Allowing some people to keep cheaper coverage through 2015 will only further stiff those who for whatever reason have to get new coverage before them, because not only will they be screwed with paying more in 2014, that difference will increase dramatically for 2015, when they are forced to carry even more of the weight of the bill for the sick-insured also in the exchange.
http://triblive.com/business/headlines/5063897-74/health-obamacare-plans#axzz2kbsl6ggc
“.................. UPMC Health Plan, the insurance arm of hospital giant UPMC, said it enrolled fewer than 200 people to date.
Aetna Inc., which is selling health plans on the website in Western Pennsylvania under its HealthAmerica subsidiary, declined to say how many people it enrolled.
On a conference call with reporters, Sebelius would not provide information on ages of enrollees. Young people, who are typically less costly to insure because they tend to be healthier, may not sign up for coverage because it is likely that premiums will cost more than the penalty they face for not carrying coverage. If most people who buy insurance are older and sicker, insurers might raise premiums.
The ages of people who bought from Highmark so far are “skewing older,” Ash said, though she noted that “enrollment volumes are still low, so demographics at this point may not provide a total picture.”
She said “a large portion” of shoppers selected Highmark Community Plans, the least expensive plans for sale in the region. Those plans exclude UPMC hospitals and doctors as in-network providers.
Obamacare opponents have criticized the president for promising that people could keep existing health insurance even as cancellation notices hit people whose individual health insurance policies didn’t measure up to the law’s requirements.
In Pennsylvania, Highmark and other nonprofit Blue Cross companies sold tens of thousands of those plans to people with chronic illnesses who could not obtain coverage elsewhere.
Ash said Highmark isn’t tracking whether people whose plans were cancelled have purchased plans through the website.
“They may enroll with us or with another carrier, so it’s difficult to determine exactly where each of those have gone in the system,” she said.”
Let me point out three simple facts.
1. Suspending this event and allowing insurance companies to revert back to “ok” policies at 2013 type rates....with the time left in this year....is a virtual impossible task. Some companies may have a set plan (hidden) and be prepared to come out in a week and save their old customers. But the bulk of the companies probably won’t engage on this, and if they did...they would have to raise the rates by twenty percent as a minimum.
2. Is there any proof that the gimmick Affordable Healthcare Act can even be fixed in twelve months? Let’s be honest and humble there.....anyone truly think it’d be working right with fifty-two more weeks?
3. Who says that the Republicans in the House would readily stand up and pass some Senate bill? If I were Boehner....I’d say fine, but there’s six other things I want attached to it. I’d want Holder removed as AG, I’d want the President to agree no campaigning for three months, and I’d want a budget deal that is highly desirable for Republicans.
It’s amazing to view this mess now, and the difference in media attitude back in early October....it’s like night and day.