Poll: Have any of you actually signed up for Obamacare through the Exchanges?

[markomalley]

[NOTE: I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD KEEP EDITORIALIZING ON HOW WONDERFUL OR HOW TERRIBLE OBAMACARE IS AWAY FROM THIS PARTICULAR THREAD. I know we all have our opinions, including me, but I think we should all want to hear some real user stories]

One other thing: there are plenty of other threads where you can talk about how great it is that a family with pre-existing conditions can now get insurance or other stories about why it is good for you, personally, or for a friend you know…I just want to gather facts here about what actually happened. Again, thanks for the cooperation.

Since Obamacare is now signing up people, I’m wondering if any of you have actually signed up for it?

If so, could you please answer a few questions:

1. What kind of plan did you sign up for? (Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum)
2. How many adults and how many kids are being covered?
3. What is your actual annual deductible?
4. What is the total monthly premium (not including the subsidy – or affordable premium tax credit)?
5. What is the premium after the tax credit?

(Note: it’s very important that you say what the premium is with and without the tax credit – or subsidy – or whatever they call it)

1. What is the actual cost share for your plan? (For example, the law says a bronze plan has the insurance pay 60% and you pay 40%…was that actually the case?)
2. What is the annual out-of-pocket limit for the plan you signed up for?

Obviously, I don’t want you to disclose anything that you don’t feel comfortable disclosing, but I am actually curious what is happening in practice rather than theory.

One other thing, if you tried to sign up but were frustrated in your effort to do so, could you please describe what happened?

Thanks for the help!

 

[JRKH]

I’m interested too…The problems (glitches) reported in other threads have caused me to put off applying for a while. Hopefully things on-line will settle down some after a week or two.

That said - I think this is a good idea for a thread……and can be very helpful to many.

Thanks for starting it.

Peace
James

 

[MaryT777]

 

[smichhertz]

It’s probably a little too early to ask, with all the glitches and the fact that there’s a few months before they have to sign up.

Plus, for the states that opted in, they use their own programs to implement Obamacare. Since it’s rebranded under a different name, people may unknowingly sign up not realizing it’s Obamacare. Kentucky’s Kynect program is one example.

But I too would be curious to hear if anyone has signed up for it.

 

[christofirst]

I have been trying to sign up through our state’s exchange, coveredca.com, but at some point in the application process it always takes me to a page saying, “Internal Service Error”. I sent them a complaint email, hoping they can work out the bugs in the program soon, and I got a pleasant auto-response telling me someone (alive, I hope) will respond in two days or less (we’ll see…).

What bothers me so far is that I have coverage now, and with the new bronze, silver, etc. requirements, my monthly premium will increase substantially. In order to get the subsidy for which I am qualified based on my income, I have to sign up through the state exchange. My current insurance carrier is one of those in the exchange, and I intend to re-sign up with them. In fact, they have already sent me a quote with the new higher premium, but if I go through them, I do not get the subsidy. This seems stupid to me, since their website is working just fine, but the state exchange is not. If an insurance carrier is in the state exchange, one should get whatever subsidy the plan provides no matter how they sign up. Whew! Thanks for letting me rant.

By the way, I’m planning to go with the bronze plan, since I am only insuring myself, and I am in reasonably good health for an old codger in his fifties (thank God!) I cannot recall the exact dollar amounts, but I will report back once I sign up.

(One more thing, my doctor gave me a stern lecture the other day: Stop calling it Obamacare! It is the Affordable Care Act. Its all about perception.")

 

[SamH]

I tried because I wanted to see how a silver or gold plan stacked up to my employer’s. Couldn’t get on.

Given the reports that hackers are already stealing personal information from the federal exchange website I doubt I’ll try again for a while.

I saw a report that less than 1% of the people logging on are actually “signing up” for insurance - most are doing what I attempted to do - shop the rates.

 

[clem456]

We’re self insured.
We can’t get on the website.

 

[christofirst]

Just a further point of information:

I was able to see my available prices for the different levels of coverage, and I am priced out of even considering the silver, gold or platinum plans. As it is with the bronze plan, I will be paying more and getting less.

Nuts and bolts:

My current health insurance premium is $274.00 per month, and my plan annual deductible is $3000.00 with annual out-of-pocket maximum of $6000.00.

My shiny new bronze plan will cost $383.00 per month before the tax subsidy, with an annual deductible of $5000.00 and out-of-pocket maximum of $6350.00. If I remember right, the tax subsidy would reduce that cost by about $70.00 per month, but I will still be paying more and getting less.

