tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post8841127815656379852..comments2024-03-10T13:59:19.230-04:00Comments on xpostfactoid: ACA marketplace coverage can be as generous as the Biden administration wants it to beAndrew Sprunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17601269968798865106noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post-7159527858383208452021-01-21T15:02:47.630-05:002021-01-21T15:02:47.630-05:00Thanks for a useful post, as always.
1)Note your ...Thanks for a useful post, as always.<br /><br />1)Note your third paragraph hyperlink ("proposed") does not seem to be taking me to the right thing. Perhaps you have pointed it to something local on your machine?<br /><br />2)In case you didn't catch it, the dropping of the "subsidy cliff", and reduction of terms to 8.5% of income post-subsidy cost is also in Biden's current COVID relief attempt:<br /><br />https://buildbackbetter.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/COVID_Relief-Package-Fact-Sheet.pdf<br /><br />"[President-elect Biden] is also asking Congress to expand and increase the value of the Premium Tax Credit to lower or eliminate health insurance premiums and ensure enrollees - including those who never had coverage through their jobs - will not pay more than 8.5 percent of their income for coverage."<br /><br />If I understand it correctly, there is nothing like this COVID relief bill out their yet -- it's just what Biden will try to negotiate, and get through in a bipartisan fashion.<br /><br />From reading in the Washington Post, this fix will go the "reconciliation" route if it doesn't go in this bipartisan attempt, assuming the Democrats have the political will. (Ditto the high-copays, by actuarial value or other methods, and the "family glitch", again only if there is sufficient support among Democratic people in Congress.)<br /><br />3)You or other readers might find this helpful:<br /><br />https://www.legalconsumer.com/obamacare/rates.php?FIPS=17031&ST=IL<br /><br />It's a convenient source to look up individual rates and deductibles and out-of-pocket maxima for common cases for the real plans available in a tabular form. It's only for states using the federal exchange, and it doesn't give premium subsidies or further copay caps from cost-sharing reductions. So the main use is really over the 400% FPL "subsidy cliff" people. (The link I have given points to Cook County, IL, but you can get any location using the Federal exchange from it. I believe it is derived from public CMS datasets, turning those into a more convenient form for humans to read.)<br /><br />Less convenient for some purposes, you can get exact rates post-subsidy, plus the deductible and OOP max, individually, case by case, from:<br /><br />https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/ (without setting up an account or anything--just plug the details for the hypothetical person in)<br /><br /><br />Norman Spierhttp://nasmusicsoft.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post-33041683945253048322021-01-21T11:46:21.519-05:002021-01-21T11:46:21.519-05:00Thanks for another excellent article.
It took me...Thanks for another excellent article. <br /><br />It took me a few years to catch the fraudulent nature of these 60-70-80 per cent ratings. (and I was selling ACA plans as an agent!) I kept staring at these high-deductible and high-coinsurance plans, and seeing policyowners with small claims getting next to nothing from their insurance.<br /><br />My immediate preference would be to outlaw high deductibles, unless the insured could post a $5000 or $10,000 bond. <br /><br />I would also ban coinsurance totally. It is ludicrous to think that a person facing surgery or who suffers a broken leg is going to make wiser buying decision because of coinsurance. <br /><br />One idea I have toyed with is to leave insurance deductibles alone, but to provide federal support for a type of Med Supp policy for persons under 65.<br />For $100 or $200 a month, the insured would get a separate policy to cover their out of pocket costs.<br /><br />Actually I believe that French health insurance works something like this. The US government would have to support these plans, but our gov't supports Med Advantage and Part D drug plans with billions already.Bob Hertzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08889826739646491269noreply@blogger.com