Colorado Woman Who Championed Obamacare Loses Insurance Plan

[The Straight Story]

DENVER (CBS4) - President Barack Obama is apologizing to Americans who are losing their current health insurance plans. Millions of people are getting cancellation notices, including about 250,000 Coloradans.

...

Wagner and her husband retired early. She was a nurse for 35 years and championed Obamacare, until she received a letter from her insurance company saying it was canceling her policy.

“I was really shocked … all of my hopes were sort of dashed,” Wagner said. “’Oh my gosh President Obama, this is not what we hoped for, it’s not what we were told.’ “

She was shocked further to learn that for the same coverage she would pay 35 percent more and have a higher deductible.

“Our premium for next year is going up to over $1,000 a month for two of us and we’re two fairly healthy individuals,” Wagner said.

...

“The whole plan was to get everyone enrolled so there’s a larger risk pool and our costs go down,” she said. “Wow, not at all what we’re seeing.”

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/11/08/colorado-woman-who-championed-obamacare-loses-insurance-plan/

Link to the Colorado Exchange:
http://connectforhealthco.com/

Doing a search there using 10/1955 as birth month/year and 80210 for 2 people (same birth date used):

Lowest:

742.48 USD

kaiser permanente

KP CO Bronze 5000/30%/HSA
Preferred Drug List
HMO/BRONZE

Deductible
5,000.00 USD / Person
10,000.00 USD/ Family

Annual Max. Costs
6,350.00 USD / Person
12,700.00 USD / Family

Highest:
$2,127

access health colorado

Access Health Colorado - Gold - with Pediatric Dental
Preferred Drug List
PPO/GOLD

Deductible
2,000.00 USD / Person
4,000.00 USD / Family

Annual Max. Costs
4,000.00 USD / Person
8,000.00 USD / Family

[AndyA]

1. Congress really should have considered the insurance companies would continue to be snakes

and put something in the health care bill to address this situation.

Congress was so concerned about the insurance companies surviving and making a profit, they conveniently forgot or overlooked that they've spent decades screwing over people. And so it continues...

Should have been single payer.

[lostincalifornia]

5. It should have been single payer, however, single payer would not have passed. Still won't. Until

people start electing the right Congress people it will be quite difficult

[Cal33]

14. "Should have been single payer." You are correct, but this exactly what

Right-Wingers are preventing from happening, and they have been successful
so far.

[lostincalifornia]

2. The income limit for two people to qualify for a subsidy is 62500/year. The only way they could

qualify for the subsidy is to reduce their MAGI

However, if they have just retired, they should NOT put the income they made in 2013, but estimate their income for 2014.

If that income comes out to be greater than 62K then they will not get the subsidy.

If they estimate the income wrong, either too much or too little, it will be reconciled when they do their 2014 tax returns

[JaneyVee]

3. Another CBS news hit piece.

[wilt the stilt]

4. I'm sure she had catastrophic insurance

with almost no coverage because she viewed herself as healthy. I would be surprised if she didn't get a subsidy as they are both retired. How much income could they have?

[lostincalifornia]

7. Not enough information. However, if they just retired, they should not give their income as what

they made in 2013. That is a mistake a lot of folks are making.

They should estimate their MAGI for 2014.

If the estimate is too high or too low, it will get adjusted accordingly when they file their 2014 taxes.

That is how the law was written.

[magical thyme]

6. is that with or without a subsidy? do they qualify for a subsidy?

Or are they more well off than they thought they were.

After all, they could afford to retire early -- she's only 54 and her husband retired early too.

I'm torn here. I have consistently been unhappy with subsidizing the insurance industry that left me to die in my early 30s rather than spend a few dollars on a CBC. I dreaded the mandate which early calculators would show me paying $100/month on insurance when I'm struggling to make ends meet. Now I find I'm officially poor and qualify for a completely subsidized bronze plan, so if I get a major illness I'll be less bankrupt than before.

I still am against subsidizing the insurance industry. But where were people like this nurse when some of us were warning that it's an evil industry that does not provide one bit of health care and makes a profit by refusing to pay for the health care of it's "clients?" and leaves them to pay out of wallets already emptied to the insurance company...or die.

File her complaints under "be careful what you wish for." Seems to me they're well off and now complaining because they didn't get a boondoggle out of this.

[lostincalifornia]

8. No, that cannot be with the subsidy. Anyone whose MAGI exceeds 62K for two people will not get a

subsidy.

What needs to be determined is how they are basing their income.

If they are basing the income of 80K on 2013 earnings, that is wrong.

What they need to do is estimate their earnings for 2014.

If the estimate was too high or too low, it will be rectified in their 2014 tax returns, with a credit or higher tax

[magical thyme]

10. that was pretty much my guess too

They are either very well off, so don't qualify for a subsidy and can quit their bitching, or they are citing the cost of insurance without factoring in the subsidy.

[lostincalifornia]

11. I suspect, because it is not that clear, they are NOT estimating their MAGI correctly. They should

NOT use the 2013 value, but estimate income for 2014. That is what the ACA expects. If they are retiring early, they most likely are not collecting Social Security, so most of their income either comes from an annuity, income property, or dividends and interest.

If they are making an 80K return on investments, assuming a 5% return, they would be talking about assets of 1.6 million. The higher percent return, the lower the assets to come up with 80K.

Depending on their expenses, such as mortgage payments, utilities, etc., 80K may or may not be an excessive income.

In California and New York, the cost of living is enormous.

There is no doubt if they do not qualify for the subsidy, they will be paying premiums of a minimum of 12K a years

It all depends on what their expenses are.

The ones where this situation hurts would be a couple in their fifties making 63K a year. They would NOT get a subsidy, and pay in excess of 1000 dollars a month for insurance. That could very well be unaffordable for someone in that situation, and I have no doubt there are many affected in that demographic.

For the example in this thread, 80K, unless they are very much in debt, should be enough. However, I am sure they are not happy because they are seeing their premiums go up significantly, without much value, assuming they have done the assessment correctly.

[The Straight Story]

9. Either way, she has a point

The idea was that there would be more people getting insurance which should drive the cost down.

She is losing her plan, has to buy one that costs more, so I can understand her being upset over that (though being in good health she could chose one of the cheaper plans, there were 78 plans for that zip code I used).

[lostincalifornia]

13. No that is wrong. All people will pay the same insurance "rate". regardless off income, but

if your income is too high you won't qualify for a subsidy.

If the income for two people exceeds 62.5K, they will not get a subsidy.

In addition, older Americans will pay a higher premium than younger ones. In this example, they are in their mid fifties so they will be paying considerably more than someone who is thirty.

That is the way it is.

The only way they can get the subsidy is reduce their MAGI

They also need to base their income on an estimate for 2014, not use their income based on 2013.

Obviously, this would not be an issue with single payer, but there was no way then that would pass, and I doubt with this Congress it still isn't in the cards

[Decaffeinated]

12. Some people are going to pay out the nose to get coverage to the masses...