The White House has helped gather many success stories born of the Affordable Care Act.

Read ACA success stories here.

Many people have undoubtedly been helped: for example, the previously uninsurable with pre-existing conditions.

However, other Americans have been disappointed by Obamacare and believe it has worked against them.

Tell your “fail” stories by clicking “comments” in the horizontal gray bar above on this page or scroll to the very bottom of this page. Please be specific, be nice and stick to the facts. To read the stories, click “comments” or read below.

Read all of my HealthCare.gov reports here.

Featured comment:

The Tortured Process of Adding a Baby

“The following is a story I wrote about what it took to get a baby added to a health insurance policy post ACA. I know it’s long, but somebody should read it:

Back in the olden days (way back before healthcare was reformed so that it would be
affordable) when a baby was born to an insured family we in the insurance industry had to
collect the baby’s name along with his or her date of birth, write that information on a form
provided by the insurance carrier and then fax it to the company. Once that was done we could move on to our next task, whatever it was, because we had hit “send” on the fax machine… and it was done… the baby was added to the policy… after 30 seconds of labor. Mission accomplished. Misione compuito – if you prefer Italian.

I say that the entire process took 30 seconds, but it may have taken 48 or 49 seconds if the fax
machine was slow. And if the client wanted to talk about the weather or work through some post partum issues then the “entire process” may have lasted a few more minutes. But the bottom line is, there was time to talk about the weather or the blues, because the baby was added to the policy… because we hit “send” on the fax machine.

But that was then… and those days are long gone.

Today when a baby is born… well, actually, this might work better if instead of describing the
process, I describe the humans involved in the processes. So let me tell you a story. A true
story. About a baby who was born on June 4, 2014 A.D., in America. The baby’s name is
Hannah Johnson, 8 lbs 14 oz. Green eyes, brown hair and a beauty to behold. When Hannah
was born (the very first newborn to be added to the health insurance rolls of our office since
healthcare.gov went live) we printed out the Change Form from SelectHealth’s website and
faxed it in, just like we had always done. The reason we did it that way was because, to our
knowledge, no one told us to do it any other way. So off it went, on June 30, 2014. On July
7th we called in to SelectHealth to make sure that the baby had been added, because neither
we nor the insured had received anything confirming that little Hannah was on the policy.
Fortunately though, SelectHealth informed us that they had received our request and that the addition was being processed. They confirmed that “the addition was being processed” because apparently no one ever told the customer service reps at SelectHealth that they would need to add the baby some other way. When a few weeks passed without any confirmation that the baby was indeed insured, Hannah’s mom called into SelectHealth to follow up on the policy endorsement. She continued this process, calling in to her insurance company to inquire about little Hannah’s status, for a couple of months without any resolution. In fact it wasn’t until mid September, a good three months after Hannah’s birth, that SelectHealth told Hannah’s mom that they actually couldn’t change her health insurance policy. That all changes to the policy needed to be routed through healthcare.gov.

And that my friends is where the real story begins.

Healthcare.gov is a real website – built on myths – that Americans are required by law to use
in order to purchase real, not mythical health insurance. Now there’s nothing inherently wrong with a website built on myths; take theOnion.com for example. That’s a website built on myths that works wonderfully, like when they published the following headline during the elections: “Midterm Candidates Distancing Themselves From United States.” That’s actually kind of funny, especially when you get to the second paragraph in the article:

“In the run up to Election Day, reports indicate that every person campaigning in one of the 36 U.S. Senate or 435 House races is now treating any perceived affiliation with the country as a major political liability—and they’re moving quickly to sever all remaining ties.”

However, if federal law required us to get news about actual events from theOnion… well, then – as you can see – the website wouldn’t actually be all that useful.

Now before any readers fire off an angry email to me about how “MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
HAVE USED THE WEBSITE TO GET REAL INSURANCE!” Please note that I am well aware
that there are millions of Americans that have sent their information into the system and have received coverage in return, real coverage. Of course I am aware of that fact, I did it. I sent my information to Healthcare.gov and I’m covered. It was a mind bogglingly painful process, one that had me click through single-question screens that inanely inquired about the annual income of my 1 year old, which I answered with a “click” and then…. loading…. loading… loading… and so on and so on. Only to get to the next single-question screen that asked me if the same 1 year old had any dependents. But those were the bad old days right, before the website was “fixed”… right?

And of course we know that the website was fixed, because all kinds of media outlets have
been telling us that for nearly a year. For those of you who doubt that it’s been repaired I
recommend you read Time Magazine’s front page story published way back on February 27th
titled “Code Red_ Inside the nightmare launch of Healthcare.gov and the team that figured out how to fix it.” It opens with this very informative declaration:

“This is the story of a team of unknown—except in elite technology circles—coders and
troubleshooters who dropped what they were doing in various enterprises across the country
and came together in mid-October to save the website. In about a tenth of the time that a crew of usual-suspect, Washington contractors had spent over $300 million building a site that didn’t work, this ad hoc team rescued it and, arguably, Obama’s chance at a health-reform legacy.”

Alright, in case you missed it, I was being sarcastic about the whole “fixed” status of the
website. But seriously, I understand if the reader objects to my assertion that the website is built on a myth. Because really, how can it be a mythical site if Time Magazine confirmed that a band of techies “figured out how to fix it” over eight months ago?

Well, here’s how…

First of all, I didn’t apply for insurance through the government portal in November of 2013,
when it was universally agreed that the site didn’t work. I applied in April of 2014, two months after Time Magazine published its healthcare.gov propaganda piece. And although I was finally able to navigate the system it took a number of attempts (because the website wouldn’t load pages) and then one final 2 hour session that at last ended in success. But if anyone believes that in the modern era applying for anything online should drag on for a few weeks and then take an Omaha Beach-type surge of effort lasting two hours before the application process can be declared a “success,” I have no qualms stating that that individual lives in a fantasy world built upon one unfortunate myth: that healthcare.gov has been “fixed.” But I’m getting ahead of myself, this story isn’t about me, it’s about little Hannah, and her mother’s attempt to get her daughter added to the family health insurance policy. Sorry for the digression; back to business.

In mid September of 2014, only two months ago, Hannah’s mom made several attempts to
add her daughter to her policy online through healthcare.gov. Unfortunately for her, at no point could she get the website to work. So she called in to the phone number listed on the portal’s homepage to get help from a healthcare.gov employee. But get this, the employee said that she would have to call back later because the site was giving the rep an error and wouldn’t let him process the change. So she called back later on during the week, only to find that the same error that stumped the customer service rep during the previous call had reared its ugly head again. So once again, no change could be processed. So she called back again, and at last the rep was able to get little Hannah’s information. Now she had to have Hannah’s mother go through the entire application process (the same one I described above,) which was a drag; but at last the federal government had Hannah’s info! Problem solved right?

Wrong.

Once Hannah’s application was successfully completed the customer service rep told Hannah’s mom that before her baby could be added to her insurance policy she would first have to apply to CHIP, her State’s health insurance program for low income families. When Hannah’s mom pointed out that her family wouldn’t qualify for CHIP because they made over $60,000 a year, owned a home and three cars the rep replied that although she may be right about not qualifying there was still nothing she could do to get Hannah on the policy until CHIP had reviewed her application and sent her a denial letter.

And that is when Hannah’s mom turned to our office for help. On September 25th during a
three-way call with healthcare.gov I got Hannah’s mom to authorize me to speak on her behalf so that our office could try to complete the application process without taking anymore of her time. I say “complete the application process” because although Hannah’s mom had “completed the application process” earlier, that particular application was lost somewhere in the fixed website. But after a short hour of pushing through the website’s inquiries we again reached the end; at which point the rep declared, much to my surprise, “O.K., now the baby is on CHIP.” When I told him that I didn’t think that was possible given that no one (and by “no one” I mean no human being in the galaxy) had ever submitted an application to CHIP on Hannah’s behalf, he assured me that our problems were solved because the baby indeed had been added to CHIP. When I asked if instead of adding the baby to CHIP I could add her to the family’s existing health insurance policy he replied,
“Yes. All she needs to do is make her first payment.” When I asked how she would do that given that the payment for her family’s policy was set up to withdraw from her checking account automatically, he told me to “call the insurance company in a couple of days.”

