accuracy.
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/08/congressional_budget_office_blows_it_again_partner/
The thing I find interesting is that under the fed govt offerings, the premium costs for Kaiser HMO are similar to my BCBS plan. The copays are also fairly similar. One of the big differences for us is that our BCBS plan allows us to get care pretty much anywhere nationwide and has a huge network that is participating. I have received care at many of the top places in the US over the years, as have my kids.
If one is pretty healthy, having access to national and regional specialists may not be nearly as important. My neighbors and friends have been pleased with Kaiser, as is my brother who is a MD and administrator there.
We have liked being able to select our provider, but that’s getting tougher with our aging medical workforce in HI. I feel very fortunate that we could choose to switch medical plans next open season, as needed. So far I’m just actively searching for a new YOUNGER internist.
I totally get it, HImom. Keeping my fingers crossed you’ll find someone very good, youngish and available!
In case you were wondering:
avg cost of ER visit: 3.61 iPhones
avg cost of pregnancy and delivery: 14.67 iPhones
avg cost of broken leg, with surgical care: 28.33 iPhones
avg cost of 1 extra year of life (cancer treatment): 345 iPhones
@doschicos–these prices you are quoting, are you saying those are the gross prices without insurance or net after insurance or something else? Where are you getting these quotes?
Gross prices but considering we don’t know who and how folks will be covered under whatever new healthcare plan replaces ACA, that is what one’s cost would potentially be.
Here’s some listings of doctor visits vs emergency room costs. It appears to vary somewhat by age of the patient and of course complexity of the case. YMMV, of course. I always thought ER visits would be 5 or even 6 figures–I’ve always avoided them and will continue to do so. I’m fortunate to be able to get care from my internist and the urgent care near our home (once for a broken fibula–ouch).
http://www.consumerhealthratings.com/index.php?action=showSubCats&cat_id=274
Here’s a chart comparing costs by state with a map. It even includes HI & Alaska.
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/health/average-medical-hospital-costs-by-state-map.html
It doesn’t have numbers, just color-coding for highest vs lowest.
Alaska has the highest costs. The new health plan would remove changes based on location for the tax credit and just pay everyone the same rate. It will hit the more expensive places harder.
Yes, HI has fairly high healthcare costs and you can’t just go to a nearby state instead. Travel for medical care is tiring and expensive. My family and I have done it for the past 17 years but would prefer if we could get the care we need in our own state and city. We would rather use the money for other things but without your health, things go downhill pretty quickly and you may never regain health once you’ve suffered some permanent damage through well-meaning folks who just didn’t quite have the skill you needed. People who live on neighbor islands have an even more difficult time getting medical care, especially specialist care. They often have to fly to Oahu for care and if they’re very ill may need an air ambulance that can cost 5 or 6 figures and may not be reimbursed.