I'm posting about this because it's one of those Healthcare.gov vs insurance company vs consumer odd situations and I'm hoping someone here has a hint of how to solve this.
My son is 30, this is his fourth year buying his insurance through Healthcare.gov. It's all gone well for him until this year.
In December he submitted his application through Healthcare.gov, got his subsidy letter and picked a silver plan through his same insurer from last year. It was a few days before the December deadline and when he did the step to pay immediately, the insurance company was no longer taking January payments through healthcare.gov, it directed him to pay at his insurer website.
Last year he had already signed up for automatic payments ($52/mo for his 2016 Bronze plan) so he went into the automatic payment site and changed his payment to be the new amount ($98/mo) for his 2017 Silver Plan.
In January the insurer sent him the plan info for both a Bronze plan and his chosen Silver plan. He got a member ID card for the Bronze, even though he picked a Silver plan. I told him he should check on that.
By mid February he still hadn't gotten his Silver plan card and then he got a letter saying that his Bronze plan for 2017 plan had ended and he was no longer insured.
He asked me to look at his account online to get this figured out. Looking at his account I could see that he had never been charged the $98/mo for the Silver plan, instead they had taken $52/mo which left him underpaid for Jan. and Feb 2017 and they dropped him for not paying in full.
He called the insurer who told him to deal with HealthCare.gov. He called Healthcare.gov who told him he had to deal with his insurer. He spent 2 hours on the phone and got no action. Finally, the insurer said they would have someone call him back by 6PM the next day and he has heard nothing.
We looked at his account on Healthcare.gov and tried to get him to reapply under the Special Enrollment because he had lost his insurance, but it said he did not qualify.
To me this looks like the insurer's billing screwed up and they should just correct it, even if he has to pay for the shortage in Jan and Feb. At this point he would still like the Silver plan but is willing to take the Bronze if he can just get coverage.
He has paid for insurance for the last 3 years and he has never used it. He is the young, healthy statistic that is needed to offset all us older, costly folks and now they don't want to take his money and keep him insured. Yes, he should have been aware that they weren't taking the proper payment. I told him that's what happens when you don't keep a check register and follow what's happening with your money. But I'm old school about that!
I've looked into what happens if you don't have insurance and it looks like you can go 3 months before there is a penalty. He likes being a responsible adult and wants to have health insurance.
Have any of you been in a situation like this? Got any hints on how to get him back into an insurance plan?
My son is 30, this is his fourth year buying his insurance through Healthcare.gov. It's all gone well for him until this year.
In December he submitted his application through Healthcare.gov, got his subsidy letter and picked a silver plan through his same insurer from last year. It was a few days before the December deadline and when he did the step to pay immediately, the insurance company was no longer taking January payments through healthcare.gov, it directed him to pay at his insurer website.
Last year he had already signed up for automatic payments ($52/mo for his 2016 Bronze plan) so he went into the automatic payment site and changed his payment to be the new amount ($98/mo) for his 2017 Silver Plan.
In January the insurer sent him the plan info for both a Bronze plan and his chosen Silver plan. He got a member ID card for the Bronze, even though he picked a Silver plan. I told him he should check on that.
By mid February he still hadn't gotten his Silver plan card and then he got a letter saying that his Bronze plan for 2017 plan had ended and he was no longer insured.
He asked me to look at his account online to get this figured out. Looking at his account I could see that he had never been charged the $98/mo for the Silver plan, instead they had taken $52/mo which left him underpaid for Jan. and Feb 2017 and they dropped him for not paying in full.
He called the insurer who told him to deal with HealthCare.gov. He called Healthcare.gov who told him he had to deal with his insurer. He spent 2 hours on the phone and got no action. Finally, the insurer said they would have someone call him back by 6PM the next day and he has heard nothing.
We looked at his account on Healthcare.gov and tried to get him to reapply under the Special Enrollment because he had lost his insurance, but it said he did not qualify.
To me this looks like the insurer's billing screwed up and they should just correct it, even if he has to pay for the shortage in Jan and Feb. At this point he would still like the Silver plan but is willing to take the Bronze if he can just get coverage.
He has paid for insurance for the last 3 years and he has never used it. He is the young, healthy statistic that is needed to offset all us older, costly folks and now they don't want to take his money and keep him insured. Yes, he should have been aware that they weren't taking the proper payment. I told him that's what happens when you don't keep a check register and follow what's happening with your money. But I'm old school about that!
I've looked into what happens if you don't have insurance and it looks like you can go 3 months before there is a penalty. He likes being a responsible adult and wants to have health insurance.
Have any of you been in a situation like this? Got any hints on how to get him back into an insurance plan?
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Makes me crazy remembering my own experience. Here is my thoughts and experience.