So I called the insurance company in a couple of days, and… you’re not going to believe this…
they had no record that any request had been sent by healthcare.gov to add little Hannah to
the insurance policy. This upset me a little and I figured that while I had SelectHealth on the
phone I would vent my frustration with them over the fact that one of their reps told me over two months ago that Hannah’s Change Form “was being processed.” The SelectHealth customer service rep was indeed able to review the policy notes and see where on July 7th I had called in and one of their employees had used that exact language. I take specific pains to point out SelectHealth’s note taking ability only because when I called healthcare.gov back the next day I was surprised to find out that, not only did they have no record that Hannah’s mom had authorized me to speak on her behalf, they had no record that she had ever called in at all. As far as the rep on the phone could tell, there had never been any activity on the account at all. No applications processed, no phone calls made. Nothing. Niente – for those who speak Italian.

The rep did however seize upon the whole CHIP story, once I told them what the previous rep
had said about submitting an application to the State insurer. At that point every successive rep I spoke to confirmed that nothing could be done to the policy until after a CHIP denial had been received. So I called up CHIP to see about expediting that denial letter, but their response was “Denial letter? We’ve never received an application for a baby.” They did however receive an application for Hannah’s mom, so maybe we were getting close. I then had Hannah’s mom call in to submit an application to CHIP for her daughter. The CHIP rep thought it was a little strange that they were being required to jump through this hoop given that her application was certain to be rejected, but in the end the rep agreed that healthcare.gov wouldn’t add their baby to the policy without a denial letter. Unfortunately though, that denial process was going to take three more weeks, meanwhile Hannah’s parents were already being sent to collections for unpaid hospital bills. So we really
didn’t have three more weeks to just wait around.

That’s when after consulting with Hannah’s mom we decided that we would try to increase the family’s stated income to a level high enough to make the idea of applying to CHIP so ludicrous that not even healthcare.gov would require a denial letter. This of course would increase the monthly premiums the family had to pay (because health insurance premiums are now based on income not on health) but it was better than having their credit ruined by a bunch of unpaid hospital bills. But before I could make any adjustments to the family’s income I of course had to organize a three way call into healthcare.gov because, as you may have already guessed, healthcare.gov had no record that Hannah’s mom had ever authorized me to speak on her behalf. (Now in case you are wondering, we had to make that call because the website wasn’t working) Anyways, here’s how the next fourteen days went:

Day 1. Three way phone call to healthcare.gov to get authorization for me to speak on the
family’s behalf because there is no record that we had ever called in before. Attempt to get a
healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 2. Three way phone call to healthcare.gov to get authorization for me to speak on the
family’s behalf because there is no record that we had ever called in before. Attempt to get a
healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 3. Three way phone call to healthcare.gov to get authorization for me to speak on the
family’s behalf because there is no record that we had ever called in before. Attempt to get a
healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 4. No need for Hannah’s mom to call in because there is a record of her authorizing me to
speak on her behalf. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends
with the rep telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 5. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 6. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 7. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 8 .Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 9. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 10. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 11. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 12. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 13. Attempt to get a healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep
telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

Day 14. Three way phone call to healthcare.gov to get authorization for me to speak on the
family’s behalf because there is no record that we had ever called in before. Attempt to get a
healthcare.gov rep to increase the family’s income ends with the rep telling me that the system is down so I will have to call back later.

On Day 15, we finally made some headway. I didn’t have to include Hannah’s mom in a three-
way-authorization phone call and after multiple attempts we were able to reset her password (she had been unable to log into the site for two weeks.) Then, at long last, we resubmitted an application that actually added little Hannah to the policy. The following day I called into
healthcare.gov to find out if the addition really went through and was informed that indeed
it had, and Hannah would be added to the policy effective… … … December 1, 2014! This
of course, was of no help to me. Adding Hannah effective December 1st would mean that
there would be no coverage for the cost of her birth way back on June 4th. When I pointed
this unfortunate fact out to the rep I was advised to “talk to the insurance company.” So after
all of our previous efforts Healthcare.gov sent us right back where we started from, but now
both Hannah and Hannah’s parent’s hospital bills were over four months old. Very frustrated, I called SelectHealth and begged them to add the child to the policy on her actual birthday. The SelectHealth employees expressed all sorts of sorrow for my situation but in the end explained that they were legally obligated to follow the instructions that they received from healthcare.gov and healthcare.gov was instructing them to add the baby on December 1st. It was a dead end.

So back to Healthcare.gov I went.

Fortunately for me, the person I spoke to told me that there was a small chance that we
could get Hannah added to the policy back on June 4th, but it required that I lodge a
successful appeal with the higher ups at Healthcare.gov. Supposedly someone somewhere at
Healthcare.gov had the power to override the system’s defects to get Hannah’s birth covered.
And lucky for me the appeals process was a synch. All it required was for me to fill out a seven page form and mail it to the offices of healthcare.gov in New York. And by “mail” I mean the stamp and envelope operation set up by Ben Franklin. Although I was actually excited to spend the next few days wondering what city my envelope was traveling through and whether it was being moved by truck or plane or steam boat, I worried that Hannah’s parents wouldn’t have the time it would take for the Postmaster General to get involved nor could they stomach Healthcare.gov’s 90 day turnaround for an appeals decision.

I figured that I would have to take one more shot at a Healthcare.gov rep to find out if there was any way to expedite the appeal, and fortunately for me there was. After an hour on the phone with a mildly informed Healthcare.gov rep I was able to lodge an official appeal. The rep even promised that he was having the appeal “expedited.”

Fresh from that success, but doubtful that it would actually pan out, I decided that I’d better have a back up plan. So I made another run at SelectHealth and this time I begged them, explaining and re-explaining mine and Hannah’s family’s woes over the last four months. And after multiple phone calls over multiple days the people at SelectHealth suggested that they might – “might” – be able to plug baby Hannah into her very own policy that they would jump start back on June 4th and then deactivate on December 1st when Healthcare.gov’s policy kicks in. I was thrilled that finally I had someone on the other line who might have found a workable solution! In fact, I was so caught up in the moment that I actually called Healthcare.gov to tell them that I wouldn’t need to appeal after all. But instead of nixing my appeal the rep said, “Ummm… sir there is no active appeal associated with this policy.”

“Oh.” I said in reply. “There’s no record that I called in yesterday and spent an hour on the
phone lodging an ‘official appeal’ to have the effective date of Hannah’s addition changed from December 1st to June 4th?”

“No sir. None at all. I show that someone called in on October 11th though.”

“Really?” I replied. “Does it say what we talked about?”

“No sir. It just shows that someone called in about this policy.”

Now I’m sure that most readers assume that I come to this debate with an ideological axe to
grind. But they’re wrong. I’m not an ideologists, I’m an insurance salesman. I don’t care who
is in charge of setting up the system that get’s Hannah’s birth paid for, it could be the private
sector, it could be the public sector or it could be any other entity that exists within the borders of our galaxy. I don’t care who does it, my only concern is that it gets done efficiently. But unfortunately for everyone, the system our legislators put in place on March 23, 2010 is still severely defective. Yes it has brought coverage to many uninsured Americans, but it went about it in all the wrong ways. Contrary to what was promised on the campaign trail the average American has not seen his premiums drop by $2,500. Rates aren’t dropping they’re rising; nor were millions of Americans allowed to keep their plans no matter how much they liked them. Those getting subsidies to offset the cost of their policies might feel like the price has dropped, but it’s an artificial reality. The only reason some have seen price decreases is because the American taxpayer is now picking up their tab, diverting public funds from public projects and towards private insurers. All that our
efforts at reform have done is take a convoluted system and make it even more convoluted. Terminally convoluted I believe.

And this, my friends, is where the story finally comes to a close. Here in Utah SelectHealth
might be able to patch something together to accommodate Hannah’s birth while back in New York our billion dollar website was able to note that someone associated with Hannah’s parent’s policy made a phone call to Healthcare.gov on October 11th. It didn’t record the content of the call nor did it identify the caller. It simply recorded the fact of a call. And that’s where were at; Hannah’s birth might get covered, but then again – it might not.

End of the story. Finito – you know, for the Italians.”

