ACA question..

[alc]

10. we won't know for a while (years)

In the past, the doctor and insurers had to agree. I've had my insurance turn down my son's doctor's drug recommendation until 6 months of the recommended drug not working - before the ACA. Nothing has changed there, but we will now have the IPAB.

In the past, state regulators could require insurers to provide certain levels of drug coverage and would need to negotiate with insurers about premium increases associated with that change. Now we will also have IPAB and we have no idea how they will operate. Their goal is to keep premiums down for Medicare. They COULD mandate a cheaper drug for ADD. Who knows if they will. They don't have control of ACA policies, but following their lead is the "safe" thing for insurers to do. Insurers won't be accused of gouging consumers by paying for too much medical care (turning the MLR around to increase profit) and if anyone complains about the level of coverage they can say it's approved by the IPAB.

Obama, Pelosi, etc all tell us not to worry about the IPAB - they would never do something like that. They also say if anyone feels mislead by the "you can keep your policy" promise it was the policy-holder's fault for misinterpreting the promise. Let's hope we aren't misinterpreting the statements about the IPAB.

We do know that medical costs are and will be a major concern (especially for Democrats running in 2014 and 2016). But we have no idea how all of the parties will work together (or work against each other)