All in all I'm still very glad to have the ACA. At least we had a subsidy and choices and could be insured despite pre-existing conditions. I think it's all still evolving. I've seen big improvements and then again the deductibles and full prices of some of these plans are unbelievable!
For us, the insurance is for the privilege of paying the reduced network price and then having the safety net in the case of an expensive hospitalization.
+1 Well said Sue J!
Yep, we paid full price in 2015 since a few month's w*rk & bonus at the beginning of the year pushed us over the ACA cliff. The full price cost is sobering, and so are the big OOP and deductible.
True broad network PPO's are disappearing in this state and getting very expensive in any event. Also, the in network vs. out of network has become an issue as providers drop out of the narrow network PPO's. We also have had issues with excessively aggressive treatment on the broad network PPO, a real problem since the OOP and deductibles are so large. This has been quite an awakening after "enjoying" good broad network, low OOP and deductible health insurance through w*rk for decades.
For 2016, we are moving from a broad network PPO to an HMO in the interest of cost containment, although not without reservations because of the less than stellar reputation of HMO's in general. Still, DW and I have had major health issues resolved successfully by HMO's in the distant past. Keeping our fingers crossed and praying for the best...
We signed up on healthcare.gov last week, now just waiting to pay the first bill. We intentionally overestimated income and will collect the subsidy after the next tax return.
Although we have enough taxable savings to manage our MAGI and ACA level for a few years, we decided to target the subsidy but forego the cost sharing, at least for 2016. We chose the Bronze level for maximum savings up front, although the silver level with cost sharing was tempting. In the end, we decided on Bronze to save on premiums and to mentally acclimate to the high OOP and deductible realities. For us, high OOP and deductibles will probably be our ongoing reality, especially in a few years when the IRA drawdown will push us out of the cost sharing MAGI range. Seems like such a long way to Medicare...
FB