Comments also pasted below:

INSURANCE COSTS GOING UP FOR SENIOR COUPLE

Submitted on 2015/01/01 at 1:34 pm
67 years old and have Medicare Part A only, but am on wife’s company health plan; got onto Healthcare.gov and found that the CHEAPEST plan (either through a Medicare Advantage plan or a regular ACA plan) available to me alone would cost $581 month in premiums, with a $6K annual out-of-pocket, and $8.5K deductible. We decided to stay on company health plan even though they raised their monthly premiums to $404 a month for BOTH of us. Not sure what we will do when wife retires…

TEXAS PROGRAM DISCONTINUED AFTER OBAMACARE

Submitted on 2014/12/30 at 9:43 am
Stories about the ACA providing insurance for people with pre-existing conditions fail to mention other options were already available. In Texas there was a high-risk pool which made insurance available at reduced prices (supported by state funding). As insurance is regulated by the state, all insurers operating in Texas were required to participate. Individuals were not required to participate. Employers were not required to participate. With ACA, the Texas program was discontinued.

INSURANCE CANCELLED AFTER OBAMACARE. NOW HAS TO PAY MUCH MORE

Submitted on 2014/12/09 at 11:29 am
I am male, 34 years old. Prior to April of this year, my bcbs plan was $97 per month, with a $3500 deductible, including dental. In April, bcbs sent a notice of cancellation, moving me to another plan in compliance with the ACA. My premium has increased to $251 per month for health, and $24.50 for dental. So I now have to pay $6000 deductible before I get coverage, plus $3000 in premiums. I have a car and house payment, making about $42000 per year. This program is another redistribution plan that is punishing middle class workers who have to purchase individual plans. I have to have it if I get really sick, but it has really affected my quality of life.

PROBLEMS WITH COVERED CALIFORNIA OBAMACARE EXCHANGE

Submitted on 2014/12/01 at 12:20 am
I live in CA and if you move to a different county you must immediately notify Covered California ObamaCare Exchange and not use the your obamacare Medical benefits until the new county approves you. Not only will your ObamaCare benefits be denied because you are officially out of Network because you moved you could also be charged with a crime. I did not get my care until 6 months after I applied for ObamaCare. I notified ObamaCare CA that I moved and 5 weeks later I still have not received any information from the new county. There going to send me a very large book in multiple languages to pick a network and a doctor in the network in my new county where I now reside. 5 Weeks & I can’t use my Medical Card all because of ObamaCare ! This did not happen before ObamaCare ! I am over 55 and none of my benefits are paid for either. Its just put on a gov credit card and in the future they will take everything I own. They never tell you how much is being paid to the insurance exchange or any of the bills. THEY REFUSE TO DISCLOSE COSTS !!!! Under ObamaCare. If you ask me we have been literally screwed and its only going to get worse.

CAN’T AFFORD SAME COVERAGE, DAUGHTER MUST GO WITHOUT  PRIVATE INSURANCE

Submitted on 2014/11/03 at 3:29 am
Wife and I have a 32 yr old daughter. She has never made much money and has no insurance unless wife and I provide it. For years wife and I cheerfully paid for catastrophic medical insurance for daughter. It started out about about $65.00 per month and up until Obummercare it was about $125.00 per month. It didn’t provide hardly any coverage until daughter’s years expenses hit about $5,000.00 But we were still happy with that, because daughter didn’t cost us all that much for out of pocket yearly routine medical expenses. And if something serious happened to daughter, and expenses got high, then medical insurance would step in and pay the medical bills. IOW, in case of catastrophic medical problem with daughter, wife and I would not go bankrupt yet daughter would still get medical care. But insurance company was forced to add extras we didn’t want to policy and raised monthly cost to about $295.00. Now that is too high and we cannot afford that. Guess will let taxpayers foot bill and get daughter onto Medicaid. Goes against our values, but Obummercare forces it.

NEW PREMIUM: MORE THAN DOUBLE FOR FEWER BENEFITS

Submitted on 2014/10/31 at 12:06 pm
Last year in all of the ACA hubbub, our family of four opted to keep our non ACA-compliant policy for one more year under the reprieve. This was our best option since we had switched our individual coverage from a grandfathered pre-2010 non ACA-compliant plan to another plan (It was comparable in price, and I understood it to be ACA-compliant back in 2010 before anyone understood what that even meant. Why were they allowed to sell new, but non ACA-compliant plans for 4 more years? Oh yeah, to be sure they had the chance to forever screw us out of grandfathered low cost coverage).

So now our time is up and I got my renewal letter. Highlights: My current plan is discontinued as of 1/1/15. Anthem has preselected a new plan for me, the ANTHEM BRONZE PATHWAY 0% FOR HSA. They will transfer my bank draft information to this new plan and keep withdrawing the premium unless I call to cancel. All very convenient, except:

My new premium is $938.20 monthly for a $12,000 deductible and $12,900 out-of-pocket max.
My current premium is $425.33 monthly for $11,000 deductible and $11,000 out-of-pocket max.

This is 221% increase in our monthly premium for a $1000 higher deductible. Both plans have preventative care. The biggest difference is that at forty years old with two boys (the youngest 9), I was previously able to take responsibility for my own “family planning” and opt out of maternity care since I have no intention of having any more children. I would happily get my tubes tied to prove it, but it wouldn’t matter (and I can’t afford to). All Americans pay the same amount for maternity care now, even the three males I live with. I estimate that maternity coverage is needed by most women for a period of 5 years or less and that most know when they need it and made sure they had coverage, even those with “poverty” coverage like medicaid. I’d like to know how many women have actually filed bankruptcy or paid the full $10,000-$20,000 maternity bill out-of-pocket due to lack of coverage. But now we all have maternity care, males too, for an entire lifetime. You’d think spreading it out across the years and genders would erase it’s impact, but the cost of maternity appears to be the same $500 per month increase it was pre-ACA for those women of child-bearing age that opted to have it.

Both plans amount to virtually no actual coverage for us. Year to date we have applied less than $300 toward our $11,000 deductible. We are now required to pay $11,300 per year for the privilege of paying another $12,000 before anything is covered. The only covered care our family will likely receive is my “free” pap smear that will really cost us more than $11,000. We will receive no further coverage until we spend upwards of $23,000.

I consider myself an independent. I voted for Obama–partially based upon the promise of more affordable health care for the self-employed because foolishly, I thought it was already too expensive. Now it’s basically a second mortgage. I was duped, and the elections are coming. The problem is big business insurance appears to be benefiting a great deal, so I don’t see this getting repealed on either side of the aisle. Anthem can now charge me twice as much for worse coverage, and either I pay the difference myself or everyone does if the government subsidizes it. Either way they get their monthly check for the full amount while raking in enormous corporate profits.

The only option remaining is exactly the same as it’s always been for the spouses of the self-employed. Secure a job with better benefits, but good luck because their prices are skyrocketing too while their coverage is shrinking.

So much for small business, the American dream and personal freedom.

COVERED CALIFORNIA OBAMACARE SKYROCKETED PREMIUMS

My husband and I returned to live in California about four years ago. We had been very well served by the NHS in Britain for over 30 years. During our first years back, we had insurance benefits from my employer, playing roughly half of the premium which was only $400 for both of us a month. Though we had doubts about ACA, our premiums rose on our birthdays every year, so we were encouraged by the possibility of decent healthcare insurance.

We signed up for Covered California and were shocked that our premiums had skyrocketed to over $1300 for the two of us, of which we had to pay $410. (I was well-aware that, as taxpayers, we were paying the rest of the premium through our taxes and that the insurance companies were raking in the profits. After all, a health insurance lobbyist designed the ACA with that result in mind.)

My husband just received notice that his premium alone will be rising to over $800 a month in January 2015. Fortunately, we learned this before the November election so we can vote those responsible for this travesty out of office.

Whatever you think about the British National Healthcare Service, it works and the healthcare staff are superb, not profit-motivated like U.S. doctors. The service is free at source, there are no skyrocketing premiums and no health insurance companies to rip off the taxpayers.

The ACA was designed to ensure the insurance companies make a profit, get their payoff upfront, with no concern for the people who really need medical assistance.

Not affordable. Not healthcare.

INSURANCE COSTS WENT UP FOR INFERIOR PLAN: COULDN’T KEEP PLAN OR DOCTOR

Submitted on 2014/10/27 at 3:09 pm
My wife works for a medical group and the insurance was very good coverage. But after ACA went on the books, she/I was told that it would cost an extra $206 dollars a month for me to stay on the policy. The reason? I had a full time job and could get insured through my work. No problem… right? Nope. My current insurance is far inferior compared to the policy I enjoyed in the past. And… since our daughter stayed on the wife’s policy, we’re paying around $110 dollar more a month when you add what is taken from my check and my wife’s for health insurance. So… NO I didn’t get to keep my plan. NO I didn’t save money. Oh… I forgot. NO I couldn’t keep my doctor.

