With Obamacare MANY Will Lose Coverage

Talking about Healthcare.

Hey folks,

Talking about Healthcare? Did you catch this? According to our friends over at HealthDay - With Health Care Reform, Income Swings May Mean Loss of Coverage By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Under the new Affordable Care Act, the health reform package signed into law by President Barack Obama last March, millions of Americans whose income fluctuates during the year may lose health insurance for periods of time as their eligibility for different programs changes.

The authors of a new study appearing in the February issue of Health Affairs estimated that as many as 28 million U.S. adults might "churn" in and out of health insurance programs during the course of a year, sometimes losing coverage more than once.

"It's a critical issue," said Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of The Commonwealth Fund, who was not involved with the study. "You could get a raise or lose a week of work or gain a week, and move in and out of coverage."

Now I know, I know, people out there are saying, "But Pete, this happens NOW. All the Time. At least this way, they will not drop over to nothing." Well, this article brings that up as well. But there is one thing that they leave out. Here continue reading.

The problem is a version of the "churning" in and out of Medicaid that has occurred for years, but with some improvements.

Under the traditional Medicaid system, people shifted between having coverage or not having coverage depending on how much they were making.

Under the Affordable Care Act, Americans can move between two programs: Medicaid, which will now be offered to all those whose income does not exceed 133 percent of the poverty line (about $13,800 per year), and premium subsidies in state-run insurance exchanges, which will be available to people above that dividing line up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level (about $41,500).

But when their eligibility fluctuates, they're likely to lose coverage at least for a period of time.

"The good news with the Affordable Care Act is that, rather than falling off of public coverage into nothing, which is what happens now, there's the potential to have you picked up right away by the exchanges," Schoen said. "But unless you coordinate the plans that are being offered and the networks being offered, you could still have a lack of continuity."

So it's your own fault if you lose coverage. YOU are to stupid to deal with the Obamacare Plan and loopholes. That's not totally true.

"The [insurance exchanges] and Medicaid worlds don't exactly align so there may be one-to-two month gaps without coverage," added study co-author Dr. Benjamin D. Sommers, an assistant professor of health policy and economics at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "The administrative costs are also huge. And even if there aren't gaps in coverage, Medicaid and the exchange plans could be very different in terms of networks. One month you're seeing a particular doctor, and the next month that person's not in your network."

So even if YOU do your part, and set it up where you can go from one plan to another, you may not have the same coverage, and or Doctors, and or ANY coverage.

Say you make XYZ, and have Medicaid Plan xyz. Now you lose money this month that SHIFTS you to Medicaid uvw. But that doesn't kick in until you file these papers, and now wait. But wait, you get an increase in income, now you no longer qualify for Plan wuv, you are back up to XYZ. But wait, you have to fill out this Paperwork, and wait.

Now say you are being treated for something by Doctor A. Then your Plans Change and Doctor A is no longer covered. Now you have to see Doctor F. But he doesn't cover what you need. So he refers you to Doctor R. You pick up all these costs. But if you are in the Void, then none of that matters anyway. You are not covered. So just deal with it. Take a Pill or something. Right?

How many of you have Medical Plans that do this? No one I know. But YOU WILL have one that does this, because Obama wants to MANDATE you get one. It's called Obamacare. This is another example of what awaits ALL, in the name of a few. To make it fair for all, all must suffer equally. Right? Continue on..

By taking a look at U.S. Census data from the last five years, Sommers and a colleague estimated that in the first six months, 35 percent of families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level ($20,760) will change eligibility while half (28 million) would have crossed the threshold at least once during the first year.

An estimated one-quarter of beneficiaries will likely have their coverage disrupted by crossing the income dividing line at least twice in one year, and 39 percent will over the span of two years, the authors added.

Within four years, up to 38 percent will have their coverage disrupted four times or more, they predicted.

And the authors expressed the concern that some people will just get sick of the aggravation and paperwork, and opt to live without health insurance.

Which is the reason for the Obama Mandate. Which has been ruled unconstitutional. So IS a violation of Law. So far, this hasn't stopped them.

Because income changes are more common among younger, better educated adults, the insurance pool could be deprived of the healthy members it needs to stay financially solid.

There are several ways to remedy the problem, the authors stated, one being to set up a guaranteed minimal enrollment period, say, for 12 months, so people would only be reassessed once a year.

It would also help if there was overlap between the Medicaid and exchanges' programs so people moving from one to the other wouldn't have to change doctors or drug formularies, the authors added.

"It would be easier to fine-tune if it was a continuous program," Schoen said, and it would reduce costs.

AKA Single Payer, AKA, Universal Healthcare. Obamacare. One plan for all, THEY dictate to you who gets what covered, for how long, and who dies. The Government will save money, by NOT treating those they can get away with. Meanwhile, EVERYONE else suffers. Make no mistake about it folks. This IS what happens now in Government Run Healthcare, and they want YOU to be a part of it.
Peter

Sources:
Bloomberg Business Week / Health Day - With Health Care Reform, Income Swings May Mean Loss of Coverage