Federal exchanges finally make it easier to see actual insurance costs

From the New York Times no less! When you offer low premiums, generally there is a higher deductible involved. This is nothing new, but the grand marketing campaign that is the Obama administration hid – on purpose – the deductibles associated with insurance policies on the federal exchange … until two weeks before the deadline.

From The New York Times this morning, with my emphasis.

Until now, it was almost impossible for people using the federal health care website to see the deductible amounts, which consumers pay before coverage kicks in. But federal officials finally relented last week and added a “window shopping” feature that displays data on deductibles.

One person I know who was shopping this month found their deductible premium had dropped about $190 per month on a “comparable” plan here in Connecticut. But the new plan had a $1,500 deductible – compared to nothing before – and did not cover the migraine medication he takes as needed between four and six times per month. The pills are something like $40 per pill.

But the policy does include coverage for pregnancy and mammograms … that he does not need. From Erika Johnsen at Hot Air.

… those miraculously low premiums aren’t really much of a favor if they’re accompanied by much higher deductibles, co-payments, and drastically limited provider networks, are they?

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Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

6 Comments

  1. Plainvillian on December 9, 2013 at 10:35 am

    There is no free lunch, except in the mind of a socialist where free means forcing somebody else to pay.



  2. Dimsdale on December 9, 2013 at 1:10 pm

    Pay no attention to the deductibles behind the curtain!!? 😉
    ?
    We are getting the healthcare version of the $200 toilet seats that are the stuff of government abuse!



    • bien-pensant on December 9, 2013 at 3:50 pm

      The shoes from this ugly millepede just keep dropping! We just got a notice from the insurance company that the doctors in their network has just shrunk. Obama care is equated with less choice and increased costs. We are subsidizing the mandated services in ObamaCare that we would never use, signup for or ever need.
      All this to satisfy the statist desire for increasingly larger government and having the middle class pay for it. You can’t spell democrat without the rat. Like rats, they are eating up an increasingly larger portion of our disposable income like so much grain.
      ?



  3. Lynn on December 10, 2013 at 4:18 pm

    It is interesting because CT already had so many mandates in their policies, there isn’t as much sticker shock here. However, states that did not have so many mandates are truly facing much higher premiums, deductibles and copays. ?How in the heck Congress could ever call this boondoggle affordable ?just shows you how cynical they are. POTUS is so darn lucky it was called Obamacare because the sheep may forget the intent of the “reform”.



    • Dimsdale on December 11, 2013 at 12:33 pm

      Indeed.? The states where enrollees seem to be coming out ahead are those where the citizens have been behind the eight ball due to liberal mandates for so long.
      ?
      Nothing is “affordable” if your hours (or your job) is getting cut, your premiums rise and the huge deductibles make it almost superfluous to even have health insurance.



  4. Lynn on December 15, 2013 at 8:03 am


square-obama-doctor

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