BOOTED OFF PLAN FOR MORE EXPENSIVE INSURANCE UNDER OBAMACARE

Submitted on 2014/10/27 at 2:00 pm
I am getting kicked off my current plan ,$ 1,230 month with no deductible,the NEW AND IMPROVED ACA plan is $1,720 with a $5,000 deductible.I am dumfounded when I see these news reports about how well the ACA is.It is only good for you if you are getting a subsidy,meaning that once again the “makers” will pay for the “takers”.Basicaly a $10,00 tax on me to support this piece of crap law.I also happen to be a physician,self employed,so I see that the employee mandate delay has helped hide what will come next year.My friends don’t believe what a increase in their insurance is awaiting them.All the available plans have large deductibles,every one of them,people are not going to seek medical treatment because they are going to have to pay for it until they meet the deductible,which in the “cheaper” bronze plans make them basicaly very expensive “catastrophic”medical insurance.

PREMIUMS MORE THAN TRIPLED FOR TEXAS FAMILY

Submitted on 2014/10/27 at 10:32 am
I am in the insurance business, and have watched the insurance companies try to keep pace with changing the requirements from the ACA. The companies are doing what they must as required by law but the consequences are that they are spending money at an alarming rate just to keep up. With that, I have seen my family (2 adults & 2 kids) see the health premiums go from about $725 per month in 2012 to last years $823 per month to a whopping $2300 per month. We live in Texas and we do not have insurance on the exchanges (Obamacare) we buy health insurance direct from the insurer on an individual plan, but the cost of complying with ACA has driven up the cost everywhere! Failure is in the future! Failure of 1) the ACA 2) the medical service 3) medical professionals 4) our way of life!

OBAMACARE CATCH 22 FOR COUPLE

Submitted on 2014/10/27 at 12:00 am
One of the stories that I have not heard about is the cancelling of state high risk pools because of the ada. For example, Utah and Iowa have already cancelled their high risk pools. Oklahoma plans to cancel theirs at the end of this year. We live in a state that has not yet cancelled their high risk pool. However we are in a catch 22. If they cancelled our high risk pool we would be in trouble. We own a business that is not making money. Because we have no income at all we cannot qualify for ada subsidies. Also, because we have a 401k we do not quality for medicaid insurance. So we would have to use up our 401K to quality for health insurance. My wife was talking to an insurance lady on the phone and she said that one should used their 401k to pay for insurance premiums. Strangely, we would be required to pay the highest rate for insurance that would soon use up our 401k. My wife said that perhaps it would be better to keep the 401k in case we had a catastrophic event. The lady then said “But then you wouldn’t have the safety net of insurance”. But with our 401K used up we wouldn’t have that safety net.

INSURANCE CANCELLED UNDER OBAMACARE, THEN PREMIUMS DOUBLED

Submitted on 2014/10/26 at 9:35 pm
tried posting my “success” to https://www.acasuccess.com/ yet it never appeared SUCCESS!

ACA/Obamacare told Kaiser Permanente 2 cancel my health care insurance. KP did just that, then offered insurance that doubled my premiums with high deductibles and high co pay. I was told to be grateful to obtain health insurance.

State: oregon

CO-PAY FOR MEDS WENT UP

Submitted on 2014/10/26 at 2:16 pm
My co-pay for meds has increased over $ 100 per month. This is mainly due to drug companies has increased all their contracts with insurance plans.

POLICY CANCELLED UNDER OBAMACARE: NEW PLAN $11,540/YR SO WILL GO WITHOUT INSURANCE

Submitted on 2014/10/26 at 11:27 am
My wife and I have had a policy with a company for the last year that was $1683 per quarter with a 10K deductible. That policy is being cancelled December 1, thanks to Obamacare and ACA guidelines according to the insurance company. The new plan they have in store for us if we want it? $2885 per quarter or $11540 a year. No thanks. We’re going to invest the money we would have spent and go without insurance. We’re in good health so far and will hope that it stays that way until we reach Medicare age, which will be in the next couple of years.

Last note. I agree with well known ex-radical David Horowitz’s assessment that Obamacare is simply a communist program. Takes an ex-Marxist lefty like Horowitz to know one. Read his eye opening book “Radical Son.”

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SCHEDULE LIMITED AFTER OBAMACARE

Steve
October 23, 2014 at 9:28 pm # Edit
I teach in New Jersey. Our substitute teachers are not allowed to work more than four days a week because of Obamacare. This not only hits the pocketbooks and wallets of our regular subs, but it effects the quality of a lesson when the teacher is absent. As teachers we can select the subs we want in our classroom. The number of quality subs is limited as it is and now the best subs can only work 4 days a week. The subs did not receive health benefits in the past and to my knowledge they didn’t need it. Most are either covered by a spouse, Medicare or they are college students still on their parents plan. It is only October and we have received multiple job postings for substitute teachers.

POLICY CANCELLED, NEW PLAN OFFERED WOULD BE NEARLY DOUBLE, WILL GO WITHOUT INSURANCE

Gary Clemente
October 26, 2014 at 11:27 am # Edit
My wife and I have had a policy with a company for the last year that was $1683 per quarter with a 10K deductible. That policy is being cancelled December 1, thanks to Obamacare and ACA guidelines according to the insurance company. The new plan they have in store for us if we want it? $2885 per quarter or $11540 a year. No thanks. We’re going to invest the money we would have spent and go without insurance. We’re in good health so far and will hope that it stays that way until we reach Medicare age, which will be in the next couple of years.

Last note. I agree with well known ex-radical David Horowitz’s assessment that Obamacare is simply a communist program. Takes an ex-Marxist lefty like Horowitz to know one. Read his eye opening book “Radical Son.”

CO-PAY UP $100/MONTH

Huseyin
October 26, 2014 at 2:16 pm # Edit
My co-pay for meds has increased over $ 100 per month. This is mainly due to drug companies has increased all their contracts with insurance plans.

DOUBLED PREMIUM WITH HIGH DEDUCTIBLE AND CO-PAY

jwm
October 26, 2014 at 9:35 pm # Edit
tried posting my “success” to https://www.acasuccess.com/ yet it never appeared SUCCESS!

ACA/Obamacare told Kaiser Permanente 2 cancel my health care insurance. KP did just that, then offered insurance that doubled my premiums with high deductibles and high co pay. I was told to be grateful to obtain health insurance.

State: oregon

SMALL FARMERS PAY HIGHER PREMIUMS

Wanda Patsche
October 22, 2014 at 12:27 pm # Edit
My husband and I have a small farming business. We have one employee. In order to give health insurance as a business benefit, all of our health insurance plans need to be same. Nondiscriminatory. I get that. But this is where common sense is left behind. We are not able to purchase an insurance plan for our employee identical to the one we have as a family. No, Obamacare requires us to purchase a group health insurance plan, which is significantly higher in cost. This makes no sense other than for us to pay higher premiums.

PREMIUMS ROSE FROM $119 TO $250/MO, DEDUCTIBLE ROSE FROM $3K TO $8K, LESS DR. CHOICE

Hunter
October 22, 2014 at 12:37 pm # Edit
Humana
As a direct result of the ACA (as stated in a letter from Humana) premium rose from $119 to $250/mo
Deductible from $3K to 8K
No copay preventative care benefits removed or watered down. In system doctors reduced to two names.

Nonsmoker in “perfect” health (according to my primary care physician). Current policy now again will no longer available after December. Humana will not say what if any policy will be available in my market. Exchange policies not an option – they essentially offer zero care as deductible is unworkably high. Better to just pay out of pocket for everything.

I was in better shape and had better coverage before the ACA. No problem seeing/finding doctors. Now it looks very much as if I will take a year off from health insurance and see what happens.

DENIED FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS, TEMPORARILY WENT UNINSURED. NEW PLAN IS 90% COSTLIER WITH HIGHER DEDUCTIBLE.