Of course, I realize that as a single retired male in his fifties, my insurance premiums were going to go up and up until I qualify for Medicare, which will then pick up some of the tab. And thankfully, my pension provides me enough to cover the costs, including a few “what-ifs”. And none of us come with a guarantee…

 

[clem456]

What is a tax subsidy? What if a person does not owe taxes, or owes very little? They should get cash back, not a tax break. Not sure how this works.

 

[christofirst]

What is a tax subsidy? What if a person does not owe taxes, or owes very little? They should get cash back, not a tax break. Not sure how this works.

The way I see it, the tax subsidy is a deduction that one is allowed to take off of their income tax liability, just like mortgage deductions, and deductions for dependents, etc. Supposedly, this is putting the “affordable” in the Affordable Care Act. This subsidy is income based, so the less income you have, the greater the tax refund.

I really do not know how it would apply for someone who does not pay income tax. I believe here in California, if your income is that low, then you qualify for Medicaid, which picks up most of the costs (don’t quote me on that). I’m sure the government insurance exchange website or phone line can answer that, or maybe someone here knows.

 

[SamH]

.

My shiny new bronze plan will cost $383.00 per month before the tax subsidy, with an annual deductible of $5000.00 and out-of-pocket maximum of $6350.00. If I remember right, the tax subsidy would reduce that cost by about $70.00 per month, but I will still be paying more and getting less.

They say a $6350 “deductable” but isn’t a 40% copay until you hit $6350 out of pocket? There is a HUGE difference. If its a $6350 deductable then nothing covered until your medical bills hit $6351.

The “Catastrophic plan” has the $6350 deductable (covers nothing until policy holder has paid the full $6350 first). I’m guessing it is cheaper than the Bronze plan.

What do they say about perscriptions? My son has over $40,000 in scripts every year.

 

[freeRadical]

I have been trying to sign up through our state’s exchange, coveredca.com, but at some point in the application process it always takes me to a page saying, “Internal Service Error”. I sent them a complaint email, hoping they can work out the bugs in the program soon, and I got a pleasant auto-response telling me someone (alive, I hope) will respond in two days or less (we’ll see…).

What bothers me so far is that I have coverage now, and with the new bronze, silver, etc. requirements, my monthly premium will increase substantially. In order to get the subsidy for which I am qualified based on my income, I have to sign up through the state exchange. My current insurance carrier is one of those in the exchange, and I intend to re-sign up with them. In fact, they have already sent me a quote with the new higher premium, but if I go through them, I do not get the subsidy. This seems stupid to me, since their website is working just fine, but the state exchange is not. If an insurance carrier is in the state exchange, one should get whatever subsidy the plan provides no matter how they sign up. Whew! Thanks for letting me rant.

By the way, I’m planning to go with the bronze plan, since I am only insuring myself, and I am in reasonably good health for an old codger in his fifties (thank God!) I cannot recall the exact dollar amounts, but I will report back once I sign up.

(One more thing, my doctor gave me a stern lecture the other day: Stop calling it Obamacare! It is the Affordable Care Act. Its all about perception.")

If you don’t mind me asking, under your current health insurance plan is it 80/20, 70/30, etc? The bronze plan is 60/40. It sounds to me like a lot of people will be paying higher premiums for plans that only play 60% of the cost.

 

[freeRadical]

The way I see it, the tax subsidy is a deduction that one is allowed to take off of their income tax liability, just like mortgage deductions, and deductions for dependents, etc. Supposedly, this is putting the “affordable” in the Affordable Care Act. This subsidy is income based, so the less income you have, the greater the tax refund.

I really do not know how it would apply for someone who does not pay income tax. I believe here in California, if your income is that low, then you qualify for Medicaid, which picks up most of the costs (don’t quote me on that). I’m sure the government insurance exchange website or phone line can answer that, or maybe someone here knows.

The problem with tax subsidies is that you do not get them till you file your taxes. That means you have to pay the full premium each month and will then get a subsidy on your taxes when you file them. I don’t see how that is going to make it more affordable for people with low incomes to pay the premiums. They would need the subsidy applied at the time they pay the premium otherwise they have to pay the full price of the premium and wait to get the subsidy.

 

[christofirst]

They say a $6350 “deductable” but isn’t a 40% copay until you hit $6350 out of pocket? There is a HUGE difference. If its a $6350 deductable then nothing covered until your medical bills hit $6351.

