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Question about Open Enrollment
09-15-2014, 06:40 PM
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#1
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Austin
Posts: 661
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Question about Open Enrollment
This year I wasn't eligible for subsidies and went directly to BCBS to purchase insurance.
With Open Enrollment coming up, I'll be eligible for subsidies next year so I plan on applying thru the exchange and picking the same BCBS plan that I currently have.
My question is, should I cancel my current BCBS policy before I purchase a new one via the Exchange? I'm guessing the systems aren't sophisticated enough to know that I'm the same person and I'd probably wind up with two policies if I didn't cancel the current one first.... ?
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ER'd 6/1/2014 @ age 53. Wow, is it already 2022?
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09-15-2014, 09:44 PM
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#2
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,681
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Your policy through HealthCare.gov won't start until 1/1/15, right? Don't cancel your current policy until January.
Last year we did something similar, going from retiree insurance (2 single policies) to ACA insurance (both of us on a family policy) with the same insurance company. Being that the ACA insurance was such a new system, I called and explained the situation. DH's ID number even stayed the same but mine changed to his since we were on the same policy.
Our insurer handled everything just fine. It took a few months until they offered online bill paying but it all works well now.
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Married, both 69. DH retired June, 2010. I have a pleasant little part time job.
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09-16-2014, 05:33 AM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Don't cancel until your enrollment is confirmed. You can probably just not pay your January premium on the existing policy in late December as you normally might, then cancel as soon as you see you are actually insured on the new plan.
When I was laid off last year I took a short-term policy through BCBS until the end of 2013. My wife is insured through her employer but I went through the Marketplace. I have the same member ID as I had with my short-term policy.
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"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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09-16-2014, 05:48 AM
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#4
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Austin
Posts: 661
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Thanks for the advice. Yes, I think it will be wise to wait until the first couple of weeks in December to enroll on the Exchange so that the effective start date thru the Exchange will be 1/1/2015. There will also be a significant change in income on a year over year basis (six figure salary, bonuses, and accrued benefit payouts in 2014, nothing but dividends and capital gains in 2015) so it would also be best if the delineation between income changes match up with the start date for subsidies.
My initial experience with BCBS's billing systems was a nightmare which is why I'm skeptical they will get it right. Sounds like going forward with the Exchange, getting a policy secured and confirmed thru the Exchange, and then not paying/cancelling any redundant invoicing is the way to go.
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ER'd 6/1/2014 @ age 53. Wow, is it already 2022?
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09-16-2014, 12:04 PM
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#5
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 881
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Looking4Ward
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I think it will be wise to wait until the first couple of weeks in December to enroll on the Exchange so that the effective start date thru the Exchange will be 1/1/2015. There will also be a significant change in income on a year over year basis (six figure salary, bonuses, and accrued benefit payouts in 2014, nothing but dividends and capital gains in 2015) so it would also be best if the delineation between income changes match up with the start date for subsidies.
My initial experience with BCBS's billing systems was a nightmare which is why I'm skeptical they will get it right. Sounds like going forward with the Exchange, getting a policy secured and confirmed thru the Exchange, and then not paying/cancelling any redundant invoicing is the way to go.
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Have ACA for 2014. Used, Blue shield of CA. You should "yelp"
them.
claims, billing, premiums, dept. a mess. When ever you call, you get a
different answer.
During open enrollment, will change carriers.
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09-16-2014, 01:51 PM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,371
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One benefit of a private pay system - if you don't like your insurer, you can change.
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
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