Gina
October 22, 2014 at 12:43 pm # Edit
I’ve been denied twice for private insurance due to pre-existing conditions since the ACA took effect. (I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen anymore?) Once because ACA compliance had driven my small employer-based premium up 66% in the two years the State of California was ramping up for it, so I tried to get private insurance elsewhere. The other when I moved and tried to get “gap” insurance, because COBRA would have cost me $1900 a month. We went uninsured until I started my new job.

My new employer’s small business plan is grandfathered in so we’re still okay, for another year. The insurance broker said to get similar coverage that’s ACA compliant, the cheapest he could offer us would represent an 90% premium increase, with higher deductible.

EPILEPSY CLINIC CLOSED DUE TO FINANCIAL REASONS

Steven Graves
October 22, 2014 at 8:03 am # Edit
My wife has epilepsy and sees a specialist in epilepsy at the University of New Mexico medical center. Because of the ACA payment to doctors have decreased. This in turn has resulted in the Medical center deciding to close the epilepsy clinic due to financial reasons. This will no doubt result in a poorer quality of care for many people with epilepsy.

FUNDING FOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL RESEARCH DOWN

Steve
October 22, 2014 at 8:10 am # Edit
We have a friend who does diabetes research at the University of New Mexico. He has told us that because of the ACA medical research is being changed so that most of the funding is going to go to government agencies rather than universities. It is much more difficult to get government funding for university medical research than it has been in the past. He believes that this will reduce the overall amount of research that will be done as well as the quality of the research — since there will be a lack of independence. Research will be more likely to be influenced by political agendas rather than objective science. Also, his job is in jeopardy.

50% PREMIUM INCREASE FOR SAME COVERAGE AFTER OBAMACARE

DiDi
October 22, 2014 at 10:01 am # Edit
My family supports a relative. He has many congenital health issues and no income. He was a member of the Texas High-Risk Pool, until it was eliminated by the ACA. We were paying $421 per month for a PPO plan that had a $2,500 deductible, and paid 80%. Had to purchase an ACA GOLD plan to get same benefits – $603/month (going to $632), $1,500 deductible, $3,500 OOP. Net: 50% premium increase in 1 year for essentially same coverage.

OBAMACARE DOUBLES INSURANCE EXPENSES FOR FORMER NEWS REPORTER AND CANCER SURVIVOR: $40K LAST YEAR IN PREMIUMS AND MEDICAL CARE: DOUBLE AFTER OBAMACARE

lance williams
October 21, 2014 at 12:34 pm # Edit
In 2000 I was diagnosed with such a virulent strain of leukemia doctors told my wife to prepare to bury her husband and the father of her young children. By God’s grace, using remarkable medical science, groundbreaking medications and the generosity of an 18 year old bone marrow donor, 14 years later I am cancer free, have watched my children grow up and successfully work full time in real estate. Nine years ago, after leaving my television reporting job I had to figure out how someone in my situation was going to get health insurance! Well, federal law… yes, there was already a law in place… required that carriers provide an open application session for those with pre-existing conditions. So, long before Obama intoned that his plan would finally provide insurance for those with pre-existing conditions, I was doing just fine: I had insurance at a rate I could afford, seeing the doctors of my preference. It wasn’t cheap, but, looking back, a mere pittance compared to what I now face. Last year my family and I spent over $40,000 in premiums and medical care! Twice as much as before The Affordable Care Act.!. AND…. I am now forced to change insurance carriers! Before the election I begged friends, liberal and conservative, to heed my situation; it is NOT unique… it’s exactly what millions of Americans are now facing, unduly burdened by government intrusion and overreach. Yes, we needed health care REFORM, not a government mandate, and now any kind of reform is lost in the sticky wicket of OBAMACARE!
Lance Williams/Tampa

HEART DRUG COST WENT FROM $20-$30/MO TO $100+, OTHER PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES RISING

Richard
October 21, 2014 at 5:54 pm # Edit
One issue that isn’t discussed much is the marked rise in drug prices under the current health care law. Even generic meds that were previously inexpensive have risen to shocking levels. For instance, digoxin and diltiazem, two medicines commonly used to treat atrial fibrillation (the most commonly treated heart arrhythmia), have risen to well over $100 a month when previously they were very inexpensive in the $20-30 per month range. Doxycycline, an antibiotic that used to cost $20 for a 10 day course is now up to $200 per month. It’s the drug of choice for treating Lyme disease and is used for MRSA and acne treatment. Drug companies are allowed to pay each other not to make a drug and then when all the competition is “bought off”, the price is raised or an artificial shortage is created. The patients hurt most by this are patients without drug coverage or a deductible that pay for the meds out of their own pocket. As a physician, I used to be able to treat a substantial number of patients very effectively with available generic meds. That has become increasingly challenging in the past two to three years.

MOTHER AND GRANDMA’S PREMIUMS GOING UP 107%, HER OWN DEDUCTIBLES AND CO-PAYS HAVE RISEN TOO MUCH TO AFFORD.

Gina Beatty
October 21, 2014 at 12:08 pm # Edit
My mother (age 69) and grandma (age 95) both received notice from their medicare supplement insurance company. Their premiums are going up 107%. The reason given was that since Medicare was cut to supplement ACA they had no choice but to raise their premiums. Neither one of them can afford this….but then again I guess they are old so who cares if they get care or not. Maybe I should just give both of them a pill?

My deductibles and copays have risen so much that I can’t afford care when I need it.

COLLEGE-AGED DAUGHTER WOULD HAVE COST EXTRA $900/MO. WITH $6,000 DEDUCTIBLE UNDER OBAMACARE SO SHE GOES WITHOUT INSURANCE.

Amy
October 20, 2014 at 10:56 pm # Edit
Well, because of the ACA, my insurance company, which is through our retirement, told us our daughter, who is 23 and is a full time college student can not be kept on our policy, but if we wanted to keep her on it would cost $900.00 per month for the same plan. Right now she is just without insurance and I pay cash if she has to go to the Dr. Obamacare is too expensive, the Ins co said she could go on Medicaid…seriously? I think not. Plus the plan she could get had a $6000.00 deductible…what a joke..we give them 3 or 4 hundred a month for what? There are no more catastrophic plans which would work for someone as young and healthy as my daughter. So after she graduates we will see what we can do….

WAS HAPPY WITH HMO BUT HAD TO CHANGE AFTER OBAMACARE WHEN PREMIUMS SKYROCKETED, WAS DEFRAUDED WITH BOGUS REPLACEMENT COVERAGE, NOW ON MEDICARE

RB
October 20, 2014 at 7:59 pm # Edit
When Obamacare started, I had a first class HMO. But the entire industry exploded in costs and I could not afford $3,00/month premiums. So, I am desperate to find another insurer. And I find what is called an A+ carrier and start paying $1,000/month. BUT: (1) drug costs increased several fold; (2) no coverage for DME and other features I had enjoyed; and (3) HERE’S THE BIG ONE–IT WAS BOGUS COVERAGE! My wife suffered a stroke; after four (4) days her hospital bills exceeded $35,000; AND THE CARRIER SAID: “SHE HAD NO COVERAGE” “SHE WAS NEVER ADMITTED” and “WE PAID ALL WE HAD TO” [$750!]. We had to declare bankruptcy. I connect the bogus carrier with the total and outrageous destruction of the health insurance industry due to Obamacare. The entire system was so ravaged by uncertainty, confusion, and deceit, that FRAUD SKYROCKETED.

HAPPY ENDING: My wife and I qualified for Medicare last month–and we now pay very little. [Of course, it DOES have its limitations, but…]

FORCED TO CHANGE INSURERS DUE TO OBAMACARE, NOW HEALTHY FAMILY’S PREMIUM WILL DOUBLE IN 2015, BIGGER THAN MORTGAGE AND CAR PAYMENT COMBINED 

Bob
October 20, 2014 at 9:27 pm # Edit
Today, today we received notice of 2015 plan the exactly DOUBLED OUR PREMIUM. Excellent health, husband & wife 55, + 3 college age kids. Premium went from $8400 to $16,800. Plus a $15,000 family deductible. Self-employed. No health issues in entire family. None. Had a full plan with BCBS. Not a crap plan. we loved it. Forced to change insurers last yr and now premium DOUBLED. more than mortgage and car payment combined.

