Got cancer? You may not want #Obamacare. Much has been said about "If you like your health insurance plan, you can keep it. Period".
Not so much about "If you like your doctor, you can keep them. Period."
Until now . . .
Since March 2007 United Healthcare has paid $1.2 million to help keep me alive, and it has never once questioned any treatment or procedure recommended by my medical team. The company pays a fair price to the doctors and hospitals, on time, and is responsive to the emergency treatment requirements of late-stage cancer. Its caring people in the claims office have been readily available to talk to me and my providers.
But in January, United Healthcare sent me a letter announcing that they were pulling out of the individual California market. The company suggested I look to Covered California starting in October.
Covered California is the state run Obamacare health insurance exchange.
UCSD has agreed to accept only one Covered California plan—a very restrictive Anthem EPO Plan. EPO stands for exclusive provider organization, which means the plan has a small network of doctors and facilities and no out-of-network coverage (as in a preferred-provider organization plan) except for emergencies.
If you like your doctor, you CAN'T keep your doctor . . . if you buy an exchange plan.
But if you buy OFF the exchange . . .
According to a popular insurance brokerage website there are 19 PPO plans available in San Diego. By design, PPO plans have broader networks that include most doctors and hospitals nationwide.
Perhaps Edie Littlefield Sundby needs to talk with a real insurance agent in her area rather than a navigator.
#EdieLittlefieldSundby
#CoveredCalifornia
#Obamacare
#Ifyoulikeyourplanyoucankeepit
Posts
