I got dumped

[Tunnelcat]

I knew it was too good to be true and it probably wouldn't last. I've been on a grandfathered health plan since Obamacare was rolled out and I've been paying about a $150 LESS per month than with anything I could obtain on the healthcare.gov marketplace. Well, my insurance company just sent me a nice little email saying that they are completely pulling out of Oregon and are dropping my private plan at the end of 2016. They've been making wads of money off of me anyway since I've hardly been going to the doctor recently, so thanks but no thanks. Next year I'll have to pony up even MORE cash per month by going to the government's marketplace, all because of the ACA's requirements for lower deductibles and more treatment options my current plan doesn't offer and all the while forcing insurers to keep premiums from rising every year. Personally, I don't want to exchange a lower deductible for a higher monthly payment. I'll be paying more for everything in the long run doing it that way. I want insurance to be for catastrophic events, like it's supposed to be for, not everyday little maladies and boo boos we should be paying on our own.

The timing of this smells of politics too. Right before the presidential election, timed just right to piss off a lot people and hope that they will cry out for overturning that mess called Obamacare, all by electing someone who will do just that, repeal it. Well, that suits me just fine. Whoever gets rid of this mess, go for it. Our system is broken and too expensive. If insurers can't afford Obamacare, then neither can I. The Republican wet dream of Obamacare melting down is coming to pass, all on it's own.

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/27 ... ustainable

[Spidey]

Well the next big crisis is the underinsured, and that includes all of those high deductible policies…so hold on to your hat.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association released a widely publicized report last month that said new enrollees under ObamaCare had 22 percent higher medical costs than people who received coverage from employers.

When I said that was going to happen...I was called an idiot.

[Tunnelcat]

Technically, according to the ACA, I was under-insured because of my high deductible. That suited me just fine since I'm financially able to cover it right now and I wanted lower premiums anyway. I saved far more money that way.

[callmeslick]

two words: Single Payer. The Donald is for it, just watch, and we know the Dems are to some extent in favor.

[Tunnelcat]

So, do you think the ACA is an utter failure yet?

[callmeslick]

no,it is not any sort of failure. It is accomplishing the limited goals it addresses. Did you get denied any coverage? no. Did you risk bankruptcy? again,no. The fact is that you seem to resent as system of healthcare delivery that becomes more expensive, and forces you to pay for it. That system predated the ACA, was not made worse by the law in any way, Gee, the system now affects you. Now, maybe say something to the legislators and others who let the insurance companies write the rules and threatened filibuster in the Senate that blocked all three proposals which would have kept the insurance companies and providers honest.

[Tunnelcat]

no,it is not any sort of failure. It is accomplishing the limited goals it addresses. Did you get denied any coverage? no. Did you risk bankruptcy? again,no. The fact is that you seem to resent as system of healthcare delivery that becomes more expensive, and forces you to pay for it. That system predated the ACA, was not made worse by the law in any way, Gee, the system now affects you. Now, maybe say something to the legislators and others who let the insurance companies write the rules and threatened filibuster in the Senate that blocked all three proposals which would have kept the insurance companies and providers honest.

That's just it slick. I don't want to be forced to pay for it in a system that's set up to bleed everyone dry in the first place. I didn't like the system before the ACA and I certainly won't like it after, especially in that Republican dream world of free market competition that's supposed to solve everything. I don't mind paying for needed medical services like I do food or housing. I just don't like blindly paying for super expensive services without that oh-so-important transparent costs issue that would allow me to decide whether I want that expensive treatment or not. I also don't like giving loads of cash to insurance companies with little in return except for the privilege of maybe covering my ass in our dog eat dog medical system. By the way, did you know that the third leading cause of death in this country now is due to medical errors? Would you buy a car sight unseen with no price tag and a bunch of bills that come for months on end later either? That's our current medical system in a nutshell. I'm retired and too ill to work. My retirement money will only go so far with the way costs are escalating before I go broke. One of these days it's going to come down whether I pay for food, shelter, transportation or medical care.

[callmeslick]

the thing is, either YOU pay for it, or somebody does. How does the cost of absolute bankruptcy weigh against the budgetary hit over time? The fact that healthcare is such a complex and frightening matter for so many of my fellow citizens is precisely WHY I wish us to go to a single payer system of some sort.

[Tunnelcat]

Well, Bernie ain't going to win and he's the only one pushing single payer. I don't see Hillary getting rid of the ACA or fixing it and Trump will try to get rid of it all together and that most certainly leave us back where we started before the ACA was voted into law. Personally, I don't want to pay for insurance unless it's for catastrophic coverage. Anything else I'd like to pay out of pocket from the cash I'd save from NOT paying monthly premiums. I'm guessing that since I'm now 60, my monthly premiums will shoot up to around $400 or $500 dollars a month just for me, which is highway robbery frankly. I've got 5 more years of financial bleeding before I can get on Medicare.