COLLEGE STUDENT HAD HEALTH INSURANCE THROUGH PARENT–UNTIL OBAMACARE

Olivia
October 20, 2014 at 9:49 pm # Edit
As a college student, I had health insurance through my father’s workplace. After the ACA took effect in 2014, all plans were forced to include “adult” children, even if they weren’t students. To compensate, my insurer narrowed its network by such an extent that I was no longer covered–which means that unless I was in a “real” emergency (as defined by the insurer) I was out of luck if I got sick. That is, unless I wanted to drive 6 hours home to see my primary care physician. Thanks Pres!

WORK PLAN UNDER OBAMACARE COST MORE SO SWITCHED TO MEDICARE, UNION NOW FACES CADILLAC TAX

Arthur Shatz
October 20, 2014 at 11:41 am # Edit
I have actually changed over to Medicare even though I am still working because the new plan that my company picked up had out of pocket costs that are far in access of what Medicare would cost my wife and I. Additionally, the union that handles our warehouse is in trouble because they are facing the so-called Cadillac tax for having a plan that is too generous. Hopefully, some fresh blood in D.C. can shift the discussion from repealing this law to fixing what is wrong with it. Now that we have some experience, the problems can be more correctly defined and addressed.

PAYS TOO MUCH FOR INSURANCE NEVER USED

Marty
October 20, 2014 at 11:51 am # Edit
It seems that everyone who complains about their insurance rates and deductibles are the people that have become used to receiving far more in benefits than they have been paying in. Several thousands of dollars a month in prescription medications and hospital/lab procedures while paying much less than that in premiums. Who pays for the difference? It’s not the insurance companies; it’s the healthy people that share the same plan, the people that don’t have to take all those meds and use all those medical services. I pay close to 500 a month for health insurance. Haven’t even been to a doctor’s office this century. I also pay car insurance and haven’t filed a claim in nearly twenty years. Homeowner’s insurance? Never had a claim. But I keep paying the premiums. It’s insurance, not a way to lay off my bills to someone else. I’m in my sixties and I guess I just don’t understand how people can expect to pay a company 5 dollars and get 20 dollars worth of services back (or more likely – 6K a year for 100K a year in services). Let’s look at this another way. Suppose your car insurance was a thousand a year. You wreck your car every year and the damages are several thousand. Should the insurance company have to keep your premiums the same? Would you expect them to? Of course you wouldn’t, that would be insanity on the company’s part. Why is health insurance any different? I really dislike the ACA for a number of reasons and I think it will only make this nation’s healthcare more costly and more dysfunctional. I’ll keep paying my premiums for as long as I can still afford them but I dearly hope I never get to the point that the benefits are more than I pay in.

INSURANCE CANCELLED, COULDN’T AFFORD EXPENSIVE NEW PLAN: TOO YOUNG FOR MEDICARE; TOO ‘RICH’ FOR SUBSIDIES. GOING WITHOUT INSURANCE

Barbara
October 20, 2014 at 11:52 am # Edit
My husband lost his job after Obama came in, and then COBRA insurance ran out. He was still working, but as a private contractor instead of a permanent employee. Then our private insurance plan was cancelled last December 2013. We didn’t trust the security of the government exchanges. We priced out private insurance for our family, but could not afford the monthly ~$1600 premium let alone the $5000/person deductible. We are too young for Medicare, too “rich” for subsidies. We opted for paying cash and crossing our fingers with prayers for health. The policies available would have sucked us dry, and then we’d still be paying cash anyway to meet the deductibles. Having asthma/severe allergies, I barely can afford my meds. My husband’s doctor retired because of ACA. My doctor may retire as well. As far as I’m concerned, ACA is the true “die faster” policy.

DELAYED CAARE FOR CANCER TREATMENT

Rhonda
October 20, 2014 at 11:58 am # Edit
My insurance company now has ultra-strict “pre-authorization” rules that delay care. I was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of stomach cancer and require a very intricate, specialized surgery which will take more than 6 hours. The surgery must be done before the cancer spreads. I have a history of heart problems and needed my cardiologist to do a pre-op screening to make sure my heart is fit for the surgery. First, my regular cardiologist informed me they no longer accept my insurance. Then it took almost two weeks to obtain an authorization to see a different cardiologist for a consultation. Now we are awaiting authorization for the stress test. All this time, my surgery has to wait, while the chances of my cancer spreading increase by the day.

PREMIUMS INCREASED FROM $400/MO TO $1,200/MONTH WITH MUCH BIGGER DEDUCTIBLE. CAN’T AFFORD IT.

RC
October 20, 2014 at 12:07 pm # Edit
Lost my job due to obama’s policies. We are self employed so use to paying high deductibles. Our premiums were $400/month, deductible of $7500′ covered 100% after deductible is met. We are not on any medications, rarely sick. Obamacare premiums $1200/month, $12,600 deductible, 60/40 after deductible is met. Barely any drs on the plan. Our taxes pay for others to have insurance, but we no longer can afford insurance. So we will be penalized on top of that.

OUT OF POCKET MEDICINE EXPENSES FOR RN WENT FROM $25 TO $1300/MO SO BUYS DRUGS FROM CANADA

ANONYMOUS
October 20, 2014 at 12:33 pm # Edit
I am now 70 yrs old, working over 30 hrs a week as an RN to afford my leukemia medication. Medicare would make my out of pocket cost about 30% of the full price, about $900-1000 per month. The insurance I had several years ago required an out of pocket of only $25 (great deal!). When I went to renew my insurance 2 yrs ago….the beginning of ACA……my OOP share jumped to $1300 per month! Who can afford that on a regular basis? So I now get the generic from Canada, which sends it to me from India by way of Ceylon for only $850 for a 90 day supply. The generic is not legal in America, but that’s another story. I also fear that in the next few yrs, the environment will change and I will no longer be able to obtain it via Canada. And I”m ‘too old’ to get any government breaks. Thanks a lot, ACA.

DOCTOR RETIRED DUE TO ACA, CO-PAYS DOUBLED

SaraS
October 20, 2014 at 12:50 pm # Edit
My primary care doctor retired two months before the rollout because she didn’t want to deal with the changes coming with the ACA. She was only 54. Our deductibles on our insurance went from $20 to $40 for regular visits and from $50 to $100 for emergency room visits and from $40 to $50 for a specialist visit. Feeling pretty lucky to still have insurance through my husband’s company. They implemented a discount for people who can prove they are trying to stay healthy by monitoring blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose. Also monitoring weight and body mass to determine programs to incentivize healthy living. These discounts make our insurance lower because we are healthy, but we don’t get any coverage until we meet deductibles of $1000 per person. The discounts (if you do all of the health screenings) offset the increase in cost of $250 for our family policy.

INSURANCE PREMIUM JUST SURPASSED MORTGAGE PAYMENT.

Teri
October 20, 2014 at 12:51 pm # Edit
My hubby and I have 2 college age kids on plan and we are self employed. We just got our hike notice going from 623 to 804 for our 10K deductible plan. It just surpassed our mortgage payment
on a 4K square foot home. Meanwhile our dental plan has remained the same price for the past 15 years. Affordable Care Act??Love how the government names laws-exactly the opposite of what they are.

CAN’T FIND COST OF MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTAL PREMIUM

creeper
October 20, 2014 at 9:43 am # Edit
I am also on Medicare. Last week I got a notice from Humana on my supplemental policy. Everything’s fine. It will renew and I will be covered.

There was just one tiny problem. They didn’t bother to mention what my premium would be. I can find that out AFTER the election.

