Obamacare insurance exchange

I checked the preliminary rates a few weeks ago and found my cost for similar Obamacare coverage would be $400-$500 LESS PER MONTH than I am currently paying (nearly $1200 per month, not including co-pays which average $200-$300 per month. Self-employed, senior.) Plus, I could not switch insurance before due to pre-existing conditions and now I will have some flexibility with different insurers in the exchange program. 

I am thrilled to be switching to the new program!  Maybe now I can finally afford to replace my ancient car. :-)

Dear God, it is going to be sky high here! And since I wrangle insurance all day at work, I am already dreading January.
If we have to go to one of the exchanges we are sunk (my family).

We won't need to go to the exchange because I get decent work insurance.  A few years ago I looked into the cost of a private plan in case my husband or I lost our insurance and  I couldn't find a family plan less than $60,000 a year...yes sixty thousand a year because my daughter has cystic fibrosis.  I am so thankful for the no pre-existing condition qualifier....my daughter's life depends upon staying insured, we do not qualify for ssi or other state aid, and her medications alone run over $6,000 per month without insurance.   I'm interested to hear how the prices will change for everyone.

I have really good insurance (Aetna, $250 deductible, great coverage) but I pay $420 every two weeks for premiums.  I am seriously considering going back to Ohio and just teaching adjunct and getting insurance through one of the exchanges.  

Several reports up here indicate that Ohio premiums (and I have still not seen any actual numbers) are higher than in other states.  This confuses me because Ohio refused to set up state exchanges, so Ohioans get dumped into the federal exchanges.  So if the federal exchange plans are, indeed, cheaper than expected (which some places are also reporting), I don't understand how Ohio's rates could be higher.

Not that we wouldn't love to have you here, of course!!!

 

Lora

Yahoo! had a comparison post tonight on the different costs around the country.  Ohio is higher than others.  They are finding those states that are setting up exchanges themselves are able to do them cheaper than the federal exchange.   http://finance.yahoo.com/news/prices-set-health-care-exchang es-040600393.html

Thanks for the link.  Ohio apparently isn't just a little bit higher, it is significantly higher.

After doing some additional reading, it appears that even though Ohio opted not to run the exchange themselves -- to let the Feds do it -- the premiums are still based on whichever insurance companies opt to be in the federally-administered state exchange. It appears that there is no actual federal exchange, that people are stuck with whatever options are available in their state (and a couple of insurance companies (like Aetna) opted not to participate in Ohio).

 

Well that figures.  Maybe we could get this Governor voted out of office before every decision he makes undermines the working class even more.

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Louisiana has it's own exchange and it looks like, from what I've researched so far, that BCBS is going to be the go to on the exchange as they almost monopolize the Louisiana market on employee sponsored plans currently. It looks like 4 (maybe only 3) insurance companies getting in on the new business (Coventry insurance just pulled out as a provider). 

Aetna recently acquired Coventry and Aetna pulled out of a bunch of states, so it wouldn't surprise me if Coventry does the same (although Aetna pulled out of Ohio and -- last I read -- Coventry was staying).  Yes, it will be interesting.  I hope it goes more smoothly than I expect.  Normally my company does our open enrollment in September, but it was delayed this year.  Rumor has it that our premiums and out of pocket maximums for our work-sponsored insurance are going up "significantly" (part of the incentive for me to get my other knee replaced before the end of the year!)