The Insurance Blog

Obamacare and Mega Blue

The Obama administration plans on Monday to announce scores of new health insurance options to be offered to consumers around the country by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and the United States Office of Personnel Management, the agency that arranges health benefits for federal employees, according to administration officials.

The options are part of a multistate insurance program that Congress authorized in 2010 to increase options for consumers shopping in the online insurance markets scheduled to open on Tuesday.

Congress conceived multistate plans as an alternative to a pure government-run insurance program — the “public option” championed by liberal Democrats and opposed by Republicans in 2009-10.

NY Times

And this is good because . . . .?

The federal government negotiated the benefits and premiums for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield products, so this plan carries a federal seal of approval.

But how is this good for consumers?

Supporters of the multistate plans authorized by Congress say the plans will increase competition in local health insurance markets, many of which are dominated by one or two carriers.

Introducing a "super plan", issued by ONE carrier, will increase competition in markets dominated by one or two carriers.

Really?

Cavalcade of Risk #193: Call for Submissions (And A Special Note)

Dennis Wall hosts next week's Cav, and he's chosen to build it around a rather interesting (and provocative) theme:

The Rich Get Richer from the Great Recession, The Unemployed Stopped Looking.

So, please try to submit a post that fits this theme (of course, non-themed posts are also welcome).

Submissions are due by Monday the 30th.

To submit your risk-related post, just click here to email it.

You'll need to provide:

■ Your post's url and title
■ Your blog's url and name
■ Your name and email
■ A (brief) summary of the post

PLEASE remember: ONLY posts that relate to risk (not personal finance tips and the like unless directly theme-related). And please only submit if you are willing to link back to the carnival if your submission is accepted.

Cute vs Real

This is how Ms Shecantbeserious sees the ObamaTax:

And this is reality, barking back at her:

[HatTip: Ace of Spades]

ObamaTax Exchange Crunch-Time edition

Poor Ms Kathy: the clock keeps on tickin', and her pet project keeps getting a lickin'.

To wit:

■ Capital City itself

"The ObamaCare exchange serving Washington, D.C. is delaying important parts of its operations less than a week before it is scheduled to open for enrollment"

Not only won't potential enrollees be unable to calculate their subsidies (if any), but they can't even determine whether or not they're eligible for Medicaid.

■ Colorado

"Colorado exchange managers revealed Monday ... that customers who want tax credits to make health insurance more affordable will have to call for help, rather than navigating the multi-million dollar computer system on their own."

I'm sure that'll go over big with the 20-somethings that hold the key to the whole train-wreck's "success."

■ Utah

"Obamacare’s insurance marketplace was supposed to have “no wrong door ... Consumers will need to find the right door ... or they will possibly face delays in obtaining coverage"

The whole "No Wrong Door" meme was heavily promoted in the Exchange Certification training. Why am I not surprised that it's DOA?

■ Oregon

When it rains, it pours:

"Oregon ... won’t meet all the requirements for its health-insurance exchange when the online marketplace opens Oct. 1 ... For at least two weeks, people using Cover Oregon won’t be able to complete their purchase without help from a certified insurance broker or community group"

Feature or bug? What difference, at this point, does it make?

A Gentle Reminder...

For HHS Secretary Shecantbeserous:

COUNTDOWN CLOCKS

This word "start" - I dunna think it means what you think it means:

"In response, Joel Ario, a former HHS official who oversaw health exchange matters at the agency, told The Washington Post’s Sarah Kliff that “nobody is going to say we’re not starting on October 1, but in some situations, you may see a redefinition of what ‘start’ means.”

Health Wonk Review is up!

Peggy Salvatore presents this week's terrific Health Wonk Review, celebrating blogger Brad Wright's 700th post (Mazel Tov, Brad!). The main theme of this week's collection of wonky posts is (no surprise), the ACA. Lots of quality entries this week - enjoy!

Bonus: Mike's post (about how the ACA is playing out in the Golden State) got top billing - go Mike!

Singles for Obamacare

Psst. Wanna save money on your Obamacare plan? Stay single. If you are married, get a divorce.

The "wedding tax" is upon us.

To illustrate, let’s start with the 60-year-old married couple with no children

If they have identical earnings totaling $65,000, which will usually net down to $50,000 or below after all income and payroll taxes, their Obamacare exchange Silver Plan premium next year with the same earnings will be $16,382, or about one-third of what used to be their take-home pay. (And they call it the “Affordable Care Act”?)

PJ Media

That's going to hurt. But wait.

What can this couple do? Well, they could decide to earn a few thousand dollars less, which will negate the five-figure premium hit. Encouraging ordinarily willing workers to put in less effort isn’t good in any economy, but especially not this one. But if either spouse’s earnings are unpredictable or hard to precisely track, they could still “mess up” and get socked with a premium they can’t afford.

The “easiest” solution would be to avoid the “wedding tax” entirely by getting divorced while still living together. Here’s what would happen if they make that choice:

Similar occurrences at other ages. Do you suppose this was planned?