LOST EYE COVERAGE, REGULAR PRESCRIPTIONS NO LONGER COVERED, NO HEALTH AIDE

pam
October 19, 2014 at 11:38 pm # Edit
Feds want me to die off . Example : I no longer have eye coverage .None . Zilch . I had to take out a loan from my bank to get an eye exam, get glasses and have to pay the loan back in 2 years , I am disabled . I can no longer get generic prescriptions on 2 medications that I need . But , thanks to Obama’s progressive socialist agenda I read in the fomulary of a huge ”new” change ( this makes two books- insurance manuals I got 2 years ago and another 2 weeks ago I have not bothered to look at ) that if I needed a sex change that those pills would be covered .I found this out when I called my former gynecologists office and her staffers wanted me to look up a hormone supplement I needed and no that was not covered This is such a farce . Farce since I neither would want one or ever need one . I no longer have insurance to have a health aid come in and help me . I have had 3 spinal surgeries and I sure could have used them since I live alone ; I was a state licensed EMT before all these bone surgeries so I am not pleased with this hope and change mantra . Another thing my dad just passed away and this new Ebola czr blocked the funding for a cancer vaccine that may have saved his and millions of lives . I have much more to write but it get hard typing since I have also had hand surgery … Thank You …. Pam

PLAN WAS CANCELLED DUE TO ACA, NEW INS. NEARLY DOUBLED WITH LESS BENEFITS, MUST PAY FOR CHILD DENTISTRY WITH NO CHILDREN, REGULAR DR. WON’T ACCEPT NEW INSURANCE

Diane McGovern
October 20, 2014 at 12:20 am # Edit
My plan, which I liked, was cancelled. The letter I received stated it was due to the ACA. My old policy was $330. The best new policy I could find was $600 with less benefits. To add insult to injury I was billed $5.95 extra, on a separate invoice, for child preventive dentistry. I have no children under 26. Nine months into my new policy I received a letter from my doctor, the one I thought I could keep, that she was no longer accepting my insurance and that I could pay for her services or find another doctor. The only good news is that 12 days after my doctor dropped my insurance I became eliglible for Medicare…or NoCare, as I call it. I feel for others who have to live with the ACA. Yes, I am sure it has helped some. However, it would have been cheaper and more fair to the rest of us, to just give those uninsured a check to buy like the rest of us were. By the way, we always heard that there were 30 million uninsured. The only number we ever heard was 8 million (of which people like me who lost their plans would have been counted). Where are the other 22 million uninsured? Oh right, that number was false. But the low information people bought into it.

INSURER AETNA LEFT MARKET AFTER ACA, PAY 64% MORE FOR NEW PLAN

Mike S
October 20, 2014 at 1:55 am # Edit
I’m self-employed in California and had a nice HSA plan with Aetna through Dec 31st, 2013. Aetna decided to leave the California market altogether (wonder why?). I worked with a very good agent to find a suitable replacement, i.e., another HSA plan with high deductible to keep my costs down. Finally found one Anthem Blue Cross, except I suffered a rate increase of 64% and the coverage is no better. I already getting very nervous about next year’s premium.

I prefer more naturopathic, alternative treatments for most thing (I abhor drugs) and of course any medical insurance will not cover these. I have insurance for one reason and one reason only: catastrophic events. I had one such last year (appendicitis) which had a hospital bill of 25K to Aetna (I paid my 6K deductible with my HSA). What was scary was the non-discounted cost of less than two days in the hospital of 50K. The cost of this surgery 40-50 years ago, I understand, was about $ 500.

We need real reform. More competition, more HSA insurance policies (which will drive down costs), more personal responsibility, and far less government, which only makes things worse, not better.

LICENSED INSURANCE AGENT HEARS TEARFUL STORY OF BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR WHO CAN’T AFFORD TREATMENT UNDER ACAA STORY OF BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR WHO CAN’T AFFORD TREATMENT UNDER ACA

KMac
October 20, 2014 at 7:37 am # Edit
I’m a licensed insurance agent who was sent across FL to a company that had dropped coverage for all of its employees. Instead, they offered each employee $100-200/mo. contribution and it was my job (with 3 other agents) the get them all signed-up.
One woman I was working with suddenly broke down and was literally sobbing in my arms. She had breast cancer. She’d already paid her high deductible and couldn’t afford to go onto Obamacare and pay the deductible a 2nd time for her treatment. (She was supporting a family of 4.) She’d already paid over $6K in deductibles and now she was faced with paying another $8K? Just to STAY ALIVE!

She just walked out – not certain of her chances any longer thanks to this disaster of an ‘Affordable Care Act.”

PLAN WAS CANCELLED, NEW PLAN DOUBLED PREMIUM FOR DOUBLE DEDUCTIBLE

Michelle Ballard
October 20, 2014 at 9:31 am # Edit
My plan was cancelled in January. I tried the bronze plan with double the premium AND double the deductible. After denied charges for out-of-network blood work, I cancelled. I now have temporary insurance, and I’m looking into “legal” sharing ministries.

INSURANCE WENT FROM $185 TO $600/MONTH. HAD TO DROP COVERAGE.

Kevin Dickson
October 20, 2014 at 9:35 am # Edit
I had to drop coverage for my myself and my daughter and son even though they were both in College. My retirement insurance went up 300% and exceeded my ability to pay on a limited income. It went from $185 to over $600 per month.

WORKPLACE INSURANCE PREMIUMS WENT UP, DEDUCTIBLES WENT UP, OUT OF POCKET COSTS WENT UP, REGULAR MEDICATION NOT COVERED: EQUIVALENT TO $10,000 PAY CUT

Bob in SoCa.
October 20, 2014 at 10:36 am # Edit
The premiumms for my employer provided healthcare plan have gone up and my coverage has gone from a good, full service plan to one with high deductibles and double the out of pocket costs. A medication my wife had taken for years has now been denied (same provider). The $250 per month cost is now on us and does not got towards satifying the deductible or out of pocket expense limit. I basically received a $10,000 cut in pay.

PREMIUM DOUBLED FROM $400-$815/MONTH, OUT OF POCKET COSTS INCREASED, ILL DAUGHTER COULDN’T FIND DR. WHO ACCEPTS INSURANCE TO SEE HER ON A TIMELY BASIS.

Mary Anne
October 20, 2014 at 10:57 am # Edit
I am on my husband’s policy through his work. Since ACA went into effect my premium has doubled from $400 per month to $815 per month, I’m sure it will increase again this year, also out of pocket cost have increased. My daughter has a subsidized plan through ACA, she just got out of college and isn’t earning a lot of money. She was sick recently and could not find a Dr. that accepted her insurance, the ones that did could not see her until December. she tried urgent care clinics but the closest one was 35 miles away, hard to drive when you are vomiting! This ludicrous law needs to repealed now!

FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS INSURANCE GOT CANCELLED. NEW PLAN NOT AS GOOD BUT 80% MORE EXPENSIVE.

Diana
October 20, 2014 at 11:18 am # Edit
We are a small family owned plumbing business in northern Virginia. We have always paid 100% of our employees medical and dental insurance. Our plan is cancelled, though Anthem describes the new ACA compliant plan our “renewal,” as of December 1, 2014. New plan, which is no match to the excellent plan we’ve always had, is 80% higher. My insurance rep says part of the reason for the extreme hike is that our group was largely young and the entire small group is very healthy. I still don’t know what to do. I cannot pay nearly double for insurance. I think about it and stress about it on a daily basis. Having our employees pay for part of it will be a de facto devastating pay cut. I cannot believe this nightmare! BTW, thank you Cheryl. This is my first public comment on my predicament. Is there a way out of this?

PLAN CANCELLED, NEW PLAN NEARLY TWICE THE COST WITH MUCH HIGHER DEDUCTIBLE AND CO-PAYS. NOW THAT’S BEEN CANCELLED, TOO.

David Cohen
October 19, 2014 at 9:36 pm # Edit
We had a plan we were happy with that was cancelled because of Obamacare last year. After much searching, we found a plan with much higher deductibles and co-pays for almost twice the price. We recently got our cancellation notice for that plan. We haven’t started looking again, but every other plan we looked at last year had much higher premiums than the one we’re now losing. We expect to have to pay much more.

LAB WORK NO LONGER COVERED, PRESCRIPTIONS COST MORE OR AREN’T COVERED. TRIES NOT TO USE INSURANCE.

Chemistry4Life
October 19, 2014 at 9:49 pm # Edit
I liked my doctor and I got to keep my doctor… because he was smart enough to get out of the insurance game years ago. I liked my insurance and I kept my insurance… in name. As my premiums rise, my coverage goes down. Because I have a chronic autoimmune disease, my medical needs revolve around prescription and lab coverage. I had no problem paying for my birth control (yes, even the $100/month kind) and if I could go back to paying for it and my old policy I would.

My labwork used to be covered 100%. When the amount of tubes being taken from me was more than the phlebotomist had space for on her table, I really appreciated this coverage. Now I am hit with a $50 charge for the cost of the blood draw every time I get tested and this is the in network lab. If I need something done at an out of network lab (e.g. my GP wants to do a blood count), it costs even more.

