The only purpose of this announcement is to give outs to the politicians who can now say that cancellations aren't the result of the ACA but as a result of the insurance companies being greedy or the insurance commissioners not acting to look out for the people.
The insurance companies played by the new rules as outlined in the ACA and have taken 3+ years to get to this point! all along letting the politicians review and approve what they were doing. The insurance commissioners were holding the insurers feet to the fire or be in compliance with the new federal law that overrode state requirements. It's taken 3+ years to redefine networks, run the pricing models, and to be prepared to do what they were ordered to do by the government.
Now, in less than 30 days, they're being expected to turn on a dime, re establish networks, retract 5,000,000 cancellations, run new pricing models (which won't negatively impact the new ACA pricing), and to bail out the same government that was requiring the changes to begin with. And (apparently) do it all without increasing prices for those extended prices.
Worst part is that all of this simply "kicks the can down the road" twelve months which, and this is strictly coincidental, I'm sure, to just after the 2014 elections. A year from now, even If the insurance providers can sort this all out and the states can manage to approve it all, we will be in exactly the same spot we are today....except no one will be talking elections for another two years.
What I personally want or know is this.
I buy a plan from the exchange that covers pre existing condition. It goes into effect in January. What happens next year when it's time for renewal? Are these new plans all "guaranteed renewal" even if the selected insurer decides that they're going to discontinue participation in the exchange process?
The insurance companies played by the new rules as outlined in the ACA and have taken 3+ years to get to this point! all along letting the politicians review and approve what they were doing. The insurance commissioners were holding the insurers feet to the fire or be in compliance with the new federal law that overrode state requirements. It's taken 3+ years to redefine networks, run the pricing models, and to be prepared to do what they were ordered to do by the government.
Now, in less than 30 days, they're being expected to turn on a dime, re establish networks, retract 5,000,000 cancellations, run new pricing models (which won't negatively impact the new ACA pricing), and to bail out the same government that was requiring the changes to begin with. And (apparently) do it all without increasing prices for those extended prices.
Worst part is that all of this simply "kicks the can down the road" twelve months which, and this is strictly coincidental, I'm sure, to just after the 2014 elections. A year from now, even If the insurance providers can sort this all out and the states can manage to approve it all, we will be in exactly the same spot we are today....except no one will be talking elections for another two years.
What I personally want or know is this.
I buy a plan from the exchange that covers pre existing condition. It goes into effect in January. What happens next year when it's time for renewal? Are these new plans all "guaranteed renewal" even if the selected insurer decides that they're going to discontinue participation in the exchange process?