The “Catastrophic plan” has the $6350 deductable (covers nothing until policy holder has paid the full $6350 first). I’m guessing it is cheaper than the Bronze plan.

What do they say about perscriptions? My son has over $40,000 in scripts every year.

Right you are! My current plan was a deductible 40/3000 which was as you described, 40% co-pay until I hit the $3000.00 deductible (which I never came close to. The last few years, I only went to the doctor for my physical exam, and that was covered at no additional cost). The new bronze plan is called a 5000/60 plan, which I’m guessing means I pay 60% until I reach my $5000.00 deductible.

Prescriptions used to be generic: $10.00 and name brand: $35.00. Under the new affordable plan, my prescriptions are generic: $19.00, and name brand: $50.00, all after deductible!

So like I said, its pay more, get less for me. I’m not sure if the catastrophic coverage plan is an option for me. Sorry to hear about your son’s situation…

 

[christofirst]

The problem with tax subsidies is that you do not get them till you file your taxes. That means you have to pay the full premium each month and will then get a subsidy on your taxes when you file them. I don’t see how that is going to make it more affordable for people with low incomes to pay the premiums. They would need the subsidy applied at the time they pay the premium otherwise they have to pay the full price of the premium and wait to get the subsidy.

What you say is true. My current out-of-pocket costs are most assuredly going up until tax time, when a little relief will come my way. This will not help anyone on a tight budget.

 

[tafan]

The problem with tax subsidies is that you do not get them till you file your taxes. That means you have to pay the full premium each month and will then get a subsidy on your taxes when you file them. I don’t see how that is going to make it more affordable for people with low incomes to pay the premiums. They would need the subsidy applied at the time they pay the premium otherwise they have to pay the full price of the premium and wait to get the subsidy.

I do not believe this is accurate. If one qualifies for the subsidy, the tax credit is applied to the premium via a monthly payment from the government to the insurance provider. When you fill out your return, if your income is different than what you specified, the credit is then added onto your tax bill. That is the way it was explained to me, and the healthcare.gov site certainly implies that is the case on its information pages.

To the original question: I have not been successful in making the healthcare.gov site work.

 

[freeRadical]

I do not believe this is accurate. If one qualifies for the subsidy, the tax credit is applied to the premium via a monthly payment from the government to the insurance provider. When you fill out your return, if your income is different than what you specified, the credit is then added onto your tax bill. That is the way it was explained to me, and the healthcare.gov site certainly implies that is the case on its information pages.

To the original question: I have not been successful in making the healthcare.gov site work.

Then it’s not a tax subsidy, it’s an income subsidy. There’s a big difference. The ACA specifically calls it a tax subsidy. Everything I’ve read indicates it will be a tax subsidy. They need to stop calling it a tax subsidy if it’s not really a tax subsidy.

 

[christofirst]

What you say is true. My current out-of-pocket costs are most assuredly going up until tax time, when a little relief will come my way. This will not help anyone on a tight budget.

Further research indicates that what I said was NOT true. Several official websites, including the Michigan state exchange (which I happened upon in my Google search) say this:

“The tax credits are sent directly to the insurance company so the enrollee does not have to pay the entire premium up front”

So call it an income subsidy if you like.

 

[freeRadical]

Further research indicates that what I said was NOT true. Several official websites, including the Michigan state exchange (which I happened upon in my Google search) say this:

“The tax credits are sent directly to the insurance company so the enrollee does not have to pay the entire premium up front”

So call it an income subsidy if you like.

Okay. They shoudn’t call it a tax credit then, cause it isn’t a tax credit.

 

[SamH]

As for people signing up - apparently that is a huge secret.

The White House says people have bought Obamacare. We haven’t met them quite yet

If you have purchased health coverage on the federal government’s new Obamacare marketplace, about a dozen or so reporters would like to speak with you. We promise we won’t take up too much of your time!

We just need to find you first.

The federal government has said that somewhere out in this vast country of 313 million people, where 48 million lack insurance coverage, someone has managed to sign up for health insurance on the federally-run marketplaces. As of yet, we haven’t tracked this person – or these people – down.

This is not for lack of effort. Reporters here at The Washington Post and at other publications have been on the hunt for this mythical creature.

washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/03/the-white-house-says-people-have-bought-obamacare-we-havent-met-them-quite-yet/

There have been confirmations of people buying on the State Exchanges but so far not a single person can be found that has signed up on the federal exchange. When asked today the White House said they didn’t have that data either. But they knew exactly how many had visited the federal site.