The list of covered prescriptions shrinks every year. I used to pay $5/month for generic prescriptions. Now I’m paying at least $10/month for generics and brand names are barely covered. More prescriptions require prior authorization, which means I go to the pharmacy with the scrip for a medication my doctor thinks I need, and then I learn I’m not getting it until my insurance company says so. My insurance company is inserting itself further and further into the doctor/patient relationship. I was prescribed montelukast for sinus inflammation so severe that I was seeing double from the pressure on my optic nerve. He wanted me to take 2 tablets/day, the insurance company thought I only needed 1. Barely able to breathe or see, I went home empty-handed and angry.

My Obamacare success is that I’ve gotten much better about cutting out my insurance company from my healthcare. When I was prescribed a $500/month medication that wasn’t covered by insurance, the drug company offered a free 30 day trial so that I could find out the drug wouldn’t work for me before I started shelling out the big bucks for it. When I fell and hurt my back, I financed my rehab. and got a 40% discount for bypassing insurance. For another prescription that my insurance wouldn’t touch, my pharmacy enrolled me in their discount program and saved me some more money. I still carry insurance in the event of something catastrophic but I prefer to keep my healthcare decisions between me and my doctor whenever possible.

WIFE’S HOURS CUT DUE TO OBAMACARE

Jim Klingler
October 19, 2014 at 9:51 pm # Edit
My wife’s hours were cut from 36 hours a week to less than 30 hours a week because (supposedly) over 30 hours would mean she qualifies as a full time employee which would require her employer to pay benefits. So now she makes less money, has an unsure schedule as an “on call” person rather than working regular hours and is forced to look for another job after working at this one for 10 years.

COUPLE LOSING INSURANCE

Mike Lewis
October 19, 2014 at 9:56 pm # Edit
My wife and I are losing our insurance. Why? Because we are a husband-wife two-person group. So much for Obama’s promise to keep our insurance. So much for Obama’s support for small business. So much for Obama’s support for families. If we weren’t married, we could keep our insurance. If we were two gay men or women, we could keep our insurance. But Obama, Reed, Pelosi declare that no two person company made up of mom & pop can have group insurance. No consequence to them because they exempted themselves.

PAYS $5,000/YEAR MORE COMPARED TO PRE-OBAMACARE

Señor No-Bola
October 19, 2014 at 9:57 pm # Edit
My employer, a Fortune 100 Aerospace company, went to a “one size” high deductible ACA compliant plan last year. $400/mo with a $6000 deductible. No co-pays, just cash on the barrel head at the docs. With a chronic illness in the family, we almost hit the deductible but not quite. Bottom line, about $5000/year additional drained from the household budget compared to old plan, thanks to ACA.

HIGHER PREMIUMS AND DEDUCTIBLES LEAD TO SELF-PAYING, AVOIDING INSURANCE

John Bach
October 19, 2014 at 10:03 pm # Edit
Obamacare has been a total failure for me. With high monthly premiums coupled with even higher deductibles, the only thing that made sense to me was to go the “self-pay” route. Luckily, I have a great family doctor who works with me to come up with some creative solutions to provide healthcare services for me.

WORK HOURS REDUCED, MOTHER LOST DR., DEDUCTIBLE SKYROCKETED, COVERAGE NARROWED

Greg Halvorson
October 19, 2014 at 10:05 pm # Edit
Obamacare is a market distorting, debt producing, doctor coercing, job, health, and freedom killing NIGHTMARE…Good God. I know several people who have been reduced to part-time hours with their mini-Med plan quashed… My elderly mother lost her physician and reports that her deductible has skyrocketed while her coverage has narrowed. They are paying MORE to receive less, because this … regime is FORCING them to subsidize people who can and should WORK… But that’s the plan — make EVERYONE poorer and thus dependent on a sick, bloated, power-craving Monstrosity.

OBAMACARE SENT EXPENSE FROM $100/MONTH TO $800/MONTH SO HE DROPPED INSURANCE

Ben Thompson
October 19, 2014 at 10:10 pm # Edit
I am overweight. And before Obamacare, I couldn’t get a regular policy, but I could get a year to year plan for about $100 per month. After Obamacare, it went to more than $800 per month. I am a youth minister, so it simply was not an option. Paying the penalty is far cheaper than $800 for terrible policy.

SISTER’S INSURANCE DROPPED FOR SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS WHILE WEALTHY FARMER RECEIVES ACA SUBSIDIES

Anonymous
October 19, 2014 at 10:11 pm # Edit
I received a call from my sister; she was very upset that she and her husband were having their health care plans discontinued for the second time in two years. This made me extremely angry, as I am very close to my sister. She and her husband are financially very careful, but don’t have money to spare. Shortly after this call, a friend stopped by to visit with my husband, who was not home. I couldn’t help but vent, and in the process, discovered that the friend had applied for the ACA, and was being subsidized at the upper levels of subsidy limits. Why is this an issue? Because of the fact the friend is in the business of farming, in the process of retiring. I am fairly sure this friends net worth falls in the 6 – 7 million dollar range, but because ACA subsidies appears to be based on income alone, and he shows little actual income, he seems to be able to take maximum advantage of it. He rationalizes that “Well, that’s how the law is written…you’d do it too, wouldn’t you?” Makes me wonder how many accountants and financial advisers are advising their clients to play this game.

PAID $36K FOR $4K OF SERVICE

douginWimberley
October 19, 2014 at 10:15 pm # Edit
Texas BlueCrossBlueShield- $10K deductible
Premiums-
2010: $5220
2011: $5703
2012: $6051
2013: $6896
2014: $8196
Three people on plan aged 57, 59, 21
Excellent health
one physical per year for 59 yo. Others…no physical.
one total physical over 5yr period for 57 yo
Total out of pocket over this period ~ $4k of which $2k was for 10yr colonoscopy for 59yo.
Paid ~$36K for $4k of service.
Look at the curve. It is bending, yes…bending up.

WORK PLAN CANCELLED, COULDN’T AFFORD REPLACEMENT, DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER AND HAS NO COVERAGE

Nate
October 19, 2014 at 10:21 pm # Edit
My friend had his group health insurance plan with his employer cancelled at the end of 2013. He looked into the exchanges and found that the insurance plans were too expensive on healthcare.gov. He decided to not have any insurance in 2014 because he could not afford it. Also, he looked at the out of pocket expenses and figured that they were way too high and paying a monthly premium plus out of pocket expenses were too steep of a price. About a month ago he was diagnosed with cancer. Our county hospital in Las Vegas, UMC of Southern Nevada, will not cover him for his surgery or chemotherapy. Since he is now a cash paying patient, no doctor will perform the surgery unless he comes up with at least half the cost which equals to about $7.5k. The doctors that perform the chemotherpay want the cash upfront, which is around $100k. Right now, if he chooses to sign up for Obamacare on healthcare.gov, the effective date of the insurance will be January 1, 2015. That is too far into the future and the cancer will already have spread throughout the body. My friend went from a normal hardworking American with insurance and doctors that he liked, to scrambling to find anything to save his life. Our family’s prayers are with him and I hope others’ are as well.

LOST PLAN SHE LIKED, NEW PLAN HIGHER DEDUCTIBLE AND NOW THAT’S BEEN CANCELLED.

Kate Wright
October 19, 2014 at 10:59 pm # Edit
Last year in 2013, I lost my A-rated $1,500 deductible plan, A-rated hospitals (UCLA and Cedars), and A-rated doctors at Cedars and UCLA. I applied to (and paid for) three different healthcare companies to see which my doctors would accept, and the doctors said only Cigna is acceptable now, so I rescinded two, and stayed with Cigna, with a $1,900 deductible plan.

And guess what! This year (2014) that plan was canceled! The new 2015 Cigna available plans are $3,400 deductible or $6,100 deductible, and I’m not sure whether my doctors will even accept either of those inferior plans.

As soon as I know more, I will be back in communication.

Thanks, Sharyl!!!

MEDICARE CO-PAYS HAVE INCREASED, MONTHLY PREMIUM IS INCREASING $300/YEAR

Sarah Sweet
October 19, 2014 at 11:17 pm # Edit
Obamacare related: Administration often points out that it has saved money for Medicare participants. I am on medicare and for this year, 2014, my co-pays for drugs and primary physician services both increased. Next year, 2015, my monthly premium is increasing by $25/month, $300/year. The only thing that went down because of Obamacare is what they pay the doctors and hospitals. Medical cost increases for me are not as huge and as direct participants in Obamacare, but I wanted to point out that any Obama Administration success story about how it has benefited retirees on fixed incomes is a