NIGHTMARE ON OBAMACARE STREET

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies.  You know this one is going to be quite the rant.  Delete this or exit the browser if you aren't ready to listen to it!!  :)

Alright.  The spousal-unit & I have been carrying our own personal health insurance for the past six years.  We have had a "catastrophic" policy in place as we rarely go to the doctor.  This type of policy was designed to help pay for MAJOR costs in the event of an accident or a long-term illness.  The premiums weren't great... but they were doable.  Yes, they increased each year by a small amount but they were still doable.

Let me clarify.  This policy has paid NOTHING, Zero, Zilch, Nada, Nein... pick a term you like.  We have had doctor appointments, some tests, dental, & vision care over the past 6 years.  WE have paid for all services and medications IN FULL!!!  

Enter the (incorrectly named) "Affordable Care Act", or ACA, frequently referred to as Obamacare.

September 13, 2013.  Letter from insurer (BC/BS) advising that the ACA will take effect for my policy in July of 2014 unless I choose to change my renewal date to December of 2013 (which will push the inevitable back by five months since I won't renew again until December of 2014).  I sign to change the anniversary month to December and note a premium increase of $10.03 will begin in December of 2013.  I'm fine with that.

August 18, 2014.  Letter from insurer (BC/BS) that sent my typically-low blood pressure skyrocketing.  Three pages of garbage that essentially said:
1)  You are paying $254.68/month now.
2)  Your new ACA-compliant policy will cost you (wait for it...) $1,018.16/month.  Yep.  I did the math.  That's a 400% increase, ladies and gentlemen.  Oh... but it will cover a LOT of things your old policy doesn't... like pediatric vision and dental.  (This might be a little comforting IF I HAD CHILDREN!)
3)  By the way, without explaining the "how" of it, BC/BS offered me a little reprieve for a year.  Calling my existing plan now my "transitional" plan (HUH?), I am advised I can continue it for $287.99/month (that 13% increase looks a lot better than 400%) until January 1, 2016 when I "will then be moved to an ACA-compliant plan..."  Just need to sign this form & fax it back.  Uh.  Okay.  Done.

Mid-October, 2014.  Letter from insurer outlining a Summary of Benefits and Coverage.  This looks suspiciously like the mega-dollar policy prompting a call to "Customer Service" where Tanisha explained she had no idea why I had received that letter but she showed me still on my "old" (now "transitional") policy at the December 2014 renewal.  Sigh.  Okay.  Note to self: Be SURE to check the premium that is drafted for December.

Folks... there is a problem with the health care system, as it relates to both insurers and providers.  I get that.  I won't argue it.  I have had multiple conversations with "customer care centers" over many years about claims, payments, etc.  And this all took place while we were covered through one or the other of our workplaces' health insurance benefit!  Good coverage.  Low cost to us.  Still not perfect.

There are a lot of approaches to "reforming" any type of environment.  Some are a little too dramatic... like the ACA which was written by academics (never good when it's needed in a real-world environment!), passed by folks who never even read the first page (much less the THOUSANDS after it), and "fleshed out" by a bunch of bureaucrats, NONE of whom have to abide by the rules they put in place.  Oh... that actually applies to the folks who passed it, too.  Ask your Congressman/woman if they are bound by the terms, conditions, and rules of the ACA.  Nope.  Not at all.  This is why most of them do NOT care about it.  In fact, it has become just a slight annoyance to many of them.  Other "reforms" can be worthless in the sense they don't really do anything at all.  I am nearly certain, however, that people with good intentions who will sit and work together and think through all (including unintended) consequences of the terms they put in place will eventually find a middle ground that will benefit most without harming more than are helped.

I have spent the past several years volunteering some time at the local community clinic.  The patients are working uninsured.  The clinic is only open one afternoon a week and it is a first come-first served basis.  It creates a need for a patient to arrive early and stay late.  But let me tell you what they receive for their time.  FREE assessment by nurses who volunteer their time.  FREE visits with local doctors who volunteer their time.  FREE medications filled by a local pharmacy owner who volunteers his own time and PAYS his employees to come do the work!  My primary focus is to process the paperwork needed to obtain prescription medications through the Patient Assistance Programs that most of the pharmaceutical companies provide.  I can tell you that many of the patients we serve have had ongoing medical issues for a very long time but have been unable to afford medical or prescription help.  This little clinic has helped a lot of folks get on the path to wellness... or at least to feel better.

I have heard all of the reasons the current administration thinks Obamacare is needed and is successful.  It is wrong.  Is reform needed?  Yes.  Is Obamacare the answer.  A resounding NO!

The mid-terms are over.  The American voters have indicated by their ballots they want some changes.  I would like to be hopeful... but all I can do right now is wait to see if the existing politicians "get it" and if the new politicians can actually push to correct the course of our government.  I fear more posturing and finger-pointing with nothing accomplished.  That will mean we are in no better shape than we were before.  Sigh.

So... if you have not yet been impacted by Obamacare and you believe it is a "good" reform measure, I suggest you wait a while longer.  If you are a working American with a good job and benefits, I'm afraid you are going to find things aren't so rosy down the road if Obamacare is not revised, at the very least, or trashed with a logical, well-thought-out new reform ready to take its place.

Time will tell.  I just hope I can remain insured at some level until things make sense again.  If not, I hope I can at least stay healthy!

Until next post...