President Obama upset millions of Americans. Over the past few years, he said that “If you
like your health plan, you can keep it.”
This has turned out not to be true for 5% of Americans.
It appears these plans will be available at least
for a little while.
My Advice: Consider New Options
If this happened to me, I would be mad as
hell. Especially since it’s difficult to
access the new plans. I would be worried
about prices and coverage. But, I would
research what I could. In considering
this scenario, I did the research anyway.
Here’s what I’ve come up:
- Any
plan that was created before the passage of the ACA in 2010 was “grandfathered’
into the new Marketplace. These remain.
- Any
plan that was created or changed after 2010 that did not meet the requirements
of the ACA would be cancelled at the end of 2013.
So, yes, the President lied. But, the plans that people want to keep are
expensive and do not carry important consumer protections such as the 10 essential health care benefits. “Individual
policies have long been a problematic part of the insurance market, with higher
prices than most group plans, fewer benefits and a tendency to cut people off
when they get sick,” says a Washington Post article.
I am sure with all of this debate that people will
have a little longer to choose. I am personally
hopeful that the Marketplace Web site will be working by January 1st. I might wait to research coverage and pricing
in the Marketplace and compare the information to my current plan. After all, a plan from the Marketplace not
only brings guaranteed better protections, but it also comes with a subsidy to
lower the cost.
Proposed Fixes:
1. Obama: These plans can carry on for one more
year.
2. The Senate: A few plans similar to Obama’s have been proposed. The Landrieu bill
would allow for Americans on these plans to stay on them indefinitely. The Udall bill would allow for these plans to
stay around for two years. Then, they would be cancelled.
3. The House of Representatives: Americans on
these plans can stay on them, and insurance companies can sell them to others
who are shopping around for insurance.
This has already passed in the House and will need approval from the
Senate and the President.
