Thousands Learning Their Health Plans Will Be Cancelled | Obamacare Forcing Rate Hikes ‘Up to 110% For Seniors In PA

Editorial Cartoon via BeforeItWasNews: "Losing Your
Healthcare While Congress Keeps Theirs - 8/13/14

This week has featured news reports of the ongoing negative consequences of Obamacare for Americans on a daily basis:

• networks of doctors narrowing even further in California,
• "Hundreds of Thousands Face ... At Risk of Losing or Having to Pay Back Health Insurance Subsidies"
• "[m]ore plan cancellations [are] coming before the elections,”
• "another serious delay hitting the federal Obamacare website"

Of course, today is not different.

Kaiser Health News reports, “Thousands of consumers who were granted a reprieve to keep insurance plans that do not meet the federal health law’s standards are learning that those plans will be discontinued at year’s end and they’ll have to choose a new, possibly more costly policy. . . .

“Insurers sending the notices to some customers include Anthem, one of the largest insurers in the country based in Waukesha, Wis.; CareFirst in Baltimore; Health Care Services Corp. in Chicago; Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif.; Humana in Louisville, Ky.; and Golden Rule, an Indianapolis subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.

“One reason behind the switch is that insurers found they can make more money selling plans that comply with the Affordable Care Act, often at higher premiums that might be subsidized by the government. ‘They’re getting a lot more revenue, often for the same person,’ said consultant Robert Laszewski, a former insurance executive.

“Last year, similar cancellation letters sent to more than 2 million customers created a political firestorm for President Barack Obama, who had promised that ‘if you like the plan you have, you can keep it.’”

Similarly, Democrats have long claimed that Obamacare’s extensive cuts to Medicare strengthen the program. But seniors in Western Pennsylvania don’t sound too enthusiastic about it, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today.

“Seniors are getting a shock by how much more they will have to pay Highmark Inc. for insurance coverage next year, learning in some cases that their monthly premium for Medicare coverage will more than double. The biggest health insurer in the state blames cuts in government funding to the Medicare program for rate hikes of 25 percent to 110 percent in its Freedom Blue and Security Blue Medicare Advantage plans, which cover hundreds of thousands of seniors.

“Charles Stull, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Mt. Lebanon, received a notice Tuesday informing him that the premium for the Freedom Blue PPO plan he and his wife buy will rise 25 percent next year to $733 a month, from $587 a month. ‘I was shocked,’ Stull said. ‘I'm thinking that I'm going to have to switch.’ Stull has several options to choose from, he said. But he will have to pick carefully to ensure an infusion treatment he receives at St. Clair Hospital for Crohn's disease is covered by another health plan.

“Premiums for Security Blue ValueRx, an HMO plan that's one of the Medicare Advantage offerings are more than doubling, from $20 a month to $52 a month, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Advantage is government-funded coverage for seniors that's offered through private insurers.

“Art Walker, a 78-year-old from Baldwin, also is planning to drop his Freedom Blue coverage because of Highmark's rate hike. But he's worried about whether a different plan will provide coverage in Florida, where he and his wife live for several months during the winter. ‘I don't want my options limited at my age,’ Walker said. ‘I don't want to be limited where I can go for my doctors.’

“Highmark spokesman Aaron Billger said the insurer is raising premiums on all its Freedom Blue and Security Blue plans, which have 339,000 members in Pennsylvania. About two-thirds of those members are in Freedom Blue. ‘The biggest driver is reduced government funding as a result of the Affordable Care Act,’ Billger said.”

And of course, Senate Democrats voted repeatedly for cuts to Medicare Advantage during the debate on Obamacare.

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