Most folks are referring to a Health Insurance Exchange as Travelocity for health care plans. I guess that will not be far off.
There will definitely be several types of exchanges in our future.
For us residents of Colorado, we will have our Colorado Health Benefit Exchange, administered by our own state. Many others will have theirs taken care of by the federal government.
It was just released today that any insurance carrier that will elect to participate in the federal exchange will pay a fee of 3.5% of premiums received. Not a great start for trying to bring health insurance costs down.
In addition there will also be private exchanges. These may be put together by certain association groups or possibly insurance consulting firms. Some large employers already use private exchanges to give their employees variety of plan choices.
Federal and state sponsored exchanges must be used for anyone seeking any assistance with premium subsidies based on income (from 133% to 400% of federal poverty level). No subsidies will be available in the private exchanges.
All plans will be required to cover the government based essential benefits. This will include coverage from angioplasty to x-rays.
Coverage levels will be determined by tiers:
Bronze - 60%, Silver -70%, Gold - 80% and Platinum - 90%.
These percentages are determined by "Actuarial Value", which is a complicated term that boils down to someone figuring out how much you will pay out of pocket - NOT including your monthly premium - for all your medical costs covered by the plan, like office visits, deductibles, and everything else.
Will exchanges be good or bad? Really there is no way to gauge that until we see them in
operation. Certainly if you like shopping for plane tickets online and have any
reasonable knowledge of health insurance plans you should be fine. If
comprehension of insurance is a struggle then you will for sure want to work
with a competent insurance broker to discuss the available options and determine
your best fit for coverage.
You can be sure that the cost of the
coverage will be higher regardless of being in a public or private exchange. Since new mandated coverages require the insurance companies to cover more conditions or to cover them more fully, the companies will have to pay out much more in claims costs. And in return, they will absolutely have to raise premiums in order to cover those claims.
" Good Health That's The Plan "
An Interactive Blog looking at the issues facing Business Owners, Individuals and Families concerning Obamacare, Health Insurance, Health Care, the Affordable Care Act and the future of our Health Care system
Monday, December 3, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
A New Frontier for Health Insurance PPACA
This will be my first post on all things healthcare. The ball is now rolling for sure regarding The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). We all need to be looking over our shoulder and make sure we do not get run over in the process. Ahead lies a lot of uncharted territory as the largest overhaul in healthcare history unfolds. Along this journey I want to provide insight and comment regarding the implementation process and how it will affect you as an individual or business owner. I also want to suggest and explore what our part might be in making this work.
With that in mind: One provision of PPACA will allow for a rate up for tobacco users by as much as 50 percent. As part of PPACA's wellness provisions, tobacco cessation programs are provided at no cost. I would think this should encourage as many as possible to rethink smoking and chewing. All one needs beyond that is to just say "YES" to quitting.
At $5.00 a pack for cigarettes you could save over $1,800 in one year. Why not take that one step further and take that money saved on tobacco and invest in a gym membership?
We all have a personal stake in the new frontier in health insurance.
Good Health That's The Plan
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