WARNING: YOU WILL NOT SEE THIS ON HEALTHCARE.GOV!
Over the last few weeks I've been introducing IB readers to several people through HHS's stories. These are the folks we hear about in the main stream media that believe they will benefit under the Patient Protection I would like to introduce you to Pete. Pete is a 36 year old single guy living in North Carolina enjoying a professional career and engaging in the purchase of his own health insurance. Pete also just bought a house, is trying to grow his business, and paying for his car. Last year Pete paid $204 per month for a plan from BCBS of North Carolina. This year he is paying $248. His plan is a PPO with a $2500 deductible and an out of pocket maximum of $3000. He has copays for office visits, and a prescription card too. Pete feels it is important to purchase insurance for the protection and peace of mind.
This. Will. Change.
Under Obamacare he will lose his current plan which will be replaced by something that includes all essential benefits including maternity. (Yes, he must now have coverage for a benefit that he personally will never use) On top of not being able to keep his current plan, Pete is concerned about what it is going to cost him. Because he makes what Obamacare considers too much money he won't qualify for any subsidy.
So what exactly is it going to cost him?
In rates released by BCBS, a comparable plan (the one with closest benefit match) will be a Gold level plan with a monthly premium of $416.40. Of course he could opt for the lowest premium option available for only $271.45 per month. But doing that would increase his deductible to $5500 and eliminate his copayments for office visits and prescriptions.
So what is Pete going to do? His response: "I don't know - I'm having difficulty logging into the system."