In an effort to keep customers on their plans, some insurance companies are sending grossly misleading letters to folks whose coverage will be affected by the Affordable Care Act.
Under the ACA, about 6% of policy holders (specifically, those who purchase their own low quality/cost “insurance” independently from their workplace), may receive a notice of cancellation from their health insurance companies. This means that their plans had not met the improved Obamacare quality of coverage standards and needed to be adjusted.
So, how are insurance companies preventing their independent policyholders from exploring their new, cheaper, and better options under ACA? By making it really easy to pay more and receive less. If your insurance company is telling you that if you “do nothing,” you will be rolled into a new policy automatically at the start of 2014, you may want to check out your options and read the fine print. Insurance companies may not be giving you the full picture, and they’re in the business to get your money.
Take Donna, for example, who would have paid $300 more for less coverage if she followed her insurance companies advice to “do nothing.” Information on the Obamacare marketplace, where you can browse coverage plans and find the one that is right for you, was not provided to her in the letter her insurance company sent. So far, these misleading letters have been sent in four states.
Donna was obviously unhappy with the misinformation she received, which would have impacted her insurance and her family’s already-tight budget. “The info that we were sent by LifeWise was totally bogus. Why the heck did they try to screw us? People who are afraid of the ACA should be much more afraid of the insurance companies who will exploit their fear and end up overcharging them.”
Unfortunately, these letters are nothing new. Humana has been pushing policyholders to pick cheaper plans with less coverage since September, well before the marketplace was open to the public. The sinister letters have a tone of urgency similar to an advertisement.
If you are an independent policyholder, please check out the resources available to you. With expanded Medicaid and the Obamacare marketplace, you do not need to accept the new, extremely expensive policies your insurance company may push on you. You may even qualify for subsidies.
“The Obamacare subsidies are calculated according to income and family size. Medicaid will be available to those living under 100% of the federal poverty level if your state participates in the PPACA Medicaid expansion. While those with incomes between 133% to 400% of poverty will have access to tax credit subsidies. The subsidy scale is a progressive schedule, so that the higher the financial need for affordability tax credits, the higher the subsidy.
To help understand where you stand in all of this, we have provided some useful links and references (below) to help clear the air!
The first question is to see whether you qualify for tax credit subsidies or Medicaid expansion (only in states accepting Medicaid expansion) you need to find out how your income measures as a percentile to the 2013 Federal Poverty Guidelines (see chart).
If you make over 400% of the US poverty level in income you do not qualify for any subsidy assistance. Of course you can still shop in the competative Obamacare Marketplace and also in the private marketplace to find the best deal for you.
If your income level is between 133% to 400% of the federal poverty level then you can explore the following health insurance subsidy calculators by clicking on the links. This should be able to provide you a good idea of your future health insurance tax credits in the Obamacare Marketplace.
Eligibility for premium tax credit subsidies includes also being a US citizen or legal immigrant who meets the income limits and purchases health insurance through their state’s Obamacare Exchange or Marketplace.”
Insurance cancelations, the right’s new Obamacare boogeyman: